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Mon, 24 Jun 91 04:31:58 -0400 (EDT)
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Date: Mon, 24 Jun 91 04:31:53 -0400 (EDT)
Subject: SPACE Digest V13 #699
SPACE Digest Volume 13 : Issue 699
Today's Topics:
Still more on Freedom Vote
Re: orbiter production
Re: INFO: Clandestine Mars Observer Launch??
Jonathan's Space Report, Jun 5
Why would I stick a face on Mars...
GEOMAGNETIC STORM UPGRADED TO MAJOR CATEGORY STORM
Re: Crary's Quick Debunkings
ComStore: What happened?
Re: Self-sustaining infrastructures
Administrivia:
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From: agate!usenet.ins.cwru.edu!magnus.acs.ohio-state.edu!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!rpi!uwm.edu!csd4.csd.uwm.edu!markh@ucbvax.Berkeley.EDU (Mark William Hopkins)
Subject: Why would I stick a face on Mars...
In article <1991Jun4.185703.19747@swbatl.sbc.com> jburnes@swbatl.sbc.com (Jim Burnes - 235-7444) writes:
>...there is a special
>part of your brain that is dedicated to doing nothing but recognize
>faces. Anything that has 2 "eyes", 1 "mouth" and is round will
>be recognized as such. Really...if someone wanted to send us a
>message why didnt they just encode it in symbology like we did
>on voyager.
Because we're much better at recognizing faces...
What would you have? An objective scale of facialness constructed with
a probability metric assigned for natural formations, in order to prove
that this is worthy of attention?
The point is: you've made no falsifiable assertion to this object's nature.
Merely saying it's random is irresponsible: you need to provided an objective
means by which one can determine this, such as what I've described above.
In fact, I will bet you that ANY neural net successfully trained to distinguish
a face from a non face out of a large and sufficiently complete corpus of test
cases with more than 99% accuracy will, when applied to the photo of the
formation on Mars, classify that as a human face with more than 99% probability.
There. I've just provided a falsifiable test. You haven't.
As a general principle in my development of language independent software,
I make it a point to make the interface as non symbolic and visual as possible,
because humans are so much more adept at seeing images than reading (which
has to be trained in school even).
If I wanted to communicate with aliens, even to tell them how to bootstrap
my language, I'd have to use imagery (assuming they process images too),
since it is the most error-tolerant and efficient means of communication
we have.
In Hungary, foreign students are taught Hungarian from a text written completely
in Hungarian. The bootstrapping technique used is so efficient as to make that
nation the most adept in whole area second language accquisition. The first
few pages are virtually all images.
As you yourself said, an image will attract attention much quicker than a
