February 11, 1995: "The Nature of Notational Engineering." Presented at the Third Interdisciplinary Conference on General Evolutionary Systems, sponsored by the Washington Evolutionary Systems Society.

1. Cover Page
The Nature of
Notational Engineering
Author: Jeffrey G. Long (jefflong@aol.com)
Date: February 11, 1995
Forum: Talk presented at the 3rd Interdisciplinary Conference on Evolutionary
Systems, sponsored by the Washington Evolutionary Systems Society.
Contents
Page 1: Proposal
Pages 2‐16: Slides intermixed with text for presentation
License
This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution‐NonCommercial
3.0 Unported License. To view a copy of this license, visit
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by‐nc/3.0/ or send a letter to Creative
Commons, 444 Castro Street, Suite 900, Mountain View, California, 94041, USA.
Uploaded June 22, 2011

2.
Abstract of proposed talk for the
3rd Interdisciplinary Conference on Envolutionary Systems
Washington Evolutionary Systems Society
February 11, 1995
The Nature of Notational Engineering
Many of us take our notational systems for granted, so much so that indeed a discussion of them may
seem boring. But writing, mathematical notation, musical notation, chemical notation, dance notation,
etc., were not always around. They were invented. Like any other technology, they evolved through
use. And like any other technology, each has its own distinct limits.
Once we cross these limits, our notations fail us and we are perplexed. We call "complex" any situation
that takes us across this "complexity barrier". As our notations improve, however ‐‐ as we invent the
infinitessimal calculus, or the staff musical notation, or fractal geometry ‐‐ we push out this complexity
barrier and can understand the world, and express ourselves creatively and artistically, in wholly new
ways. The goal of notational engineering is to systematically create new and more powerful notational
systems.
This discussion will be an introduction to the sciences of representation, the comparative study of the
taxonomies, foundations and characteristics of various formal symbol systems that are essential to our
ability to conceptualize. The talk will compare and contrast this study with semiotics and formal systems
theory in logic.
Jeff Long
133‐1/2 11th Street, SE, Washington, DC 20003
(202) 547‐0268 or jefflong@aol.com

3. Jeffrey G. Long [2/11/1995]
The Nature of Notational Engineering
The creative application of scientific principles
to design or develop structures, machines, apparatus,
or manufacturing processes,
or works utilizing them singly or in combination;
or to construct or operate the same with full cognizance of their design;
or to forecast their behavior under specific operating conditions;
all as respects an intended function,
economics of operation and safety to life and property.
(from Engineers Council for Professional Development)
Page 2 of 16

4. Jeffrey G. Long [2/11/1995]
The Nature of Notational Engineering
Definition of Engineering
The invention and full expression of an ontological invention;
i.e. an abstraction that has been minutely analyzed,
whose minute parts have been individually tokenized,
and whose rules of behavior have been documented.
Page 3 of 16

5. Jeffrey G. Long [2/11/1995]
The Nature of Notational Engineering
Definition of Notational System
Successful Notations Wannabe Notations
alphabet, chemical formulae,
Recognized algebra, dance,
Notations geometry, software design,
calculus, roadsigns
music,
logic,
cartography
Page 4 of 16

6. Jeffrey G. Long [2/11/1995]
The Nature of Notational Engineering
Unrecognized Notations speech, votes,
time, emoticons,
money ???
Examples of Notational Systems
Page 5 of 16

7. Jeffrey G. Long [2/11/1995]
The Nature of Notational Engineering
Informal Notational Formal
Symbol Symbol Symbol
Systems Systems Systems
-- cars, clothes, haircut -- speech, writing -- formal languages
-- advertising, writing -- applied mathematics -- symbolic logic
-- religious symbolism -- money, music -- pure mathematics
Semantics: Semantics: Semantics:
Syntax: Syntax: Syntax:
Three Kinds of Symbol System
Page 6 of 16

8. Jeffrey G. Long [2/11/1995]
The Nature of Notational Engineering
Fashions of Use Style Hemmingway, Whitman...
"i before e except after c..."
Rules of Use Grammar -- English, French, etc
words, letters, numbers...
Symbol Set Tokenization - Roman, Cyrillic, Hebrew, e
abstract truth, value,
Abstraction Ontological Invention quantity, relation, etc.
Levels of a Notational System
Page 7 of 16

9. Jeffrey G. Long [2/11/1995]
The Nature of Notational Engineering
4 ???
3 Codes, e.g. Morse, ASCII
2 Writing, e.g. alphabet
1 Speech, e.g. Englis
Page 8 of 16

10. Jeffrey G. Long [2/11/1995]
The Nature of Notational Engineering
Tiers of a Notational System
Tiers
Levels
Generations
Page 9 of 16

11. Jeffrey G. Long [2/11/1995]
The Nature of Notational Engineering
A Framework for Analyzing Notational Systems
Logic Arithmetic
implication numbers
Cartography
& Charts Speech
Sets Quantity
maps naming
Relation Truth
Experience
Change Form
lines,
time
circles Geometry
Calendars Value Procedure
& Clocks
money
notes & rests
Accounting Musical Composition
Page 10 of 16

12. Jeffrey G. Long [2/11/1995]
The Nature of Notational Engineering
Feature Main Options
Dimensionality 0-D, 1-D, 2-D, 3-D, n-D
Sense Modality Eyes, Ears, Touch, ...
therefore serial/parallel...
Injunctive Mode Prescriptive, Descriptive
Interpretation Rules Absolute, Relative
Source of Authority Author, Government, Profession...
Page 11 of 16

13. Jeffrey G. Long [2/11/1995]
The Nature of Notational Engineering
Whorf's theses of linguistic relativity were summarized by the semanticist Stuart Chase as follows:
"First, that all higher levels of thinking are dependent upon language. Second,
that the structure of the language one habitually uses influences the manner in
which one understands his environment. The picture of the universe shifts from
tongue to tongue."1
Restating this in notational terms, we might say:
First, that all abstract thinking is dependent upon the existence or invention of
notational systems. Second, that the underlying ontological inventions of the
notational systems one habitually uses influences the manner in which one
understands his environment. Acquiring literacy in a major notation causes us to
add a new dimension to our picture of the universe.
1 -- John B. Carroll (Editor), Language, Thought, & Reality: Selected Writings of Benjamin Lee Whorf. Cambridge
MA: The M.I.T. Press, 1956. Page vi
Page 12 of 16

14. Jeffrey G. Long [2/11/1995]
The Nature of Notational Engineering
 What metrics and tests should we use to measure effectiveness?
 What metrics can we use to measure efficiency?
 What are the human factors considerations?
 What new media could be utilized?
 What minimum benefit/cost ratio must a new notational system offer?
 What can we do to minimize notational inflation?
Page 13 of 16

15. Jeffrey G. Long [2/11/1995]
The Nature of Notational Engineering
Engineering Issues in Notational Engineering
 What are notational systems?
 How do notational systems evolve?
 Why does society accept new systems so slowly?
 What is the cognitive effect of acquiring literacy in a given notation?
Page 14 of 16

16. Jeffrey G. Long [2/11/1995]
The Nature of Notational Engineering
 Can there be a "periodic table of abstractions"?
 Can we systematically create new notational systems?
 What does a new notational system tell is (if anything) about reality?
Foundational Issues in Notational Engineering
Notational systems historically have taken centuries or millennia to develop, and
then additional centuries to be generally accepted. The objective of notational
engineering is to speed up this process by systematizing it.
Page 15 of 16

17. Jeffrey G. Long [2/11/1995]
The Nature of Notational Engineering
To forward this effort I have started a research center and clearinghouse for
people interested in all aspects of notational systems.
It is called the Notational Engineering Laboratory (NEL), and is located at George
Washington University.
We have a biweekly series of lunchtime seminars, to which the public is invited.
NEL has a World Wide Web site that can be accessed through the Internet at:
http://www.seas.gwu.edu/seas/institutes/nel
To get on the e‐mail list for NEL announcements, contact me at:
jlong@seas.gwu.edu
Page 16 of 16