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  Dennis Hackethal criticized idea #3654.

This is also borrowed from cognitive science. But what I meant was to point to the fact that there are “pre-conceptual” models, desires, attentional salience etc. that impinge on and filter input to conscious cognition. An example is how brain regions originally used for moving the body through 3D space are repurposed cognitively to “move around” in idea-space. Some anecdotal evidence for this: notice how many movement metaphors structure propositional thinking. We say we’re close to the truth, we understand, we grasp a concept, we arrive at a conclusion.

#3654·Knut Sondre Sæbø revised 4 days ago

Humans use flight-related words even though we can’t fly. From ChatGPT:

  • Elevated (thinking, mood, language)
  • High-level (ideas, overview)
  • Soar (ambitions, prices, imagination)
  • Take off (projects, careers)
  • Grounded (arguments, people)
  • Up in the air (uncertain)
  • Overview (“over-see” from above)
  • Perspective (originally spatial vantage point)
  • Lofty (ideals, goals)
  • Aboveboard (open, visible)
  • Rise / fall (status, power, ideas)
  • Sky-high (expectations, costs)
  • Aerial view (conceptual overview)
  • Head in the clouds (impractical thinking)