An Expedient Mind: RECALL02

AN EXPEDIENT MIND

Tartan Hen Publications : Home | more books | Contact : feedback@tartanhen.co.uk

RECALL 02: Inheritance Hierarchies

Recall first how concepts are formed in this system. The structure I call the #trace is a chronologicl sequence of #states.
see Recall how states are formed
Whenever the current #state contains a #perception with a high level priority marker, the whole of the current #state is recorded in #episodic memory. So #episodic memory is a collection of important experiences recorded as a sequence of #states leading up to and including that important #state.
#Episodic memory is then processed by the compression algorithm. Repeating chunks of experience are extracted and stored as compression chunks #Concepts are then formed by a process of repeated compression applied to these stored compression chunks. This process has two main results.
progressive elimination of material which is peculiar to particular experiences, generates a hierarchical structure (called an inheritance hierarchy) in which the individual nodes at the bottom each have unique features (including an unique identity). Nodes at higher level in the hierarchy have features which are common to all the nodes which are at levels below them. This arrangement means that the particular properties of a whole class of nodes can be stored exactly once at a particular level in the hierarchy. All the nodes below that level are said to "inherit" the properties of the node above them.
A second result of the repeated compression process is that the commonality of the nodes can be recognised by virtue of the coommon associations or common contexts possessed by the different nodes. In this way, various experiences, such as the image-shape of a single entity from several different points of view, can be consolidated into a single concept. (because all these views have a common context). For example, all the views of a sheep from many different view points, will have a common context of "a field".
The diagram below illustrates a stylised inheritance hierarchy.

The entity "FIDO" will inherit all its "DOG" properties from the node above it. It will inherit its animate properties from the "ANIMAL" node, and it will inherit its properties of being an object (space, shape etc) from the "OBJECT" node.

USE THE RETURN BUTTON OF YOUR BROWSER TO RETURN TO WHERE YOU CAME FROM

Tartan Hen Publications : Home | more books | Contact : feedback@tartanhen.co.uk