Thank you. (01)
For me to comment in any reliable detail on Ashby is not so easy. I read
the book so many years ago, and didn't fully understand it then. But it was
still a big influence on me, mostly for its strict formal methods, and the
parts I did understand -- which I tended to apply to studies in psychology
and epistemology, which I wanted to base on robust system methods. I had
the feeling then that Ashby had come to some rather amazing conclusions
based on mathematics and system theory alone -- and that these conclusions
did not seem to be fully appreciated or understood by the scientific
establishment. I'd have to work hard to make this case -- but I still
suspect its true. His book is not so much about "the human brain" (in the
sense of neurology) as it is about a pure mathematical model of adaption and
learning -- that he infers must therefore be applicable to the human brain
-- because humans display the kind of adaptive behavior he is describing.
I'll attach one screen shot from the .pdf. (02)
Albert Einstein
> Problems cannot be solved at the same level of awareness that created
them. (03)
That quote keeps popping up in my world. It has more or less convinced me
that the mysterious concept of "level of awareness" actually has to do with
ideas. When we have better ideas, our "level of awareness" (whatever that
is) improves. (04)
Bruce Schuman
(805) 966-9515, PO Box 23346, Santa Barbara CA 93101 (05)
-----Original Message-----
From: ontolog-forum-bounces@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
[mailto:ontolog-forum-bounces@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of John F Sowa
Sent: Tuesday, April 22, 2014 8:39 AM
To: ontolog-forum@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: Re: [ontolog-forum] Formal or functional specifications (06)
Bruce, (07)
My earlier response to your recommendation of Ashby's book, _Design for a
Brain_, was so short that it could be considered a dismissal. But I want to
emphasize that it was a good book for its day (1960). The basic idea that
any model we construct is a system of variables is true, and it should be
emphasized. (08)
But I'd also like to quote some caveats: (09)
Irving John Good
> I think that when we are speculating about very complicated adaptive
> systems, such as the human brain and social systems, we should
> especially beware of oversimplification -- I call such
> oversimplification "Ockham's lobotomy". (010)
Albert Einstein
> It is theory that decides what can be observed. (011)
Albert Einstein
> Problems cannot be solved at the same level of awareness that created
them. (012)
Alfred North Whitehead
> Seek simplicity but distrust it. (013)
Charles Sanders Peirce
> It is easy to speak with precision upon a general theme. Only, one
> must commonly surrender all ambition to be certain. It is equally
> easy to be certain. One has only to be sufficiently vague. It is not
> so difficult to be pretty precise and fairly certain at once about a
> very narrow subject. (014)
Summary: For any system as complex as the human brain, no model (i.e.,
system of variables) can be an adequate approximation.
But such models are necessary for precise, detailed reasoning. (015)
The best compromise is to build models that are "pretty precise and fairly
certain" for any particular problem we need to solve.
But a model that is adequate for one problem may be hopelessly inadequate
for another. We need a "sufficiently vague" framework that enables us to
talk about them and relate them to one another. (016)
The great power of natural language is the option of using the same
vocabulary and syntax for seamlessly moving from the vague to the precise --
and the option of talking about what level of precision or vagueness we are
assuming at any point along the way. (017)
John (018)
_________________________________________________________________
Message Archives: http://ontolog.cim3.net/forum/ontolog-forum/
Config Subscr: http://ontolog.cim3.net/mailman/listinfo/ontolog-forum/
Unsubscribe: mailto:ontolog-forum-leave@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Shared Files: http://ontolog.cim3.net/file/ Community Wiki:
http://ontolog.cim3.net/wiki/ To join:
http://ontolog.cim3.net/cgi-bin/wiki.pl?WikiHomePage#nid1J (019)
Ashbyp12-13.PNG
Description: PNG image
_________________________________________________________________
Message Archives: http://ontolog.cim3.net/forum/ontolog-forum/
Config Subscr: http://ontolog.cim3.net/mailman/listinfo/ontolog-forum/
Unsubscribe: mailto:ontolog-forum-leave@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Shared Files: http://ontolog.cim3.net/file/
Community Wiki: http://ontolog.cim3.net/wiki/
To join: http://ontolog.cim3.net/cgi-bin/wiki.pl?WikiHomePage#nid1J (01)
|
