Variable Binding
- Perhaps the biggest problem in symbolic use of neurons is
variable binding.
- The red square and blue circle problem.
- Jackendoff's Foundations of Language (2002) raises it. It's a
good read too. We knew about before 2002.
- It's easy to bind variables in a Von Neumann machine.
- I think we neural guys have cracked the nut.
- The standard way to bind in spiking nets is with synchronous
activity (von der Malsburg 1981). I haven't simulated it, and don't
think it's the way to do linguistic binding.
- Van Der Velde na de Kamps (BBS 2006) did it with special circuits.
- You make a connection between a variable and it's value; that slowly
washes away. You can refresh it if you need to.
- I did it (2009 twice) with short term potentiation.
- As far as I'm concerned, the question now is how does the brain do it,
and when does it do it which way.
