Michele Pasin / Quotes

Why we think in stereotypes

Human beings think in terms of stereotypes, for good reasons. Without mental short cuts, we simply couldn’t get by. There is just too much information to process, and we often have to be quite crude as to how we filter it. But these generalisations are bound to lead us astray.

Saved 23 April 2015

#thinking #information #cognitive-processes

Computations have no ontological status

Manzotti suggests that there is actually no such thing as information. Therefore, neither machines nor biologically based nervous systems can process it more…

Beyond Zero and One (Andrew Smart) #computation #information #ontology #cognitive-processes

Still no theory of how we attribute minds

Looking at the results from these various studies, it is hard to avoid having the sense that one should be able to construct a single unified theory that…

Can A Robot, An Insect Or God Be Aware?: Scientific American #cognitive-processes #intuition #psychological-state #theory

The Mundurucu and words for numbers

Numerical cognition and its relationship to linguistic evolution is a large area of active research. In contrast to the Mangarevan example, where a complex…

Beyond Zero and One (Andrew Smart) #number #language #culture #cognitive-processes

The common denominators of constructivist approaches

The common denominators of constructivist approaches can be summarized as follows. Constructivist approaches question the Cartesian separation between the…

Constructivist Foundations #cognitive-processes

A principle of intellectual integrity

Identify all of the assumptions upon which you base your theoretical commitments, then state these assumptions as clearly as possible, and finally examine…

Beyond Zero and One (Andrew Smart) #assumption #thinking #technology #brain

Bateson: what thinks is a total circuit

“We used to argue whether a machine could think. The answer is, ‘No’. What thinks is a total circuit, including perhaps a computer, a man, and an environment…

Introducing Artificial Intelligence (Henry Brighton and Howard Selina) #mind #externalism #environment #thinking