Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Posting-Version: version B 2.10.1 6/24/83; site minn-ua.UUCP Path: utzoo!linus!philabs!seismo!harpo!ihnp4!stolaf!umn-cs!minn-ua!sew From: sew@minn-ua.UUCP Newsgroups: net.ai Subject: Re: intelligence and genius - (nf) Message-ID: <920@minn-ua.UUCP> Date: Mon, 30-Jan-84 13:26:03 EST Article-I.D.: minn-ua.920 Posted: Mon Jan 30 13:26:03 1984 Date-Received: Wed, 1-Feb-84 01:56:39 EST Sender: notes@minn-ua.UUCP Organization: Univ. of Minn. Computer Center, Minneapolis Lines: 22 #R:sri-arpa:-1568100:minn-ua:2300001:000:756 minn-ua!sew Jan 30 10:30:00 1984 An article in Nature (June 83? Also a few months later in Psychology Today) suggested that mammal brains might use a related approach to help determine reality. The idea is that when mammals dream, the "lower" brain is feeding random signals into the "higher" brain and whatever responds is inhibited. Thus many false connections would get broken, along with some infrequently reinforced good connections. The concept seems to be simple. If a connection responds to a random signal, it is probably a random connection. Remove random connections what what will be left is connections which are part of patterns. "To make a statue of an elephant, remove everything which does not look like an elephant." Scot E. Wilcoxon ...ihnp4!umn-cs!minn-ua!sew