Human Mind Works Like This
Humans memorize sequences and patterns of actions. A melody is a sequence of notes. A harmony is
a pattern of notes. Music is a sequence of notes and harmonies. A pattern memorized forward cannot
easily be remembered backwards. If a human memorizes the alphabet, it would still be hard for her to
recite it backwards. This is not true of older robots, but is true of the new Turing Androids being
designed today.
Another ability which is incorporated in the human cortex is the ability to recall a pattern or sequence if
given only part of the pattern or sequence. To remember a song, a human might say, "Hum a few bars
and maybe I will remember it." This ability is called auto-associative recall.
A third ability of the human cortex is to create models or invariant representations of things. A circle is
an ideal of what humans see as "close enough" to call circles. A square need not be a perfect square to
be called a square. Templates are stored in the cortex and the figure will be closer to a circle or a
square. For example, a human face will tend to be the average of all faces that the person sees during
her life. The average face is considered the most beautiful because it is closest to the ideal, just as the
most accurate circle would be considered the most beautiful circle. But what would a person say if the
face were more round than the average face or if the face were more rectangular than the average
face? She would say he has a square face in spite of the fact that it really isn't close to being square,
but only "more square" than the average face. Another face may be described as more round than the
average face. Again, the face is not really close to being an actual circle, but it is on the "circle side" of
faces.
Models in the mind are the ability of the human cortex to create invariant representations of objects and
manipulate either the model or the perception in order to match them up. If a human sees a familiar
face from a new vantage point, this ability to match models to perceptions will allow her to recognize the
face although it may be in a different light, may be in shadows, or it may be in a new setting.
Beyond these three characteristics of the human cortex, another still more advanced function has
evolved. Humans have the ability to use all three of the above functions in a combined fashion which
allows them to predict the near future. If, for example, a fly ball is hit into center field with the wind
coming from a certain direction and the sun distracting a proper view of the ball, how does the center
fielder catch the ball? Answer: the center fielder has practiced and developed invariant models of fly
balls and learn to compensate for various distractions.
Humans memorize sequences and patterns of actions. A melody is a sequence of notes. A harmony is
a pattern of notes. Music is a sequence of notes and harmonies. A pattern memorized forward cannot
easily be remembered backwards. If a human memorizes the alphabet, it would still be hard for her to
recite it backwards. This is not true of older robots, but is true of the new Turing Androids being
designed today.
Another ability which is incorporated in the human cortex is the ability to recall a pattern or sequence if
given only part of the pattern or sequence. To remember a song, a human might say, "Hum a few bars
and maybe I will remember it." This ability is called auto-associative recall.
A third ability of the human cortex is to create models or invariant representations of things. A circle is
an ideal of what humans see as "close enough" to call circles. A square need not be a perfect square to
be called a square. Templates are stored in the cortex and the figure will be closer to a circle or a
square. For example, a human face will tend to be the average of all faces that the person sees during
her life. The average face is considered the most beautiful because it is closest to the ideal, just as the
most accurate circle would be considered the most beautiful circle. But what would a person say if the
face were more round than the average face or if the face were more rectangular than the average
face? She would say he has a square face in spite of the fact that it really isn't close to being square,
but only "more square" than the average face. Another face may be described as more round than the
average face. Again, the face is not really close to being an actual circle, but it is on the "circle side" of
faces.
Models in the mind are the ability of the human cortex to create invariant representations of objects and
manipulate either the model or the perception in order to match them up. If a human sees a familiar
face from a new vantage point, this ability to match models to perceptions will allow her to recognize the
face although it may be in a different light, may be in shadows, or it may be in a new setting.
Beyond these three characteristics of the human cortex, another still more advanced function has
evolved. Humans have the ability to use all three of the above functions in a combined fashion which
allows them to predict the near future. If, for example, a fly ball is hit into center field with the wind
coming from a certain direction and the sun distracting a proper view of the ball, how does the center
fielder catch the ball? Answer: the center fielder has practiced and developed invariant models of fly
balls and learn to compensate for various distractions.
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