"Where am I?" and "What day is it?" are usually the first questions a person asks as they emerge from unconsciousness. They're trying to find out where they are, so they can mobilize the knowledge appropriate to the context.
Knowledge becomes meaningful when it is applied, and in reality, knowledge is always applied to a specific place and time. Even memories are established in relation to an environment. Without localization, we remain "ethereal", with no real grip on reality. A.I. hallucinations are a perfect illustration of how disconnected they are from a context that is not sufficiently precise. People who don't fully understand their social context often make mistakes. An engineer knows that every soil on which he builds is different, and takes this into account in his calculations.
It is just as possible to locate for others by giving clear indications as it is to locate oneself in another environment by adopting one's bearings. Authors are capable of taking us into imaginary worlds that they know how to share with us, and in which we can imagine ourselves if we want to. Cosplay and fans of this world are ample proof of this. Even historical re-enactments play on our ability to situate ourselves in time and space.
In education, a good teacher understands the importance of the place where he teaches and its particularities. The better he understands it, the better he connects with his students and helps them to situate themselves. A speaker takes care to include a few local references for his audience. At every level, localization rhymes with relevance. Even the standardization of content is a form of "national" localization at its highest common denominator. But too much generalization makes knowledge irrelevant, disconnected from local or regional realities, unless it is adapted to local contexts, hence the need for teachers to be given latitude locally.
Each person can understand a situation from the point of view he or she adopts; this point of view may vary, but it is always situated. Taking a position remains a gesture of affirmation, and the only thing left to do is to assume responsibility for it.
Denys Lamontagne - [email protected]
Illustration: photosforyou - Pixabay
