A computer system is often designed to mimic the workings of the brain, primarily for the task of statistical learning. However, this term is a bit misleading, since it is not at all likely that the brain learns in even a similar way to the way computers (even networked ones) save and retrieve data from memory. Nonetheless, whether accurately depictive or not, it is a remarkable programming. In very generalized terms, data comes from several distinct sources (often with their own processors analyzing input. Each source is called a neuron and has a weight of influence. The data is scaled according to the neurons current weight. The central computer determines the successfulness of this pool and updates the weights accordingly. Thus it seems to learn, which processes influence the outcome more heavily in complex tasks. Of course, this implies fore-knowledge of the goal, which brains don’t consider and computers can’t do without, However, the pooling and dynamic weighing process is no less effective once the analogy to the brain is discarded.
Published in Chapter:
Technological Social-ism
Judson Wright (Pump Orgin Computer Artist, USA)
Copyright: © 2009
|Pages: 32
DOI: 10.4018/978-1-60566-352-4.ch020
Abstract
Culture is a byproduct of our brains. Moreover, we’ll look at ways culture also employs ritual (from shamanistic practices to grocery shopping) to shape neural paths, and thus shape our brains. Music has a definite (well researched) role in this feedback loop. The ear learns how to discern music from noise in the very immediate context of the environment. This serves more than entertainment purposes however. At a glance, we often can discern visual noise from images, nonsense from words. The dynamics are hardly unique to audial compositions. There are many kinds of compositional rules that apply to all of the senses and well beyond. The brain develops these rule sets specific to the needs of the culture and in order to maintain it. These rules, rarely articulated, are stored in the form of icons, a somewhat abstracted, context-less abbreviation open to wide interpretation. It may seem somewhat amazing we can come up with compatible rules, by reading these icons from our unique personal perspectives. And often we don’t, as we each have differing tastes and opinions. However, “drawing from the same well” defines abstract groupings, to which we choose to subscribe. We both subscribe to and influence which rule-sets we use to filter our perceptions and conclusions. But the way we (often unconsciously) choose is far more elusive and subtle.