Connectionists: NIPS 2009 Workshop - "The Curse of Dimensionality Problem: How Does the Brain Solve It?"

[Terry Sejnowski]

NIPS 2009 Workshop - Whistler Canada - http://nips.cc/Conferences/2009/Program/

Friday, December 11, 2009
7.30 am - 10.30 am
16.00 am - 19.00 pm

"The Curse of Dimensionality Problem: How Does the Brain Solve It?"

Organizers:

Simon Haykin, McMaster University 
Terry Sejnowski, Salk Institute and UCSD
Steven Zucker, Yale University

One Day Format:

Tutorial Lectures (Haykin, Sejnowski, Zucker)
Invited Speakers (Valiant, Tsotsos, Bialek, Tishby, Powell)

Abstract:

The notion of "Curse of Dimensionality" was coined by Richard Bellman
(1961). It refers to the exponential increase in computing a task of
interest when extra dimensions are added to an associated  mathematical
space. For example, it arises in solving dynamic programming and optimal
control problems when the dimension of the state vector is large. It
also arises in solving learning problems when a finite number of data
samples is used to learn a "state of nature, the distribution of which
is infinitely large."

Much has been written on the curse of dimensionality problem in the
mathematics and engineering literature. In contrast, little is known on
how the human brain solves problems of this kind with relative ease. The
key question is: How does the brain do it? To address this basic
problem, it may be that we can learn from the mathematics and
engineering literature, reformulated in the context of neuroscience.

This one-day workshop at NIPS 2009 is aimed at addressing the issues
involved in  the curses (and blessings) of dimensionality.

Invited Speakers:

Les Valiant (Harvard)
Dr. John Tsotsos (York)
Bill Bialek (Princeton)
Naftali Tishby (Weizmann)
Warren Powell (Princeton)

Workshop Format:

Each speaker will have 90 minutes including discussion.
The talks are informal with interruptions welcome during the talks.

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