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From: zmacv61@flamingo.doc.ic.ac.uk.doc.ic.ac.uk (L K C Leighton)
Newsgroups: comp.ai.neural-nets
Subject: Re: step function
Keywords: learning,generalization
Message-ID: <1026@gould.doc.ic.ac.uk>
Date: 8 Sep 89 20:45:51 GMT
References: <1667@hydra.riacs.edu>
Sender: news@doc.ic.ac.uk
Reply-To: zmacv61@doc.ic.ac.uk (L K C Leighton)
Organization: Imperial College Department of Computing
Lines: 40

Subject: Re: : Step Function
Summary: Bias and Basis

>Re: message from danforth@hydra.riacs.edu.UUCP (Douglas G. Danforth), 768
>Tony Russo writes:
>
>>I can't tell you; this appears to be getting very deep. On the surface,
>>it seems that biases are  !necessary! for learning anything at all.
>>If so, then the biases are probably hard-wired and not learned, since
>>they would have to be learned in terms of other biases, etc.
>
>>Does this make sense to anyone else, or have I gone off the deep end?
>
>     bias can also be looked upon as a "basis".  By choosing a biased view of
>     the world one does at least have a place to stand.  If an organism has
>     a  collection of biased views then there is a possibility that the collection
>     can "span" a space and act as a basis for representing any other biased
>     view in that space.

I read a book on improving memory recall recently - it noted that we use
our existing knowledge, i.e the current state of a neural network, to
'cross-reference' and memorise a new pattern.  the more cross-referencing
we do, the less likely we are to forget something.
	if we don't know ANYTHING, then we have nothing to judge what we are
presented with, and cannot learn anything new.  on the nn level, if we have
no neural links at present, then we cannot have any new neurons firing!!!
so yes, a "basis" - some sort of (biased) neural links are vital!  i'll
never knock someone for having biased views of the world, again!  after all,
it only appears to be human...


comments welcomed...


| Luke Leighton @ Imperial College          |   zmacv61@uk.ac.ic.doc           |
| they said it was impossible.  i agreed.   |   tharg@uk.ac.ic.cc              |
| i said it was impossible. they disagreed. |   (On Janet :-)                  |
| Luke Leighton @ Imperial College          |   zmacv61@uk.ac.ic.doc           |
| they said it was impossible.  i agreed.   |   tharg@uk.ac.ic.cc              |
| i said it was impossible. they disagreed. |   (On Janet :-)                  |