Standard Knowledge Contexts

Following is a list of the ten standard knowledge contexts that living systems use to make decisions. In many issues some of these contexts may be void of knowledge and can be ignored. As we learned in the last chapter, knowledge directs understanding affects knowledge. To remember this fact we call the list of ten knowledge contexts the Ten Directors because they direct the understanding and resolution of an issue.

The Name Director

The name director stores knowledge about the main identifier of the overall context of the issue. In the human arena if you can't name it, it doesn't exist. Names like; Lost Coin, The Abortion Issue, Fixing the Window, Marriage, and Diet, are all names of different common issues. In the preceding paragraphs we talked about the lost coin issue, but in that case the name is of little importance. To the issue of you yourself, your name is very important to you. Many issues involve improving specific affectors like the issue of exercising. Knowledge of the name of an issue is the way the brain separates one issue from another.

The Author Director

The author director stores knowledge about who is involved in the issue and who created it. If your spouse crashed the car they would be an author of that issue. Knowledge of who the author is effects the way you think about an issue. When told you must learn a new issue you may at first question the credentials of the author before you accept the new knowledge about that issue.

The Purpose Director

The purpose director stores knowledge about the purpose of the issue. If one of your current issues is 'exercising' then the purpose would be to improve your exercising affector's procedural knowledge. For the 'abortion issue' the purpose depends on which side you are on. On one side the purpose is to stop abortions on the other side it is to make it free and available. An issue of the same name can have a different purposes to different people.

The Environment Director

The environment director context stores knowledge about the environment of the issue. An issue's environment can be physical, social, political, financial or whatever. Knowledge of the environment is knowledge of the external forces that influence the issue. If it is snowing in your environment, this knowledge directs the procedures that may affect your 'exercising' affector.

The Language Director

The language director stores knowledge about all the special words that are associated with a specific issue. Your 'exercising' issue may use special words like pushups, pull-ups, knee-bends, squats and so forth that only apply to that particular issue. Knowledge of the meaning of these words is necessary to understand the issue.

The Configuration Director

The configuration director stores knowledge of the exact configuration of elements of the issue. If the issue is a 'car wreck' then the shape of the car and where it is located is part of its current configuration. If the issue were a 'new house' then its current state of construction would be part of its current configuration. In the issue of 'yourself' knowledge of the way you dress or how much money you have is part of your configuration director's knowledge base.

The Operation Director

The operation director is very important for here is where all the procedural knowledge of an issue is stored. This is knowledge of the exact procedures used in an issue like 'exercising' and these procedures are what make it an affector. Your 'exercising' affector has sub-affectors like running, swimming, golfing, that have their own procedural knowledge. Procedural knowledge defines the operation of the issue.

The Owner Director

The owner context is similar to the author context in that it contains knowledge about the people that are involved in the issue. In this case the concept of ownership is involved. You own your own 'exercising' issue but you may not own the gym where you exercise. If the issue is a 'new house' do you own it or do your parents? The owner of an issue has a very strong influence on how you think about an issue.

The Market Director

The market context stores knowledge about what or who benefits from the actions spawned within an issue. If you have a 'car wreck' then you may personally benefit from getting the car fixed. You are part of the market that appreciates it when the issue is resolved. Your spouse and others may also be a market for the resolution of the issue. Knowledge of how the market will respond to a particular resolution procedure directs your decisions on how to resolve an issue.

The Value Director

The value director stores knowledge of the quality or desirability of the outcome of an issue. Knowledge of value directs how decisions are made that determine the resolution of an issue. In the 'coin pickup' issue the value of the coin could effect your decision on whether to pick it up or not. Knowledge of the value of the coin was acquired directly from processing the type SE data you received at the moment you first saw the coin. You then use this knowledge of value to direct your decision making.

The ten director knowledge contexts are higher level contexts than the basic four data contexts of MEST. The contexts of MEST can be considered sub-contexts of the ten directors. For each director there can be direct knowledge remembered, related to our universe of MEST. In the Author director there may be some previous authors that may have died but could still be remembered as being an original author of an issue. This 'historical' context within the author director could be based on the sub-context of time which is part of MEST. All ten directors have the potential of remembering historical knowledge of the state of that director at some previous time. They also remember direct knowledge relating to the conditions of MEST that are pertinent to the issue.

Now may be a good time to begin memorizing the names of the Ten Directors. Memorize: Name, Author, Purpose, Environment, Language, Configuration, Operation, Owners, Market, and Value. Say it over and over again until you have it for good. This knowledge will be necessary for you to move beyond the information age to a new age where people use a more structured approach to resolving issues. Eventually every school kid should be able to recite the ten directors much as they now can recite the alphabet. This new knowledge about how their ten channel brain works will make the next generation of humans much more advanced than that of previous generations.