I suppose a reference to Horace the cheese would be too obscure...
Tory Hughes
www.toryhughes.com
Milagro Hacienda creativity retreat
The Creative Development manual
On Sep 17, 2011, at 8:01 PM, Steve Smith wrote:
This reminds me too much of two disparate concepts:
SF Author (from ABQ no less) book "Proxies" where orphaned children
with severe physical disabilities are offered an alternate existence
by becoming telepresence operators of space equipment (cheaper than
actually putting/keeping humans in space and a reasonable
alternative for otherwise hugely physically limited children who can
now have expanded sensoria and mobility but in an artificial
habitat... raised as a family (of orphans), etc... and all that
goes with it utopian/dystopian SF Style.
http://www.amazon.com/Proxies-Laura-J-Mixon/dp/0812523873
And the Honey Mummy ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mellified_man )
aka, the mellified man. Not unlike a petrified tree but with a
human and honey instead of tree and minerals. Great source of all
the necessary/appropriate vitamins and minerals, and tasty too!
- Steve
Nick,
I have been thinking recently about trying to write a short story.
It would start with a version of Daniel Dennet's wonderful brain-in-
a-vat. It would be a story of a valiant man who volunteered for the
procedure; he volunteered for his love of science and the deep
impact it would have on the most fundamental of questions, the
relation of brain, mind, and body. There would be dual devices; the
device in the head functioned to replicate effects at the surface
of the brain and keep the space filled, the vat kept the brain
alive, received input measures from the in-head device, and read
any and all brain outputs. There would be details of how the vat
perfectly replicates all effects the body would have on the brain,
and how the artificial implant perfectly replicates all effects the
brain would have on the body. All effects: Neuronal, hormonal,
temperature, chemical force, everything - no safety for the body in
a boxing ring or any other situation. And of course, our
protagonist's heroism is rewarded. Mr. Brain-in-the-Vat functioned
amazingly; he could move around, communicate, feel emotions, dream,
everything. People came from miles around to wonder at him and get
autographs ($15 extra for the paper to be signed on the vat). He
was interviewed on every major TV show, and Larry Flynt even paid
him a fortune for... being in film.
But one day another man showed up on Daniel's doorstep. He too had
volunteered for a brave experiment. Sitting next to him on the
veranda was a vat that held his kidneys and perfectly replicated
all effects the body would have on the kidneys, and inside him was
a genius device that perfectly replicated all effects the kidneys
would have on the brain.
But everyone knew that would work, the kidneys after all are JUST a
physiological system. And so, no one cared.
---
Eric
On Sat, Sep 17, 2011 04:09 PM, "Nicholas Thompson" <nickthomp...@earthlink.net
> wrote:
I cannot … for the life of me …. Understand what the mind-body
“problem” is any more than I can understand what the computing-
transistor problem is (if, indeed, there are still transistors in
computers.) We would never wonder why a better transistor would
make the computing better; why would we wonder why a better stomach
would make the mind work better. To me, the interesting
psychological question is why people see it is a problem. What is
that they want to make of the mind that makes the mind-body problem
a problem?
Nick
From: friam-boun...@redfish.com [mailto:friam-boun...@redfish.com]
On Behalf Of Victoria Hughes
Sent: Saturday, September 17, 2011 1:09 PM
To: The Friday Morning Applied Complexity Coffee Group
Subject: [FRIAM] Fwd: The Psychology Of Yogurt
Probiotics, reduced anxiety, and thoughts about the weird, wrong
perception that we exist separately from our bodies, somehow.
Date: September 17, 2011 12:18:17 PM MDT
Subject: The Psychology Of Yogurt
Source: Wired Science » Frontal Cortex
Author: Jonah Lehrer
My latest WSJ column uses a new study on probiotics as a launching
pad to explore the mind-body problem, perhaps the most perplexing
mystery in modern science:
One of the deepest mysteries of the human mind is that it doesn’t
feel like part of the body. Our consciousness seems to exist in an
immaterial realm, distinct from the meat on our bones. We feel like
the ghost, not like the machine.
This ancient paradox—it’s known as the mind-body problem—has long
perplexed philosophers. It has also interested neuroscientists, who
have traditionally argued that the three pounds of our brain are a
sufficient explanation for the so-called soul. There is no mystery,
just anatomy.
In recent years, however, a spate of research has put an
interesting twist on this old conundrum. The problem is even more
bewildering than we thought, for it’s not just the coiled cortex
that gives rise to the mind—it’s the entire body. As the
neuroscientist Antonio Damasio writes, “The mind is embodied, not
just embrained.”
The latest evidence comes from a new study of probiotic bacteria,
the microorganisms typically found in yogurt and dairy products.
While most investigations of probiotics have focused on their
gastrointestinal benefits—the bacteria reduce the symptoms of
diarrhea and irritable bowel syndrome—this new research explored
the effect of probiotics on the brain.
The experiment, led by Javier Bravo at University College Cork in
Ireland, was straightforward. First, he fed normal lab mice a diet
full of probiotics. Then, Mr. Bravo’s team tested for behavioral
changes, which were significant: When probiotic-fed animals were
put in stressful conditions, such as being dropped into a pool of
water, they were less anxious and released less stress hormone.
How did the food induce these changes? The answer involves GABA, a
neurotransmitter that reduces the activity of neurons. When Mr.
Bravo looked at the brains of the mice, he found that those fed
probiotics had more GABA receptors in areas associated with memory
and the regulation of emotions. (This change mimics the effects of
popular antianxiety medications in humans.)
Furthermore, when he severed the nerve connecting the gut and brain
in a control group of mice, these neural changes disappeared. The
probiotic diet no longer relieved the symptoms of stress.
Though it might seem odd that a cup of yogurt can influence
behavior, the phenomenon has been repeatedly confirmed, at least in
rodents. Earlier this year, Swedish scientists showed that the
presence of gut bacteria shapes the development of the mouse brain,
while French researchers found that treating human subjects with
large doses of probiotics for 30 days reduced levels of
“psychological distress.” There’s nothing metaphorical about “gut
feelings,” for what happens in the gut really does influence what
we feel.
Nor is it just the gastrointestinal tract that alters our minds.
Mr. Damasio has shown that neurological patients who are unable to
detect changes in their own bodies, like an increased heart rate or
sweaty palms, are also unable to make effective decisions. When
given a simple gambling task, they behave erratically and lose vast
sums of money. Because they can’t experience the fleshy symptoms of
fear, they never learn from their mistakes.
This research shows that the immateriality of mind is a deep
illusion. Although we feel like a disembodied soul, many feelings
and choices are actually shaped by the microbes in our gut and the
palpitations of our heart. Nietzsche was right: “There is more
reason in your body than in your best wisdom.”
This doesn’t mean, of course, that the mind-body problem has been
solved. Though scientists have ransacked our matter and searched
everywhere inside the skull, they still have no idea why we feel
like a ghost. But it’s now abundantly clear that the mind is not
separate from the body, hidden away in some ethereal province of
thought. Rather, we emerge from the very same stuff that digests
our lunch.
If you’d like to learn about the microbiome lurking inside your
pipes, I highly recommend this wonderful slideshow by Ed Yong.
Read more…
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Meets Fridays 9a-11:30 at cafe at St. John's College
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Eric Charles
Professional Student and
Assistant Professor of Psychology
Penn State University
Altoona, PA 16601
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FRIAM Applied Complexity Group listserv
Meets Fridays 9a-11:30 at cafe at St. John's College
lectures, archives, unsubscribe, maps at http://www.friam.org
============================================================
FRIAM Applied Complexity Group listserv
Meets Fridays 9a-11:30 at cafe at St. John's College
lectures, archives, unsubscribe, maps at http://www.friam.org
============================================================
FRIAM Applied Complexity Group listserv
Meets Fridays 9a-11:30 at cafe at St. John's College
lectures, archives, unsubscribe, maps at http://www.friam.org
