Second Commentary: On the proper treatment of connectionism by Paul Smolensky (1988) - Neuromachismo Rekindled
Abstract
Paul Smolensky's marvelous neologisitc epithet "neuromacho" should not be allowed to drift into oblivion. Hence I come forth under the banner of neuromachismo to challenge his assertion that chaotic dynamics is relevant to smell in animals but not yet to speech in humans. Is there such a gulf between olfactive lagomorphs and talking people? What is the difference between a rabbit expressing its love of carrots by rhythmic cheing and sniffing and Prokoviev expressing his love for three oranges in a suite of tones? On the phylogenetic scale these are virtual twins, much as Smolensky's theory and that of Skarda and myself (1985, 1987) are so alike that we can usefully correspond.
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