Re: Foul ups in brain functioning = Creativity?

Hara Ra (harara@shamanics.com)
Sun, 26 Jan 1997 19:37:08 -0800


Chris Hind wrote:
>
> On the topic of creative machines I came up with the idea, could creativity
> be caused by foul ups in the functioning of our brain much like
> hallucinogenics do but on a far tinier level? Should we simulate the
> effects of acid on AIs to generate creativity? Perhaps some of us have more
> fucked-up brains than others resulting in our greater creativity while
> other far better functioning brains become engineers. I don't mind having a
> fucked-up brain!
>
I actually think that both dreams and psychedelics work by increasing
the noise
within the brain. Noise applied at higher levels than pixels or
individual sensations
can lead to very interesting things. The Genetic Algorithm works
similiarly by
random exchange of data strings. I watched a video where the GA was
applied to
problem solving by modifying LISP strings, with the only constraint
being that
the LISP strings had correct syntax. In Neural Networks there is
something called
the Boltzmann Machine which also makes use of noise to escape the local
minimum
problem.

O---------------------------------O
| Hara Ra <harara@shamanics.com> |
| Box 8334 Santa Cruz, CA 95061 |
O---------------------------------O