Given that instincts are bodies of expert knowledge then the
methods of expert system building should be useful in modeling them. In fact
trying to build an expert system model of an instinct might be the ideal way to
come to grips with the deep research problem of how instincts work. Modeling
instincts is a research program.
A bird building a nest or a beaver building a dam are clearly cases of the application of expert knowledge. If anyone doubts this they should try building a bird nest. So are a horse grazing in motion, a crow cawing, a herbivore selecting plants to eat, or a woodpecker picking a drum tree, as I see it. Each of these cases is discussed in prior articles here. There are many other cases that could be mentioned. In fact defining the specific areas of instinctive expertise in each kind of critter is a research program all on its own.
Building an expert system primarily means specifying a set of rules that embody a specific body of expert knowledge. That this can be done, that such expert rules exist, is itself a great discovery. Often the individual rules are relatively simple. It is the combining of these simple rules that yields the complex behavior of expertise.
Normally the expert rules are found using a process called knowledge engineering. It involves a combination of interviewing experts and reading technical documents, such as manuals, handbooks and textbooks.
When it comes to horses or critters in general, this method of knowledge engineering is not available. Rather the approach has to be to ask what expert rules explain the observed behavior. This is likely to be significantly more difficult than simply interviewing an expert, but there is no reason it cannot work. Even asking the question is useful because it creates a systematic approach to understanding an instinct. It breaks the problem down into one of finding a set of simple rules.
For example, here are two simple rules that might help explain how herbivores decide which plants to eat:
Rule 1: If it tastes good it is probably okay to eat it.
Rule 2: If it tastes bad it is probably not okay to eat it.
Note that the use of "it" here will require being able to tell one kind of plant from another. This will require a set of rules of its own. The use of "probably" means that other rules might modify these rules, such that good tasting plants are not eaten and bad tasting plants are eaten.
The point is that instinct is often an innate form of expertise. Trying to find the simple expert rules underlying important instincts is a feasible research program. This will greatly increase our understanding of animal behavior. In the case of horses this understanding will facilitate the training and management of the critters.
A bird building a nest or a beaver building a dam are clearly cases of the application of expert knowledge. If anyone doubts this they should try building a bird nest. So are a horse grazing in motion, a crow cawing, a herbivore selecting plants to eat, or a woodpecker picking a drum tree, as I see it. Each of these cases is discussed in prior articles here. There are many other cases that could be mentioned. In fact defining the specific areas of instinctive expertise in each kind of critter is a research program all on its own.
Building an expert system primarily means specifying a set of rules that embody a specific body of expert knowledge. That this can be done, that such expert rules exist, is itself a great discovery. Often the individual rules are relatively simple. It is the combining of these simple rules that yields the complex behavior of expertise.
Normally the expert rules are found using a process called knowledge engineering. It involves a combination of interviewing experts and reading technical documents, such as manuals, handbooks and textbooks.
When it comes to horses or critters in general, this method of knowledge engineering is not available. Rather the approach has to be to ask what expert rules explain the observed behavior. This is likely to be significantly more difficult than simply interviewing an expert, but there is no reason it cannot work. Even asking the question is useful because it creates a systematic approach to understanding an instinct. It breaks the problem down into one of finding a set of simple rules.
For example, here are two simple rules that might help explain how herbivores decide which plants to eat:
Rule 1: If it tastes good it is probably okay to eat it.
Rule 2: If it tastes bad it is probably not okay to eat it.
Note that the use of "it" here will require being able to tell one kind of plant from another. This will require a set of rules of its own. The use of "probably" means that other rules might modify these rules, such that good tasting plants are not eaten and bad tasting plants are eaten.
The point is that instinct is often an innate form of expertise. Trying to find the simple expert rules underlying important instincts is a feasible research program. This will greatly increase our understanding of animal behavior. In the case of horses this understanding will facilitate the training and management of the critters.
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