[comp.ai.neural-nets] Questions about delta rule

amp@pollux.UUCP (Ajay M. Patrikar) (06/23/89)

I was trying to solve different problems mentioned in the following
reference :

D.E.Rumelhart, G.E. Hinton, and R.J.Williams,
"Learning Internal Representation by Error Propogation"
in Parallel Distributed Processing : Explorations in the microstructure
of cognition. vol. 1, MIT press  1986

I used backpropogation algorithm for solving problems such as
Exclusive OR , parity problem etc. In most cases I got 
different convergence rates from the ones mentioned in the book.
Also, quite a few times the program ran into local minima problem.

This  may be because of altogather different initial conditions.
I was generating random numbers in the interval (-0.5, 0.5) and
using them as initial weights and thresholds.

Has anyone on the net ran into similar problems ? I would appreciate
if someone can pass me information about

1. dependence of convergence rate on initial conditions 
2. What is the general criterion for convergence. 
3. performance of backpropogation on bigger problems.(no. of pattern
   presentations)

Thanking you in advance.

Ajay Patrikar

uunet!dalsqnt!pollux !amp

kolen-j@toto.cis.ohio-state.edu (john kolen) (06/23/89)

In article <15559@pollux.UUCP> amp@pollux.UUCP (Ajay M. Patrikar) writes:
>
>I used backpropogation algorithm for solving problems such as
>Exclusive OR , parity problem etc. In most cases I got 
>different convergence rates from the ones mentioned in the book.
>Also, quite a few times the program ran into local minima problem.
>
>This  may be because of altogather different initial conditions.
>I was generating random numbers in the interval (-0.5, 0.5) and
>using them as initial weights and thresholds.
>
>Has anyone on the net ran into similar problems ? I would appreciate
>if someone can pass me information about
>
>1. dependence of convergence rate on initial conditions 
>2. What is the general criterion for convergence. 
>3. performance of backpropogation on bigger problems.(no. of pattern
>   presentations)
>

We ran into these problems and several others (as most other
researchers have, but are reluctant to admit it).  Some answers to the
questions you pose appear in a recent Ohio State University Laboratory
for Artificial Intelligence Research technical report "Learning in
Parallel Distributed Processing Networks: Computational Complexity and
Information Content".  For ordering information contact

LAIR Technical Report Library
217 CAE
Dept. of Computer and Information Science
2036 Neil Avenue Mall
Columbus, Ohio  43210-1277



-=-
John Kolen (kolen-j@cis.ohio-state.edu)|computer science - n. A field of study 
Computer & Info. Sci. Dept.	       |somewhere between numerology and
The Ohio State Univeristy	       |astrology, lacking the formalism of the
Columbus, Ohio	43210	(USA)	       |former and the popularity of the later.