complexitystudies » cognitive science http://www.complexitystudies.org metaphysics, philosophy, and a vision of the future Thu, 30 Oct 2008 20:24:13 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9 en hourly 1 Lies We Tell Kids http://www.complexitystudies.org/2008/05/25/lies-we-tell-kids/ http://www.complexitystudies.org/2008/05/25/lies-we-tell-kids/#comments Sun, 25 May 2008 12:51:45 +0000 guenther http://dao.complexitystudies.org/2008/05/25/lies-we-tell-kids/ 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 yourself apart from other people, you have to do things that are arbitrary, and believe things that are false.

And here:

We arrive at adulthood with a kind of truth debt. We were told a lot of lies to get us (and our parents) through our childhood. Some may have been necessary. Some probably weren’t. But we all arrive at adulthood with heads full of lies.

There’s never a point where the adults sit you down and explain all the lies they told you. They’ve forgotten most of them. So if you’re going to clear these lies out of your head, you’re going to have to do it yourself.

Few do. Most people go through life with bits of packing material adhering to their minds and never know it. You probably never can completely undo the effects of lies you were told as a kid, but it’s worth trying. I’ve found that whenever I’ve been able to undo a lie I was told, a lot of other things fell into place.

I have to absolutely second the last sentence – the most gratifiying experience when adopting a scientific mindset – or, more strongly, adopting a scientific identity – is the freedom to systematically discard the fantasies underlying your local group (nationality, ethnicity, religion, what have you…) world view: and from that point on the world starts to make more sense every day!

It’s not enough to consider your mind a blank slate. You have to consciously erase it.

It reminds me of something which I said in a lecture half a year ago: before starting to learn things, you have to unlearn most of that which you think you know (because it is false). The “knowledge” base existing in our brains is probably the biggest barrier to erkenntnis (insight, knowledge, truth) we face.

Happy cognitive deleting :-)

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]]> http://www.complexitystudies.org/2008/05/25/lies-we-tell-kids/feed/ 2 The unconscious sways our decisions http://www.complexitystudies.org/2007/11/03/the-unconscious-sways-our-decisions/ http://www.complexitystudies.org/2007/11/03/the-unconscious-sways-our-decisions/#comments Sat, 03 Nov 2007 19:05:27 +0000 guenther http://dao.complexitystudies.org/2007/11/03/the-unconscious-sways-our-decisions/ 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 refer to :-)
Not-so-deliberate: The decisive power of what you don’t know you know: Sciam Observations

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]]> http://www.complexitystudies.org/2007/11/03/the-unconscious-sways-our-decisions/feed/ 0 How the Brain Maps Symbols to Numbers http://www.complexitystudies.org/2007/11/03/how-the-brain-maps-symbols-to-numbers/ http://www.complexitystudies.org/2007/11/03/how-the-brain-maps-symbols-to-numbers/#comments Sat, 03 Nov 2007 18:58:49 +0000 guenther http://dao.complexitystudies.org/2007/11/03/how-the-brain-maps-symbols-to-numbers/ 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

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]]> http://www.complexitystudies.org/2007/11/03/how-the-brain-maps-symbols-to-numbers/feed/ 0 Expecting Short Inferential Distances http://www.complexitystudies.org/2007/10/26/expecting-short-inferential-distances/ http://www.complexitystudies.org/2007/10/26/expecting-short-inferential-distances/#comments Fri, 26 Oct 2007 18:02:17 +0000 guenther http://dao.complexitystudies.org/2007/10/26/expecting-short-inferential-distances/ 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 simple in your concept space which would have been incomprehensible in a different (unmolded) concept space. That is essentially what makes it so difficult to convey scientific knowledge to the public; and even for scientists of different disciplines to communicate.

As my thesis is rather interdisciplinary I have ventured into diverse scientific communities (cognitive science, biology, physics, philosophy, computer science).

I have found that the scientific/epistemic cultures in different disciplines are so alien to one another, that when I venture from one seminar into another I feel like visiting different worlds.

To me the furthering both of interdisciplinary dialogue and conveyance of scientific knowledge to the public are of paramount importance, and should be made one of the top agendas of philosophy departements.

An interesting subject would be to start building concept hierarchies: develop core concepts of scientific disciplines and relate them across disciplines.

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]]> http://www.complexitystudies.org/2007/10/26/expecting-short-inferential-distances/feed/ 5 Ramachandran on TED http://www.complexitystudies.org/2007/10/26/ramachandran-on-ted/ http://www.complexitystudies.org/2007/10/26/ramachandran-on-ted/#comments Fri, 26 Oct 2007 17:19:49 +0000 guenther http://dao.complexitystudies.org/2007/10/26/ramachandran-on-ted/ TED | TEDBlog: The center of our minds: Vilayanur Ramachandran on TED.com

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]]> http://www.complexitystudies.org/2007/10/26/ramachandran-on-ted/feed/ 0 Ten Politically Incorrect Truths About Human Nature http://www.complexitystudies.org/2007/07/15/ten-politically-incorrect-truths-about-human-nature/ http://www.complexitystudies.org/2007/07/15/ten-politically-incorrect-truths-about-human-nature/#comments Sun, 15 Jul 2007 21:23:15 +0000 guenther http://dao.complexitystudies.org/2007/07/15/ten-politically-incorrect-truths-about-human-nature/ 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 most men benefit from monogamy
  • Having sons reduces the likelihood of divorce
  • Beautiful people have more daughters
  • The midlife crisis is a myth—sort of
  • It’s natural for politicians to risk everything for an affair (but only if they’re male)
  • Men sexually harass women because they are not sexist

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]]> http://www.complexitystudies.org/2007/07/15/ten-politically-incorrect-truths-about-human-nature/feed/ 0 Mixing Memory : Conceptual Metaphor Comment by Dr. Gibbs http://www.complexitystudies.org/2007/06/24/mixing-memory-conceptual-metaphor-comment-by-dr-gibbs/ http://www.complexitystudies.org/2007/06/24/mixing-memory-conceptual-metaphor-comment-by-dr-gibbs/#comments Sun, 24 Jun 2007 21:34:23 +0000 guenther http://dao.complexitystudies.org/2007/06/24/mixing-memory-conceptual-metaphor-comment-by-dr-gibbs/ 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 contact with these ideas). I can recommend the books “Metaphors we Live by” and “Philosophy in the Flesh” by George Lakoff as good introductions to CMT.

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]]> http://www.complexitystudies.org/2007/06/24/mixing-memory-conceptual-metaphor-comment-by-dr-gibbs/feed/ 2 Putting feelings into words http://www.complexitystudies.org/2007/06/24/putting-feelings-into-words/ http://www.complexitystudies.org/2007/06/24/putting-feelings-into-words/#comments Sun, 24 Jun 2007 21:18:41 +0000 guenther http://dao.complexitystudies.org/2007/06/24/putting-feelings-into-words/ 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

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]]> http://www.complexitystudies.org/2007/06/24/putting-feelings-into-words/feed/ 0 Talk to an ape http://www.complexitystudies.org/2007/06/02/talk-to-an-ape/ http://www.complexitystudies.org/2007/06/02/talk-to-an-ape/#comments Sat, 02 Jun 2007 14:32:20 +0000 guenther http://dao.complexitystudies.org/2007/06/02/talk-to-an-ape/ 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.

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]]> http://www.complexitystudies.org/2007/06/02/talk-to-an-ape/feed/ 0 Cephalopod intelligence http://www.complexitystudies.org/2007/04/06/cephalopod-intelligence/ http://www.complexitystudies.org/2007/04/06/cephalopod-intelligence/#comments Thu, 05 Apr 2007 22:38:08 +0000 guenther http://dao.complexitystudies.org/2007/04/06/cephalopod-intelligence/ 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.

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