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From: bill@boulder.Colorado.EDU
Newsgroups: comp.ai.neural-nets
Subject: Re: What good are neural nets?
Message-ID: <18697@boulder.Colorado.EDU>
Date: 22 Mar 90 04:42:48 GMT
References: <68764@aerospace.AERO.ORG> <TED.90Mar21113353@kythera.nmsu.edu> <2355@rnd.GBA.NYU.EDU> <TED.90Mar21175729@kythera.nmsu.edu>
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Reply-To: bill@synapse.Colorado.EDU (Bill Skaggs)
Organization: University of Colorado, Boulder
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In article <2355@rnd.GBA.NYU.EDU> shankar@rnd.GBA.NYU.EDU 
(Shankar Bhattachary) writes:
>
>   If neural nets are indeed no more effective under any circumstances
>   than are more conventional methods, many of us could save ourselves
>   a lot of trouble.

  Well, a housefly, controlled by a neural net with computational power
similar to an 80386, solves robotics problems no conventional method
can begin to attack.  We don't understand how it does it, but it's way
too early to despair.

  One of the fundamental principles of creative problem solving is not
to be too critical of a newborn idea.  Give it a chance to grow for a
while, then decide.

	-- Bill Skaggs