The Geometry of Environmental Knowledge

Theoretical and empirical work on the geometry of environmental knowledge is discussed. Certain patterns of distance and directional estimates collected from humans have been interpreted as being due to non-metric or non-Euclidean spatial knowledge. I argue that attempts to determine this geometry are inconsistent with existing theoretical models of human knowledge storage and use. Spatial estimation data are more parsimoniously explained as resulting from: (a) measurement error and ambiguity, (b) multiple and uncoordinated long-term memory representations, and (c) processes taking place when spatial knowledge is activated and used.

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