pollack@dendrite.cis.ohio-state.edu (Jordan B Pollack) (10/20/90)
Readers of comp.ai and comp.ai.philosophy: There are a few dangling references in Marvin's recent note about my alleged hostility and anger towards his work: In 1989, I published a satirical review of Perceptrons'88 in the Journal of Mathematical Psychology. (available by anonymous ftp as "pub/neuroprose/pollack.perceptrons.ps.Z" on cheops.cis.ohio-state.edu.) Second, yesterday I posted a message in comp.ai.philosophy, a group in which Marvin's very participation has stimulated lively debates on foundational issues. Finally, his response to my message showed up in only in comp.ai; and I'd like to take this back to philosophy, where it belongs! ------------------- Dearest Marvin, As B.F. Skinner was to you, you still are to me: one of the great heroes forming the gestalt of my scientific parent figure. Emulation is a compliment; that is one of the reasons why I emulated the rhetorical structure and humorous prose style of your prologue and epilogue in my review of Perceptrons'88. Another reason is that the book deserved such a review. Regarding the discussions in comp.ai.philosophy: Other than David Chalmers, the people participating in that group were letting you get away with murder: Severe connectionist-bashing propaganda announcing "Dead-End" for the entire field extrapolating from the simple model of three-layer back-prop nets. After responding to your attacks (my points 1-4 which you did not respond to) I did caricature your remark that "traditional AI lies in the genetic specifications", and I did end with a wisecracking allusion to your oft-quoted line about holism "haunting the young engineering field of AI." I thought this well within the bounds of network newsgroup civility, as well as the tenor of the ongoing discussions in comp.ai.philosophy, and I'm sorry to have hurt your feelings so much. I am not angry, bear no grudges, and will try to be more temperate in any future defenses of connectionism. -- Jordan Pollack Assistant Professor CIS Dept/OSU Laboratory for AI Research 2036 Neil Ave Email: pollack@cis.ohio-state.edu Columbus, OH 43210 Fax/Phone: (614) 292-4890