The Symbolism as a Cheap Channel Code: The Symbolic Language’s Role in Cognition

Abstract

There are different ways in which human beings cognitively handle sources of information. Tasks, such as number guessing, velocity, weight, and extension estimation, can be accomplished through different cognitive strategies – e.g. by counting, or comparing objects’
characteristics, and so on. In most cases, these different ways imply different performances and costs to the subject. We offer an interpretation of these “different ways” in terms of different channel codes through which the environmental information is processed by the Central Nervous System (CNS). By considering the channel code’s cost and performance, we will distinguish among three categories of codes; prompt processing, working memory, and symbolic coding scheme. The interpretation seems to provide explanations to important questions, such as: Why do we have the internal representation that we have – in terms of colors, extension,
and texture? Why are simple theories considered better than complex ones? Why do different representations of a given system, even if conflicting, result in the same action plans (experiments)