Editing Meta (prefix) (section)

==Epistemology==
{{anchor|About}}
In [[epistemology]], and often in common use, the prefix ''meta-'' is used to mean 'about (its own category)'. For example, [[metadata]] is data about data (who has produced them, when, what format the data are in and so on). In a database, metadata is also data about data stored in a data dictionary, describing information (data) about database tables such as the table name, table owner, details about columns, etc. – essentially describing the table. In psychology, [[metamemory]] refers to an individual's [[knowledge]] about whether or not they would remember something if they concentrated on recalling it. The modern sense of "an X about X" has given rise to concepts like "[[meta-cognition]]" (cognition about cognition), "[[meta-emotion]]" (emotion about emotion), "[[meta-discussion]]" (discussion about discussion), "[[meta-joke]]" (joke about jokes), and "[[metaprogramming]]" (writing programs about writing programs). In a [[rule-based system]], a [[wiktionary:metarule|metarule]] is a rule governing the application of other rules.<ref>{{Cite conference |last1=Schild |first1=Uri J. |last2=Herzog |first2=Shai |date=1993 |title=The Use of Meta-rules in Rule Based Legal Computer Systems |series=ICAIL '93 |location=Amsterdam, the Netherlands |publisher=[[Association for Computing Machinery|ACM]] |pages=100–109 |doi=10.1145/158976.158989 |isbn=0897916069 |work=Proceedings of the 4th International Conference on Artificial Intelligence and Law}}</ref>

"[[Metagaming]]", accordingly, refers to games about games. However, it has a different meaning depending on the context. In [[Role-playing game|role-playing games]], this means that someone with a higher level of knowledge is playing; that is, that the player incorporates factors that are outside the actual framework of the game – the player has knowledge that was not acquired through experiencing the game, but through external sources. This type of metagaming is often frowned upon in many role-playing game communities because it impairs game balance and equality of opportunity.<ref>{{Cite web|title=METAGAME {{!}} What Does METAGAME Mean in Gaming?|url=https://www.cyberdefinitions.com/definitions/METAGAME.html|access-date=2021-11-19|website=www.cyberdefinitions.com}}</ref> Metagaming can also refer to a game that is used to create or change the rules while playing a game. One can play this type of metagame and choose which rules apply during the game itself, potentially changing the level of difficulty. Such metagames include campaign role-playing games like ''[[Halo 3]]''.<ref>Metagames, paragames and orthogames: a new vocabulary. M. Carter, M. Gibbs, and M. Harrop. FDG, pages 11–17. ACM, (2012 ).

[https://people.eng.unimelb.edu.au/mharrop/pdf/metagames.pdf https://people.eng.unimelb.edu.au/mharrop/pdf/metagames.pdf.]</ref> Complex card or board games, e.g. [[poker]] or [[chess]], are also often referred to as metagames. According to Nigel Howard, this type of metagame is defined as a decision-making process that is derived from the analysis of possible outcomes in relation to external variables that change a problem.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Howard|first=Nigel|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/277215|title=Paradoxes of rationality: theory of metagames and political behavior.|date=1971|publisher=MIT Press|isbn=0-262-08046-X|location=Cambridge|oclc=277215}}</ref>