# Kent Mcclelland's paper

**URL:** <http://discourse.iapct.org/t/kent-mcclellands-paper/6046>\
**Category:** CSG1996\
**Created:** [October 2, 1996, 7:18pm UTC](http://discourse.iapct.org/t/kent-mcclellands-paper/6046 "1996-10-02T19:18:06Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 1\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Avery\_Andrews1](http://discourse.iapct.org/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/a/b3f665/32.png) [@Avery\_Andrews1](http://discourse.iapct.org/u/Avery_Andrews1)\
**Post date:** [October 2, 1996, 7:18pm UTC](http://discourse.iapct.org/t/kent-mcclellands-paper/6046/1 "1996-10-02T19:18:06Z")

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[Avery Andrews 960210]

I haven't finished reading Kent's paper yet, so maybe I should keep  
quiet until I have, but I'll speak up now in case I've missed something  
that somebody will point out to get me back on the track quickly.

1. I think it's somewhat overoptimistic about the PCT model of the  
nervous system, which has the big problem that we (PCT workers in  
particular, and everybody else, as far as I can see) don't know much  
at all about how the perceptual systems work. As was discussed  
a few years ago, we don't know how to build a fridge-door recognizer,  
so we don't know how to build a system to control the degree to  
which the fridge-door is open. Even worse for `hi level' things like  
language.

2. I don't like using the word `accomodation' to refer to situations  
where different controllers merely have non-conflicting goals, such  
as the housemates A and B, where A wants fresh paint and clean windows,  
and B wants nice grass and tidy garden-beds, and there's plenty of time  
and money for both references to be satisfied. In this case the  
references are just independent of each other, & there's not much  
interesting to say, I think.

What is interesting is when references start out at least somewhat  
incompatible, and get harmonized. For example Cindy & I might want  
to move a table (back) into position; we would presumably agree  
on its orientiation (square with the room), so there'd be identical  
references for that variable, but we wouldn't necessarily have  
\*identical\* references for its position. But we wouldn't take it  
to some place between our different references and then just stand  
there pulling (and maybe shouting at each other), tho I've certainly  
seen children behaving this way. We'd either just put it down  
somewhere, or, if both of us really cared about the location, we'd  
have a negotation, put it where we agreed, and walk away. Since  
the control stops, the references must have changed to become the  
consistent (I think we maybe need a some terminological development  
to deal with different systems' perceptions of the same CEV),  
and I'd rather see `accomodation' used to refer to situations where  
people harmonize previously divergent reference-levels (this is  
consonant with the use of this term in sociolinguistics, where it  
refers to a proces whereby people mutually adjust their pronunciation,  
etc. towards each other's dialect).

Avery.Andrews@anu.edu.au