CLJan 1
Language as Mathematical Structure: Examining Semantic Field Theory Against Language GamesDimitris Vartziotis
Large language models (LLMs) offer a new empirical setting in which long-standing theories of linguistic meaning can be examined. This paper contrasts two broad approaches: social constructivist accounts associated with language games, and a mathematically oriented framework we call Semantic Field Theory. Building on earlier work by the author, we formalize the notions of lexical fields (Lexfelder) and linguistic fields (Lingofelder) as interacting structures in a continuous semantic space. We then analyze how core properties of transformer architectures-such as distributed representations, attention mechanisms, and geometric regularities in embedding spaces-relate to these concepts. We argue that the success of LLMs in capturing semantic regularities supports the view that language exhibits an underlying mathematical structure, while their persistent limitations in pragmatic reasoning and context sensitivity are consistent with the importance of social grounding emphasized in philosophical accounts of language use. On this basis, we suggest that mathematical structure and language games can be understood as complementary rather than competing perspectives. The resulting framework clarifies the scope and limits of purely statistical models of language and motivates new directions for theoretically informed AI architectures.
NAMay 4, 2018
GETMe.anis: On geometric polygon transformations leading to anisotropyDimitris Vartziotis, Juri Merger
This work contributes to the analysis of linear geometric polygon transformations with the aim to force a desired shape by an iterative procedure.
NAAug 28, 2017
A geometric mesh smoothing algorithm related to damped oscillationsDimitris Vartziotis, Doris Bohnet
We introduce a smoothing algorithm for triangle, quadrilateral, tetrahedral and hexahedral meshes whose centerpiece is a simple geometric triangle transformation. The first part focuses on the mathematical properties of the element transformation. In particular, the transformation gives rise directly to a continuous model given by a system of coupled damped oscillations. Derived from this physical model, adaptive parameters are introduced and their benefits presented. The second part discusses the mesh smoothing algorithm based on the element transformation and its numerical performance on example meshes.
NANov 17, 2014
Convergence properties of a geometric mesh smoothing algorithmDimitris Vartziotis, Doris Bohnet
We describe a simple geometric transformation of triangles which leads to an efficient and effective algorithm to smooth triangle and tetrahedral meshes. Our focus lies on the convergence properties of this algorithm: we prove the effectivity for some planar triangle meshes and further introduce dynamical methods to study the dynamics of the algorithm which may be used for any kind of algorithm based on a geometric transformation.