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You're confusing things that are good when explaining with things that are good when optimizing. Simplicity is a huge explanatory advantage, because simple thi
by Strilanc 12y ago
You're confusing things that are good when explaining with things that are good when optimizing.
Simplicity is a huge explanatory advantage, because simple things generally have exponentially higher prior probabilities. But simplicity is only a minor advantage, or even a disadvantage, when you want to make something efficient. It's too constraining.
The dumb algorithm still works... it just takes longer. Nature took nonillions of cells and trillions of generations to make something intelligent; we'd prefer something a bit less brute force.
- icegreentea 12y agoWell, remember that intelligence (in the form that we would apparently like to develop) evolved as a by product of natural selection. For one thing, our level of intelligence only really makes sense once a whole set of other niches have been filled out. Applying a better selection/objective function to an otherwise 'dumb' process would likely drastically reduce the cost to reach a 'solution'.