THE STATISTICS OF NATURAL EXPERIENCE

Dota Tianai Dong, Jing Li, Tobias Thomas, Linda B. Smith
Proceedings of the Analytical Connectionism Schools 2023--2024, PMLR 320:126-150, 2026.

Abstract

These lecture notes present Linda Smith’s comprehensive analysis of the statistics of natural experience and its consequences for how we think about learning and intelligence. The material explores how statistics shape behavior and learning, details a developmental curriculum, examines properties of natural statistics, and investigates the dynamic coupling of parents and toddlers. Through multiple perspectives and examples, Smith offers insights into how statistical patterns in our environment influence cognitive development and learning processes. This collection is particularly valuable for machine learning readers seeking to understand the statistical foundations of human cognition and their applications to artificial intelligence systems.

Cite this Paper

BibTeX
@InProceedings{pmlr-v320-dong26a, title = {THE STATISTICS OF NATURAL EXPERIENCE}, author = {Dong, Dota Tianai and Li, Jing and Thomas, Tobias and Smith, Linda B.}, booktitle = {Proceedings of the Analytical Connectionism Schools 2023--2024}, pages = {126--150}, year = {2026}, editor = {Sarao Mannelli, Stefano and Mignacco, Francesca and Chou, Chi-Ning and Chung, SueYeon and Saxe, Andrew}, volume = {320}, series = {Proceedings of Machine Learning Research}, month = {01 Jan--31 Dec}, publisher = {PMLR}, pdf = {https://raw.githubusercontent.com/mlresearch/v320/main/assets/dong26a/dong26a.pdf}, url = {https://proceedings.mlr.press/v320/dong26a.html}, abstract = {These lecture notes present Linda Smith’s comprehensive analysis of the statistics of natural experience and its consequences for how we think about learning and intelligence. The material explores how statistics shape behavior and learning, details a developmental curriculum, examines properties of natural statistics, and investigates the dynamic coupling of parents and toddlers. Through multiple perspectives and examples, Smith offers insights into how statistical patterns in our environment influence cognitive development and learning processes. This collection is particularly valuable for machine learning readers seeking to understand the statistical foundations of human cognition and their applications to artificial intelligence systems.} }
Endnote
%0 Conference Paper %T THE STATISTICS OF NATURAL EXPERIENCE %A Dota Tianai Dong %A Jing Li %A Tobias Thomas %A Linda B. Smith %B Proceedings of the Analytical Connectionism Schools 2023--2024 %C Proceedings of Machine Learning Research %D 2026 %E Stefano Sarao Mannelli %E Francesca Mignacco %E Chi-Ning Chou %E SueYeon Chung %E Andrew Saxe %F pmlr-v320-dong26a %I PMLR %P 126--150 %U https://proceedings.mlr.press/v320/dong26a.html %V 320 %X These lecture notes present Linda Smith’s comprehensive analysis of the statistics of natural experience and its consequences for how we think about learning and intelligence. The material explores how statistics shape behavior and learning, details a developmental curriculum, examines properties of natural statistics, and investigates the dynamic coupling of parents and toddlers. Through multiple perspectives and examples, Smith offers insights into how statistical patterns in our environment influence cognitive development and learning processes. This collection is particularly valuable for machine learning readers seeking to understand the statistical foundations of human cognition and their applications to artificial intelligence systems.
APA
Dong, D.T., Li, J., Thomas, T. & Smith, L.B.. (2026). THE STATISTICS OF NATURAL EXPERIENCE. Proceedings of the Analytical Connectionism Schools 2023--2024, in Proceedings of Machine Learning Research 320:126-150 Available from https://proceedings.mlr.press/v320/dong26a.html.

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