TY - GEN
T1 - From algorithmic to subjective randomness
AU - Griffiths, Thomas L.
AU - Tenenbaum, Joshua B.
PY - 2004
Y1 - 2004
N2 - We explore the phenomena of subjective randomness as a case study in understanding how people discover structure embedded in noise. We present a rational account of randomness perception based on the statistical problem of model selection: given a stimulus, inferring whether the process that generated it was random or regular. Inspired by the mathematical definition of randomness given by Kolmogorov complexity, we characterize regularity in terms of a hierarchy of automata that augment a finite controller with different forms of memory. We find that the regularities detected in binary sequences depend upon presentation format, and that the kinds of automata that can identify these regularities are informative about the cognitive processes engaged by different formats.
AB - We explore the phenomena of subjective randomness as a case study in understanding how people discover structure embedded in noise. We present a rational account of randomness perception based on the statistical problem of model selection: given a stimulus, inferring whether the process that generated it was random or regular. Inspired by the mathematical definition of randomness given by Kolmogorov complexity, we characterize regularity in terms of a hierarchy of automata that augment a finite controller with different forms of memory. We find that the regularities detected in binary sequences depend upon presentation format, and that the kinds of automata that can identify these regularities are informative about the cognitive processes engaged by different formats.
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M3 - Conference contribution
AN - SCOPUS:33745779505
SN - 0262201526
SN - 9780262201520
T3 - Advances in Neural Information Processing Systems
BT - Advances in Neural Information Processing Systems 16 - Proceedings of the 2003 Conference, NIPS 2003
PB - Neural information processing systems foundation
T2 - 17th Annual Conference on Neural Information Processing Systems, NIPS 2003
Y2 - 8 December 2003 through 13 December 2003
ER -