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Article 2456 of comp.ai.philosophy:
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>From: smoliar@hilbert.iss.nus.sg (stephen smoliar)
Subject: Re: Are we scaled-up slug-brains or not? (was "In the news...")
Message-ID: <1991Dec31.092826.17432@nuscc.nus.sg>
Sender: usenet@nuscc.nus.sg
Reply-To: smoliar@iss.nus.sg (stephen smoliar)
Organization: Institute of Systems Science, NUS, Singapore
References: <45328@mimsy.umd.edu> <1991Dec22.010502.26831@news.media.mit.edu> <45452@mimsy.umd.edu>
Date: Tue, 31 Dec 1991 09:28:26 GMT

In article <45452@mimsy.umd.edu> kohout@cs.umd.edu (Robert Kohout) writes:
> I'm 
>well aware that Dr.Minsky has been subject to a lot of unwarranted
>criticism in this regard, but the association between the book
>"Perceptrons" and the evaporation of interest in the area is an 
>historical fact.

Bob, this is sort of like saying that belief in the Loch Ness Monster "is an
historical fact."  The Loch Ness statement is certainly true, as there is no
end of documentary evidence to back it up;  but what does it have to do with
our understanding of the Loch Ness ecology?  Minsky is quite right in telling
us to stop reading the newspapers.  Journalists have no interest in furthering
the understanding of their readers in matters of scientific progress, and we
have no business hauling out old sensationalist tales when we should be paying
more attention to the convergence questions which, as Minsky observed, is still
open.
-- 
Stephen W. Smoliar; Institute of Systems Science
National University of Singapore; Heng Mui Keng Terrace
Kent Ridge, SINGAPORE 0511
Internet:  smoliar@iss.nus.sg


