Dmytry comments on Decision Theories: A Less Wrong Primer - Less Wrong

69 Post author: orthonormal 13 March 2012 11:31PM

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Comment author: orthonormal 16 March 2012 04:00:30PM *  1 point [-]

We've drifted way off topic. Brain plasticity is a good point, but it's not the only piece of evidence available. I promise you that if you check out How the Mind Works, you'll find unambiguous evidence that the human brain is not a general-purpose learner, but begins with plenty of structure.

If you doubt the existence of universal grammar, you should try The Language Instinct as well.

You can have the last word, but I'm tapping out on this particular topic.

Comment author: Dmytry 16 March 2012 06:33:44PM 0 points [-]

re: structure, yes, it is made of cortical columns, and yes there's some global wiring, nobody's been doubting that.

I created a new topic for that . The issue with attributing brain functionality to evolution is the immense difficulty of coding any specific wiring in the DNA, especially in mammals. Insects can do it - going through several generations in a year, and having the genome that controls the brain down to individual neurons. Mammals aren't structured like this, and live much too long.