I have a simple question, how do we learn?

You might think I'm silly for posing such a question but when one really tries to think about it, learning is a very difficult thing. Some people say we start learning even before we are born. But inconveniently we have no recollection of how we started learning.

As a programmer it has always been my dream to create an form of artificial intelligence. We see it almost everywhere today in fiction. Cartoons, movies, even advertisements. Artificial intelligence is the next big thing that the future of technology holds.

But it isnt such an easy thing to achieve. As knowledge isnt something so easily gained. It is possible to create a program that responds to some stimuli, but we cannot predict every outcome, and there is where the limit of current programs lie. To overcome this, we need for programs to be able to learn.

The question I pose however does not have anything to do with computers or programs. Making use of the knowledge of how humans learn to create artificial intelligence is the outcome. But what I am aiming for today is just the knowledge of how, as humans, we start learning.

I apologize if the question I pose is too vague. I will try to clarify as replies given and questions about my question are submitted.

CONTINUE READING BELOW..
Added 14-01-2012
[Because I feel it is relevant to those who are visiting this post for the first time so as to continue the discussion]

Wow its been almost a year now since I started this topic and surprisingly even with so few replies it is still alive.

Anyways, in the past year, while no I did not get any closer to accomplishing my dream of creating the true form of artificial intelligence, I did surprisingly learn that the question "How do we learn" does not just apply to when creating artificial intelligence.. it is so much more important that just that.

Learning.. is from my point of view the ONLY major obstacle which inhibits our ability to advance further as a species. Knowledge has been a major player in the way we ended up how we are today. You see, the only thing separating us from say, chimpanzees is merely the ability to accept, apply and retain knowledge. Chimps are by far naturally better built for survival than humans, so if we possessed only the same amount of knowledge capacity as the chimps, the process of natural selection would have long since taken humans out of the planets gene pool.

My point being, thus far, as a species, we have amassed an unimaginably large amount of information/knowledge. Unfortunately, most of this knowledge has now been lost due to the fact that whomever possessed the information/knowledge has passed on, or they did not manage to write it down, or whatever they wrote got destroyed, or worse yet, they deemed that their knowledge was useless, and did not see the point in sharing. Just one scenario, albeit a little controversial, but all so that you can relate to my stream of thought..

We are in the year 2012, the doomsday year as many believe or wish they did not. Now what sparked the controversy is the Mayan calendar or so I am lead to believe, so imagine IF we possessed the complete knowledge of our kind, we would know exactly WHY the long count ends in 2012, or maybe whether the cycle repeats after 2012, or even IF it was a calendar in the first place. And so all this confusion could have all been avoided.

The above might have been a little out of line with the discussion at hand but it brings me to my main point. The ONLY MAJOR obstacle we face as a species that we are not able to accept, apply and store information at an efficient enough rate a.k.a we aren't learning fast enough and neither are we thorough in our learning. Take another simple example, language, everyone who has tried to pick up a new language knows that it is difficult unless immersed into an environment that forces you to pick up the language but even then it takes longer than it should. So IF we understand HOW WE LEARN, I believe we as a species would be able to overcome the greatest obstacle since we learn't how to convey our knowledge to one another.

This post has been edited by Mesosmagnet: Jan 14 2012, 04:25 PM

very hard to explain in detail.....
here's my opinion :

a)needs and wants>action to fulfill needs and wants>assessment of the result of action>return to step 2 if needs and wants not fulfilled and action is changed......if needs and wants is fulfilled, action is "reinforced" or remembered.

b)conditioning
for details : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Classical_conditioning
generally the organism learn something(in this case relate bell to food) when repeated "reward"(fulfillment of needs or wants)


c) reinforcement
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reinforcement


additional reading material : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operant_conditioning

Behavioral algorithm and the expectable responses are patterns that can be recognized and used to develop interactive programs such as Windows in PC, advertising / marketing, governance to war strategy and religious scripture.

You must identify the patterns of your user group to create the responses, common sense for the general user or the targeted group are different. Take 3D software as example, newly developed programs are very easy to use and the old one are meant for people who began to use it since it was created based on old mentality (method), so the algorithm is from architectural / engineering to artistic sculpturing / painting today for ordinary people.

learning is inborn, as my lecturer said...it's natural and goes at its own pace...

sometimes, we fail repeatedly when learning something. however, when the right time comes (which is through maturation), we automatically get it...

in the beginning, there is curiosity.

learn from mistake...
no mistake no learn..

Neural Network

You learn the most when you start thinking.

THE STORY:
Recall your experience when you were a young kid getting on a bicycle for the first time. You paid tremendous attention to keeping your balance and steering. Perhaps you needed stabilizers until you've mastered the skill. Yet, some weeks or months later, you became competent and didn’t have to relearn each time you cycle away. That's because you generalized from one experience to the next.

THE GOOD:
Do you know that your ability to generalize from past experiences is an important skill that saves huge amounts of time and energy in learning about the world? These generalized experiences can also be represented by words. Think of the word ‘car’. You know what one’s like: you’ve sat or driven on many and seen different types. As a kid, you discover that the word represents a particular car. Then you make a generalization. So the next time you see a car, you’re able to name it. And now, whenever you see a car, you understand its function.

THE BAD:
Although vitally important to communication, the skill of generalization can also limit your experience of options and differences in certain contexts. When you have a bad experience, you may expect it to happen time and time again. For example, a man who experiences a string of unhappy romantic encounters may conclude that ‘all women are a pain’ and decide that he’s never going to meet a woman with whom he can live happily.

THE CONCLUSION:
Generalizing is a way of simplifying things in our mind. And by ignoring the exceptions to the rule and making things absolute we are cutting down the variables to make an easier-to-manage representation in our mind.

good question, i would say my answer is very much influenced by my belief in God. Learning is a natural capability of a man, who is created in the image of God.

Learning is, biologically, in-charge by serebelum (well i'm not good with bio terms). So learning is good =D

During my study day, my learning capability only start working 1 day before final examination ..

set a target, everyone have their own Everest mountain to climb on， these target should be the one u r interested and can achieve. start imagine the joyfulness when u climb on that mountain. If cannot pay fully attention on one subject, dare to give up and find another mountain. Learning process would be oppressive if u foster urself doing something that u r not interested in. <---- u can ignore this sentence if u feel that i'm talking crap

just my 2 cents

We learn by making mistake. We learnt when we want to achieve that one thing. And we learn because we want to improve our knowledges. But we can't finish learning all the things around because we don't know where to start it first. =.='

most of people learn by its observation. they see how ppl doing things, and compare each of them.

Wow its been almost a year now since I started this topic and surprisingly even with so few replies it is still alive.

Anyways, in the past year, while no I did not get any closer to accomplishing my dream of creating the true form of artificial intelligence, I did surprisingly learn that the question "How do we learn" does not just apply to when creating artificial intelligence.. it is so much more important that just that.

Learning.. is from my point of view the ONLY major obstacle which inhibits our ability to advance further as a species. Knowledge has been a major player in the way we ended up how we are today. You see, the only thing separating us from say, chimpanzees is merely the ability to accept, apply and retain knowledge. Chimps are by far naturally better built for survival than humans, so if we possessed only the same amount of knowledge capacity as the chimps, the process of natural selection would have long since taken humans out of the planets gene pool.

My point being, thus far, as a species, we have amassed an unimaginably large amount of information/knowledge. Unfortunately, most of this knowledge has now been lost due to the fact that whomever possessed the information/knowledge has passed on, or they did not manage to write it down, or whatever they wrote got destroyed, or worse yet, they deemed that their knowledge was useless, and did not see the point in sharing. Just one scenario, albeit a little controversial, but all so that you can relate to my stream of thought..

We are in the year 2012, the doomsday year as many believe or wish they did not. Now what sparked the controversy is the Mayan calendar or so I am lead to believe, so imagine IF we possessed the complete knowledge of our kind, we would know exactly WHY the long count ends in 2012, or maybe whether the cycle repeats after 2012, or even IF it was a calendar in the first place. And so all this confusion could have all been avoided.

The above might have been a little out of line with the discussion at hand but it brings me to my main point. The ONLY MAJOR obstacle we face as a species that we are not able to accept, apply and store information at an efficient enough rate a.k.a we aren't learning fast enough and neither are we thorough in our learning. Take another simple example, language, everyone who has tried to pick up a new language knows that it is difficult unless immersed into an environment that forces you to pick up the language but even then it takes longer than it should. So IF we understand HOW WE LEARN, I believe we as a species would be able to overcome the greatest obstacle since we learn't how to convey our knowledge to one another.

So let the discussions continue..

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roger_Schank

TS,

If you are interested, you could read anything that is written by Roger Schank. He spent 30+ years on learning.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Systems_theory

Now, if you are interested in learning any system quickly, you could study System Theory.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I_Ching

The first book on System Theory was I Ching. It was drawn 6,000 to 7,000 years ago before words and language was created. Chinese spent a few thousand years trying to explain the pattern of change.

There are multiple levels of learning / thinking.

There are THINKING.

There are THINKING behind THINKING.

Then, there are THINKING behind THINKING behind THINKING.

The LOWEST level is information.

The next level is interpretation of information.

Then, the next level is the Model that the interpretation of the information is based on.

Level 1 -> I see color Red

Level 2 -> Color Red is good

Level 3 -> Based on Chinese culture / world model / history, Chinese interpret Red is Good.

Learning could be at level 1, 2, 3. To really understand WHY Chinese interpret Red is good versus other Culture see Red as bad, you have to go to the Thinking behind Thinking. Aka, the model where the Thinking is based on.

Philosophy is one of the area that you can look at.

Dreamer

P.S.: There is a FUNDAMENTAL PROBLEM in your thinking. You ASSUME that the problem that we have is lack of information. Is that so??

http://www.brainrules.net/

Check out the latest research and information on human brain.

TS,

I am a Zen Buddhist..

So, I leave you with this story....

One day, the student asked the Zen master what is the secret of life??

The master replied, do the right thing and do not do the wrong stuff.

The student said everybody know that. Even a small kid know that.

The master replied, if that is true, why even a 70 years old person cannot do that??

Knowledge was never the problem. We know. We just cannot do the right thing at the right time. So, telling people about right and wrong is useless. They know. They just cannot do. Knowing right from wrong was never the problem.

The Golden Rule was good enough.

Treat others like how you like to be treated.

You do not need anything else.

Dreamer

Hi Dreamer,

I havent read all the wiki articles and done my research yet, so I will for now only address your last question in the postscript.

Yes, to put it simply I am implying that we do have a lack of information, maybe not that it isnt in our brains, but rather that because of our way of learning things, we are unable to access all the information when needed. You see for things that are physical like riding a bike, no matter how long it has been since we've ridden one, we never forget how to ride a bike. I am probably very likely wrong, but I think it has to do with how our brain accepts, processes and stores information. So if we are able to figure out how our brain accepts processes and stores information then maybe we'll be able to control our brain better to process or store the information better for immediate retrieval.

Well now back to reading the articles you posted. Thanks~

Ts,

Knowledge is not wisdom.

Dreamer

True we are learning at the pace we are capable of but if you look at it in a different perspective, we human are able to absorb large amount of knowledge and information accumulated or passed on from generations to generations.

The struggle I believe is to explore new knowledge.

Like an infant, first it would appear difficult to grasp the most simplest idea but once we master it we are open to a whole level of knowledge and understanding.

As times goes on mankind will struggle with more complex ideas than the previous generation.

------

So to answer your question, how do we learn.

I would say we learn by interpreting and making sense of the things around us with the knowledge we have.