David Eagleman: Can a computer simulate a brain?

The other day, I highlighted the article by neuroscientist Kenneth Miller on the possibility of mind uploading.  Miller saw it as possible, but thought it might be thousands or maybe even millions of years before we could do it.  Here's a take by another neuroscientist, David Eagleman, being a bit more optimistic, and discussing the … Continue reading David Eagleman: Can a computer simulate a brain? →

Why I think we will eventually have a scientific understanding of consciousness

It's a common sentiment, even among many staunch materialists, that we will never understand consciousness.  It's one I held to some degree until a few years ago.  But the more I've read about neuroscience, the more convinced I've become that we will eventually understand it, at least at an objective level. That's actually an important distinction to make … Continue reading Why I think we will eventually have a scientific understanding of consciousness →

SMBC: The universality of mathematics, but not notation

This is pretty good, and it will exercise your mind for a minute. Source: Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal The distinction between mathematical notation and its underlying reality is a crucial one.  The first is an invention of humans, the second is universal.  In fact, I've increasingly become convinced that the second actually is the universe, … Continue reading SMBC: The universality of mathematics, but not notation →

Why alien life will probably be engineered life

Martin Rees has an interesting article at Nautilus: When We Find Aliens, We Might Find Something Like the Borg This September, a team of astronomers noticed that the light from a distant star is flickering in a highly irregular pattern.1 They considered the possibility that comets, debris, and impacts could account for their observations, but each of … Continue reading Why alien life will probably be engineered life →

The feasibility of mind uploading

Neuroscientist Kenneth Miller has an interesting post at the New York Times discussing the feasibility of mind uploading: I am a theoretical neuroscientist. I study models of brain circuits, precisely the sort of models that would be needed to try to reconstruct or emulate a functioning brain from a detailed knowledge of its structure. I … Continue reading The feasibility of mind uploading →

Don’t forget calories, just don’t focus on them as the only important thing.

James Hamblin has an article in The Atlantic, published last year, advocating that dieters should focus on eating healthy foods, and not worry about counting calories. The proposed new FDA nutrition labels make the calorie number larger. That seems like a mistake. Focusing on calories puts the emphasis in the wrong place. The biochemistry is complex, but the … Continue reading Don’t forget calories, just don’t focus on them as the only important thing. →

Snowden’s answer to the Fermi Paradox and its assumptions

The Fermi Paradox is the question that, if the conditions for life in the galaxy are as ubiquitous as they appear to be, so that there should be hundreds, if not thousands of alien civilizations out there, then where is everyone?  Why have we found no evidence for any for those civilizations?  And why aren't they here? … Continue reading Snowden’s answer to the Fermi Paradox and its assumptions →