How deeply does LLMs in Production cover semiotic triangle?

Defines a recursive model and its sequencing markers, but stops short of the underlying philosophy.

Semiotic triangle in LLMs in Production

A semiotic triangle is a conceptual model that organizes relationships among signs, their forms, and what they represent or mean.

The semiotic triangle organizes how meaning emerges from signs, signifiers, and abstractions. It offers a lens for understanding how language models generate meaningful-looking language without proving human-like understanding. section 2.1.2

Its recursive structure models both the complete meaning-making process and each component separately. Firstness, secondness, and thirdness orient the sequence rather than serving as triangle points; the treatment emphasizes their practical order over deeper semiotic philosophy. section 2.1.2

From perception to interpretation

Feelings may attach to images and encodings before words and tables. Rituals, shared scripts, and familiar phrases then support interpreted action, eventually producing an interpretation or document. section 2.1.2

Figure 2.2 A recursive Peircean semiotic triangle is a system of organizing the process of extracting meaning from anything—in our case, from language. Each point on the triangle illustrates one of the minimal parts needed to synthesize meaning within whatever the system is being used to describe, so each point is a minimal unit in meaning for language. Firstness, secondness, and thirdness are not points on the triangle; instead, they are more like markers for the people versed in semiotics to be able to orient themselves in this diagram.

Use the recursive diagram to inspect the minimal meaning-making units and distinguish triangle points from the firstness, secondness, and thirdness markers. section 2.1.2

Figure 2.3 Starting at the top-left corner, follow the arrows to see the general order we use to build our interpretations and extract meaning from things we interact with. Here, we’ve replaced the descriptive words with some examples of each point. Try to imagine interpreting this diagram without any words, examples, arrows, or even the pragmatic context of knowing what a figure in a book like this is supposed to be for.

Follow the arrows and examples to trace the general order used to build interpretations from things encountered. section 2.1.2

How LLMs in Production covers it

Related concepts

This explainer was generated by Manning's knowledge graph from the text of LLMs in Production. The section links point to the parts of the book it draws on.