COURSE SUMMARY

Harshit K. Choudhary

INTEGRATIVE
INTELLIGENCE:
COGNITION
AND LEARNING
Course Instructor: Dr. Puneet Bindlish
HPY 321, HSS Department, IIT (BHU)
(Even 2019-20)

/harshit_connects
INTRODUCTION
BRIEF OBJECTIVE OF THE COURSE
"This course intends to give an integrative
glimpse of human as well as systems’
intelligence from different perspectives in
order to develop an integrative perspective
towards intelligence."

PRESENTATION OUTLINE
Learning Theories
Learning Processes
Neuroscience approach
Philosophical approach
Systems Intelligence
Harmonising Intelligence
LEARNING THEORIES
The theories give perspectives to different
views. View defines how we define certain
phenomena. The application of different
views help us design methods.

The following slides is about four major

theories on Learning, summarizing their
view on knowledge, learning and
motivation; along with instructional
methods involved in teaching.

SECTION OUTLINE
Behaviourism
Cognitivism
Constructivism
Connectivism
Behaviourism
KNOWLEDGE
A repertoire of behavioral responses to
environmental stimuli

LEARNING
Passive absorption of a predefined body of
knowledge via external methods

MOTIVATION
Extrinsic, involving positive and negative
reinforcement

TEACHING
Drill and practice;
Rote learning;
Lecture and tests
Cognitivism
KNOWLEDGE
A cognitive system actively constructed
based on pre-existing cognitive structures

LEARNING
Active assimilation and accommodation of
new information via memory consolidation

MOTIVATION
Intrinsic, via goal setting and and pursuit of
discovery of facts

TEACHING
Seminars and sessions;
Visual and demonstrative learning;
Critical thinking exercises
Constructivism
KNOWLEDGE
A system of experiences built around
personal sphere

LEARNING
Self guided approach towards
understanding true meaning in a discipline

MOTIVATION
Intrinsic, based on self satisfaction and
gist for exploration

TEACHING
Self-directed analysis;
Building personal experience;
Comparison with the past knowledge
Connectivism
KNOWLEDGE
A grand repository of facts and
experiences, shared by a network

LEARNING
Debate and discussion based approach in
a collaborative environment

MOTIVATION
Extrinsic, based on sharing of knowledge
base with the network

TEACHING
Spontaneous learning circles;
Sharing of resources;
Peer graded review
LEARNING PROCESSES
Learning involves the reorganization of
experiences, either by attaining new
insights or changing old ones. 
Thus, learning is a change in knowledge
which is stored in memory, and not just a
change in behavior.

The following slides are about how

learning occurs; by defining various
concepts and terminologies.

SECTION OUTLINE
Mental Process
Thinking Process
Problem Solving
Problem Creation
Mental State
Mental Process
All of the mental activities that are involved
in learning, remembering, and performing.
Main mental process:

Cognition
Process of acquiring knowledge and
understanding through thought,
experience, and the senses
Attention
Selectively concentrating on a discrete
aspect of information, while ignoring other
perceivable information
Perception
Recognition and interpretation of sensory
information, and deriving meaning from it
Meta Cognition
Process used to plan, monitor, and assess
one’s understanding and performance
Thinking Process
Manipulating information, as when we
form concepts, engage in problem solving,
reason and make decisions.

Schema
A mental structure that represents an
aspect of the world, and streamlines
processing by categorizing objects
Concepts
A mental grouping of similar things, events,
and people that is used to remember and
understand them
Prototype
Complete form of a thing with all expected
qualities and characteristics present.
Mental Set
Tendency to approach situations in a
certain way based on past experience
Problem Solving
The process of finding solutions to difficult
or complex issues.
Some of the processes:

Heuristic
A mental shortcut for quick decision based
on past experience.

Algorithms
A defined set of step-by-step procedures
that provides the correct answer to a
particular problem.

Trial and Error

A set of repeated, varied attempts which
are continued until success, or exhaustion.

Insight
Sudden discovery of the correct solution
following unproven attempts
Problem Creating
The unwanted process of increasing the
difficulty or complexity of problem solving.
Some of the processes:

Functional Fixedness
The inability to use an object differently for
some other non-generic purpose
Availability Heuristic
A mental shortcut that relies on immediate
but incomplete or unreliable examples
Confirmation Bias
Interpreting new evidence as confirmation
of one's existing beliefs or theories.
Prejudice
Unjustified or incorrect attitude solely
based on membership to a social group
Belief Perseverance
The inability of people to change their own
belief even upon receiving reasons or facts
Mental State
A kind of hypothetical state that
corresponds to thinking and feeling, and
consists of a conglomeration of mental
representations and propositional
attitudes.

Memory
Storing information and
building on past knowledge

Comprehension
Undertanding and organizing
data to fit into a larger picture

Application
Reflecting and connecting
new information
NEUROSCIENCE
APPROACH
"Neuroscience is a multidisciplinary
science that is concerned with the study
of the structure and function of the
nervous system. It encompasses the
evolution, development, cellular and
molecular biology, hysiology, anatomy and
pharmacology of the nervous system, as
well as computational, behavioural and
cognitive neuroscience."

SECTION OUTLINE
Pass Theory
Human Memory
Basic Principles
Learning
Biochemistry of Brain
Development
Emotional Expression
PASS Theory
Describes functional process in brain units

Planning
Controlling and organizing behavior,
selecting and constructing strategies,
and monitoring performance
frontal lobe

Attention Arousal
Maintaining arousal level and alertness,
and ensuring focus on relevant stimuli
frontal lobe and lower parts of cortex

Processing
Encode, transform, retain information
Simultaneous
determination of the relationship
between items as a whole unit
occipital and the parietal lobes
Successive
organizing separate items in an order
of sequence
frontal-temporal lobes
Human Memory
Faculty of the brain by which information is
encoded, stored, and retrieved

Muscle (Sensory)
Momentarily retain impressions of sensory
information after stimulus has ceased

Working (Short Term)

Allows recall for a period of several
seconds to a minute without rehearsal

Life time (Long Term)

Store much larger quantities of information
for potentially unlimited duration
Explicit - conscious
Declarative - facts; events
Episodic - experience
Semantics - concepts
Implicit - unconscious
Procedural - skills
Basic Principles
Neuron
Cells within the nervous system that
transmit information to other nerve cells,
muscle, or gland cells
Synapse
Memories exist due to the biological
network between neurons, in the spaces
between them, called the synapses.
Evolutionary Structure of Brain
Three brain portions build upon each other
Archicortex
least evolved part; developed in
association with the olfactory system
Paleocortex
concern is with the survival functions of
food, fighting, fleeing, and reproduction
(area of amygdala is the center of our
strongest emotions such as fear, anger,
rage, excitement, etc.)
Neocortex
recently evolved; concerned with sight
and hearing in mammals
Learning
Definitions
Memory
Dialogue between hippocampus and cortex
Consolidation
Moving memory from short to long-term
Forgetting
Apparent loss or modification of stored
information
Working
Brain records the gist of the memory in
personalized context and significance
Memory is not stored in a single area;
hippocampus moves short-term
memories into long-term memories
Pattern establishment is the scaffolding
to the building of organized and easily
processed information
Memories are arranged, connected,
associated, compared, contrasted,
discriminated, and consolidated in
neocortex
Biochemistry of Brain
Optimal learning conditions under which brain is
able to change in response to stimuli and able
to produce new neurons
Neuroplasticity
Ability of the brain to form and reorganize
synaptic connections
Neurogenesis
Process by which new neurons are formed
in the brain

Main Hormones
Oxytocin
Loving & Caring Touch/Embrace
Endomorphin
Pleasure and endurance
Dopamine
Goal setting and accomplishment
Seretonin
Confidence and Pride, Service Nature
Cortisol
Motivation and Mood
Development
Application of learning theories and knowledge
to improve self or system

Bases to boost intelligence

neurogenesis and neuroplasticity
Healthy food habits and nutritious diet
Regular exercise and active body
Proper rest and adequate Sleep

Spaced Learning Intervals

establishing pattern and long term memory
Persistent Lectures
neurogenesis and reinforcing patterns
Multiple Learning Styles
discovering and recognizing true pattern;
promotes active learning
Moderate Stress
motivation and stimulation to learn;
helping in optimizing performance
Emotional Expression
"The state of psychological arousal, by which
these feelings arises spontaneously and without
any conscious attempt."

Debilitative emotions are caused by fallacies,

some of which are:

Fallacy of Perfection
faking to tackle situation with excellence
Fallacy of Approval
tendency to get approvals from others
Fallacy of Shoulds
inability to distinguish between need and want
Fallacy of Causation
external dependence for emotional support
Fallacy of Over-generalization
limited investment of time to reach conclusion
Fallacy of Helplessness
satisfaction by powers beyond one's control
Fallacy of Catastrophic Expectations
believing in worst possibilities/ assumptions
Cognitive Bias
Emotional intelligence related bias, by which
one tends to make wrong decisions leading to
unfavorable outcome. Some of them are:

Anchoring Bias - over reliant

Availability Heuristic - overestimate instinct
Bandwagon Effect - peer pressured group-link
Blind spot bias - unable to see fault in self
Choice Supportive Bias - choice has flaws
Clustering Illusion - making unjust patterns
Confirmation Bias - having preconceptions
Conservatism Bias - slow to accept change
Information Bias - unneeded hunger of data
Ostrich Effect - ignore negative information
Outcome Bias - judging based on outcome
Overconfidence - over trust on self abilities
Placebo Effect - simply believing affects
Pro-innovation Bias - overvalue usefulness
Recency - unjust weigh on latest information
Salience - focus on easily recognized features
Selective Perception - experience based
Stereotyping - judging based on group
Survivor-ship Bias - misjudge a situation
Zero Risk Bias - unwanted need of certainty
PHILOSOPHICAL
APPROACH
"Quite literally, the term "philosophy"
means, "love of wisdom." In a broad sense,
philosophy is an activity people undertake
when they seek to understand fundamental
truths about themselves, the world in
which they live, and their relationships to
the world and to each other."
Note: Philosophy from Bhartiya (Traditional
Indian) point of view is discussed.

SECTION OUTLINE
Mind - Body Problem
Prakriti and Evolutes
Functions of Mind
Sheaths of Existance
States of Minds
Mind-Body Problem
"Is the mind part of the body, or the body
part of the mind?"
Mind
About mental process, thought and
consiousness
Body
About physical aspects of brain-neuron,
and its structures
Concepts
Dualism
Mind has a non-material, spiritual
dimension that includes consciousness
and possibly an eternal attribute
Monism
Mind and body are manifestations of a
single entity
Materialism
consciousness (the mind) is the
function of the brain
Phenomenalism
body is merely the perception of mind
Prakriti and Evolutes
In the Indian understanding, self-realization
is liberating knowledge of the true Self,
either as the permanent undying Atman, or
as the absence (sunyata) of such a
permanent Self.

Purusha - self existant; conscious-beingness

Prakriti - un-manifested, primordial matter
Mahat - pure intellect, spark of individualization
Ahamkara - process of ego, self identity
1 Sattvik - binds to happiness (Divine)
(goodness, constructive, harmonious)
Jnanendriyas - cognitive senses
(Hear, Touch, See, Smell, Taste)
Karmendriyas - active instruments
(Speak, Hold, Move, Procreate, Eliminate)
2 Rajastic - binds to action (Human)
(passion, active, confused)
3 Tamastic - binds to recklessness (Demonic)
(darkness, destructive, chaotic)
Tanmantras - rudimentary, subtle elements
(corresponding to each 5 senses)
Bhutas - gross elements
(earth, water, fire, air and space)
Functions of Mind
Manas
direct supervisor of the    senses in the
inner factory.
Chitta
storage place of the countless latent
impressions.
Ahamkara
strong wave that declares "I am".
Buddhi
cultivated as the decision maker in the
factory of life.

Observing and discriminating between the

Four Functions of Mind is a key to Self-
realization.
Observing your actions and speech reveals the
underlying thought process in the mind.
While observing actions and speech, directly
observe the inner process of mind, at the
same time.
The association between Ahamkara and the
memories in Chitta is the root problem.
Sheaths of Existance
Annamaya kosha (Physical)
The outermost of the koshas, the sheath
of food and materials
Pranamaya kosha (Energy)
Allows the True Self to be able to
animate in the external world
Manamaya kosha (Mental)
Direct control of the operation, through
prana, the physical body and senses
Vijnanamaya kosha (Wisdom)
Underneath the processing, thinking
aspect of mind
Anandamaya kosha (Bliss)
It is peace, joy, and love; beyond the
mind, independent of reason or stimulus

Atman is the Self, the eternal center of

consciousness, which was never born and
never dies.
Yoga sutras documents the ancient art
based on a harmonizing system of
development for the body, mind, and spirit.
States of Mind
Kshipta (disturbed)
Least desirable of the states of mind, in
which the mind is troubled
Mudha (dull)
Dull or sleepy state, somewhat like one
experiences when depressed
Vikshipta (distracted)
One's attention is easily drawn here and
there, as a noisy mind
Ekagra (one-pointed)
Awakend and clear thought; absolutely
in control of thoughts and actions
Nirodhah (mastered)
Attention is fully arrested and
concentrated on one point/ thought

"Yogash Chitta Vritti Nirodhah”.

Yoga is the control of the thought
patterns of the mind field
Ultimate aim for self-development and
self-realization
SYSTEMS
INTELLIGENCE
"In IT, a  system is defined as a collection
of connected elements or components that
are organized for a common purpose. As
such, although they are typically spoken of
in terms of devices, intelligent systems
include not just intelligent devices but also
interconnected collections of such devices,
including networks and other types of
larger systems."

SECTION OUTLINE
Artificial Intelligence
Machine Learning
Deep Learning
Bias in System
Artificial Intelligence
Studies ways to build intelligent programs
and machines that can creatively solve
problems, which has always been
considered a human prerogative

Artificial Narrow Intelligence (Weak)

Good at performing a particular task,
but it will not pass for human in any
field outside of its defined capacities

Artificial General Intelligence (Strong)

Make their own decisions and learn
without any human input. Not only are
they competent in solving logical tasks
but they also have emotions

Artificial Super Intelligence (Transcend)

Machines, way ahead of humans. Smart,
wise, creative, with excellent social
skills
Machine Learning
A subset of the larger field of artificial
intelligence that “focuses on teaching
computers how to learn without the need
to be programmed for specific tasks”

Components to “educate” the machine:

Datasets
Special collections of samples
informations of any kind of data
Features
Important pieces of data that work as
the key to the solution of the task
Algorithms
Ordered instructions to optimise the
accuracy or speed of getting the results
General categories of ML Algorithms:
Supervised
Training set with labled data
Unsupervised
Independent pattern recognition
Reinforcement
Repetitive trials with error minimization
Deep Learning
A class of machine learning algorithms
inspired by the neural network and
structure of a human brain.
Complex multi-layered neural networks,
where the level of abstraction increases
gradually by non-linear transformations
of input data.
In a neural network, the information is
transferred from one layer to another
over connecting weighted channels
All biased neurons added to the
weighted sum of inputs reaching the
neuron is then applied to the activation
function.
The result of the function determines if
the neuron gets activated. Every
activated neuron passes on information
to the following layers. This continues
up to the second last layer.
The output layer in an artificial neural
network is the last layer that produces
outputs for the program.
Bias in System
"A crucial principle, for both humans and
machines, is to avoid bias and therefore
prevent discrimination."
Bias reduces thinking accuracy and results
inaccurate and often irrational conclusions.
There are over 180 types of Bias affecting AI.
On following situations, bias happens:
On too much information, we tend to consider
data which are only:
repetitive; striking; changed; aligned with
past; others flaws;
On not enough meaning, we tend to select
information which are:
sparse; generalities; familiar; simplified;
illusion; aligned with belief;
On shortage of time, we often pick the
following type of fact:
simple-looking; irreversible; less effort;
relatable; confident;
On area of confusion, we tend to save
following type of memory:
experienced; only key features; discard
specifics; reinforce editing
To establish trust in a system it’s critical to train
systems with data that is unbiased and to
develop algorithms that can be easily explained.
HARMONISING
INTELLIGENCE
"Designing mindless and mindful activities"

By understanding various theories on

intelligence, philosophies on education,
scientific outlook on learning and
technological aids for development, we can
create systems and processes for
organisation and self, to achieve our
desired outcome in today's world.

SECTION OUTLINE
VUCA World
Approach
Flow of Intelligence
Key Elements
Application
VUCA World
The deeper meaning of each element of
VUCA serves to enhance the strategic
significance of VUCA foresight and insight
as well as the behaviour of groups and
individuals in organizations.

Volatile
The speed of change
Uncertain
The lack of predictability
Complex
The confounding of confusion
Ambigous
The haziness of reality

VUCA calls for a leadership response:

Vision
Understanding
Clarity
Adaptibility
Approach
For obtaining desired outcome, one should
take right approach. Some features are:

Holistic
A way of understanding (/deciding /acting)
all possible aspects of any context (what)
from all possible perspectives (how)
and for all possible purposes (why)
are considered (/concluded /acted upon)

Integrative
The intent of relating
every aspects, perspectives and purposes
under holistic understanding of any context
towards a Coherent View
among all observers of the context in focus.

G-Local
culturally embedded locally and
integrative globally in a holistic manner
Flow of Intelligence
1 Nature and Natural System
This includes Humans; Group of Humans in
an organisation; Machines; Group of
connected machines; or even any
combinations of these

1.1 Individual - Concerning self

(mental, physical, social, emotional,
spiritual, logical, linguistic, etc.)

1.1 Systems - Concerning community

(artificial, business, swarm, service,
economic, cultural, military, etc)

2 Purpose
Understanding reason of doing

3 Activity
Planning action of doing

4 Outcome
Obtaining results of doing
Key Elements
Adopted context
circumstances /setting concerned with the entity
Entity
a distinct thing with independent existence
actor - performs activities
observer - participates in the context
detached observer - oversees; out of context
Worldview
a particular philosophy for a certain context
Perspective
Explanation - describing nature
Etiology - reasoning nature
Futurology - forecasting nature
Purpose
Epistemology - how to perform
Axiology - what is the value
Praxeology - justify human action
Goals and Activities
Understanding; Discerning; Taking Action
Outcomes
Creations; Products; Processes
Application
Trust Flow
Entities A & B can be said to be trusting
under given condition(s) if upon delegation of
control/power over any activity from A to B
results in an outcome with above threshold
certainty
Certainty could be used as measure of the trust.
A is Local Responsible Entity for the activity.
Observing Entity is Global Responsible Entity.

Defining Activity
An activity is meaningless if removing the
activity doesn’t impact observer’s purpose.
Additionally, if it doesn’t impact entities'
purposes but impacting adopted context’s
self-reliance, then it's marked as Simple
Closure else it can be left for Natural Death.
However, if it impacts only entities' purpose,
then it's marked as Forced Closure.
In all other cases, activities are Meaningful:

Entity Living Non Living Activity

Living Conscious Bureaucracy Mindful

Non Living Technology Automation Mindless

REFERENCES
Books
Nandram, Sharda S., and Bindlish, Puneet K.,
Understanding Integrative Intelligence
Praan Uitgeverij, Amsterdam, (2017)
ISBN-978-9-491-55107-9

Nandram, Sharda S., Bindlish, Puneet K., eds.

Managing VUCA through integrative self-management
Springer International PU, (2017)
ISBN-978-3-319-52230-2

Articles
Nandram S., Keizer S., Bindlish P. (2019)
Addressing Gender Inequality through Intelligence. 
The European Financial Review, May 2019, pp 51-55

Nandram S., Bindlish P., Keizer N. (2018)

Integrative Intelligence for a Trust-based Worldview
for Business.
The European Business Review, Sep 2018, pp 38-43

Nandram S., Bindlish P., Blok J. (2018)

What if Business Revisits Pavlov’s Kennel?
The Case of Buurtzorg Nederland. 
The European Financial Review, June 2018, pp 57-60

Bindlish P., Nandram S., Gupta R., Joshi A. (2018)

How to prepare the researcher for indigenous context:
An integrative approach. 
International Journal of Indian Culture and Business
Management, 17(2). 221-237.