complexitystudies

Paul Graham has a wonderful essay online, reading time approximately 10 minutes: Lies We Tell Kids
(The essay was brought to my notice via overcomingbias.com)
Some quotes:
This sentence is gold:
The truth is common property. You can’t distinguish your group by doing things that are rational, and believing things that are true. If you want to set [...]

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I have often said that a big problem for any “free will” philosophy is the influence of the unconscious on our decisions; and if we are not even conscious of the information that biases our decisions, how can one speak of free will in any sensible way? Finally I have a paper which I can [...]

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An experiment showing how number symbols and abstract quantities are processed in the prefontal cortex (in monkeys). Of interest to anybody interested in a naturalized mathematics/logic (of course, this is just the beginning…).
How the Brain Maps Symbols to Numbers: Scientific American

Technorati Tags: cognitive science, mathematics

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Another important post from Overcoming Bias about why it is difficult to explain things to other people.
Overcoming Bias: Expecting Short Inferential Distances
Call it “inferential distance” if you like; I like to call it “building on concepts”. We all acquire concepts when we learn things, and at the end of your academic education things look [...]

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TED | TEDBlog: The center of our minds: Vilayanur Ramachandran on TED.com

Technorati Tags: cognitive science

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Psychology Today has a summary of some nice findings which contradict many views which people like to hold of human nature:
Psychology Today: Ten Politically Incorrect Truths About Human Nature
Here some excerpts (read the article above - recommended):

Men like blond bombshells (and women want to look like them)

Humans are naturally polygamous
Most women benefit from polygyny, while [...]

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I’m an adherent of conceptual metaphor theory, here is a nice intro with nice references and a concise explanation of what it’s all about:
Mixing Memory : Conceptual Metaphor Comment by Dr. Gibbs
(The cognitive science community is very critical of CMT, but I think a paradigm shift will occur as soon as more researchers come into [...]

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I am not a Buddhist, but many of the teachings of Buddha are very modern and very helpful to everyday life. Here a study which concerns “mindfulness” meditation - in effect, you train to control your emotional (amygdala) response with your higher brain functions (prefrontal cortex).
Putting feelings into words produces therapeutic effects in the brain

Technorati [...]

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Whoever thought language is what separates humans from animals should think again (BTW, tool use is out also - chimps have been seen to use tools!):
ABC News: Amazing Science: Apes ‘Talk’ to Humans
And here:

It goes without saying that taking care of animals is now more than ever a moral obligation.

Technorati Tags: cognitive science

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Increasing evidence points to the possibility of octopi being intelligent: Developing Intelligence : Platform-Independent Intelligence: Octopus Consciousness
Why is this important? Because their brain architecture is different from ours (humans), it may help extract necessary and sufficient conditions for intelligence and consciousness. This will hopefully further our quest toward developing a conscious AI.

Technorati Tags: artificial intelligence, [...]

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