Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!eecae!cps3xx!cpsvax!hillman
From: hillman@cpsvax.cps.msu.edu (Thomas Hillman)
Newsgroups: comp.ai
Subject: Re: Reasoning during dreams
Message-ID: <2293@cps3xx.UUCP>
Date: 28 Mar 89 18:15:17 GMT
Sender: usenet@cps3xx.UUCP
Reply-To: hillman@cpsvax.cps.msu.edu (Thomas Hillman)
Organization: Michigan State University, Computer Science Department
Lines: 20
In-Reply-To: <1406@wasatch.UUCP>

In article <1406@wasatch.UUCP> you write:
>In article <1368@hub.ucsb.edu> silber@sbphy.ucsb.edu writes:
>>In dreaming, ... [things are different]. 
>>I am interested in any NET-speculation re: this phenomenon and its
>>interpretation from the standpoint of a-i.

  There are two types of dreaming: day dreaming and nocturnal dreaming.
They both tie together with the idea of imagination.  To be able to
imagine something real or unreal is a very powerful ability.
  Should computers be able to imagine?  What does that mean, imagine?
I was recently at a lecture given by Herb Simon where the notion of
visualization to perform reasoning was discussed.  Here was an example
that he gave:
  Image a rectangular box. Now draw a line from one side of the box to
the other at the midpoint of the longest side.  Next draw a line from
one corner to another.
  Question: Do the two lines intersect?  Can you imagine that they do?
Can you prove it on paper?

   --Tom-