# Instincts are learned not earned

**URL:** <https://discourse.numenta.org/t/instincts-are-learned-not-earned/10034>\
**Category:** Community\
**Tags:** question, community\
**Created:** [September 1, 2022, 4:11pm UTC](https://discourse.numenta.org/t/instincts-are-learned-not-earned/10034 "2022-09-01T16:11:42Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 6\
**Page:** 2

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**Author:** ![JJC](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex030/user_avatar/discourse.numenta.org/jjc/32/5650_2.png) [@JJC](https://discourse.numenta.org/u/JJC)\
**Post date:** [September 4, 2022, 2:29pm UTC](https://discourse.numenta.org/t/instincts-are-learned-not-earned/10034/21 "2022-09-04T14:29:44Z")

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> [@Prakash](#):
>
> Can we propose a brain with many functionality(like dreaming,thinking,muscle movement) with just one principles as ‘passing action potential’?

Isn’t that more or less what Jeff Hawkins has been spending decates on? Except that you’re saying with “just one principle”, while he’s been saying, “let’s find out how many principles we could/shoudl/would copy” (from the real brain).

It would be intellectually significant if one could establish a theory / conjecture about the essential principles absolutely necessary & sufficient, to reproduce a “brain” … in the style of how Euclid came up with the five axioms and defined the axiomatic system of geometry.

It would be fascinating. How far did your thinking go along these directions? It’ll be great if you can share your writings or thoughts.

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**Author:** ![steve9773](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex030/user_avatar/discourse.numenta.org/steve9773/32/5649_2.png) [@steve9773](https://discourse.numenta.org/u/steve9773)\
**Post date:** [September 5, 2022, 11:38am UTC](https://discourse.numenta.org/t/instincts-are-learned-not-earned/10034/22 "2022-09-05T11:38:03Z")

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That paper seems pretty bad to me, doesn’t it?

My read of the evidence is that the genetically-hardcoded snake detector is in the superior colliculus. (But other parts of the brain like amygdala and cerebellum get roped in after within-lifetime learning.) By the way, I think the snake might have to be slithering for superior colliculus to recognize it (and likewise spiders need to be skittering); this is another way that experimental papers in the literature often screw up, I think.

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**Author:** ![Prakash](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex030/user_avatar/discourse.numenta.org/prakash/32/6117_2.png) [@Prakash](https://discourse.numenta.org/u/Prakash)\
**Post date:** [September 5, 2022, 12:52pm UTC](https://discourse.numenta.org/t/instincts-are-learned-not-earned/10034/23 "2022-09-05T12:52:17Z")

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> [@JJC](#):
>
> It’ll be great if you can share your writings or thoughts

Thank you very much… i never thought someone would say this to me… i will upload my thoughts in this forum… thanks once again for the response…

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**Author:** ![Prakash](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex030/user_avatar/discourse.numenta.org/prakash/32/6117_2.png) [@Prakash](https://discourse.numenta.org/u/Prakash)\
**Post date:** [September 5, 2022, 12:54pm UTC](https://discourse.numenta.org/t/instincts-are-learned-not-earned/10034/24 "2022-09-05T12:54:06Z")

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Slithering and skittering… it seems reasonable to me… do you think we can distill it further?

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**Author:** ![Prakash](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex030/user_avatar/discourse.numenta.org/prakash/32/6117_2.png) [@Prakash](https://discourse.numenta.org/u/Prakash)\
**Post date:** [September 5, 2022, 1:13pm UTC](https://discourse.numenta.org/t/instincts-are-learned-not-earned/10034/25 "2022-09-05T13:13:59Z")

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> [@JJC](#):
>
> It would be intellectually significant if one could establish a theory / conjecture about the essential principles absolutely necessary & sufficient, to reproduce a “brain

That would be great… i think too… actually i believe in that ‘one principle’… I believe it would be easier to start with the fundamental & simplest concept to solve a problem…

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**Author:** ![Casey](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex030/user_avatar/discourse.numenta.org/casey/32/2874_2.png) [@Casey](https://discourse.numenta.org/u/Casey)\
**Post date:** [September 5, 2022, 10:12pm UTC](https://discourse.numenta.org/t/instincts-are-learned-not-earned/10034/26 "2022-09-05T22:12:58Z")

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> [@steve9773](#):
>
> My read of the evidence is that the genetically-hardcoded snake detector is in the superior colliculus.

The pulvinar is part of the thalamus, so it’d probably receive signals from snake detection circuitry elsewhere. The thalamus itself doesn’t have complicated circuitry.

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