Conversation

Replying to

countertheory: rational problem solving is one aspect of cognition that is emphasized in species or individuals when there's pressure for it

2

1

9

Replying to

yes, exactly. it's only something that is optimized for when it's necessary. *when optimized for*, it does not require much computation mass

1

6

Replying to

and

further hypothesis: imagine a human-like intelligence specifically designed to not have infrastructure for maintaining/using a body

1

6

Replying to

and

e.g. EVE Online pod pilot, etc. someone who can think and communicate, but does not need to use arms.

1

7

Replying to

and

i would hypothesize that you could make such a brain 10x smaller without making that person less intelligent.

3

9

Replying to

and

that is, most of our brain is effectively coprocessors for managing a wide variety of things, and most of those are body-related.

2

1

9

Replying to

hmm tool use? cats are physically unable to make diverse tools (if they use any at all), so no need for fine motor control

2

3

Replying to

and

there's a semi-prominent theory that most "smart" stuff is basically an outgrowth of being able to hit things with thrown objects

1

6

Replying to

and

you have to plan the motion in advance, and suchlike

2

2

Replying to

and

huh wait isn't throwing stuff the archetypical "embodied cognition" task? aka the kind of cognition that relies on very little planning

1

Replying to

ok wait the archetypical task was catching stuff - throwing stuff is another one though (lots of reading here: psychsciencenotes.blogspot.de/p/the-rough-gu)

7:24 PM · Jul 16, 2017Twitter Web Client

Replying to

and

embodied cognition would be pretty crap if it excluded planning entirely

1

2

Replying to

but by planning i meant that throwing happens fast enough that you can't make a lot of adjustments to muscle movements while it happens

1

1

Show replies