Well maybe, or perhaps we are
teaching a computer to imitate a human pattern of thought that may or may not
be efficious. Our pattern recognition
ability is hard wired in the brain and is vaster than we are able to even perceive
let alone mimic.
Somehow we perceive patterns or
holograms and then store the information temporarily and then make useful
connections subconsciously that eventually sort out something useful and that
is then presented back for our lofty consideration.
I would be more impressed if one
could look at a Sudoku puzzle of extreme difficulty and without any calculation
merely write in the answers.
Try doing puzzles subconsciously
first.
Computer programs that think like humans
by Staff Writers
"Our programs are beating the conventional math programs because
we are combining mathematics and psychology," said Claes Strannegard of
the University of
Gothenburg . Credit: University of Gothenburg .
Intelligence - what does it really mean? In the 1800s, it meant that
you were good at memorising things, and today intelligence is measured through
IQ tests where the average score for humans is 100. Researchers at the
Department of Philosophy, Linguistics and Theory of Science at the University of Gothenburg ,
Sweden ,
have created a computer programme that can score 150.
IQ tests are based on two types of problems: progressive matrices,
which test the ability to see patterns in pictures, and number sequences, which
test the ability to see patterns in numbers. The most common math computer
programmes score below 100 on IQ tests with number sequences. For Claes
Strannegard, researcher at the Department of Philosophy, Linguistics and Theory
of Science, this was a reason to try to design 'smarter' computer programmes.
'We're trying to make programmes that can discover the same types of
patterns that humans can see,' he says.
The research group,
which consists of Claes Strannegard, Fredrik Engstrom, Rahim Nizamani and three
students working on their degree projects,
believes that number sequence problems are only partly a matter of mathematics
- psychology is important too. Strannegard demonstrates this point:
'1, 2, ..., what comes next? Most people would say 3, but it could also
be a repeating sequence like 1, 2, 1 or a doubling sequence like 1, 2, 4.
Neither of these alternatives is more mathematically correct than the others.
What it comes down to is that most people have learned the 1-2-3 pattern.'
The group is therefore using a psychological model of human patterns in
their computer programmes. They have integrated a mathematical model that
models human-like problem solving. The programme that solves progressive
matrices scores IQ 100 and has the unique ability of being able to solve the
problems without having access to any response alternatives. The group has
improved the programme that specialises in number sequences to the point where
it is now able to ace the tests, implying an IQ of at least 150.
'Our programmes are beating the conventional math programmes because we
are combining mathematics and psychology. Our method can potentially be used to
identify patterns in any data with a psychological component, such as financial
data. But it is not as good at finding patterns in more science-type data, such
as weather data, since then the human psyche is not involved,' says
Strannegard.
The research group has recently started collaborating with the
Department of Psychology at Stockholm
University , with a goal
to develop new IQ tests with different levels of difficulty.
'We have developed a pretty good understanding of how the tests work.
Now we want to divide them into different levels of difficulty and design new
types of tests, which we can then use to design computer programmes for people
who want to practice their problem solving ability,' says Strannegard.
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