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Context in Computing pp 455–470Cite as

Context and Granularity

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Abstract

Granularity is one of the core aspects of context. This chapter gives an overview of three perspectives on granularity—size-based granularity, partition-based granularity, granularity in contextual reasoning—and discusses their interrelation. The author identifies three types of granularity: perceptual granularity refers to the fact that any perceptual system has a certain limited resolution; conceptual granularity indicates that the categories in which we think are tied to levels of granularity; physical granularity, finally, refers to the structures, sizes, and densities that exist in the physical world. This chapter discusses the interplay between the three types of granularity and how perceptual granularity could have been fundamental in the evolution of cognition.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    The representational granularity of Galton (2000) corresponds to what is called here perceptual granularity, his intrinsic granularity is related to the notion of physical granularity employed in this chapter.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Carnegie Mellon University, Kigali, Rwanda and Pittsburgh, PA, USA

    Hedda Rahel Schmidtke

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  1. Hedda Rahel Schmidtke
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Correspondence to Hedda Rahel Schmidtke .

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  1. University Pierre and Marie Curie (UPMC), Paris, France

    Patrick Brézillon

  2. University of Central Florida, Orlando, Florida, USA

    Avelino J. Gonzalez

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Schmidtke, H. (2014). Context and Granularity. In: Brézillon, P., Gonzalez, A. (eds) Context in Computing. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4939-1887-4_28

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4939-1887-4_28

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