Language and the Creation of New Knowledge

2/28/2014; 10 minutes

How are humans able to create new knowledge from language? Research in our lab addresses three relevant human capacities. The first is to activate mental representations of things and events that we've previously experienced from language. The second is to use the combinatorial principles of grammar to bind old knowledge together in new ways. And the third is the ability to use knowledge from one domain of experience to make new knowledge about some other domain (through metaphor, for instance). But there remain many open questions about what capacities we bring to bear to create new knowledge through language, how individuals differ in their deployment of these capacities, and what the consequences are of failing to deploy them in typical ways. (#27917)

Like what you learn?

Donate to UCTV to support informative & inspiring programming.

More Programs With

 
 

SIGN UP FOR EMAIL UPDATES
Subscribe to receive email notifications about featured videos.
(c)2020 Regents of the University of California. All right reserved. Terms and Conditions of Use.