For e.g. the ferret rewiring experiments, tongue based vision, etc., is a plausible alternative hypothesis that there are more general subtypes of regions that aren’t fully specialized but are more interoperable than others?
It’s far more likely that different brain modules implement different learning rules, but all learn, than that they encode innate mental functionality which is not subject to learning at all.
I’m inclined to agree. Actually I’ve been convinced for a while that this is a matter of degrees rather than being fully one way or the other (Modules versus learning rules), and am convinced by this article that the brain is more of a ULM than I had previously thought.
Still, when I read that part the alternative hypothesis sprung to mind, so I was curious what the literature had to say about it (Or the post author.)
It’s far more likely that different brain modules implement different learning rules, but all learn, than that they encode innate mental functionality which is not subject to learning at all.
I’m inclined to agree. Actually I’ve been convinced for a while that this is a matter of degrees rather than being fully one way or the other (Modules versus learning rules), and am convinced by this article that the brain is more of a ULM than I had previously thought.
Still, when I read that part the alternative hypothesis sprung to mind, so I was curious what the literature had to say about it (Or the post author.)