Content vs Context

Context vs Content

The fact that the same "content" can have a totally different meaning (or function), if it is put in a different context, may be elusively obvious, i.e., it is both self-evident and extremely significant.

For instance, a cell in a human brain may be considered not very different from a cell found in an arm, biology-wise. Yet, the function that the former fulfils is totally different from that of the latter. The implication of this fact is that there is no big intrinsic difference between these two kinds of cells.

The same metaphor may be used for the difference, say, between an important politician and an ordinary civilian; both of them may be very similar, from the points of view of their biology, physical abilities, behaviour, IQ, education, etc., but the function of their thought and behaviour may be totally different. Again, the difference between the two may not be as big as it seems.

This difference of function is closely related to the concepts of "Chunk Up" and "Chunk Down"; the same elements can have a totally different function or meaning, depending on which logical type they are situated in.

It is interesting to note that the same element can become both a context (pattern, rule, etc.) and a content (detail, result, etc.) depending on which logical type it is placed in. More specifically, the same element which is a context on one logical type can become a content on a higher logical type, and vice versa.

This subject is also closely related to Robert Dilts' elegant description of how NLP functions.