On 02/12/06, Ben Goertzel <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
> I think that our propensity for music is pretty damn simple: it's a
> side-effect of the general skill-learning machinery that makes us memetic
> substrates. Tunes are trajectories in n-space as are the series of motor
> signals involved in walking, throwing, hitting, cracking nuts, chipping
> stones, etc, etc. Once we evolved a general learn-to-imitate-by-observing
> ability it will get used for imitating just about anything.
Well, Steve Mithen argues otherwise in his book, based on admittedly
speculative interpretations of anthropological/archaeological
evidence...
He argues for the presence of a specialized tonal pattern recognition
module in the human brain, and the specific consequences for language
learning of the existence of such a module...
Hmm, from the surface that theory would seem be hard pressed to
explain occurances like this
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2000/04/25/60II/main188527.shtml
Unless it has more complexity than you have described.
Will Pearson
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