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Article 5707 of comp.ai.philosophy:
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>From: learn@speedy.acns.nwu.edu (William J. Vajk)
Subject: Re: Mean thoughts on what meaning means
Message-ID: <1992May17.141053.7695@news.acns.nwu.edu>
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Organization: Dares No Organization Like Dis Organization
References: <1992May14.221449.3721@spss.com> <1992May15.152549.13330@psych.toronto.edu> <1992May17.071803.28448@ccu.umanitoba.ca>
Date: Sun, 17 May 1992 14:10:53 GMT

In article <1992May17.071803.28448@ccu.umanitoba.ca> Antun Zirdum writes:

>In article <1992May15.152549.13330@psych.toronto.edu> Michael Gemar writes:

>>Imagine trying to learn how to read Chinese from a Chinese-Chinese
>>dictionary.  You want to know what "squiggle-squoggle" means.  So
>>you look it up, and its definition reads: "Squoggle squiggle-squiggle
>>squaggle squoggle."  Do you now know what "squiggle-squoggle" means? 
>>Of course not.  Is there any way to bootstrap yourself *solely* using
>>the Chinese-Chinese dictionary?  No.     

>	Again, you speak on matters which you have no
>knowledge of. How did Helen Kehler get bootstrapped?
>It seems to me that a dictionary lookup intelligence
>will not be able to refer to much except words, but
>that does not mean that it cannot refer to ANYTHING.

Helen Keller didn't suddenly bootstrap easily using a newly built neural
network and some single piece of new information. She was led to water,
so to speak, after a memorable life experience of well over a decade.
During that lifetime she was learning many things. The "bootstrap" was
comprehension of the interrelationships of the knowledge she already had
which then opened her to the possibilities of further learning and
comprehension.

Bill Vajk



