I'm so glad to have finally found someone who think connectionism (aka PDP/ANN models) as an *epistemological tool*. He applied it for thinking an alternative to Darwinian evolution. I applied it for thinking reflexively myself: https://t.co/RkxIi3aeR9
"We have argued that this is much more than a superficial analogy between learning and evolution." https://t.co/lJ1EQ4mtcR
"Evolutionary innovation (originates) from the evolution of the relationships between" the parts. https://t.co/lJ1EQ4mtcR
"Evolutionary innovation need not originate from the adaptation of the evolutionary parts per se." https://t.co/lJ1EQ4mtcR
Connectionism: the cleverness derives "from the organisation of the relationships between them." https://t.co/lJ1EQ4mtcR
Connectionism: "the cleverness of cognition does not derive from the cleverness of the individual neural parts." https://t.co/lJ1EQ4mtcR
"The evolutionary conditions that correspond to reinforcement learning...reward changes...that improve fitness." https://t.co/lJ1EQ4mtcR
Connectionism "is also common to the evolution of developmental, ecological and reproductive organisations." https://t.co/lJ1EQ4mtcR
Connectionism is "well-understood in the context of neural network models." https://t.co/lJ1EQ4mtcR
Connectionism. "The simple principle of positive feedback on the organisation of a system." https://t.co/lJ1EQ4mtcR
Connectionism: can "improve the adaptive capabilities of natural selection over time." https://t.co/lJ1EQ4mtcR
Connectionism: "natural selection...can result in organisations that produce complex system-level behaviours." https://t.co/lJ1EQ4mtcR
Connectionism uses "processes that are functionally equivalent to connectionist models of memory and learning." https://t.co/lJ1EQ4mtcR
"We introduce the term “evolutionary connectionism”." https://t.co/lJ1EQ4mtcR
This helps us "to understand how natural selection changes the processes of variation, selection and inheritance." https://t.co/lJ1EQ4mtcR
The consequences of this feedback in evolutionary systems...have specific analogues in...learning." https://t.co/lJ1EQ4mtcR
"The consequences of this principle for the dynamics of larger systems is...not immediately obvious." https://t.co/lJ1EQ4mtcR
"The consequences of this principle for the dynamics of larger systems is much more interesting." https://t.co/lJ1EQ4mtcR
"Positive feedback between...organisation and evolution is simple when considering individual connections." https://t.co/lJ1EQ4mtcR
"Because of...developmental interactions, ecological partnerships or reproductive dependencies." https://t.co/lJ1EQ4mtcR
Variables that originally co-varied "have behaviours that co-vary because of their internal interaction structures." https://t.co/lJ1EQ4mtcR
"Variables (phenotypic characters, species populations, evolutionary units) whose behaviours originally co-varied." https://t.co/lJ1EQ4mtcR
"The consequence of this positive feedback is captured by a principle of correlation becomes causation." https://t.co/lJ1EQ4mtcR
#3 Units. "Evo-Ego: via evolution of co-dispersal behaviours or vertical inheritance." https://t.co/lJ1EQ4mtcR
#3 Units. "Evo-Ego: such reproductive interactions...cause their reproduction to be more strongly correlated." https://t.co/lJ1EQ4mtcR
#3 Units. "Evo-Ego: the more selective advantage (to) strengthen reproductive dependencies between them." https://t.co/lJ1EQ4mtcR
#3 Units. "Evo-Ego: The more often two evolutionary units reproduce together...the more selective advantage" exists. https://t.co/lJ1EQ4mtcR
#2 Species. Evo-Eco: population growth correlation "via reductions to competitive interactions between them." https://t.co/lJ1EQ4mtcR
#2 Species. "Evo-Eco: these interactions...(cause) their population growth to be more correlated in future." https://t.co/lJ1EQ4mtcR
#2 Species. "Evo-Eco: two species populations grow to high-density together...more selective advantage there is." https://t.co/lJ1EQ4mtcR
#1 Genes. Evo-Devo: correlation of phenotype "via an increase in the gene-regulatory connection between them." https://t.co/lJ1EQ4mtcR
#1 Genes. "Evo-Devo: this organisational change causes their expression in...phenotype to be correlated in future." https://t.co/lJ1EQ4mtcR
#1 Genes. "Evo-Devo: the more often that two genes are selected together...the more selective advantage there is." https://t.co/lJ1EQ4mtcR
Evolutionary units wired together by "reproductive relationships that cause them to be co-inherited in future." https://t.co/lJ1EQ4mtcR
"Evolutionary units that reproduce together are wired together." https://t.co/lJ1EQ4mtcR
Species that are wired together by "ecological relationships...cause them to be co-selected in future." https://t.co/lJ1EQ4mtcR
"Species that co-occur in high-density are wired together." https://t.co/lJ1EQ4mtcR
Genes that are wired together "via the evolution of gene-regulatory interactions (are) co-expressed in future." https://t.co/lJ1EQ4mtcR
"Genes that are selected together are wired together." https://t.co/lJ1EQ4mtcR
"When nodes have correlated behaviours this causes natural selection to...strengthen the connection between them." https://t.co/lJ1EQ4mtcR
"A connection between two components or nodes in this network causes them to exhibit correlated behaviour." https://t.co/lJ1EQ4mtcR
"Examples that are far apart in ‘solution space’ can be placed next to each in ‘model space’." https://t.co/lJ1EQ4mtcR
"The learning process...minimises the discrepancy...by incrementally adjusting the parameters of the model." https://t.co/lJ1EQ4mtcR
"The learning process...minimises the discrepancy between the model and the observations." https://t.co/lJ1EQ4mtcR
"The learning process optimises the fit of the model to the observations." https://t.co/lJ1EQ4mtcR
"This is a distinction which is lost when we assume a one-to-one mapping between genotype and phenotype." https://t.co/lJ1EQ4mtcR
"The difference between adapting...traits of a phenotype vs...developmental process that produces fit phenotypes." https://t.co/lJ1EQ4mtcR
"A learning process optimises a model of good solutions or outputs or an indirect representation of solutions." https://t.co/lJ1EQ4mtcR
"A simple processes of...incremental improvement is usually applied to a solution or output directly." https://t.co/lJ1EQ44ROh
"A learning system the object of this incremental improvement process is different from..conventional optimisation." https://t.co/lJ1EQ4mtcR
Optimizing the process not the output. https://t.co/lJ1EQ44ROh
Relevant to evolutionary questions "by intention-less algorithms with simple incremental improvement mechanisms." https://t.co/lJ1EQ44ROh
"All of the phenomena relevant to our evolutionary questions can be produced by intention-less algorithms." https://t.co/lJ1EQ44ROh
Learning systems' "smart behaviours..would make their abilities irrelevant to understanding evolutionary processes." https://t.co/lJ1EQ4mtcR
"Think of learning systems as sophisticated machines (or intelligent organisms) with goal-directed intentions." https://t.co/lJ1EQ4mtcR
Reinforcement learning "utilises a reward function to reinforce good behaviour." https://t.co/lJ1EQ44ROh
"A simple kind of learning (often likened to natural selection) is reinforcement learning." https://t.co/lJ1EQ4mtcR
"A learning system is a system that improves its performance at some task with experience." https://t.co/lJ1EQ4mtcR
Learning systems. "This is a domain where the idea of a system that changes itself over time is not controversial." https://t.co/lJ1EQ4mtcR
Learning systems. "Specific results and insights from one domain can be transferred to the other." https://t.co/lJ1EQ4mtcR
Learning systems. "The underlying principles are mathematically equivalent." https://t.co/lJ1EQ44ROh
Borrowing from learning systems. "Analogous behaviours are possible, and are well-understood, in another domain." https://t.co/lJ1EQ4mtcR
Anticipatory evolution. "Necessary and sufficient conditions can be characterised." https://t.co/lJ1EQ4mtcR
Anticipatory evolution. "All of these behaviours that seem impossible for evolutionary systems are possible." https://t.co/lJ1EQ4mtcR
It is not possible for evolution to adapt "for a level of selection that does not yet exist." https://t.co/lJ1EQ4mtcR
"It is not possible for evolution...to produce adaptations for an environment it has not yet encountered." https://t.co/lJ1EQ4mtcR
Does anticipatory evolution exist? "The conventional answer seems to be—it cannot." https://t.co/lJ1EQ4mtcR
Can evolution respond to "selection at the higher level of organisation before that level of organisation exists?" https://t.co/lJ1EQ4mtcR
Can evolution favour "heritable evolutionary units that are adaptive at a higher-level of organisation?" https://t.co/lJ1EQ4mtcR
Can natural selection --> ecosystem evolution "that is more than the sum of the evolution of the parts?" https://t.co/lJ1EQ4mtcR
"Can natural selection...result in any kind of ‘ecosystem evolution’?" https://t.co/lJ1EQ4mtcR
"Can an ecosystem be organised ‘for’ anything if it is not an evolutionary unit?" https://t.co/lJ1EQ4mtcR
If all it does is fit over the past environments, "then (it is) not the evolution of evolvability." https://t.co/lJ1EQ4mtcR
"If all it does is...fit over the set of past environments, then that seems to be conventional evolution." https://t.co/lJ1EQ4mtcR
"Can evolution ‘predict’ or ‘anticipate’ what developmental organisations will enable adaptive variation?" https://t.co/lJ1EQ4mtcR
"Can development be organised to facilitate future adaptation?" (Predictive evolution!). https://t.co/lJ1EQ4mtcR
A new framework is "eco-evo-devo” processes (and we would add “ego” to this list also)." https://t.co/lJ1EQ4mtcR
"A new and expanded theoretical framework is needed" to update Darwinism. https://t.co/lJ1EQ4mtcR
"Self-referential evolutionary mechanisms...create serious problems for existing theory." https://t.co/lJ1EQ4mtcR
"Self-referential evolutionary mechanisms (are) where the products of evolution alter the processes of evolution." https://t.co/lJ1EQ4mtcR
"Such problems motivate the growing recognition that the Darwinian machine needs an overhaul." https://t.co/lJ1EQ4mtcR
All this needs a higher-level selective process which favors successful long term evolutionary processes. https://t.co/lJ1EQ4mtcR
"It is not at all clear that these organisations can be adaptations for increased evolvability." https://t.co/lJ1EQ4mtcR
"Evolution can modify the parameters of variation...and this might facilitate evolvability." https://t.co/lJ1EQ4mtcR
"It is clear that evolution can modify the parameters of variation, selection and inheritance." https://t.co/lJ1EQ4mtcR
Changing the scale of reproductive success "resulting in the evolution of new levels of Darwinian individuality." https://t.co/lJ1EQ4mtcR
"Such features change the scale at which heritable variation in reproductive success is manifest." https://t.co/lJ1EQ4mtcR
Group option: "bottle-necked life-cycle, germ-soma separation." https://t.co/lJ1EQ4mtcR
Group option: restricted "channels of communication." https://t.co/lJ1EQ4mtcR
Group options: "linkage of replicating molecules into chromosomes." https://t.co/lJ1EQ4mtcR
Group options: "vertical transmission of symbionts; compartmentalisation of replicators." https://t.co/lJ1EQ4mtcR
Group options: "reproductive organisations that synchronise the transmission of information across generations." https://t.co/lJ1EQ4mtcR
Changes provide for "natural selection to create heritable fitness differences at a higher-level of organisation." https://t.co/lJ1EQ4mtcR
"Changes that prevent independent replication...suppress fitness differences between individuals at one level." https://t.co/lJ1EQ4mtcR
Entities "can replicate only as part of a larger whole after the transition” https://t.co/lJ1EQ4mtcR
"Entities that were capable of independent replication before the transition..." https://t.co/lJ1EQ4mtcR
These are "the result of changes to the reproductive relationships between evolutionary entities." https://t.co/lJ1EQ4mtcR
Evolution of evolution itself. https://t.co/lJ1EQ4mtcR
Evolution: "to multi-organelle eukaryote cells, to multicellular organisms, to eusocial groups." https://t.co/lJ1EQ4mtcR
Evolution: "from self-replicating molecules, to chromosomes, to simple cells, to multi-organelle eukaryote cells..." https://t.co/lJ1EQ4mtcR