Concept Definition and 1000 Threads

Concepts are defined as abstract ideas or general notions that occur in the mind, in speech, or in thought. They are understood to be the fundamental building blocks of thoughts and beliefs.
They play an important role in all aspects of cognition. As such, concepts are studied by several disciplines, such as linguistics, psychology, and philosophy, and these disciplines are interested in the logical and psychological structure of concepts, and how they are put together to form thoughts and sentences. The study of concepts has served as an important flagship of an emerging interdisciplinary approach called cognitive science.In contemporary philosophy, there are at least three prevailing ways to understand what a concept is:
Concepts as mental representations, where concepts are entities that exist in the mind (mental objects)
Concepts as abilities, where concepts are abilities peculiar to cognitive agents (mental states)
Concepts as Fregean senses (see sense and reference), where concepts are abstract objects, as opposed to mental objects and mental statesConcepts can be organized into a hierarchy, higher levels of which are termed "superordinate" and lower levels termed "subordinate". Additionally, there is the "basic" or "middle" level at which people will most readily categorize a concept. For example, a basic-level concept would be "chair", with its superordinate, "furniture", and its subordinate, "easy chair".

Concepts may be exact, or inexact.
When the mind makes a generalization such as the concept of tree, it extracts similarities from numerous examples; the simplification enables higher-level thinking.
A concept is instantiated (reified) by all of its actual or potential instances, whether these are things in the real world or other ideas.
Concepts are studied as components of human cognition in the cognitive science disciplines of linguistics, psychology and, philosophy, where an ongoing debate asks whether all cognition must occur through concepts. Concepts are used as formal tools or models in mathematics, computer science, databases and artificial intelligence where they are sometimes called classes, schema or categories. In informal use the word concept often just means any idea.

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  1. U

    Why Use (ε - .002) for Young's Modulus Calculation?

    Hi all, I am trying to wrap my head around this and for some reason I am blocked. I have taken Solid mechanics and strength of materials and am always used to calculating strain as ε=ΔL/L. I might be missing something easy as it has been a year since the class but in my Manufacturing...
  2. J

    Is Life-Sized Quantum Hovercraft Racing Feasible for a Thesis Topic?

    Hi to everyone, I study industrial design at faculty of mechanical engineering and It is time to start thinking about the theme of my thesis. So I have seen this, and was terribly dissapointed, when I found out it's just CGI. We've all seen quantum levitation videos before, so this thing is...
  3. V

    Concept to differential equations

    Question: Explain why you cannot solve the ordinary equation? x^2y'' + xy' + (x^2-1)y = 0 My attempt: I don't need to solve it, but just simply state why I can't with just differential equations So my answer is, This differential equation does have a solution, it's just not expressable in...
  4. J

    Understanding the concept of every open set being a disjoint union

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  5. V

    Pizoelectrical Flashlight concept help

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  6. AakashPandita

    Confusion regarding the concept of acceleration along a component

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  7. D

    Is light matter, or just a concept of vibrations in a medium?

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  8. rrw4rusty

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  9. B

    Light Greetings: Understanding UV Light & Zinc Electron Energy

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  10. T

    Centre of Charge analogous to Centre of Mass, Valid Concept ?

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  11. Mathelogician

    MHB Question on the concept of " Identity "

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  12. H

    Clear my concept of weightlessness

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  13. ShreyasR

    Basic doubt about a concept in Optics

    This may sound really silly but yeah, a plane mirror, and a white sheet of paper, both reflect all the wavelengths of light incident on them. So Instead of a plane mirror, if I use a white sheet of paper, Why don't I see a reflection of myself? I have studied ray diagrams, and i know how an...
  14. L

    Understanding Mass in Relativity Theory: Definitions and Conflicting Views

    The term "mass" is the source of many conflicting opinions among the authors writing on relativity theory. Different authors denote by this term different concepts. Quite often even the same author denotes by mass different concepts in his different writings. For instance when introducing...
  15. T

    Confused about a very basic concept: Pressure.

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  16. Newtons Apple

    What is the purpose of grounding in electronics?

    Hello everyone. I'm very...very new to electronics, and am looking to get into the 'maker' world, of building small electronics, and projects. One concept though that has bothered me is the concept of grounding. Now I've come to understand that ground wires in homes have that bottom plug...
  17. N

    Voltmeter: Concept of Letting Rg Be Resistance of Galvanometer

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  18. H

    Mapping the Concepts of Mathematics: A Comprehensive Guide

    Hi, Is there a concept map that actually shows all the concepts of math, and how they relate to each other? Kind like this one but more complete. I alreaady searched the web and didn't find anything, that's why I'm here so, Please Help. Thanks.
  19. C

    Understanding the concept of Kinetic Energy

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  20. M

    Current leading voltage or vice versa concept

    Hello, I was wondering if there is a conceptual explanation for when current leads voltage or vice versa for capacitors or inductors with AC voltages, or is it just the way the math pans out?
  21. X

    Free fall acceleration concept question

    Homework Statement A student throws a set of keys vertically upward to her sorority sister in a window 4m above. The keys are caught 1.5s later by the sister's outstretched hands. (a) With what initial velocity were the keys thrown? (b) What was the velocity of the keys just before they were...
  22. S

    Spring Problem with Possible Conservation of Energy Concept ?

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  23. D

    Concept to extract heat energy from objects

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  24. F

    Mass-spring system in SHM concept question

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  25. R

    Index of Refraction Concept - Extremely Confusing

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  26. R

    Stressed about Physics Exam Help with refractive index concept

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  27. dexterdev

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  28. L

    Finding Magnetic Field for Infinite Sheet Concept

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  29. E

    Is Circular Polarisation the Same as Linear Polarisation?

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  30. B

    Photons, speed and energy - Beginners concept question

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  31. I

    Angular velocity concept question

    Homework Statement Homework Equations The Attempt at a Solution How are their angular velocities the same? I thought Angular velocity = v/r where v = velocity and r = radius. In this case isn't the radius of big ben much larger and therefore have a much smaller angular velocity?
  32. P

    Why is the concept of a one dimensional box used?

    I'm not sure I know all that I should to understand it. I'm posting to try and determine if I do. Knowing what I know, however, it seems unnecessarily confusing. Almost all students I talk to agree. Why not just call it a particle on a line segment? Or just moving in one dimension?
  33. L

    The concept of parity and it's significance

    Hi, I am revising my intro to nuclear physics class and was wondering why is parity so important ? I mean OK, I get it, physicists are crazy about symmetries, but I do not understand what does it physically mean... I was wondering if someone could possibly talk me through its importance and...
  34. H

    The concept of rotational equilibrium

    Here is a text from my Physics Book : The net external torque on the object about any axis must be zero for it to be in rotational equilibrium. I divide the torques into two categories, anticlockwise and clockwise. (This approach works fine for 2-D objects but will it work for 3-D objects...
  35. C

    Exploring Simple Harmonic Motion in Physical Pendulums

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  36. C

    Concept Problem: Oscillation and friction

    So I feel as though I have the correct solution, but am not positive. My problem is as follows: A block of mass M is at rest with respect to a surface which oscillates horizontally with sinusoidal motion described by the equation x(t)=Asin(ωt). Find an expression for the minimum value of the...
  37. M

    Concept of Work and Conservative Forces

    Can work also be the transformation of energy? For instance, an object in free fall goes from an initial height (that has potential energy) to a final height where there is kinetic energy. If energy is conserved then how is work being done?
  38. Q

    Exploring the Concept of Cosine Tuning

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  39. L

    Does the concept of dipole moment of charged molecule exist or not?

    Generally the concept of dipole moment is used in neutral system, ie the total positive charge equals to the total negtive charge. Could the concept and also the calculation be used in charged system? For example, NaOH, (Na+)(O-2)(H+), we can calculate its dipole moment. Could I calculate...
  40. M

    Fascinating Factorials: Exploring the Mystery of the Last x! in (x + y)!

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  41. S

    What is the most counter-intuitive concept in the relativity theories?

    Thanks! Please answer, Mr. Donis! Also, if someone could simplify the difference between a reference frame (used today) and a reference body (used in Einstein's book) please do so!
  42. A

    How can diffraction be explanined using the concept of wavelength.

    hi.. I have been struggling, since a long time, to understand how is the diffraction pattern obtained by a slit of width of the order of the wavelength of light used is obtained, but found no answers! As per the idea of wave theory (and Fermat's principle) it is the wave nature (specifically...
  43. J

    A concept problem in overpressure

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  44. L

    I am very confused about the physical meaning of the concept flux

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  45. A

    How to understand the concept behind the rolling spool on a tabletop

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  46. Q

    Why Does Tension Affect Both Masses Equally in a Pulley System?

    I'm having some very basic conceptual problems about tension. If you have a pulley where two masses are hanging on opposite ends of an ideal string, why is the upwards force that the one mass experiences the same as the upwards force that the other experiences? People have tried to explain...
  47. M

    What simple concept am I missing about moments?

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  48. Square1

    Concept of Rate: Understanding Division of Different Units

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  49. B

    Confirmation concept questions eigenfunctions and operators

    Homework Statement Are the momentum eigenfunctions also eigenfunctions of e free particle energy. Operator? Are momentum eigenfunctions also eigenfunctions of the harmonic oscillator energy operator? An misplayed system evolves with time according to the shrodinger equation with potential...
  50. J

    Evaluate Renewable Energy Concept

    Hello, . . I have this concept sketch, of a new configuration from what I have been seeing in,. "wave energy", (in this case tide flow force energy), . . I believe that generally speaking, as a concept, there seems to be advantages. Although this is just the water wheel without turbine in...
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