About:
Exploring new approaches to machine hosted
neural-network simulation, and the science
behind them.
Your moderator:
John Repici
A programmer who is obsessed with giving experimenters
a better environment for developing biologically-guided
neural network designs. Author of
an introductory book on the subject titled:
"Netlab Loligo: New Approaches to Neural Network
Simulation". BOOK REVIEWERS ARE NEEDED!
Can you help?
Oliver Sacks was a neurologist who has been a great contributor to the converging fields of cognition, neuro-science, , and, indirectly, to the science of mind, and to furthering our understanding of consciousness.
New technique enables nanoscale-resolution microscopy of large biological specimens.
Most microscopes work by using lenses to focus light emitted from a sample into a magnified image. However, this approach has a fundamental limit known as the diffraction limit, which means that it can’t be used to visualize objects much smaller than the wavelength of the light being used. For example, if you are using blue-green light with a wavelength of 500 nanometers, you can’t see anything smaller than 250 nanometers.
“Unfortunately, in biology that’s right where things get interesting,”
Here are some related links I have found interesting while surfing the Internet. These have been laying around for a while, so this entry—designed to clear out some cobwebs— may contain some stale data. I've tossed some, but others may be interesting to you, as well.
[yt] TEDx Talk on Why We Feel Pain by an Interesting Talker (Lorimer Moseley)
A discussion of how the possibility of pain is transmitted, and how those possibilities are evaluated by the brain when determining whether something should be perceived as pain... or not. I do agree with the basic premise, but not sure about that first example. It would be nice to see some experimental confirmation on that one.
[yt]Severed Corpus Callosum
A Scientific American (Frontiers) segment with Alan Alda and Dr. Michael Gazzaniga
Slime Mold
This concept is discussed in the book using a "Seven Step Explanation" (in the chapter on Consciousness). Breaking it down into a pithy statement for you: Adaptation is required to produce neurons — Neurons are NOT required to produce adaptation.
Linguists have recently discovered [1] that almost all words are metaphorical at their base, and some people (e.g., me) posit that they all are. Though speculative, it is at least conceivable that even the sub-language signaling in the brain, which eventually leads to language, is also metaphorical. Consider that the bell may become a metaphor for food in the mind of Pavlov's dog.
Language is also able to relate ambiguity about the concepts it conveys. The word “life,” for example, can mean life-biology, or life-consciousness. Up until now, it has been perfectly acceptable to use these two meanings interchangeably. There simply has never been an instance of consciousness that existed outside of a biological body — at least none that we could directly experience with our physical senses.
Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, and happy new year. May your days be filled with happiness, love, and joy this Christmas season, and may your new year be a blessing to you and others.
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