Re: Human language acquisition

Oh! But the main point is this: There is no evidence that there is an
"inference;" that is metaphor. Of course, Helmholtz was among the first to
argue that perception was largely a matter of "unconscious inference," and
this deserves the same lack of respect that we should afford "unconscious
rule-following." When all is said and done, the physiology perception will
have nothing to do with "inferences," and when we look at the brain, we will
never see anything other than action potentials and secretions and charges
etc. etc. Of course, when a cognitive psychologist looks at the MRI from a
person looking at a Necker Cube, they will say (ala Joe Legris) that they
are actually looking at unconscious inferences.

"Michael Olea" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote in message
news:[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> in article [EMAIL PROTECTED], Lester Zick at
> [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote on 12/1/03 8:15 AM:
>
> > On Sun, 30 Nov 2003 11:03:09 -0500, Joe Legris <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
> > in sci.cognitive wrote:
> >
> >> Glen M. Sizemore wrote:
> >
> > [. . .]
> >
> >> It is true that the existence of
> >>> such behavior in many cases is inferred, but then all of "cognition"
is
> >>> inferred.
> >>>
> >>
> > A technical question not intended to be pejorative:
> >
> > Is inference itself not a part of cognition in the sense of cognitive
> > behavior? It certainly wouldn't seem to be perceptual.
> >
> >
> > Regards - Lester
> >
>
> "There are, of course, reasons why a fluid flows slowly, and a molecular
> explanation of viscosity is a step forward. There are physiological
reasons
> why a person behaves in a manner we call cautious; and the physiologist
> will, we assume, eventually tell us what they are".
>
> I'm not so much ducking your question, Lester, as budgeting my time, but
> consider the following title: "Perception as Bayesian Inference", Knill,
D.
> C. & Richards, W. (Eds.), Cambridge University Press (1996). And now
> consider again the "Necker Cube", a line drawing consistent with an
infinite
> number of polyhedra out of which human observers usualy report only two,
and
> only one at a time, the two interpretations alternating if the drawing is
> viewed long enough. Visual space perception is inference.
>
> -- Michael
>