We haven't found anything in nature that resembles reverse-mode automatic differentiation, either in evolution or in neuroscience.
Re:Underrated reasons to be thankful V
by mountainreason on Friday November 28, 2025 @08:03PM
(#46084342)
What would that look like. Is there an implementation of the finite difference method in biology somehow?
I'd be surprised.
Re:Underrated reasons to be thankful V
by mountainreason on Saturday November 29, 2025 @03:37PM
(#46090570)
Yeah thanks, me too. So I'm wondering what point 22 is getting at. How could that even be possible?
Biology can use discrete methods; we have discrete neurons (and other cells), discrete chemical species like ATP, discrete amino acids, discrete genes made of discrete nucleotides, etc.
Re:Underrated reasons to be thankful V
by mountainreason on Saturday December 06, 2025 @09:02AM
(#46173431)
Fur sure. But I don't get how that leads to an expectation that our biology is computing and utilizing derivatives in a computational graph.
Point 22 seems to imply that the other finds it notable that that isn't happening.
Re:Underrated reasons to be thankful V
by mountainreason on Sunday December 07, 2025 @09:53AM
(#46182073)
Author*
> 22. That, eerily, biological life and biological intelligence does not appear to make use of that property of expression graphs.
Claim 22 is interesting. I can believe that it isn't immediately apparent because biological life is too complex (putting it mildly), but is that the extent of it?