Physical World and Mental Space
To understand the concepts covered in this section, let's start by distinguishing between the concepts and words that refer to the physical world and those that belong to the mental space.
Continuous progress in the number of people interacting and in the speed at which humans adapt to new conditions became possible because people learned to communicate using signs, words, drawings, and so on. They invented letters, the alphabet, numbers, and much more to describe the physical world.
There is the word 'лев' (in Russian) or 'lion,' and there is the living creature that runs across the African plains. The living creature is a representative of the physical world, while the words 'лев' and 'lion' are descriptions of this creature. All descriptions originate from the mental space. I am a person, but my description consists of my name, height, and so on. My photograph is also a type of description.
So, humans have invented another "world"—the world of descriptions, or the mental space. This is essential for people to change the physical world and make it better[1]. That is why a system constructor in any project uses an important thinking technique—asking themselves: "What changes in the physical world as a result of my activity?" If an action, project, or activity does not at some point lead to a change in the physical world, then there is no point in doing it[2]. Resources will be spent, but the world will not become better as a result[3].
People have also invented theories to describe or model reality (to create descriptions)[4]. Worldviews or models[5] are descriptions of a part of the physical world that can be obtained using certain theories (at some point, people discovered how to take photographs). At the same time, there is no single description of the entire physical world. For example, a geographic map is a model or description of a specific territory, not of the whole universe. We understand that the territory exists in the real, physical world. And this territory can have many different descriptions (economic or political aspects, natural resources, etc.)[6].
Descriptions of the real world can be divided into two categories: scientific and non-scientific. Scientific descriptions include theories, disciplines, and transdisciplines. Non-scientific ones are stories, legends, superstitions, and myths. The difference is that theories provide an explanation of some part of reality that stands up to the test of the scientific method. This does not depend on who is verifying it. Moreover, a theory can be recorded using the same symbols in the form of formulas or concepts, and it conveys the same substantive meaning in different languages. In contrast, non-scientific theories do not have such formal rigor, although they also describe the physical world. However, from here on, we will talk only about scientific worldviews.
A constructor makes the world better by creating successful systems. ↩︎
Impressions you gain from carrying out an entertainment project can be considered a change in the world. ↩︎
For example, you could do a lot of paperwork that nobody needs. Or dig a hole and then fill it back in. ↩︎
And, of course, to create systems. But here we want to focus specifically on descriptions. ↩︎
Note that the word "model" in this context refers more to the content, although it can also mean a specific object. For example, I assembled a model airplane. ↩︎
As you might guess, each description addresses a particular subject of interest regarding the territory. ↩︎