From newshub.ccs.yorku.ca!ists!helios.physics.utoronto.ca!news-server.ecf!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!bonnie.concordia.ca!uunet!math.fu-berlin.de!uniol!tpki.toppoint.de!elrond!freitag Tue Nov 19 11:09:45 EST 1991
Article 1280 of comp.ai.philosophy:
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>From: freitag@elrond.toppoint.de (Claus Schoenleber)
Newsgroups: comp.ai.philosophy
Subject: Re: Chinese Room Variant
Keywords: ai philosophy searle expert system
Message-ID: <kas9aB8w164w@elrond.toppoint.de>
Date: 11 Nov 91 09:59:55 GMT
References: <1991Nov7.151439.3353@osceola.cs.ucf.edu>
Organization: Verlag Claus Schoenleber, Kiel
Lines: 59

clarke@next1 (Thomas Clarke) writes:

> While contemplating the application of expert system tecnhiques to education,
> was led to the following variation of the "Chinese Room."  Frankly, while I  
> find Searle's version unconvincing, I have a hard time shaking this one - 
> perhaps because of its mathematical flavor.
> 
> A child is taught an abstract system of computation with two operations @ and
> on the set of all finite strings formed from the set {A,B,C,D,E,F,G,H,I,J}.
> 
> The results of operations on singleton strings are defined by tables:
> 
>    & -table                  @ - table
> 
>     A  B  C  D ...								    A  B  C  D  E
>     ___________              ______________
> A  | A  B  C  D ...     A   | A  A  A  A  A ...
> B  | B  C  D  E ...     B   | A  B  C  D  E ...
> C  | C  D  E  F ...     C   | A  C  E  G  I ...
> D  | D  E  F  G ...     D   | A  D  G  J BC ...
>     ...                      ...
>         (By now you know that the system is decimal arithmetic).
> 
> The child is also taught the rules for forming @ and & of longer strings in  
> terms of the tables for singleton strings.
> 
> After much tutelage by an expert system, the child is able to perform & and @
> for arbitrary pairs of strings with nearly flawless accuracy.
> 
> My question is:  Does the child understand the concept of number? arithmetic?
> 
> I would say not; it seems to me there is more to number than computational
> manipulations.

I would say yes. Every day in the world there are children taught to handle
such strings in mathematics at school. There is no difference if you take
symbols of alphabet or digits 0 to 9, *if* the child is taught them from the
beginning.
And as I remember, my first performing in and multiplying numbers was
learned by heart. Later I learned to use those basic results in larger
multiplications. I don't think anyone else had a different "arithmetical
evolution".
There may be the fact that "understanding" is just another term for
"to get used to it" (see J.v.Neuman).

Any other ideas?

Regards, Claus.



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