Category: Biology of Information
-
Learning: Brain vs xNN
The neural and cognitive architecture for learning from a small sample is a nice article I would like to recommend. It highlights how human learners avoid generalization issues found in machine learning, proposes a general model explaining how the brain may simplify complex problems. Synergy between cognitive functions and reinforcement learning allows simplification.Recurrent loops between…
-
Less = More, “Lets Kill”
One of the great readings recently was the article from Adams, G.S., Converse, B.A., Hales, A.H. et al. in Nature: People systematically overlook subtractive changes. The summary video, clearly marks the point: Experiments show that people default to adding as a solution in various situations. It appears to be an uncommon insight. When solving problems, people prefer adding…
-
Can we get human nature right?
For years, I have the pleasure to follow the great blog site of Deric Brownd. I would like to share with you this post on the recent perspective on ‘Can we get human nature right?‘. Iris Berent does an interesting Perspective artice in PNAS that considers the strong intuitions that laypeople hold about human nature. People’s attitudes…
-
The magic of walking ….
I already suggested once: “Maybe – in this upcoming world of AI – we should not just walk on our own, but also ask our AI system to take a break and reflect on the good nature of its activities.” This suggestion is maybe more challenging for the AI and relevant for humans, according to…
-
Skills in Space
Mind in Motion: How Action Shapes Thought is a great book by Barbara Tversky. In this book, she argues that spatial thinking is the foundation of all thought, including abstract thinking. When there are too many thoughts to hold in mind, we put those thoughts into the world in various ways, and the way we put…
-
Does the quality of “Smart Information Processing” connect with the Default Mode Network ?
I was triggered by an article in Nature, explaining the atypical connectome hierarchy in ASD (Autism Spectrum Disorder). ASD is characterized by atypical sensory processing, while and deficits in high-level cognitive and social functions, including impairments in Theory of Mind and predictive abilities. The article points out that ASD might emerge from disturbances in macroscale cortical…
-
The Information Lens – helping to correct the failure of the Perceptron
In the rich history of information processing, the idea of the perceptron occurred, based on the founding ideas of the artificial neuron (McCulloch and Pitts, 1943). Including the available knowledge of learning, Frank Rosenblatt constructed the perceptron devices, building the first of artificial learning machines, and as such creating the first neural nets in 1957. As referenced in “Calling Bullshit” (Ch. 8, intro),…
-
Biological thinking – BCG
I want to share this BCG article on Biological Thinking, messy management for a complex world. Biological thinking matters for several important reasons: First, in complex adaptive systems, there is no single formula or framework that always works. In fact, the very defiance of formulaic problem solving is what makes CAS management so challenging initially.…
-
Friston: The Genius Neuroscientist Who Might Hold the Key to True AI, WIRED says.
Karl Friston’s free energy principle might be the most all-encompassing idea since Charles Darwin’s theory of natural selection. But to understand it, you need to peer inside the mind of Friston himself. Wired has a great article on this idea and researcher.Some inspiring exerpts and quotes: He realized that [it] had no larger purpose, at…
-
Coarse-graining as a downward causation mechanism
Apparent downward causation does not demand that estimates of aggregate properties be correct or even good predictors of the system’s future state or successful strategies (although that would be useful). Furthermore, components do not need to agree in their estimates of the variables. Apparent downward causation becomes effective downward causation—the strong form—when: As an interaction or environmental…
