The Curated Mind Toolkit (v1.0)
Some thinking tools for Curated Mind
Some friends recently asked me about the progress of the Curated Mind project. To be honest, it is a huge challenge for me. I only considered the Model of Curated Mind as my personal integrated epistemological framework.
In 2017, I developed a personal integrated epistemological framework for understanding Mind, Meaning, and Experience. See the diagram below.
You can find more details in The Mind as Play Metaphor.
On March 15, 2022, I developed a new one which is not the updated version of the 2017 framework. The new framework adopts the Ecological approach and the Curativity approach. The below diagram is the basic model of the new framework.
This above model adopted the ecological approach to reflect on the Mind. While Proximal Mind corresponds to Proximal Contexts, Pervasive Mind corresponds to Pervasive Mind.
- Proximal Contexts (Proximal Mind)
- Pervasive Contexts (Pervasive Mind)
These two parts form a whole system which is called Curated Mind.
If we apply this diagram to reflect on my theoretical interests, then most of my writings are about the Proximal Contexts and Proximal Mind. I didn’t pay attention to Pervasive Contexts and Pervasive Minds before 2021. For example, I didn’t write some articles about cognitive representations and cultural significance. I didn’t pay attention to some fields about Future Studies, Social Discourse, Ecosystem Innovation, etc.
Why?
Because I focused on developing the Ecological Practice approach which is inspired by Ecological Psychology, Activity Theory, and social practice theories in general from 2018 to 2021.
One important sub-theory of the Ecological Practice approach is Curativity Theory which considers turning pieces into a meaningful whole.
The Curated Mind refers to the following three types of Curativity:
- The Curativity of Proximal Mind: Turning pieces of experiences into a meaningful whole at the loop of Proximal Mind.
- The Curativity of Pervasive Mind: Turning pieces of experiences into a meaningful whole at the loop of Pervasive Mind.
- The Curativity of Mind: Turning “Proximal Mind” and “Pervasive Mind” into a meaningful whole.
You can find more details in the original article: The Curated Mind.
On March 21, 2022, I used the following diagram and eight operational concepts to expand the basic model of Curated Mind.
As a tool for guiding research and reflection, a knowledge framework is a whole that contains concepts, diagrams, and methods. An ideal knowledge framework should contain two types of concepts:
- Theoretical Concepts
- Operational Concepts
The purpose of the Curated Mind framework is to develop a framework for discussing the mind and developing tacit knowledge from the perspective of Curativity Theory.
You can find more details in Slow Cognition: The Model of Curated Mind.
Where do these operational concepts come from?
See the diagram below.
The above diagram is an updated version of the Context of Developing Tacit Knowledge. The original version was published on Jan 11, 2022.
The new version is also called the “Flow—Story—Model” metaphor. Though the original title is called the Context of Developing Tacit Knowledge, I think it should be my new model of the mind or cognition.
- Flow: Life as a continuous flow
- Story: Project as a film with a prominent theme
- Model: all knowledge frameworks and models as floor plans
The model is about Developing Tacit Knowledge.
What about if the Tacit Knowledge is about “Mind’?
What about if the Tacit Knowledge is about “Self”?
What about if the Tacit Knowledge is about “Life”?
The essential idea of Developing Tacit Knowledge is the Objective — Subjective Knowledge Curation which corresponds to the Outer Space — Inner Space Mapping of Thematic Space.
For example, you can know my knowledge about “Life” by reading my article Mapping Thematic Space #6: The “Life” thematic space. My “Life” thematic space is a large cognitive container that contains many ideas I developed in the past several years.
The “Flow — Story — Model” metaphor is also inspired by James G. March (1928–2018) who was an American political scientist, sociologist, and pioneer of organizational decision-making. He mentioned that there are three types of wisdom in his 2010 book The Ambiguities of Experience.
What are the three types of wisdom?
- Models: a model is an abstract cognitive representation.
- Stories: a story is a model too, but it is easy to understand.
- Actions: you just do it, then you get it.
What March suggested roughly echoes three types of social sciences.
- Models: Explanation (such as Systems and Rational Choices)
- Stories: Understanding (such as Culture and Subjective meanings)
- Actions: Intervention (Such as Critical theory and Action Science)
How do I use the Model of Curated Mind as a personal integrated epistemological framework in my real-life world?
On Oct 5, 2022, I wrote an article titled Thematic Conversation as Practice. I collected some data about a series of online events which are hosted by a design community.
On Oct 6, 2022, I reflected on the cast study and my method of ecological observation. I realized that I can share some ideas about Ecological Observation.
I made the following diagram. The method of Ecological Observation refers to Ecological Awareness which is about Perception in a particular Situation.
Life is a continuous flow, a researcher could see many things and events in a particular situation. However, she has to perceive significant and relevant things and events. She has to discover Similarities and Differences from the continuous flow and defines some perceived facts as data.
For example, we can record an online meeting. However, the video is not the data, but the raw material for making data for a research project. The researcher has to watch the video again and again until she can perceive some data.
For ordinary people, this process is called Ecological Awareness. Ordinary people don’t often intend to run research projects in their real-life world, they tend to miss significant opportunities to perceive important facts and generate useful insights.
Ecological Awareness requires paying attention to tiny changes in the environment anytime anywhere. It takes effect to do this job in the everyday life world.
The above diagram is part of the above “Flow — Story — Model” metaphor.
Then, I expanded it to a series of diagrams.
This one is about turning concrete data into abstract ideas such as concepts and models. If you read my articles, you probably find that I often develop a model from one case study. Yes, one story can be a sample for building a model if you can find Significant Invariants and Variants from the deep structure of the story.
This one is about a specific situation: interpersonal interaction. In fact, you can find more ideas in ARCH: A Visual Language of Interpersonal Interactions and Collaborative Project Engagement.
This one is inspired by Activity Theory. You can find more case studies in Mapping Thematic Journey (Engaging with Activity Theory, 2020–2022).
This one is about Discourse from the perspective of Thematic Engagement, especially “Themes” and “Concepts”. You can find more related tools in The Thematic Engagement Toolkit (v1.0).
This one is about Imagination and Anticipation. I am working on a related framework called Anticipatory Activity System (AAS).
Moreover, I mentioned two roles in the above discussion: Researchers and Ordinary people. They have different intentions, resources, and skills.
In order to respect these differences, I encourage you to pay attention to Methodological Empathy. See the diagram below.
The above diagram is called the HITED framework. It is about the way of knowing. For philosophists, the way of knowing refers to the subject of epistemology. For scientists, the way of knowing refers to the subject of methodology.
There are various approaches to the Hypothesis — Data Fit! The HITED framework is a new visual language for making methodological issues visible. We need to see the difference between scientists and practitioners. We also need to see the difference between you as a practitioner and me as a practitioner.
The Curated Mind needs to consider both the Theory — Practice fit and the Hypothesis — Data fit. You can find more details in The HITED Framework for Methodological Empathy.
