Abstract representations of events arise from mental errors
2020
University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, USA
Humans are adept at uncovering abstract associations in the world around them, yet the underlying mechanisms remain poorly understood. This study explores the perspective whether higher-order associations arise from natural errors in learning and memory. Using the free energy principle, which bridges information theory and Bayesian inference, the authors derive a maximum entropy model of people’s internal representations of the transitions between stimuli. The results suggest that mental errors influence our abstract representations of the world in significant and predictable ways, with direct implications for the study and design of optimally learnable information sources.
Abstract representations of events arise from mental errors in learning and memory
Danielle S. Bassett
Added on: 06-26-2020
[1] https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-020-15146-7
