Tag Archives: Neuroscience

Could a neuroscientist understand a microprocessor? Is that a relevant question?

Posted on December 27, 2017 by

A while back, Julia Galef on Rationally Speaking interviewed Eric Jonas, one of the authors of a study that attempted to use neuroscience techniques on a simple computer processor. The field of neuroscience has been collecting more and more data, … Continue reading →

Posted in Mind and AI | Tagged , , , , | 38 Comments

The layers of emotion creation

Posted on August 12, 2017 by

What are emotions?  Where do they come from?  Are they something innate or something we learn?  The classic view is that they’re precognitive impulses that happen to us.  If so, this would imply that they have specific neural signatures. Early … Continue reading →

Posted in Mind and AI | Tagged , , , , , , , | 40 Comments

Steven Pinker: From neurons to consciousness

Posted on April 15, 2017 by

This lecture from Steven Pinker has been around for a while, but it seems to get at a question a few people have asked me recently: how does the information processing of neurons and synapses lead to conscious perception?  Pinker doesn’t answer this … Continue reading →

Posted in Zeitgeist | Tagged , , , , , | 14 Comments

Is consciousness only in the back of the brain?

Posted on April 6, 2017 by

There’s an interesting debate going on among some neuroscientists about which parts of the brain are involved in subjective experience.  On the one side are Christof Koch, Giuilio Tononi, and colleagues who argue that consciousness exists wholly in the back of … Continue reading →

Posted in Mind and AI | Tagged , , , , , , , | 20 Comments

Two brain science podcasts worth checking out

Posted on January 17, 2017 by

As my long time readers will know, I’m very interested in the mind, and my preferred way to explore it is through science, notably neuroscience or cognitive psychology, or with science oriented philosophy.  With that in mind, I want to … Continue reading →

Posted in Zeitgeist | Tagged , , , , | 59 Comments

The illusion of phenomenal consciousness?

Posted on December 12, 2016 by

Philosopher Peter Hankins at Conscious Entities has a write-up on the November 12 issue of the JCS (Journal of Consciousness Studies) in which philosophers, psychologists, and neuroscientists such as Keith Frankish, Daniel Dennett, Susan Blackmore, and Michael Graziano, debate whether it makes … Continue reading →

Posted in Mind and AI | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 61 Comments

Daniel Wolpert: The real reason for brains

Posted on December 10, 2016 by

I came across this old TED talk today and decided to share it because it’s relevant to the previous post on consciousness and simulations.  Daniel Wolpert’s talk doesn’t address consciousness specifically, only the overall role of the simulations, but it’s … Continue reading →

Posted in Zeitgeist | Tagged , , , , , , , | 13 Comments