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10 Important Differences Between Brains and Computers

Tue, 01 Jul 2008 10:34:22 GMT

clipped by: wildcat

Although the brain-computer metaphor has served cognitive psychology well, research in cognitive neuroscience has revealed many important differences between brains and computers. Appreciating these differences may be crucial to understanding the mechanisms of neural information processing, and ultimately for the creation of artificial intelligence. Below, I review the most important of these differences (and the consequences to cognitive psychology of failing to recognize them): similar ground is covered in this excellent (though lengthy) lecture.

Difference # 1: Brains are analogue; computers are digital

Difference # 2: The brain uses content-addressable memory

Difference # 3: The brain is a massively parallel machine; computers are modular and serial

Difference # 4: Processing speed is not fixed in the brain; there is no system clock

Difference # 5 - Short-term memory is not like RAM

Difference # 6: No hardware/software distinction can be made with respect to the brain or mind

Tags: computers, brains, metaphors

Sci-Fi films in one sentence

Mon, 30 Jun 2008 20:24:10 GMT

clipped by: JohnWaterman

Clip Source: www.sciam.com

2001: A Space Odyssey
A slab of onyx and a singing computer get two astronauts in hot water.

Alien
A feisty cat survives tense times onboard a spaceship.

Close Encounters of the Third Kind
Frail aliens visit Earth in search of clothing, music, friends and possibly gym equipment.

Starship Troopers
Valiant insects try to repel totalitarian invaders.

E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial
A nerd from another planet goes bike riding and trick-or-treating.

Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home
Kirk, Spock and McCoy blend right in while visiting late 20th-century San Francisco.

Iron Man
An arms manufacturer finds himself neck-deep but gets a leg up and heads home.

The Matrix
A man discovers his true destiny.

Star Wars
An adolescent discovers his true destiny.

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone
A boy discovers his true destiny.

Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring
A hobbit discovers his true destiny.

Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed
A sad sack seeks a way to turn back time so he can live in the Dark Ages.

Tags: science fiction, films, humour, expelled, creationism

How the Declaration of Independence Changed the World

Mon, 30 Jun 2008 16:10:12 GMT

clipped by: wildcat
clipper's remarks: "Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness."

Clip Source: www.livescience.com

In between mouthfuls of hot dogs and potato salad, Americans on this July Fourth might actually ponder those famous phrases scrawled near the top of the Declaration of Independence:

"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness."

When he penned the Declaration in 1776, Thomas Jefferson had an inkling of the consequences it held for the 13 colonies, who were announcing their intention to break free from the shackles of British rule. What he may not have anticipated, however, were the widespread effects his powerful words would also have around the world.

The Declaration of Independence didn't just change the course of American history, but created a ripple effect that nudged a host of other nations toward independence, making a revolutionary poster boy of Jefferson in the process.

The Enlightenment

Tags: declaration of independence, world, jefferson

For WHAT? One Man! And the Next WAR?

Tue, 01 Jul 2008 02:46:24 GMT

clipped by: righthand
clipper's remarks: And all for the lack of one assassins bullet. Where is Mossad when it's needed? "Will no one rid me of this turbulent priest?" If he was such a bad man could no one be found to "judicially assassinate" this 'turbulent' ruler? Keeping the rules has NOT been the hallmark of this administration, so why not 'eliminate' Saddam?

The truth is that he was never the target. Assassination would not have produced occupation. It would have save 4,000+ US lives but we have learnt that these didn't matter either. The out of sight, out of mind, no presidential presence at funerals worked for AWOL Bush. However the broken in mind and body will not go away so easily. Until they are swamped by the next lot.

Clip Source: 66.102.9.104

El soldado David Rozelle. The soldier David Rozelle.

David Rozelle. David Rozelle.

Tags: photos, iraq, war, usa, bush

10 Things You Didn't Know About You

Mon, 30 Jun 2008 10:24:19 GMT

clipped by: Silkweaver
clipper's remarks: Details on site.

Clip Source: www.livescience.com

Your Stomach Secretes Corrosive Acid

Body Position Affects Your Memory

Bones Break (Down) to Balance Minerals

Much of a Meal is Food For Thought

Thousands of Eggs Unused by Ovaries

Puberty Reshapes Brain Structure, Makes for Missed Curfews

Cell Hairs Move Mucus

Big Brains Cause Cramped Mouths

The World Laughs with You

Your Skin Has Four Colors

Tags: human

The Web Knows How

Mon, 30 Jun 2008 11:29:35 GMT

clipped by: wildcat
clipper's remarks: and again where is clipversity?

Clip Source: www.technewsworld.com

Just about any practical task -- from changing a motorcycle's oil filter to the proper care and feeding of a pet monkey -- can be found on the Web on sites like WikiHow and Howcast. The sites vary widely in their approaches. Some limit their offerings to in-house video clips, while others employ a wiki model and make themselves completely open to revisions from anyone.

Terri Rossman considers herself a visual learner. So when the 52-year-old marketing professional wanted to learn a new knitting stitch, she turned to the Web.

"I searched for 'knit bobble stitch' on Google and I found a video of someone doing it," said Rossman, who lives in the Detroit area. "It was perfect for me."

The Web has become the place where people go to learn new tricks. Traffic to sites like eHow.com and WikiHow.com have doubled over the past year, according to figures from ComScore Networks, while start-ups such as Howcast.com and Findhow.com, a search engine to find "how-to" content, are entering the field.

Tags: web, net, knowledge, learning

Singularities Enough, and Time

Sun, 29 Jun 2008 15:57:57 GMT

clipped by: wildcat
clipper's remarks: A fascinating take by Jamais Cascio, clear headed and to the point

Clip Source: www.openthefuture.com

• There may be developed computers that are "awake" and superhumanly intelligent. (To date, there has been much controversy as to whether we can create human equivalence in a machine. But if the answer is "yes, we can", then there is little doubt that beings more intelligent can be constructed shortly thereafter.)
• Large computer networks (and their associated users) may "wake up" as a superhumanly intelligent entity.
• Computer/human interfaces may become so intimate that users may reasonably be considered superhumanly intelligent.
• Biological science may provide means to improve natural human intellect.

You don't have to believe in godlike super-AIs to see that this kind of intelligence enhancement can lead to some pretty significant results as the systems get more complex, datasets get bigger, connections get faster, and interfaces become ever more useable.

Tags: singularity, technology, future

I finally made my own homepage

Mon, 30 Jun 2008 22:43:57 GMT

clipped by: enbar
clipper's remarks: Okay, tell me the truth, is this ridiculous?

Clip Source: www.nathanrein.com

About me: I am a historian of religion who studies the Protestant Reformation. I teach at a small, private, nonsectarian liberal arts college about 45 minutes outside of the city of Philadelphia, called Ursinus. I live in the town of Phoenixville with my wife, two children, and three cats. The page you're looking at is basically an online calling card; here you can find ways of tracking me down, seeing what I'm doing, or contacting me.

Tags: me, vanity, nathanrein.com, homepage, web, about_me

Scientist identify brain 'core' that could reveal secrets of thought

Tue, 01 Jul 2008 03:02:21 GMT

clipped by: einbar

Clip Source: spectrum.ieee.org

Clip Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

A "core" region of the brain has been identified by an international team which has produced the first complete high-resolution map of the human cerebral cortex, the wrinkly surface of the brain where awareness, thought and other features of high level thinking reside.

The team traced the connections between millions of brain cells and identified a highly connected single network core, or hub, that may be key to the workings of both hemispheres of the brain.

major step in understanding the most complicated and mysterious organ in the universe

The team hopes to use the information to build biologically realistic models in a computer which in turn will "help us understand processes that are difficult to observe, such as disease states and recovery processes to injuries

As for consciousness, that quest will have to wait until neuroscientists can agree on a precise definition of what they are talking about.

Quantum Computing Breakthrough Arises From Unknown Molecule

Mon, 30 Jun 2008 01:47:11 GMT

clipped by: Silkweaver

Clip Source: www.sciencedaily.com

The odd behavior of a molecule in an experimental silicon computer chip has led to a discovery that opens the door to quantum computing in semiconductors.

In a Nature Physics journal paper currently online, the researchers describe how they have created a new, hybrid molecule in which its quantum state can be intentionally manipulated - a required step in the building of quantum computers.

"Up to now large-scale quantum computing has been a dream," says Gerhard Klimeck, professor of electrical and computer engineering at Purdue University

"This development may not bring us a quantum computer 10 years faster, but our dreams about these machines are now more realistic."

"Our experiment made us realize that industrial electronic devices have now reached the level where we can study and manipulate the state of a single atom," Rogge says. "This is the ultimate limit, you can not get smaller than that."

Tags: physics, quantum theory, quantum computing, nanotechnology

Mysteries of time, and the multiverse

Mon, 30 Jun 2008 13:05:23 GMT

clipped by: einbar

Clip Source: www.latimes.com

In his studies of entropy and the irreversibility of time, Caltech physicist Sean Carroll is exploring the idea that our universe is part of a larger structure.

Clip Source: www.latimes.com

Caltech physicist Sean M. Carroll has been wrestling with the mystery of time. Most physical laws work equally well going backward or forward, yet time flows only in one direction. Writing in this month’s Scientific American, Carroll suggests that entropy, the tendency of physical systems to become more disordered over time, plays a crucial role. Carroll sat down recently at Caltech to explain his theory.

What's the problem with time?

The irreversibility of time is sort of the most obvious unanswered question in cosmology.

Time has been talked about in cosmology for many years, but we have a toolbox now we didn't used to have.

We have general relativity, string theory, discoveries in particle physics that we can use to help us find the right answer.

Clipmarks |

10 Important Differences Between Brains and Computers

Sci-Fi films in one sentence

How the Declaration of Independence Changed the World

For WHAT? One Man! And the Next WAR?

10 Things You Didn't Know About You

Your Stomach Secretes Corrosive Acid

Body Position Affects Your Memory

Bones Break (Down) to Balance Minerals

Much of a Meal is Food For Thought

Thousands of Eggs Unused by Ovaries

Puberty Reshapes Brain Structure, Makes for Missed Curfews

Cell Hairs Move Mucus

Big Brains Cause Cramped Mouths

The World Laughs with You

Your Skin Has Four Colors

The Web Knows How

Singularities Enough, and Time

I finally made my own homepage

Nathan Rein

Scientist identify brain 'core' that could reveal secrets of thought

Quantum Computing Breakthrough Arises From Unknown Molecule

Mysteries of time, and the multiverse