Talking Nets: An Oral History of Neural Networks [Hardcover]

Edward Rosenfeld (Editor), James A. Anderson (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 29, 1998 | Series: Bradford Books

Since World War II, a group of scientists has been attempting to understand the human nervous system and to build computer systems that emulate the brain's abilities. Many of the early workers in this field of neural networks came from cybernetics; others came from neuroscience, physics, electrical engineering, mathematics, psychology, even economics. In this collection of interviews, those who helped to shape the field share their childhood memories, their influences, how they became interested in neural networks, and what they see as its future.The subjects tell stories that have been told, referred to, whispered about, and imagined throughout the history of the field. Together, the interviews form a Rashomon-like web of reality. Some of the mythic people responsible for the foundations of modern brain theory and cybernetics, such as Norbert Wiener, Warren McCulloch, and Frank Rosenblatt, appear prominently in the recollections. The interviewees agree about some things and disagree about more. Together, they tell the story of how science is actually done, including the false starts, and the Darwinian struggle for jobs, resources, and reputation. Although some of the interviews contain technical material, there is no actual mathematics in the book.Contributors : James A. Anderson, Michael Arbib, Gail Carpenter, Leon Cooper, Jack Cowan, Walter Freeman, Stephen Grossberg, Robert Hecht-Neilsen, Geoffrey Hinton, Teuvo Kohonen, Bart Kosko, Jerome Lettvin, Carver Mead, David Rumelhart, Terry Sejnowski, Paul Werbos, Bernard Widrow.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

This work is not so much a collection of interviews seeking to enlighten some distinctive readership on the scientific workings of neural networks as it is a congeries of page after tedious page of the ramblings of 17 scientists who work in the vanguard of the neural field. In addition to neural networks, the work includes neurocomputing, fuzzy logic, and artificial intelligence. Anderson (linguistics, Brown) and journalist Rosenfield allow their subjects to range freely, and they discuss themselves, the neural network field (much of their offering here is anecdotal and even gossipy), and whatever happens to pop into their heads. Jerome Lettvin, professor emeritus at MIT, roams for ten pages on the question "What did your parents do?" Fuzzy logician Bart Kosko waxes nostalgic about how brilliant he was as a youth, thoughtfully into drugs and music until "a very bad acid trip, a paranoid trip, [after which] I got completely out of it and was turned off by the whole culture, including rock music." At least the glossary is good. Half-heartedly recommended for large technical collections.?Robert Ballou, Atlanta
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review

" Talking Nets is a fascinating book.... Anyone with a serious—or even half-serious—interest in neural networks, or in the history of AI or cognitive science, should read Talking Nets."—Margaret A. Boden , Times Literary Supplement

" Talking Nets is a fascinating book.... Anyone with a serious -- or even half-serious -- interest in neural networks, or in the history of AI or cognitive science, should read Talking Nets." Margaret A. Boden Times Literary Supplement

"A fascinating compilation of discussions with many of the pioneers inneurocomputing. This book will certainly help fill in the motivationsand historical context surrounding many of the fundamentalbreakthroughs in the area." James L. McClelland , Center for the Neural Basis of Cognition

" Talking Nets is a fascinating book.... Anyone with a serious or even half-serious interest in neural networks, or in the history of AI or cognitive science, should read Talking Nets ." Margaret A. Boden , Times Literary Supplement

" Talking Nets is a fascinating book.... Anyone with a serious -- or even half-serious -- interest in neural networks, or in the history of AI or cognitive science, should read Talking Nets ." Margaret A. Boden Times Literary Supplement

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 448 pages
• Publisher: A Bradford Book; First Edition edition (May 29, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0262011670
• ISBN-13: 978-0262011679
• Product Dimensions: 10.3 x 7.4 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.9 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,751,351 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars outstanding interviews from legends, July 2, 2009

By 

J.Moorkanikara "Jay's elibrary" (Irvine, US, Canada) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Talking Nets: An Oral History of Neural Networks (Hardcover)

I was always interested in the history of various ideas. Every time I read an interesting paper in neural networks it makes me think how this kind of idea came to the author. What was the motivation and how the idea evolved into a full fledged paper ? These and many other things have been explained by various legends likes Sejnowski, James Anderson and others.

Truly a remarkable book and it was very interesting to read. Most of the answers have been discussed elaborately.

Many authors also explain about how they shaped their career in this area. What motivated them to look in different parts of the brain and how they prepared for a long career in this area. All these information was very useful for me and will be useful for any aspiring researcher in this area.

8 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Unique Book, April 19, 2000

By 

Chris McKinstry (South America) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Talking Nets: An Oral History of Neural Networks (Paperback)

When I was 13, I tried to build an artificial neuron in a test tube, storing the 'weight' of the neuron in electroplating of a mechanical pencil graphite rod. But, I burned myself badly with nitric acid and ended up in the emergency room. I unfortunately wasn't allowed to finish the project.

Reading this unique oral history of neural nets, I discovered that Benard Widrow did the same thing in 1959 (minus the burn part - he was 30 at the time and didn't have to sneak the acid of the science store room at school) and invented the 'Memistor' and Memistor Corporation.

I learned a million other details about neural networks and their history in this book and now feel like I know some of the people interviewed here personally.