DM-30 - Vagueness

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Learning Objectives: 
  • Compare and contrast the meanings of related terms such as vague, fuzzy, imprecise, indefinite, indiscrete, unclear, and ambiguous
  • Describe the cognitive processes that tend to create vagueness
  • Recognize the degree to which vagueness depends on scale
  • Evaluate vagueness in the locations, time, attributes, and other aspects of geographic phenomena
  • Differentiate between the following concepts: vagueness and ambiguity, well defined and poorly defined objects and fields, and discord and non-specificity
  • Identify the hedges used in language to convey vagueness
  • Evaluate the role that system complexity, dynamic processes, and subjectivity play in the creation of vague phenomena and concepts
  • Differentiate applications in which vagueness is an acceptable trait from those in which it is unacceptable