Modality

1. In advance fee fraud (Nigerian 419 Scams), the term modality is used to describe the method of funds transfer. Often used in as a key word in scam baiting.
2. In computer science and particularly computer vision, modality refers to the type of input. That is, black-and-white, color and infrared are three different modalities for the acquisition of an image.
3. In human-computer interaction, a modality is a path of communication between the human and the computer, such as vision or touch.
4. In cognitive neuroscience, it is used to indicate a condition in which the stimulation of one sensory modality gives rise to an experience in another modality.
5. In language, modality is the subject concerning so-called modal auxiliary verbs like can, must, and should, that are customarily used to modify the meaning of other verbs (which in turn tend to take an infinitive form). Modal verbs express possibility (and impossibility, necessity, contingency, etc.), permissibility (and obligation, proscription, etc.), probability (and improbability, etc.). A distinction can be made between both linguistic modality and grammatical mood.
6. In medical imaging, a modality is any of the various types of equipment or probes used to acquire images of the body. Radiography, ultrasound and magnetic resonance imaging are examples for modalities in this context.
7. In music, modality is the subject concerning certain diatonic scales known as "modes" (e.g., Ionian). See musical mode.
8. In philosophy, modal logic is a form of logic which distinguishes between (logically) "necessary truths" and "contingent truths". Related topics are possibility, impossibility, actuality, and related predicates.
9. In semiotics, modality defines the types of sign and tests the extent to which any set of signs is real or unreal.
10. In theology, modality is the organization and structure of the church, as distinct from sodality or parachurch organizations.
11. In transportation, transportation modality

See also

• mode