What is Unlearning LO10342

Arthur Battram (apb@cityplex.demon.co.uk)
Wed, 2 Oct 1996 09:20:26 +0100

apology-ette to the learning organisation list: a lot of this is written
in compressed jargon, I'm posting it because it may be interest some of
you. if it is, I'll decompress it in a later post. I wanted to keep the
flow which is why this rushed response to jeff. [those of you who've read
some of my previous posts will guess that my pack is still unfinished, I'm
madly editing stuff from the designer...]

nice post jeff, thanks,
some comments...

>A couple of thoughts: First, I agree with the view that learning is akin
>to evolution, and I like your "deselecting" terminology - it's close to
>what I said about "attachment".

remind me what you said about "attachment".

>Second, your point about "reverting to
>type under pressure" is right on target - our hold on new learning takes
>effort and is relatively tenuous, compared to older learning.

yep, but what's the mechanism/process analogy? feels awfully like simple
skinnerian learning by reinforcement[which is ok by me]

-have you read the skinnerian/popperian/gregorian bits of 'Darwins
Dangerous Idea'? [Daniel Dennett's book] -was his latest but theres a new
one just out-anyone read/recommend it?]

in fact as I think about it, it doesn't have to be skinnerian ,although
the result looks skinnerian: it could be about NK networks- reinforcement
=increasing connectivity in a neural network [which sounds vaguely
edelman-ish [he sees a selection process operating in the brain, the unit
of selection being a neural net, not a single nerve] so "reverting to
>type under pressure" is the result of competition between neuaral nets
>competing to make suggestions [which is a bit like hollands bucket brigade
>and induction stuff...hmmm...

>Lastly, I
>think we must also recognize that _some_ real forgetting takes place: in
>evolutionary terms some species become extinct and their unique genes are
>lost (unless built up again somehow).

sure no problem, but IMHO that's a species/system/emergent forgetting not
an individual forgetting [in fact in a species context its not forgetting
it's loss.] we have to keep track of when we are using a metaphor to
suggest an analog of a process versus using it as a shorthand description
don't we [I break this rule all the time :-)]

in this case I'm suggesting that the mechanism of forgetting in the brain
is better viewed as losing the file tag [like hiding a book in a library
by putting it on the wrong shelf, rather than stealing it- same result,
different mechanism. as far as I know, this fits with modern brain
theory]

---sound of McMaster gong stage left----

phew saved by the silence...

Best wishes

Arthur Battram

--

from Arthur Battram, organiser of the LGMB project 'Tools for Learning': helping local authorities to apply complexity concepts to personal and organisational learning. 'Learning from Complexity' pack available November '96, for details email me: apb@cityplex.demon.co.uk "complexity is in here... and simplicity is out there...if we want it to be..."

Learning-org -- An Internet Dialog on Learning Organizations For info: <rkarash@karash.com> -or- <http://world.std.com/~lo/>