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| Forewords | 5 |
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| List of figures | 13 |
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| List of tables | 15 |
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| 1 | The semiotic triangle and constructivism | 17 |
| 1.1 | The semiotic triangle according to Ogden and Richards | 17 |
| 1.2 | Reality and construct | 19 |
| 1.3 | A few additional points | 21 |
| 1.4 | Evolution and exchange of thoughts | 25 |
| 1.5 | What is information? | 26 |
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| 2 | The self-referential taboo | 29 |
| 2.1 | Self-referentiality, the semiotic triangle and interpretive systems | 29 |
| 2.2 | Self-referentiality, subjectivity and objectivity | 30 |
| 2.3 | The taboo of the observer | 31 |
| 2.4 | Self-referential loops, computers and logic | 32 |
| 2.5 | Self-referential taboo and concept representation | 32 |
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| 3 | The interpretive system | 33 |
| 3.1 | Definition of the interpretive system (IS) | 33 |
| 3.2 | Interpretation is an active, bidirectional operation | 35 |
| 3.3 | The interpretive system has an interior (semantic space) | 36 |
| 3.4 | The interpretive system in other theories | 38 |
| 3.5 | Integrating the interpretive system into the semiotic triangle | 41 |
| 3.6 | The two-sided triangle | 43 |
| 3.7 | The interpretive system exists twice in the world of information | 44 |
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| 4 | Concepts and objects | 47 |
| 4.1 | Concepts collect objects (concepts as sets) | 47 |
| 4.2 | Hierarchies in three theories | 48 |
| 4.3 | The hierarchical axis is not continuous | 49 |
| 4.4 | Information content vs. object set | 51 |
| 4.5 | Concepts are not objects | 52 |
| 4.6 | Concepts are fields | 53 |
| 4.7 | Which is there more of: concepts or objects? | 54 |
| 4.8 | Consequences of the exponential increase | 54 |
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| 5 | Concepts and words | 57 |
| 5.1 | Words are symbols for concepts | 57 |
| 5.2 | Are words codes for objects? | 57 |
| 5.3 | A dynamic code | 58 |
| 5.4 | A code that has developed historically | 59 |
| 5.5 | Where are words and concepts localised? | 59 |
| 5.6 | Words and concepts are of a fundamentally different and complementary nature | 60 |
| 5.7 | Words map thoughts linearly; semantics is multidimensional | 61 |
| 5.8 | How does the IS interpret a word? | 62 |
| 5.9 | The knowledge base | 63 |
| 5.10 | Who builds the knowledge base? | 64 |
| 5.11 | The role of words in communication | 65 |
| 5.12 | The alignment of values between two interpreting systems | 68 |
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| 6 | The bit as an information carrier | 71 |
| 6.1 | Information processing with bits: two steps | 71 |
| 6.2 | Mapping reality to bit sequences | 72 |
| 6.3 | Bit sequences and objects | 75 |
| 6.4 | The signal channel | 76 |
| 6.5 | What information does the bit contain? | 79 |
| 6.6 | The bit and its meaning | 80 |
| 6.7 | Signal and meaning are complementary | 81 |
| 6.8 | The interpretive system and the signal channel | 83 |
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| 7 | The interpretation process | 87 |
| 7.1 | Coding in the health care sector | 87 |
| 7.2 | Coding: one word for two concepts | 88 |
| 7.3 | The information paradox | 88 |
| 7.4 | Interpretation (grouping) versus signal conversion | 90 |
| 7.5 | Grouping, from a social perspective | 90 |
| 7.6 | Entropy and information: the micro and macro states | 91 |
| 7.7 | The micro and macro states in grouping | 92 |
| 7.8 | Differences between thermodynamics and interpretive systems | 93 |
| 7.9 | Information: signal and meaning | 94 |
| 7.10 | Entropy relationships in and around the signal channel | 95 |
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| 8 | Summary | 99 |
| 8.1 | Word comprehension and concept representation | 99 |
| 8.2 | The interpretive system: information gain and information loss | 100 |
| 8.3 | Interpretive systems in the context of the semiotic triangle | 101 |
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| A. | Coding as an interpretation process | 107 |
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| B. | On the architecture of the semantic space in the coding of diagnoses | 113 |
| B.1 | Introduction | 113 |
| B.2 | The Ogden/Richards triangle and the semantic space | 113 |
| B.3 | Axes and values in the semantic space | 114 |
| B.4 | The hierarchical (monoaxial) architecture | 114 |
| B.5 | The multidimensional architecture | 116 |
| B.6 | The multifocal architecture | 117 |
| B.7 | The multipoint architecture | 117 |
| B.8 | The role of architectures in coding | 118 |
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| C. | A semantic interpreter | 119 |
| C.1 | A machine interpretation system | 119 |
| C.1.1 | Starting point | 119 |
| C.1.2 | Basic structure of the interpretation system | 120 |
| C.2 | Concepts (atoms) | 120 |
| C.2.1 | A concept is not divisible | 120 |
| C.2.2 | A concept exists precisely once | 120 |
| C.2.3 | Concepts are made up of binding sites | 121 |
| C.3 | Relations | 121 |
| C.3.1 | Dispensing with named relators | 121 |
| C.3.2 | Hierarchical and attributive relations | 122 |
| C.3.3 | Relationship of the two basic relations to the axes of the semantic space | 123 |
| C.3.4 | Bifaciality of atoms: type and expression at the same time | 123 |
| C.3.5 | Bond lists | 124 |
| C.3.6 | Hierarchies in bond lists, direct and indirect bonds | 126 |
| C.3.7 | Sequence of ligands in open bond lists | 129 |
| C.3.8 | Representation of unopened bonds in the KBE | 129 |
| C.4 | Statements (molecules) | 130 |
| C.4.1 | Statements are linked concepts | 130 |
| C.4.2 | External similarity of atoms and molecules | 130 |
| C.4.3 | Concepts in concept molecules display their context | 130 |
| C.4.4 | Directional and non-directional statements | 131 |
| C.4.5 | The any-element (pronoun) | 133 |
| C.5 | The user interface (UI) of the knowledge base editor | 135 |
| C.5.1 | The knowledge base editor windows and their control | 135 |
| C.5.2 | The rule pool: saving the statements with the concepts used | 137 |
| C.6 | The inference engine (semantic interpreter) | 138 |
| C.6.1 | Infostatics and infodynamics: the role of rules | 138 |
| C.6.2 | The interpretation of noun phrases | 138 |
| C.7 | OOP and concept representation | 144 |
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| D. | Abbreviations and specific expressions | 147 |
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| E. | Bibliography | 149 |
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| F. | Index | 151 |
