Christopher Menzel wrote:
> On Aug 5, 2007, at 7:49 PM, richard murphy wrote:
>
>>Christopher Menzel wrote:
>>
>>>On Aug 5, 2007, at 11:37 AM, Frank Guerino wrote:
>>>...
>>>
>>>>Think of how the brain works and how it breaks down information and
>>>>also how it uses it to categorize, store, structure, correlate,
>>>>index, find, recall, aggregate, transform, format, render, etc.
>>>>everything it works with.
>>>
>>>What good it will do us to think about how the brain works? We do
>>>indeed need to deal with such issues as categorization, storage,
>>>recall, etc, but we're doing all those things on computers. How will
>>>thinking about how the brain works help us do those things better?
>>
>>Plenty. As with most of our prior creations, we make machines in
>>our own
>>image. Include software, mathematics and logic in this class of
>>machines. Peirce's manuscripts develop semiotics directly from how we
>>understand the world. We think in signs, as do machines.
>>
>>When we're lucky enough to have intersection between sender and
>>receiver, information flows easily. Otherwise, information sharing
>>is a
>>problem in knowledge, perception and belief, to steal a phrase from
>>Dretske.
>
>
> Interesting observations to be sure, though I can't see that any of
> them addresses the question of how it is that understanding how the
> brain, e.g., stores memories or keeps the heart beating or processes
> visual and auditory information will aid us in developing tools to
> facilitate information sharing and integration. Nothing you say even
> mentions brain function.
>
> -chris (01)
I can't say much about memories or heart beats, but in cognition we use
signs in processing visual, auditory and other sensory inputs. In
computation, machines use signs in processing inputs from sensors,
sockets, etc. So it's signs that provide the link between cognition and
information sharing. (02)
In addition to signs, there are many other links, such as the similarity
between intersection and understanding. Consider the following
definition of an information channel from Barwise and Seligman's
Information Flow: The Logic of Distributed Systems. (03)
"An Information Channel consists of an indexed family of infomorphisms
with a common codomain C, called the core of the channel." (04)
then consider the following Peirce quote from 1906: (05)
"There is the Intentional Interpretant, which is a determination of the
mind of the utterer; the Effectional Interpretant, which is a
determination of the mind of the interpreter, and the Communicational
Interpretant, or say Cominterpretant, which is a determination of that
mind into which the minds of the utterer and the interpreter have to be
fused in order that any communication should take place. This mind may
be called the commons. It consists off all that is an must be, well
understood between the utter and interpreter, at the outset, in order
that the sign in question should fulfill its function. This I proceed to
explain." (06)
The similarities between the core and the commens are striking. It's
getting to late to go into more detail tonight, so I hope you'll have
the opportunity to read a short paper I recently wrote that says more
about information flow as a formalization of information sharing. You
can find it here: (07)
http://www.rickmurphy.org/iffe-paper.pdf (08)
I enjoy reading your posts and value your perspective. I hope you'll
have the time to share your thoughts on the paper. (09)
BTW - Here's another perspective on the original question of what the
study of the brain tells us about information sharing and integration.
If our study of cognition determines everying that is cognizable, would
we expect that machines could conceive of a logic that is incognizable
to humans ? I think not and if not, then cognition seems fertile ground
for models of computation. (010)
Rick (011)
>
>
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