Same or Different? The Question Flummoxes Neural Networks - Abstractions on Nautilus

The first episode of Sesame Street in 1969 included a segment called "One of These Things Is Not Like the Other." Viewers were asked to consider a poster that displayed three 2s and one W, and to decide--while singing along to the game's eponymous jingle--which symbol didn't belong. Dozens of episodes of Sesame Street repeated the game, comparing everything from abstract patterns to plates of vegetables. Kids never had to relearn the rules. Understanding the distinction between "same" and "different" was enough.