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From: rjc@cogsci.ed.ac.uk (Richard Caley)
Subject: Re: Roger Penrose's New Book (in HTML) 1.0
In-Reply-To: jeff@aiai.ed.ac.uk's message of Sun, 23 Oct 1994 22:22:07 GMT
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Date: Mon, 24 Oct 1994 19:49:50 GMT
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In article <Cy5Csv.JpC@cogsci.ed.ac.uk>, Jeff Dalton (jd) writes:

jd> But do his arguments go wrong because of this ignorance of AI or not?
jd> If they do go wrong, please say where and how.

As I remember, genetic algorithms were brought up because he had
argued from an assumption that no computational system can come up
with completely novel methods (rather than parameterisations of old
methods) to the idea that we needed quantum magic to explain
mathematical creativity. GAs _do_ come up with completely novel
methods (coming up with the _right_ novel method is, of course,
something else:-)), so his argument colapses and he would need to find
something specific about mathematical creativity that demanded magic.

The (old) book all seemed to fly at this level. We have this thing
called consciousness which no one understands, we have quantum gravity
which no one understands; Hey! they must be linked!

Maybe they are, but I don't see any reason to think there is anything
wierd going on at all, let alone new exciting pushing-back-the-boundaries-
of-physics stuff. 

--
rjc@cogsci.ed.ac.uk			_O_
					 |<
