Footnotes, Refs & Answers

[1] http://videolectures.net/google_lipton_wmmm/

[2] There is considerable confusion and much disagreement in both biopsychology and AI regarding the definitions of 'percept' and 'concept'. I hope I have defined my meanings clearly here; if not you can use any words you please to grasp the ideas, such as 'incoming packet' for percept and 'established packet' for concept. See:

http://hci.ucsd.edu/lab/hci_papers/MH1998-1.pdf

PLEASE NOTE the author of this paper does not want it publicly cited.

[3] There are 6 'F's. If you haven't seen this before, you probably only counted four. Your perception skips the 'f's in 'of' because your brain processes short familiar words as single whole symbols instead of breaking them down into smaller segments [as it does with longer or unfamiliar words]. The two types of words are processed in different ways. 

[4] Rogers, C.R. & Freiberg, H.J. (1994). Freedom to Learn (3rd Ed). Columbus, OH: Merrill/Macmillan.

For more about Rogers and his work, see:

http://oprf.com/Rogers
http://www.infed.org/thinkers/et-rogers.htm
http://www.ship.edu/~cgboeree/rogers.html

[5] For a great role model on how to deal optimally with your own mistakes, see “Iron Man” movies 1&2. Pay attention to Tony Stark. If we didn't blow ourselves up now and again, nothing would get invented.

[6] Volkow, Nora; & Wang, Gene-Jack. The study is published in the September 9, 2009 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association. Source: DOE/Brookhaven National Laboratory

Answers to 'How Perception Happens -do you get it?'

A person is looking at a flower. The flower itself is the distal stimulus. When light reflected from the flower enters the person's eye and stimulates their retina, that stimulation is the proximal stimulus. The image of the flower reconstructed by the brain of the person is the percept. Similar images already stored in the brain are concepts.

A bird is singing. “Birds Singing” is a concept already in memory. The singing of the bird is the distal stimulus. The sound stimulating your auditory receptors is the proximal stimulus, and the brain's interpretation of this as the singing of a bird is the percept.

Someone passes you a new food to try at a party. The new food is the distal stimulus. The registration of the taste and texture of the food on your tastebuds is the proximal stimulus. Your recognition of it as 'tastes like chicken' is a percept. “Chicken Taste” is a concept from your memory.

You meet the Crab People from a distant world. The crab people are the distal stimulus. The light waves reflected from the crab people hitting your retina and the odor molecules from the crab people signaling your nasal receptors are the proximal stimulus. Your observations, “Smells like crab, looks like people” are percepts. “Crabs” and “People” are concepts.