Phasetransition-like changes in human visual information processing
For exact examination of human information processing ability we elaborated an information-theory-based model and a new measuring method. Starting from the theoretical background of the well-known Hick-Hyman law and analysing the data acquired during the Soyuz-Salyut space missions, an important fact was derived. When examining the model by reducing the H(X) input entropy of the stimulus signals (symbols) and approaching to the 0 bit there was an interesting effect: through the reduction of H(X) input entropy towards zero the ratio of (processed information)/(input entropy) was increasing and its value approached to 1, while at non-zero entropy this ratio was less than 1. Therefore a phase-change-like effect occurred below H(X) = 1 bit. Consequently the zero bit measurement could not be involved into the determination of Information Processing Ability (IPA) while the traditional measurements were performed only at two distinct values of entropy: at 0 bit and at a not too high H(X) value (e.g. 2 bits/symbol).
visual information processing information processing ability phase transition artificial neural networks associative memory