Tag Archives: interpretation
07 Apr A Good Excuse for Heuristic Logic
Dichotomous logic is useful for reasoning about form or the way things are. Function, or cause and effect, however, is fuzzier because observation may not be enough to exclude other processes that lead to the same result. Heuristic logic applies to function instead of form, prescribing actions based facts. Heuristics often operate at a relatively […]
05 Apr Knowing About Agents and Instruments
Cause and Effect Causal knowledge can be learned by experience, as described in our friend Yorrick’s early experiences with the source of good feelings (Section 4: Seeds of Knowledge). The process of learning from experience is empirical and very fuzzy, meaning it is difficult to describe or replicate the learning process artificially. Cause can also […]
03 Apr Causal Chains in Action
Expectations are often influenced by our understanding of cause and effect. In physical interactions between our bodies and the external environment, and in social interactions between other complex people, we are capable of predicting an outcome long before it actually comes to pass. We are also capable of predicting an outcome immediately before it comes to pass, as […]
20 Mar Section 4 Intro – Perception and Cognition
Wha’cha Thinking? All the developers in the world could work forever to try to imitate brain functions, and even if they begin with a good understanding of the physiology of the brain and the microscopic mechanisms of electrical transmission between neurons, would have great difficulty passing a Turing test without some knowledge of perception, memory and cognition. Add Searle’s more demanding Chinese […]
20 Mar Thresholds in Fuzzy Logic
At what point does temperature change from cold to hot? Tell a person (or a computer) that the beach will be closed if the water is too cold, and their interpretation may differ from yours. This statement is subjective, as are many of the values applied to the thermometer at right. But if you tell […]
19 Mar Fuzzy Logic Section Intro
Why do we find Mr. Spock, Commander Data or C3P0 so lovable? We have all known people like them: they are the ones who see the world in black and white. Spock had an excuse – he was a Vulcan who knew a lot. Computers, on the other hand, can be downright exasperating when they get […]
18 Mar Monkeys with Typewriters at the Threshold
Monkeys and Machines What’s wrong with the random Hamlet? When is the last time you’ve seen monkeys with typewriters? First of all, we must ask if there is anything that is perfectly random. If there is, and it is not influenced by any physical law, then the asymptotic theory of random probability is valid, and […]
06 Mar Inference in the Face of Uncertainty
Do you know what I’m about to say? If your mind were not able to race ahead of the words and build a set of expectations about what comes next, you may not be able to understand me speaking or writing. But you can predict a lot more than your conscious awareness tells you. A […]
05 Mar Decide on Fuzzy Logic
In this section of Understanding Context, we describe not just how people think, but how they use their thoughts to guide their actions. We are particularly concerned with how people integrate multiple ideas or constraints into their thinking and decision-making processes, then put those decisions into action. It is sometimes said that the difference between information […]
01 Mar Hold Onto the Memories
When you see Grandmother, is there a cell or cluster of cells in your brain that light up and say: “I recognize that face – It’s Grandmother!” The Grandmother cell theory suggests that there is such a cell or group of cells where that knowledge is explicitly stored. Earlier posts included a discussion of feature selectivity […]