Subject: Re: Cochlear mechanics From: Harry Erwin <herwin(at)OSF1.GMU.EDU> Date: Wed, 12 Jul 2000 10:41:28 -0400--============_-1248709602==_ma============ Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" ; format="flowed" >Andrew, > >Do you really think that knowledge grows from the bottom upwards? If you >really do, we should all stop wasting our time and become nuclear >physicists. > >Al >----- Original Message ----- >From: Andrew Bell <bellring(at)smartchat.net.au> > > >> I agree that the subject is important, for if we don't understand how the >> ear works at a fundamental level, how can we formulate adequate models of > > higher level percepts? I think that it can be argued that complex systems (in the sense of Rosen, 1985) exist and show emergent higher-level behavior that cannot be predicted by simply modeling lower level processes. However, those lower level processes remain real, and our understanding of the higher-level behavior has to be consistent with them. If we lack valid models of those lower level processes, we will have difficulty formulating higher level models correctly. Or as I kept relearning during my dissertation research: "It's not what you don't know that will hurt you. It's what you think you know that just ain't so." -- Satchel Paige Cheers 8), -- --- Harry Erwin, PhD, Computational Neuroscientist (modeling bat behavior), Senior SW Analyst and Security Engineer, and Adjunct Professor of Computer Science, GMU. CV available at: <http://mason.gmu.edu/~herwin/CV.htm> --============_-1248709602==_ma============ Content-Type: text/html; charset="us-ascii" <!doctype html public "-//W3C//DTD W3 HTML//EN"> <html><head><style type="text/css"><!-- blockquote, dl, ul, ol, li { margin-top: 0 ; margin-bottom: 0 } --></style><title>Re: Cochlear mechanics</title></head><body> <blockquote type="cite" cite>Andrew,<br> <br> Do you really think that knowledge grows from the bottom upwards? If you<br> really do, we should all stop wasting our time and become nuclear<br> physicists.<br> <br> Al<br> ----- Original Message -----<br> From: Andrew Bell <bellring(at)smartchat.net.au><br> <br> <br> > I agree that the subject is important, for if we don't understand how the<br> > ear works at a fundamental level, how can we formulate adequate models of</blockquote> <blockquote type="cite" cite>> higher level percepts?</blockquote> <div><br></div> <div>I think that it can be argued that complex systems (in the sense of Rosen, 1985) exist and show emergent higher-level behavior that cannot be predicted by simply modeling lower level processes. However, those lower level processes remain real, and our understanding of the higher-level behavior has to be consistent with them. If we lack valid models of those lower level processes, we will have difficulty formulating higher level models correctly. Or as I kept relearning during my dissertation research:</div> <div><br></div> <div>"<font face="Times New Roman" size="+2" color="#000000">It's not what you don't know that will hurt you. It's what you think you know that just ain't so."</font></div> <div><font face="Times New Roman" size="+2" color="#000000">-- Satchel Paige</font></div> <div><font face="Times New Roman" size="+2" color="#000000"><br></font></div> <div>Cheers 8),</div> <div><br></div> <div>-- <br> ---<br> Harry Erwin, PhD, Computational Neuroscientist (modeling bat behavior), Senior SW Analyst and Security Engineer, and Adjunct Professor of Computer Science, GMU. CV available at: <http://mason.gmu.edu/~herwin/CV.htm></div> </body> </html> --============_-1248709602==_ma============--