[Richard Pfau (01.04.2019 13:15 EST)
I tend to agree with Fred. The thinking expressed in the article does seem to overlap with PCT.
Regarding the wood lice, (a) their random behavior matches PCT’s view of random behavior occurring when an organism’s behavior isn’t reducing error signals that are occurring, and (b) the boy’s conclusion that it was an illusion that the wood lice were not actually seeking the shade seems to simply indicate that the boy had focused on the wrong variable that the wood lice were controlling.
With Regards,
Richard Â
···
On Thu, Jan 3, 2019 at 6:31 PM Richard Marken csgnet@lists.illinois.edu wrote:
[Rick Marken 2019-01-03_15:29:58]
On Thu, Jan 3, 2019 at 11:53 AM Fred Nickols csgnet@lists.illinois.edu wrote:
FN: I read it [the article on Friston’s Free Energy principal]. It reeks of PCT. someone ought to clue Friston in.
RM: I agree that it reeks, but not of PCT. Indeed, Friston’s Free Energy principle seems to be a direct denial of PCT. For example, the article suggests that a central insight of the Free Energy principle is that the apparent purposefulness of behavior is an illusion:Â
He turned over an old log and spotted several wood licesmall bugs with armmadillo-shaped exoskeletonsmoving about, he initially assumed, in aa frantic search for shelter and darkness. After staring at them for half an hour, he deduced that they were not actually seeking the shade. âThat was an illusion,â? Friston says. âA fantasy that I brought to the table.â?
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RM: And what was Friston’s brilliant insight? It was that:Â
The creaturesâ movement was random; they simply moved faster in the warmth of the sun.
RM: So warmth (a stimulus) causes faster movement (the response). It seems to me that Friston is a bit confused about what is real (control) and what is illusion (S-R).Â
BestÂ
Rick
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On Thu, Jan 3, 2019 at 2:35 PM Franklin Lenk csgnet@lists.illinois.edu wrote:
 [From Frank Lenk 2019.01.03.13:31 CST]
Â
Ran into this line and had to send the link:
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âTo be alive, he says, is to act in ways that reduce the gulf between your expectations and your sensory inputs. Or, in Fristonian terms, it is to minimize free energy.â?
The Genius Neuroscientist Who Might Hold the Key to True AI
WIRED
https://www.wired.com/story/karl-friston-free-energy-principle-artificial-intelligence/
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Frank
–
Fred Nickols
Distance Consulting LLC
âAssistance at A Distanceâ?
www.nickols.us
–
Richard S. MarkenÂ
"Perfection is achieved not when you have nothing more to add, but when you
have nothing left to take away.â?
                --Antoine de Saint-Exupery