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What is the mental representation?
Matematical mental representation
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Mental representation

 according to Edgard Morin

Reality goes across several filters and consequently we never reach to objectivity. We only have a feeling of reality (either concerning our pupils, our groups or our subject). What makes us looking at objects in an unobjective way? differently than others?

Actually, at all levers, either auditorilly or visualy we have a partial knowledge of a few wavelenghts, we only hear a few sounds. Greenlanders, as a matter of example give to qualify what is white thity different words. Language in itself, gives us shapes of things, any language teachers are well awase of that.

 Our unobjectivity comes from a fantasized apprehension of such a reality.

*Old or young woman?? 

Answer

We use to tell, wher speaking of our students: they are coreless, they are not giving any attention J.P.Mialet a psychiatrist, wose area focuses on attention, tols a journalist from "Le Monde" (10-26-99) "attention enables the subject to sort out, with in his environment or himself what isrelevant from what is meaningless...

that means we are involved in the subject's motivation and personal story, biological legacy, his long life emotions and experience, In other words, everyone is keeping his attention according to his own ways and means. The fantasized apprehension would even interface with such phenomenons as apprenticeships.

Such a fantasized approch to objects (studens, spouse, read masters, ourselves...) goes through a sort of representation, a some what defensive mechanisms.

 

Edgard MORIN , suggest this definition of the representation concept

It is a cognitive synthesis endowed with the qualities of globality, coherence, constancy, stability.

It is obstained through a construction process. 

It is due to various factors,:

- the actual impact of our senses (perception),

- memory (remembered schemes),

- fantasies wich lead us to favour some aspects against others.

The frog which transforms itself into horse! (wait a little!)

Such a construction that we project therefore on the real world, takes the shaps of a loop which achieves to link us with reality. 

It is a selective look (since part of such reality is erased)

additive, taking into account we add memorized approaches (schemes)

sand consequently makes all perceptions have an quasi hallucinatory componant.

(Ref. to diagram)

What we should, faculty members, obeviously remember it is hard to modify a mental representation since such representation is coherent and steady.

Yet it is the representationowe has of an object, an individual, a subject, a situation, which will lead us to perform in a way or in another. If before entering a class-room, I tell myself "this class-room is worn than a lions' cage" this feeling from the start, will have an impact on my behaviour in respect of my students all along my lecture, in such instance two individuals would not read in the same maner.

Our dreams also, are particuler instances of representation, based upon materials collected when awake, and that we turn and put in ower according own whishes.

Answer

 

Making up mental representation

1) switching signifieds

2) the association chain

3) metaphor

4) mimicking speech  

 

Cognitive and emotional interactions

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HOME PAGE
History of mathematics' didactic
What is the mental representation?
Matematical mental representation
Recording interview: René Thom, Dominique, Rosine...
Write to me
Author