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Newsgroups: comp.ai.neural-nets
Subject: Re: NN Question
Summary: ants do it well, though
Message-ID: <10149@nsc.nsc.com>
Date: 3 Mar 89 08:06:41 GMT
References: <32125@gt-cmmsr.GATECH.EDU> <1229@wasatch.UUCP>
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Organization: National Semiconductor, Santa Clara
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u-jmolse%sunset.utah.edu@wasatch.UUCP (John M. Olsen) writes:
> Just as an off-the-cuff observation, it looks to me like any gathering of
> (supposedly) independently behaving things (birds, people, models of 
> neurons) can be looked at as a larger entity.  Such an entity could 
> actually seem to be less complex than it's parts if they interact in 
> just a small number of ways.

I don't think so. Just read the chapter on Ants in "Goedel, Escher, Bach"
by Doug Hofstadter to see how the low-bandwidth connection between simple
interacting elements (ants) can lead to a complex result like arch-building.
Conversely, see how a brain-dead idea like Faschism can overtake the
consciousness of millions of interacting complex elements (us).

There is a dualism at work here, as with all material phenomena. Forgive
the universalist, holistic, mystic, schizoid appearance of this view!
The simple may combine to be complex, and vice versa in fact.
And all colours in between.
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