GMoLS6E34 Connectionists with Donald Clark

Great Minds on Learning

Is the mind flatter than we thought?

This episode was recorded in front of a live audience at the ‘Performance Journey Goes Dutch’ conference in Ermelo, The Netherlands, organised by Xpertise Learning. Donald and John explore a group of theorists who are giving us a new picture of how we think and learn that is distinctively different from what came before. They’re the Connectionists, and they see the brain as flatter than was previously thought, constantly trying to predict what will happen next, and to improvise a response. But what are the implications for learning of this New Psychology?

• 00:00 - Intro
• 00:58 - Introducing The Connectionists
• 11:15 - Daniel Dennett (1942 - 2024)
• 19:15 - Geoffrey Hinton (1947–)
• 24:38 - Nick Chater (1965–)
• 35:17 - Karl Friston (1959–)
• 39:19 - Joshua Brett Tenenbaum (1972–)
• 43:49 - Andy Clark (1957–)
• 46:54 - Summing Up

The Blog that started it all:

• https://donaldclarkplanb.blogspot.com/2021/09/these-were-written-as-quick-readable.html

Contact Donald

• X: @DonaldClark
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/donald-clark-04553022/
• Blog: http://donaldclarkplanb.blogspot.com/

Contact John Helmer

• X: @johnhelmer
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/johnhelmer/
• Website: https://learninghackpodcast.com/
• Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/LearningHack/