Most generally, a representation is a performing of selected functions or roles of another physical or abstract object/person/organization in predefined circumstances and it is based on the consensus of the group/community involved. For example, an ambassador or a sport team may represent their nation. Graphical figures or written symbolic text may represent some abstract ideas or physical objects. In general, a function is part of an answer to a question about why some object or process occurred in a system that evolved or was designed with some goal. ... A function is part of an answer to a question about why some object or process occurred in a system that evolved or was designed with some goal. ... WordNet gives four main senses for the English noun object: a physical entity; something that is within the grasp of the senses; an aim, target or objective — see Object (task); a grammatical Object — either a direct object or an indirect object the focus of cognitions or feelings. ... Person, in the classic sense, refers to a living human being. ... An organization or organisation (read more about -ize vs -ise) is a formal group of people with one or more shared goals. ... Look up Circumstance in Wiktionary, the free dictionary Circumstance or circumstances can refer to: Legal terms: Attendant circumstance Exigent circumstance Extenuating circumstances Other: Special Circumstances Pomp and Circumstance Marches Communities of Circumstance This is a disambiguation page — a list of articles associated with the same title. ... Consensus has two common meanings. ... An ambassador, rarely embassador, is a diplomatic official accredited to a foreign sovereign or government, or to an international organization, to serve as the official representative of his or her own country. ... One of the most influential doctrines in history is that all humans are divided into groups called nations. ...

In mathematics, the same concepts and their interrelations can be represented using different notations. Euclid, detail from The School of Athens by Raphael. ... A concept is an abstract, universal psychical entity that serves to designate a category or class of entities, events or relations. ...

In artificial intelligence, computer science, operations research, and systems science, the meaning of the term is similar to simulation, but simulation does not require a consensus and refers rather to the imitation of the behavior of the simulated object, whereas a representation refers rather to the expression of opinions or symbolic behaviors on the behalf of the represented subject. Hondas intelligent humanoid robot Artificial intelligence (AI) is defined as intelligence exhibited by an artificial entity. ... Computer science is the study of the theoretical foundations of information and computation and their implementation and application in computer systems. ... Operations research, operational research, or simply OR, is the use of mathematical models, statistics and algorithms to aid in decision-making. ... Systems science is the science of complex systems. ... A simulation is an imitation of some real device or state of affairs. ...

More particularly, representation can refer to:

• Representation (politics), one's ability to influence the political process
• Representation (arts), the depiction and ethical concerns of construction in visual arts and literature.
• Representative democracy
• Representation theory, a way of viewing abstract mathematical structures in some more concrete way (especially important are group representations)
• Knowledge representation, as a search for formal ways to describe knowledge presented in informal terms (a prerequisite for its handling as computation)
• The logical meaning of an object in object-oriented programming
• Legal representation or advocacy is provided by lawyers

Representation is also a key topic in the philosophy of mind and in social psychology. The Elections and Parties Series Democracy Liberal democracy History of democracy Representative democracy Representation Voting Voting systems Elections Elections by country Elections by calender Electoral systems Politics Politics by country Political campaigns Political science Political philosophy Related topics Political parties Parties by country Parties by name Parties by ideology Representative... Representation is a topic in visual arts, music and literature, it concerns the depiction and ethical and political concerns of image construction and narrativity. ... Representative democracy is a form of democracy founded on the exercise of popular sovereignty by the peoples representants. ... In mathematics Representation theory is the name given to the study of standard representations of abstract mathematical structures. ... Group representation theory is the branch of mathematics that studies properties of abstract groups via their representations as linear transformations of vector spaces. ... Knowledge representation is needed for library classification and for processing concepts in an information system. ... In computer science, object-oriented programming, OOP for short, is a computer programming paradigm. ... Advocacy is a parasol term for organized activism related to a particular set of issues. ... For information on the type of fish called Lawyer, see the article on Burbot. ... What is the mind? Phrenologists attempted to answer this question by correlating mental functions with specific parts of the brain. ... Social psychology is often conceived to be the study of how individuals perceive, influence, and relate to others. ...