From: rickert@mp.cs.niu.edu (Neil Rickert)
Subject: Re: what is consciousness for?
Organization: Northern Illinois University
Date: Fri, 21 Aug 1992 16:04:15 GMT

In article <BtC48F.KBx@watdragon.uwaterloo.ca> cpshelle@logos.uwaterloo.ca (cameron shelley) writes:
>
>This leaves me rather unsure about the distinction between conscious
>learning and unconscious learning that you're referring to.

Perhaps I do need to clarify.  I am referring to learning which goes
on, and of which you are not consciously aware at the time.  This is
usually a relatively slow learning process.  I do not mean to suggest
that you are physically unconscious at the time this learning occurs.

>                                                             Do you
>also make a distinction between unconscious learning and innate
>learning (such as imprinting, say)?

Assuming that you are referring to knowledge conveyed by your genes, I
prefer not to use the term "learning" for that, and I certainly am not
referring to that.

>                                     It would indeed be interesting to
>look at what consciousness is by looking at what conscious learning
>does in contrast to what unconscious learning does.  Could you give a
>couple of examples that show this? 

If you ever had the misfortune to chip a tooth, or have a filling
break, you probably noticed that as your tongue moved around your mouth
it sensed that something was wrong.  Somehow you have learned what the
inside of your mouth feels like from your tongue, and can recognize
the discrepancy when there is a change.  I would characterize this
learning as unconscious.

When you are riding a bicycle, the procedure to turn left is:
   turn the handlebars slightly to the right;
   this causes the bike to lean to the left;
   now when the lean reaches the appropriate angle, turn the handlebars
	left;
   finally, when the turn is complete, turn the handlebars slightly
	further to the left;
   this cause the bike to resume a vertical position;
   when vertical, straighten the handlebars.
Most bike riders are not consciously aware of this procedure.  In
particular most are unaware of the initial step of turning the handlebars
right.  Yet you have the unconscious knowledge to do this, learned by
experience.  Incidently, being consciously aware of the procedure does
improve control of the bike; it helps to not have the conscious fighting
the unconscious for control.  I would characterize this procedure as
knowledge learned unconsciously, and for most people, knowledge they
are not consciously aware they have.

Learning how to recognize speech is most likely unconscious.  The
article:
	Patricia K. Kuhl et al, Linguistic Experience Alters Phonetic
	Perception in Infants by 6 Months of Age.  Science, 255: 606-608,
	Jan 31 1992.
describes how much of the phoneme recognition is apparently learned
well before a child learns to speak, just from the background speech
of others heard by the child and presumably meaningless to the child.

Probably most of the semantics of our language is learned unconsciously.
You can consciously learn a dictionary definition.  But semantics is
much richer than that definition.  You unconsciously learn about all of
the associations with the word from your experience in hearing and seeing
the word in use.