How to Create a Mind: The Secret of Human Thought Revealed

by Ray Kurzweil

Successful recognition by a module of its pattern goes beyond just counting the input signals that are activated (even a count weighted by the importance parameter). The size (of each input) matters. There is another parameter (for each input) indicating the expected size of the input, and yet another indicating how variable that size is. To appreciate how this works, suppose we have a pattern recognizer that is responsible for recognizing the spoken word “steep.” This spoken word has four sounds: [s], [t], [E], and [p]. The [t] phoneme is what is known as a “dental consonant,” meaning that it is created by the tongue creating a burst of noise when air breaks its contact with the upper teeth. It is essentially impossible to articulate the [t] phoneme slowly. The [p] phoneme is considered a “plosive consonant” or “oral occlusive,” meaning that it is created when the vocal tract is suddenly blocked (by the lips in the case of [p]) so that air no longer passes. It is also necessarily quick. The [E] vowel is caused by resonances of the vocal cord and open mouth. It is considered a “long vowel,” meaning that it persists for a much longer period of time than consonants such as [t] and [p]; however, its duration can be quite variable. The [s] phoneme is known as a “sibilant consonant,” and is caused by the passage of air against the edges of the teeth, which are held close together. Its duration is typically shorter than that of a long vowel such as [E], but it is also variable (...