Re: [Phys-L] What is understanding

[Ludwik Kowalski <kowalskil@mail.montclair.edu>]

In a later-posted message (same thread and same forum as below) I wrote: 

"Thank you for 'food for thought,' John P. Your use of the word 'metaphor' prompted me to do some googling. Here is what I found:

' ... Mark Johnson argue that metaphors are pervasive in everyday life, not just in language, but also in thought and action. A common definition of a metaphor can be described as a comparison that shows how two things that are not alike in most ways are similar in another important way. They explain how a metaphor is simply understanding and experiencing one kind of thing in terms of another. ... '

I did not try to understand the so-called "string theory." Perhaps someone will explain to us why the word "string" was chosen to name it, and how it helps people to understand the theory."

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No one responded so far. Perhaps someone will answer on this forum. Thank you in advance.

Ludwik 

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On Sep 11, 2016, at 3:41 PM, Ludwik Kowalski wrote:

> The following was posted by me thIs morning, on our university forum.
>
> Ludwik
>
> 	=============================================================
> Thank you Amy and David. Your posts helped me to formulate a presumably better (?) description of "understanding."
>
> Stephen Grimm < http://www.varietiesofunderstanding.com/ > wrote that human beings "have a natural desire to understand the world.  ... That desire has fueled the development of science, philosophy, and theology across time. But what exactly is understanding?"  My tentative answer to this difficult question is shown in blue below.
>
> Understanding, in a given field of knowledge, is the highest level of intellectual mastery of a subject matter.
>
> Those who claim to understand something are expected to be able, among other things, to explain the subject to themselves and to others. Acceptable ways to explain reality are different in different fields of knowledge. Ways to explain historical events, for example, are different from ways of explaining chemical reactions. That is why terms such as  "historical understanding, chemical understanding, intuitive understanding," etc. are sometimes used.
>
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