Learning from Experience and Performing Learned Actions are Easy; Problem Solving and Calculation are Hard
This chapter compares several additional functions of the brain to show which functions it is good and bad at, and to see how to design computer. It also explains problem solving and calculation are hard; reptiles, amphibians, and most birds get along in their world quite well with just an old brain and a midbrain. Insects, spiders, and mollusks survive in their environments with even less. Animals without a cortex (or its equivalent, as in a few birds) can learn from experience, but it usually takes a lot of experience and they can only learn minor adjustments to their behavior. Most of their behavior is stereotyped, repetitive, and predictable once one understands the demands of their environment. Implications for user interface design and performing learned actions are explained.