Directed convergence in stable percept acquisition

We view a perceptual capacity as a nondeductive inference, represented as a function from a set of premises to a set of conclusions. The application of the function to a single premise to produce a single conclusion is called a "percept" or "instantaneous percept." We define a stable percept as a convergent sequence of instantaneous percepts. Assuming that the sets of premises and conclusions are metric spaces, we introduce a strategy for acquiring stable percepts, called directed convergence. We consider probabilistic inferences, where the premise and conclusion sets are spaces of probability, measures, and in this context we study Bayesian probabilistic/recursive. ve inference. In this type of Bayesian inference the premises are probability measures, and the prior as well as the posterior is updated nontrivially at each iteration. This type of Bayesian inference is distinguished front classical Bayesian statistical inference where the prior remains fixed, and the posterior evolves by conditioning on successively more punctual premises, We indicate how the directed convergence procedure may be implemented in the context of Bayesian probabilistic/reursive inference. We discuss how the L-infinity metric can be used to give numerical control of this type of Bayesian directed convergence. (C) 2001 Academic Press.