Context

When we talk, a lot of our conversations are about setting context. Context is the collection of facts and events that accompany knowledge. Out of context. knowledge is fluid. Knowledge takes the shape of whichever context it is part of. Context about any information gives perspectives and insights into data. It lets us observe the connection between data.

In that sense, when I say "context“, I mean a metadata of relations. When we are able to access that metadata for any given data, we gain deeper insights into relations it has to the rest of the information system. We open up a tree of knowledge, or more accurately, a knowledge graph.

If you think of data as fixed points in spacetime based on when and where they occur, you can think of context as the map that shows you what is around it. Depending on your location, you should see the paths that leads there, and the paths that lead to it. So, no matter where you land in that graph, you should be able to find how a given data fits in the larger context. You should also be able to access the neighbourhood, so to speak.

Collective human memory is spontaneous, sporadic and short-lived. That is the natural way we interact with each other and with the world around us. This makes structuring natural human discussion difficult.

Loosely structured discussions die early. They encourage rapid participation, but soon become less discoverable, and eventually fade from collective memory. Think of what happens in chat apps.

Strongly structured discussions can become rigid. They become more organized, but at the expense of losing the larger picture. They also limit the scope of participation, for good reasons. Imagine seeing a thread of conversation without any clue about why people are talking about it. We often get that feeling in Twitter.

In both these cases, we lose out on the context.

We need systems which can lend some structure to record and retrieve the knowledge contained in the collective. We also need systems which accommodate our spontaneity and creativity, while retaining all possible contexts in the information we produce. A fine balance between chaos and order of information.

Context can be affected

Lack of context can result is lack of complete knowledge of data. These are the key areas in which there can be a loss of context.

Loss of information in translation

This can be due to:

• Language differences
• Cultural differences
• Technological differences

Information overload

Navigating connections between data can be too overwhelming, given the multitude of connected information. So, context needs focus. But focus can also introduce bias.

Access restrictions

• Limited availability
  • Lack of access to internet
  • Censorship
    • Social norms
    • Sensitivity of information
    • Political motive
  • Accessibility (a11y)
  • Limited discovery