An interaction between me and you (other) would, from my point of view, be as a loop:
V) <- V) <- V) <- V)
An alternative, where convenient, would be to use square brackets, or enclose in a square if drawn on a whiteboard, to make the direction of the noam symbol irrelevant, and sigma and rho can come from any direction and allows for doodling methods of desiging noams and memes. The meme symbol may also be inverted or rotated where it makes more sense to do so without causing ambiguity.
Push Pull motility of information move to interaction page
In the frameworks, there is a distinction between memes and noams. Memes are about replicating information and that framework is intended to model the spread of information amoung a population. A meme is composed minimally of two noams: one that carries a payload, while the other provides the replicating strategy. Noams can also transfer information, and polynoams consist of more than one noam. Here though, the focus is on the interaction between individuals rather than contagion. Of course, memes are based on communication, but the noamic model is focussed more on the traditional model of communication, rahter than recurring transmission. The noamic framework of polynoams therefore provides a platform for the meme framework.
A way of thinking about it is to consider information, skills, etc to be pushed or pulled or a sequence of such. Learning and teaching have similarities. Learning can operate without teaching and, as many educators have experienced, teaching can operate without learning. The terms push and pull indicate a flow of data and the roles of the participants. They also suggest intention of the agents. The pull version is where the learner has the intent of acquisition and draws out the information from the model possibly by imitation. The push, on the other hand, is where the teacher’s intent is to bestow knowledge on the pupil. The ideal educational context involves cycles of both push and pull. This is also reflected in the idea of technology push and market pull whereby innovation can drive developments of the market, or demand can encourage research and development.
In the (current) framework, resources (rho), beliefs (upsilon) and values (nu) are the primary candidates for push and pull. Other noam properties are likely to be admitted into the model later.
Pull: There is no necessary intent of transfer with the model who is usually performing some action in accordance with a scenario. The model is just acting and being observed. They may in fact want to be modelled, but on the other hand, may want to keep their actions private for example a secret manufacturing process. In a pull mode, the intent of transfer lies with the observer. In the trade secret example, a technology company might engage in reverse engineering of say a microchip. Pure pull is imitation without teaching. It is how humans and animals learn by copying on a base level by passive observation wherby the model is not being prompted to relate information. Imitation is predominantly though observation so the pull on noam properties is non-linguistic (unless the imitation is that of language.). The model does not provide instructions in verbal form or as tuition. The learner, however, may subsequently be able to re-express their learning through words.
- Resources such as skills and competences (rho), can be aquired through imitation. To simplify, the observer watches the the model, taking into account the situation, the model’s response, and the outcome of that engagement upon the situation. The observer has some apprehension of the models intent. This is imputed through mind-reading as there is no direct access to the model’s values. A chimpanzee for example watching another use a twig to get honey from a bees nest would likely figure that its models actions sucessfully obtain food without getting stung. Here the observer would see the nest and the model chimp, understand what honey and being stung means, and that the action of using the stick satisfies the value of obtaining food. The pattern then would be learned, so when the observer chimp wants honey then they become likely to choose to use the tool. The noam cycle of less stings, more honey would then be a reinforcing loop for that behavioural option.
- Pure pull on instructs (upsilon) is indirect as, like values, the beliefs in somones head are not amenable directly to passive observation. An upsilon instruct can be constructed from observation followed by the trial and error cycle. It might also be constructed shortcutting trial and error by inferring a rule out of the observation. Such may be expressed propositionally as ‘If the model, in a given situation, does something and gets a successful result, then when I am in that situation, then doing the same thing is likely to get me a similar result.’
- Similarly, pure pull on values (nu) is indirect. The observer is guessing the intent of the model from the result they are getting. Often it is obvious. Sometimes though the inferrence of a value may not be accurate, even if the action still gets the result. For example the Tai Chi fad (“Marks and Spencers Tai Chi”, as someone once called it), became popular among middle age ladies on the basis that it must be giving some spiritual and health benefits; many are unaware that the sedate movements are actually also a practical and deadly form of kung fu.
Push: Where the teacher does intend to impart knowledge on the student, then this is push. Pure push does not involve any transfer intent on the behalf of the student and is rarely effective, some element of student’s transfer intent is invariably involved. Even in military boot camps, or punative measures, the recipient has some motive to learn: be that duty, or avoidance of pain. The motives of the instructor and the student might be the same, but this is not a necessary condition.
- Tuition may be through demonstration or expressed as verbal instructions. Push of means (rho) depends what kind of resorce it is. Material would be through physical provision. Where it a method, then demonstration, or a verbal sequence of actions would be conducted.
- Push of instructs (upsilon) would verbally take the structure of ‘When you are aware of this situation, then take this action‘. These are of the form “If… Then…” conditional between situation and action.
- Push on values (nu) would verbally take the structure of ‘This is important‘. However, imposing values without justification might have limited impact. Greater acceptance may be gained through linking the proposed value to one that is already accepted (such as by a Toulmin argument) and may be structured ‘Because that is important to you then this is also important‘. Again, there is a conditional, but here it is between a base value (taken as grounds) and a more derived value (taken as a claim).