Everything
we see around us or every word we utter has a different meaning and by meaning
we can say that it is a list of properties. The meanings then can be compared
and categorized into different groups each with their unique properties. The
word meanings are stored as the properties of a prototype. From our basic knowledge,
we can say that prototype is a unit representing a set of typical features. For
example, chair can a prototype for furniture since it fulfills almost all of
the typical features of a prototype; that is, it is either made of wood/metal,
it has four legs, used to sit on etc.
We
can make a list of these ‘typical features’ and match the features of a
particular object with the list and see if we can place it anywhere within the
list. In other words, we measure the typicality of the object. There is a
reason why we have to see where we ‘can place’ the object within the list. The
position of an object is not always concrete or fixed. The position will depend
on how many matches we get. Some objects are much more centralized – meaning
they have more or less all the properties. Others are not so clear. Some of the
properties may match whereas others may be completely different. Let’s look at
the prototype of mammals.
