Features
- Cover Type: Hard Cover with 245 pages
- Published by: Springer
- Edition: 1st Edition August 24, 2007
- Written in: English
- ISBN 10 Number: 3540496033
- ISBN 13 Number: 978-3540496038
-
Book Dimensions:
9.4 x 6.3 x 0.7 inches
- Weighs: 1.3 pounds
Book Description
Confabulation theory offers the first complete detailed explanation of the mechanism of cognition, i.e., thinking, an essential information processing capability of all enbrained Earth animals (bees, octopi, trout, ravens, humans, et al.). Concentrating on the human case, this book offers an hypothesis for the neuronal implementation of cognition, and explores the mathematics and methods of application of its mechanism. Thinking turns out to be starkly alien in comparison with all known technological approaches to information processing. While probably not yet scientifically testable, confabulation theory seems consistent with the facts of neuroscience. Beyond science, any complete detailed explanation of cognition can be investigated by applying it technologically. Multiple experiments of this nature are described in this book in complete detail. The results suggest that confabulation theory can provide the universal platform for building intelligent machines. In short, this book explains how thinking works and establishes the foundation for building machines that think.
With two DVDs of courseware, this book is suitable both as a text for professional self-study and for graduate and advanced undergraduate courses in neuroscience, computational intelligence, cognitive science, linguistics and psychology, the prerequisites being elementary mathematics and neuroscience. Because of the theorys implications for philosophy, education, medicine, anthropology and social science, this book will also be of interest to scientists in those domains.
About The Author
Robert Hecht-Nielsen was made a Fellow of the IEEE in 1997 for leadership in practical applications of neural network technology. He was a pioneer in the development of neural networks and authored the first textbook on the subject, Neurocomputing (1989). He has been a member of the UCSD faculty since 1986.
Reader Reviews
I heard about confabulation theory from an AGI video and looked forward to this book. The author presents a unique and relatively simple theory about the basic algorithm of the brain. Although the theory is incomplete, the big benefit of the book is presenting a thought provoking new view - and one based (I am not in a position to assess how accurately) on a substantial body of neuroscience. There is substantial redundancy resulting from use of text from the author's scientific papers - I kept asking myself, "didn't I already read this"? And although I'm in the KISS camp I am doubtful that the core algorithm can be quite as simple as confabulation theory supposes. Yet at the core are some fascinating ideas that present fuel for a much needed new direction in thinking about how to approach AGI, and sufficient concreteness from which to develop code experiments for AGI implementations.
Comment | |
(Report this)
Search for books at
