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Quote by Jeff Hawkins

“Reference frames in the old brain learn maps of environments. Reference frames in the what columns of the neocortex learn maps of physical objects. Reference frames in the where columns of the neocortex learn maps of the space around the body. And, finally, reference frames in the non-sensory columns of the neocortex learn maps of concepts. To be an expert in any domain requires having a good reference frame, a good map.”

Quote by Jeff Hawkins

Book:A Thousand Brains: A New Theory of Intelligence
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A Thousand Brains: A New Theory of Intelligence

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Jeff Hawkins
Jeff Hawkins

Jeff Hawkins, born on June 1, 1957, is an influential entrepreneur and inventor in the fields of artificial intelligence and neuroscience. He is renowned for his pioneering work in neural networks and cognitive computing. more

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“Not that long ago, the question 'What is life?' was as mysterious as 'What is consciousness?'. It seemed impossible to explain why some pieces of matter were alive and others were not. [...] At some point in the future, we will accept that any system that learns the model of the world, continuously remembers the states of that model, and recalls the remembered states will be conscious. There will be remaining unanswered questions, but consciousness will no longer be talked about as 'the hard problem'. It won't even be considered a problem.”

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“To hold on to a false model, such as a flat Earth, requires dismissing evidence that conflicts with your model. Flat-Earth believers say they distrust all evidence that they cannot directly sense. A picture can be fake. An explorer's account can be fabricated. Sending people to the moon in the 1960s could have been a Hollywood production. If you limit what you believe to only things you can directly experience, and you are not an astronaut, then a flat-Earth model is what you end up with. To maintain a false model, it also helps to surround yourself with other people who have the same false beliefs, thus making it more likely that the inputs you receive are consistent with your model. Historically, this entailed physically isolating yourself in a community of people with similar beliefs, but today you can achieve a similar result by selectively watching videos on the internet.”

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Book:A Thousand Brains: A New Theory of Intelligence
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“We face a dilemma. 'We' -- the intelligent model of ourselves residing in the neocortex -- are trapped. We are trapped in a body that not only is programmed to die but is largely under the control of an ignorant brute, the old brain. [...] We try to control our old brain's destructive and divisive impulses, but so far we have not been able to do this entirely. Many countries on Earth are still ruled by autocrats and dictators whose motivations are largely driven by their old brain: wealth, sex, and alpha-male-type dominance. The populist movements that support autocrats are also based on old-brain traits such as racism and xenophobia.”

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