On Monday 06 August 2007 15:09, Duane Nickull wrote:
> Does it really involve breakdown and analysis?
>
> I can program a mainframe to view a rubber ball and calculate a space
> time coordinate where a robotic arm can intercept the ball and catch
> it after one bounce. I would have to feed in numbers for constant
> effect of gravity, mass of ball, air resistance, durometer reading of
> ball, initial trajectory and velocity etc.
>
> How is it a dog can catch the ball but does not process any of this?
> I think there is something more than simple calculations. (01)
What would the "something more" be? The dog has only his experience and
a two-dimensional, time-varying image projected on his retinas to go
on. It's certainly impressive that vertebrates can build dynamic
internal 3-D models of the world in which they're immersed based only
on visual input and that they can perform predictive projections of
their behavior into the (near) future. But if they could not, it would
be hard form them to find food, especially for the predatory species
and those that fly. (02)
So the dog most certainly _does_ possess the representational and
computational machinery necessary to effect such computations, even if
they're not carried out symbolically (as your computer would, assuming
it's a digital computer). And whether the calculations are "simple" or
not and whether or not they are carried out with an awareness that
that's what's happening, it certainly is happening. (03)
Similar computations are inherent to purposeful and coordinated skeletal
movement. (04)
It's entirely possible that some of the parameters of the system become
more or less "hard-wired" through the dog's post-natal development, as
he experiences the particular gravity, air viscosity, atmospheric index
of refraction etc. of this planet. And likewise, the dog could be
fooled by altering those parameters or by, say, substituting a ball
with unusual characteristics (e.g., non-uniform elasticity), but the
same is true of humans and of your programmed robot. (05)
> Duane (06)
Randall Schulz (07)
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