Variations on the First Hypothesis
- Any categorical system for describing sensation is arbitrary. For example, here are some interesting alternative ways of using words to describe colors. There are thousands of possibilities.
- Any categorical system also introduces a bias by oversimplifying and truncating the maximum number of fundamental distinctions. Like an experimentalist controling systematic errors, we also strive to understand and correct for these categorical distortions. For example, the chromatic sensation of orangeness cannot be fundamentally grasped in a description that only recognises yellow and red as elementary sensations. It is possible that some essential quality of orangeness will never be captured by such a descriptive method. (Orange sensations can be represented as composites of red and yellow, and this is usually good enough for practical purposes, but the underlying problem remains.)
- Six categories of sensation are used for WikiMechanics.
- More than six allows for more descriptive sublety, at the cost of more messy complexity.
- Less than six implies oversimplification, loss of detail and loss of usefulness.
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