Critical Discussion of the Belief Model

2020 ◽  
pp. 180-196
Author(s):  
Scott Sturgeon

Chapter 6 argues that most of the reductive assumptions put forward by the Belief Model are wrong. It rejects the view that suspended judgement is nothing but the absence of belief and disbelief, and likewise rejects the view that disbelief is nothing but belief-in-negation. Thought experiments demonstrate that all three types of coarse-grained attitude are self-standing elements of our rational architecture. It is shown that norms for belief put forward by the Belief Model do not morph automatically into norms for disbelief or suspended judgement. Then it is shown that the model’s main transition rule does not function at all like rational shift of belief in ordinary life.

Arguments about whether a robot could ever be conscious have been conducted up to now in the factually impoverished arena of what is ‘possible in principle’. A team at MIT, of which I am a part, is now embarking on a longterm project to design and build a humanoid robot, Cog, whose cognitive talents will include speech, eye-coordinated manipulation of objects, and a host of self-protective, self-regulatory and self-exploring activities. The aim of the project is not to make a conscious robot, but to make a robot that can interact with human beings in a robust and versatile manner in real time, take care of itself, and tell its designers things about itself that would otherwise be extremely difficult if not impossible to determine by examination. Many of the details of Cog’s ‘neural’ organization will parallel what is known (or presumed known) about their counterparts in the human brain, but the intended realism of Cog as a model is relatively coarse-grained, varying opportunistically as a function of what we think we know, what we think we can build, and what we think doesn’t matter. Much of what we think will of course prove to be mistaken; that is one advantage of real experiments over thought experiments.


2020 ◽  
pp. 197-218
Author(s):  
Scott Sturgeon

Chapter 7 is a critical discussion of conditional commitment in both the Bayesian and the Belief model. Both use their treatment of conditional commitment as something to connect their theory of states with their respective transition theory. In doing so both models are immediately hit with technical difficulties. The Belief Model generates the ‘impossibility theorem’ first proved by Peter Gärdenfors, and the Bayesian model generates ‘triviality results’ first proved by David Lewis. Each of these technical areas is explained from scratch and diagnosed philosophically. It is argued that the bombshells discussed are best seen as showing that the Binary-Attitude Assumption is false when it comes to conditional commitment, and that there is no essential tie between conditional commitment and rational shift-in-view. Throughout the discussion the 3-place theory of conditionality is related back to Chapter 4’s restricted-vision approach to conditionality.


Author(s):  
R. E. Ferrell ◽  
G. G. Paulson

The pore spaces in sandstones are the result of the original depositional fabric and the degree of post-depositional alteration that the rock has experienced. The largest pore volumes are present in coarse-grained, well-sorted materials with high sphericity. The chief mechanisms which alter the shape and size of the pores are precipitation of cementing agents and the dissolution of soluble components. Each process may operate alone or in combination with the other, or there may be several generations of cementation and solution.The scanning electron microscope has ‘been used in this study to reveal the morphology of the pore spaces in a variety of moderate porosity, orthoquartzites.


Author(s):  
J. M. Walsh ◽  
K. P. Gumz ◽  
J. C. Whittles ◽  
B. H. Kear

During a routine examination of the microstructure of rapidly solidified IN-100 powder, produced by a newly-developed centrifugal atomization process1, essentially two distinct types of microstructure were identified. When a high melt superheat is maintained during atomization, the powder particles are predominantly coarse-grained, equiaxed or columnar, with distinctly dendritic microstructures, Figs, la and 4a. On the other hand, when the melt superheat is reduced by increasing the heat flow to the disc of the rotary atomizer, the powder particles are predominantly microcrystalline in character, with typically one dendrite per grain, Figs, lb and 4b. In what follows, evidence is presented that strongly supports the view that the unusual microcrystalline structure has its origin in dendrite erosion occurring in a 'mushy zone' of dynamic solidification on the disc of the rotary atomizer.The critical observations were made on atomized material that had undergone 'splat-quenching' on previously solidified, chilled substrate particles.


Author(s):  
Wang Zheng-fang ◽  
Z.F. Wang

The main purpose of this study highlights on the evaluation of chloride SCC resistance of the material,duplex stainless steel,OOCr18Ni5Mo3Si2 (18-5Mo) and its welded coarse grained zone(CGZ).18-5Mo is a dual phases (A+F) stainless steel with yield strength:512N/mm2 .The proportion of secondary Phase(A phase) accounts for 30-35% of the total with fine grained and homogeneously distributed A and F phases(Fig.1).After being welded by a specific welding thermal cycle to the material,i.e. Tmax=1350°C and t8/5=20s,microstructure may change from fine grained morphology to coarse grained morphology and from homogeneously distributed of A phase to a concentration of A phase(Fig.2).Meanwhile,the proportion of A phase reduced from 35% to 5-10°o.For this reason it is known as welded coarse grained zone(CGZ).In association with difference of microstructure between base metal and welded CGZ,so chloride SCC resistance also differ from each other.Test procedures:Constant load tensile test(CLTT) were performed for recording Esce-t curve by which corrosion cracking growth can be described, tf,fractured time,can also be recorded by the test which is taken as a electrochemical behavior and mechanical property for SCC resistance evaluation. Test environment:143°C boiling 42%MgCl2 solution is used.Besides, micro analysis were conducted with light microscopy(LM),SEM,TEM,and Auger energy spectrum(AES) so as to reveal the correlation between the data generated by the CLTT results and micro analysis.


2020 ◽  
Vol 29 (3S) ◽  
pp. 638-647 ◽  
Author(s):  
Janine F. J. Meijerink ◽  
Marieke Pronk ◽  
Sophia E. Kramer

Purpose The SUpport PRogram (SUPR) study was carried out in the context of a private academic partnership and is the first study to evaluate the long-term effects of a communication program (SUPR) for older hearing aid users and their communication partners on a large scale in a hearing aid dispensing setting. The purpose of this research note is to reflect on the lessons that we learned during the different development, implementation, and evaluation phases of the SUPR project. Procedure This research note describes the procedures that were followed during the different phases of the SUPR project and provides a critical discussion to describe the strengths and weaknesses of the approach taken. Conclusion This research note might provide researchers and intervention developers with useful insights as to how aural rehabilitation interventions, such as the SUPR, can be developed by incorporating the needs of the different stakeholders, evaluated by using a robust research design (including a large sample size and a longer term follow-up assessment), and implemented widely by collaborating with a private partner (hearing aid dispensing practice chain).


Author(s):  
Carina Hakansson ◽  
Lina Lundquist
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