Learning

From: Adrian Tymes (wingcat@pacbell.net)
Date: Sun May 14 2000 - 11:43:50 MDT


Just bouncing a random idea off the list.

If, as some have suggested, the main ways that people learn new things
are to make analogies to things they already know and, when that
fails, to come up with totally new theories and try them, then could
intelligence be defined as a combination of one's abilities to...
* determine the correct model, out of all currently known models, to
  apply to a situation (which could be separated into knowing lots of
  models and being able to spot relevant similarities)
* determine when a situation is sufficiently different (again, judging
  by relevant similarities) from known models that applying known models
  would provide little benefit (and, in fact, may do harm by suggesting
  false analogies)
* dream up (or, when possible and preferable, observe and imitate) new
  models and refine them through simulation and/or application
...?



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