[comp.ai.neural-nets] Learning parity function by backprob.

li@kiss.informatik.tu-muenchen.de.informatik.tu-muenchen.dbp.de (10/10/90)

Parity functions may be realized by NN with one hidden layer (a simple
solution was given in PDP-1). It is however a hard  problem to get such
solution by back-propagation algorithm. I was able to train a  NN with
backprog and some heuristcs to realize the P_4 (i.e. the parity
function of 4 bits vectors, P_2 is the XOR function). The P_5 seems, by
my experience, already to be too difficult to be learned by backprop,
no matter how many layers and neurons are used.  Does someone know
better results?

Thanks.
Xinzhi Li

demers@odin.ucsd.edu (David E Demers) (10/10/90)

In article <4803@tuminfo1.lan.informatik.tu-muenchen.dbp.de> li@kiss.informatik.tu-muenchen.de.informatik.tu-muenchen.dbp.de () writes:
>Parity functions may be realized by NN with one hidden layer (a simple
>solution was given in PDP-1). It is however a hard  problem to get such
>solution by back-propagation algorithm. I was able to train a  NN with
>backprog and some heuristcs to realize the P_4 (i.e. the parity
>function of 4 bits vectors, P_2 is the XOR function). The P_5 seems, by
>my experience, already to be too difficult to be learned by backprop,
>no matter how many layers and neurons are used.  Does someone know
>better results?

I am recalling Tim Ash's paper on his Dynamic Node Creation.
He used it on several problems, including parity 4 and 5, I
believe.  It is in a recent issue of Connection Science journal.

His method is essentially backprop, but with addition of nodes
(or layers!) when convergence either to the training set or a
test set stops.

Dave

faee0ntt@zach.fit.edu ( N. Tepedelenlioglu) (10/10/90)

In article <4803@tuminfo1.lan.informatik.tu-muenchen.dbp.de> li@kiss.informatik.tu-muenchen.de.informatik.tu-muenchen.dbp.de () writes:
>Parity functions may be realized by NN with one hidden layer (a simple
>solution was given in PDP-1). It is however a hard  problem to get such
>solution by back-propagation algorithm. I was able to train a  NN with
>backprog and some heuristcs to realize the P_4 (i.e. the parity
>function of 4 bits vectors, P_2 is the XOR function). The P_5 seems, by
>my experience, already to be too difficult to be learned by backprop,

The key is the number of nodes in the hidden layer. That number 
should be at least as big as the number of bits at the input. 
So if you try a net with say 8 nodes in the hidden layer I
am pretty sure you will have no difficulty for the P_5 problem.
>
>Thanks.
>Xinzhi Li

Nazif.


__________________________
Nazif Tepedelenlioglu            faee0ntt@zach.fit.edu
Dept. EE/CP
Florida Institute of Technology, Melbourne, FL 32901, USA