From newshub.ccs.yorku.ca!torn!cs.utexas.edu!uunet!secapl!Cookie!frank Tue Nov 24 10:51:54 EST 1992
Article 7626 of comp.ai.philosophy:
Newsgroups: comp.ai.philosophy
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>From: frank@Cookie.secapl.com (Frank Adams)
Subject: Re: grounding and the entity/environment boundary
Message-ID: <1992Nov12.210437.18656@Cookie.secapl.com>
Date: Thu, 12 Nov 1992 21:04:37 GMT
References: <1992Nov10.161749.20605@mp.cs.niu.edu> <1992Nov11.225713.139123@Cookie.secapl.com> <1992Nov12.044520.20154@mp.cs.niu.edu>
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In article <1992Nov12.044520.20154@mp.cs.niu.edu> rickert@mp.cs.niu.edu (Neil Rickert) writes:
>It is not at all clear that this is an advantage.  One of the criticisms
>of former president Reagan was that he was too thoroughly grounded in
>the 1950s (the criticism was worded differently, of course).

It was worded differently because it had a different meaning.  A better
translation is that he was insufficiently grounded in the 1990s.

>Memory
>has a cost quite apart from the hardware cost and the cost of organization.
>Excessive memory results in reduced adaptability.

There is no such simple relationship.  Humans have much better memories than
amoebas, and also much better adaptability.

Excessive preoccupation with particular memories results in reduced
adaptability.  But if you can not think of something for 30 years, and then
have it available when you want it, that is clearly an advantage over not
having it when you want it.


