Augmented Human Cognition: A Taxonomy

Augmented Human Cognition refers to the enhanced mental processes that enable individuals to effectively perceive, understand, and interact with the world. This taxonomy categorizes the various elements that contribute to sophisticated cognitive functioning, each representing a crucial aspect of how the mind processes, integrates, and applies information.

1. Knowledge

• Definition: Knowledge is the foundational layer of augmented cognition, encompassing the facts, data, and information that an individual has acquired through study, education, and experience. It serves as the raw material for more complex cognitive processes.

• Attributes:

  • Acquisition: Gained through learning, observation, or instruction.

  • Types: Includes declarative (knowing what), procedural (knowing how), and conditional (knowing when and why) knowledge.

• Summary of Differences: Knowledge is what you know.

2. Imagination

• Definition: Imagination is the ability to form mental images, concepts, or ideas that are not present to the senses. It is the foundation for envisioning possibilities, creating scenarios, and generating ideas that go beyond current reality.

• Attributes:

  • Visualization: The power to picture things that do not yet exist or are not directly observable.

  • Ideation: The generation of new and innovative ideas, often serving as the precursor to creative thinking.

  • Exploration: The mental exploration of possibilities, enabling abstract thinking and the envisioning of alternative realities.

• Summary of Differences: Imagination is how you envision possibilities beyond current reality.

3. Understanding

• Definition: Understanding represents the ability to synthesize and integrate knowledge, allowing for the comprehension of concepts, principles, and systems. It involves recognizing patterns, relationships, and the underlying logic behind information.

• Attributes:

  • Depth: Transforms raw knowledge into meaningful insights.

  • Insight: Enhances understanding by enabling the recognition of deeper connections and underlying patterns.

  • Application: Facilitates problem-solving, analysis, and prediction.

• Summary of Differences: Understanding is how you make sense of what you know.

4. Skills

• Definition: Skills are the practical abilities and competencies that enable individuals to perform tasks effectively. They represent the application of knowledge and understanding in real-world contexts, refined through practice and experience.

• Attributes:

  • Proficiency: Measured by the efficiency, accuracy, and ease with which tasks are performed.

  • Development: Enhanced through training, practice, and feedback.

• Summary of Differences: Skill is what you can do.

5. Experience

• Definition: Experience is the cumulative result of exposure to various situations, challenges, and activities over time. It enhances both knowledge and skills by providing context and real-world application, shaping intuition and judgment.

• Attributes:

  • Breadth: Covers a wide range of scenarios, from routine to novel.

  • Depth: Involves repeated exposure and reflection, leading to mastery.

• Summary of Differences: Experience is what you have done.

6. Insight

• Definition: Insight refers to the sudden and deep understanding of a complex situation or problem, often leading to innovative solutions or new perspectives. It involves seeing connections and patterns that are not immediately obvious and synthesizing information in a novel way.

• Attributes:

  • Imagination: Enhances insight by allowing the exploration of possibilities and the mental combination of disparate ideas.

  • Intuition: Often arises from a subconscious integration of knowledge, experience, and understanding.

  • Creativity: Leads to novel ideas, approaches, or interpretations.

  • Breakthroughs: Enables individuals to overcome obstacles or solve problems in unexpected ways.

• Summary of Differences: Insight is how you perceive deep connections and generate innovative solutions.

7. Wisdom

• Definition: Wisdom is the capstone of augmented human cognition, embodying the ability to make sound decisions and judgments. Informed by knowledge, deep understanding, extensive experience, insight, and ethical considerations, wisdom involves the capacity to foresee long-term consequences, balance competing values, and apply cognition in a way that benefits both the individual and society.

• Attributes:

  • Ethical Judgment: Incorporates moral and ethical dimensions into decision-making.

  • Foresight: Involves the anticipation of future outcomes and long-term thinking.

  • Prudence: Reflects careful consideration and moderation in actions.

  • Insight: Deepens wisdom by allowing for a profound and intuitive grasp of complex situations, enhancing the quality of judgments and decisions.

• Summary of Differences: Wisdom is how you apply what you know, can do, and have done to make sound decisions.

Summary of Differences:

• Knowledge is what you know.

• Imagination is how you envision possibilities beyond current reality.

• Understanding is how you make sense of what you know.

• Skill is what you can do.

• Experience is what you have done.

• Insight is how you perceive deep connections and generate innovative solutions.

• Wisdom is how you apply what you know, can do, and have done to make sound decisions.

This complete summary includes the distinct role of understanding in making sense of acquired knowledge and integrates all other cognitive elements into a coherent taxonomy.