?url_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Adc&rft.title=The+learning+barrier%3A+Moving+from+innate+to+learned+systems+of+communication&rft.creator=Oliphant%2C+Michael&rft.subject=Animal+Behavior&rft.subject=Animal+Cognition&rft.subject=Evolution&rft.subject=Language&rft.subject=Dynamical+Systems&rft.subject=Neural+Nets&rft.subject=Computational+Linguistics&rft.subject=Learnability&rft.subject=Semantics&rft.subject=Philosophy+of+Language&rft.description=Human+language+is+a+unique+ability.+It+sits+apart+from+other+systems+of+communication+in+two+striking+ways%3A+it+is+syntactic%2C+and+it+is+learned.+While+most+approaches+to+the+evolution+of+language+have+focused+on+the+evolution+of+syntax%2C+this+paper+explores+the+computational+issues+that+arise+in+shifting+from+a+simple+innate+communication+system+to+an+equally+simple+one+that+is+learned.+Associative+network+learning+within+an+observational+learning+paradigm+is+used+to+explore+the+computational+difficulties+involved+in+establishing+and+maintaining+a+simple+learned+communication+system.+Because+Hebbian+learning+is+found+to+be+sufficient+for+this+task%2C+it+is+proposed+that+the+basic+computational+demands+of+learning+are+unlikely+to+account+for+the+rarity+of+even+simple+learned+communication+systems.+Instead%2C+it+is+the+problem+of+*observing*+that+is+likely+to+be+central+--+in+particular+the+problem+of+determining+what+meaning+a+signal+is+intended+to+convey.&rft.date=1988-04&rft.type=Preprint&rft.type=NonPeerReviewed&rft.format=application%2Fpostscript&rft.identifier=http%3A%2F%2Fcogprints.org%2F196%2F2%2Fnetlearn.ps&rft.identifier=++Oliphant%2C+Michael++(1988)+The+learning+barrier%3A+Moving+from+innate+to+learned+systems+of+communication.++%5BPreprint%5D++++(Unpublished)++&rft.relation=http%3A%2F%2Fcogprints.org%2F196%2F