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clipped by: abailart
clipper's remarks: One of the dangers of some current excitement about AI etc is that it sees the brain as a supercomputer with a bit of meat hanging from it. The last couple of decades in reality show far more research and philosophy into the body as a major, inseparable aspect of thinking, and more importantly feeling, the latter, it has been cogently argued, itself the foundation of reflective thinking.

Clip Source: science-community.sciam.com

It has become commonplace in neuroscience - and even in everyday conversation - to compare human cognition to that of computers. We know that computers work by using rules to manipulate symbols composed of zeros and ones. According to this metaphor, people also use rules to manipulate abstract and arbitrary symbols. The brain, in other words, was a computer that processed data largely independently of the body. A newer theory that is gaining ground among neuroscientists, embodied cognition, departs from the "computer-as-mind" metaphor. Instead, the body is seen as playing an important role in cognitive processes. Cognition evolved to guide real bodies in the real world, argue the researchers in favor of this idea. Our thoughts are constrained and influenced by the details of our flesh. How you move your arm or leg actually shapes the way you perceive, think and remember.

Tags: embodiment of mind

100 Greatest Discoveries

Thu, 26 Jun 2008 13:58:38 GMT

clipped by: skwirlinator

Clip Source: science.discovery.com

Scientists have transformed the way we think and live throughout the centuries. What are the most important scientific discoveries of all time? In no particular order, we present the top 100 in eight different categories.

Astronomy
Explore the universe.

Chemistry
Explore the world under a microscopic.

Earth Science
Explore the Earth under your feet.

Physics
Explore how stuff works.

Medicine
Explore developments in health.

Evolution
Explore the past.

Genetics
Explore what makes you, you.

Biology
Explore the world around you.

Clip Source: science.discovery.com

Physics

1. The Law of Falling Bodies (1604)
Galileo Galilei overturns nearly 2,000 years of Aristotelian belief that heavier bodies fall faster than lighter ones by proving that all bodies fall at the same rate.

2. Universal Gravitation (1666)

3. Laws of Motion (1687)

4. The Second Law of Thermodynamics (1824 – 1850)

5. Electromagnetism (1807 – 1873)

6. Special Relativity (1905)

7. E = mc^2 (1905)

8. The Quantum Leap (1900 – 1935)

Tags: 100 greatest discoveries, science