Month: October 2010

Neuroscientist Sebastian Seung talks about his feelings in the TED Talk “I am my Connectome”. The sum total and pattern of synaptic connections between our neurons (of course this ignores other non-neuronal mental activity) is a huge and complex graph. (Billions of neurons with thousands of connections each … he mentions some stats.)

At the 7:45 mark an excellent illustration of one tiny component of the overall complexity.

And he uses the well used stream (river) metaphor for upward and downward causation. You (your mind / your brain) are your connectome; it both supports mental activity and it is shaped by it. Nothing really new here, but so well delivered. Just the opposite of the reduced science of the post before last.

Talks with feeling, but ends on testable science. Integration is the third-culture.

[PS love the English language feature that “you” is ambiguous singular or plural individual. You “are” whilst your mind or your brain “is”. Actually, just racking my brains, that’s true in many languages I know.]

Saw a Tesla the other day (in Oslo) and instantly recognized its Lotus / VX heritage in an electric powered sports. I’ve been driving VX/GM sports for the last 8 or 9 years, so my initial reaction was I’d like one of those. But it’s 3 or 4 times the cost of a petrol-powered equivalent – silly money. But that’s not even the main problem.

Surely too, the recharge problem must be solved. The thing about fluid/liquid fuel is its portability at high power density. Surely electric cars need recharge stations where you pit stop, slot in a pre-charged power pack and leave the dead one behind on charge ?

[Post Note : Are Hydrogen Fuel Cell / Electric drives the answer ? Is the hydrogen mass distribution and tankage practical – answers from California please ? If we use methanol, how do the carbon emissions compare ? What is the eco-balance of hydrogen-production / battery-production and electricity generation ?]

Marilynne Robinson on (the same edition of) Thinking Allowed.

The Dawkinsian approach reduces science itself she says. Hooray. (It’s a pity that sound minds like Harris, Dennett and Hitchens got hitched to the nutter Dawkins by the “four horsemen” meme I say, but para-science is an interesting idea).

In a nutshell. Positivism pervades patterns of thought and behaviour in science even though discredited as a metaphysics, and leads to hypocrisies such as even entertaining untestable ideas like multiverses, in a science that dismisses the metaphysical. Maxwell’s scientific neurosis. Wake up, science.

Must add “Absence of Mind: The Dispelling of Inwardness from the Modern Myth of the Self.” to the Christmas list.

Ha-Joon Chang on Thinking Allowed.

A post to capture a link collection from Johnnie Moore …. not had chance to digest yet.