Generalizations and instantiations

Knowledge memes are the smallest complete unit of knowledge but they, in turn, have unique characteristics that define them. How do we know that one person’s experience of the color ‘red’ is the same as another person’s experience of ‘red’? We know it because any knowledge meme is composed of both generalizations and instantiations. A generalization is an idealized description of the knowledge meme. It is based on an objective definition of the knowledge meme – it may not be what is observed in nature. The concept ‘red’ can be defined in terms of specific wavelengths of light, but it is difficult for most people to understand or recognize a concept based on such a description. What we see in nature as an example of a knowledge meme (such as the concept ‘red’) is the particular instantiation of the knowledge meme. These instantiations are important for people to recognize and distinguish between objects that are true examples of the knowledge meme in question. Some examples of different knowledge memes are so similar that a person may confuse them. That is why many instantiations (examples) are needed to narrow down the difference between competing knowledge memes.