I've not posted in a while but I've been feeding from a smorgasbord of mind-expanding research since June. Here's a sample of some meaty reads on learning and neuroscience:
First up, A Neuroscientist Explores The Illogical Behaviors Of The Mind In 'Idiot Brain': "The human brain is like a computer that files information in a way that defies logic".. eh, so not a computer then, surely? Or am I wrong about the 'logic' bit being fundamental?
Which reminds me of Aeon's very convincing argument against the brain-as-computer metaphor (dunno about you, but I find the mind a far more nebulous a territory than an operating environment) in The Empty Brain.
For a very technical telling of how memories are formed, read From Memories to Addiction. "Memories are the product of physical changes that occur in our brains. Nerve cells in our brains called neurons talk to each other via physical connections called synapses. At the synapse, one neuron does the ‘talking’ and one neuron does the ‘listening...."
No doubt this captures what's happening from a human observer's angle but technical descriptions of memories and their formation never completely gel with me. The human mind, as per the articles above, regularly defies logic. It only apes the mechanisms of an ordered system. The mind is like an Escher drawing - glaringly impossible in its structure. It seems replete with trap doors and pathways only accessible at certain times, in certain contexts. I call it the Rubix-cube effect: certain rotations open different doors.
What will our metaphor of mind be in the future? Is it possible that the brain is mirroring or picking up from elsewhete, rather than just recording? How are our memories tied to and modified by our dreams? What's going on?!
Which reminds me of Aeon's very convincing argument against the brain-as-computer metaphor (dunno about you, but I find the mind a far more nebulous a territory than an operating environment) in The Empty Brain.
For a very technical telling of how memories are formed, read From Memories to Addiction. "Memories are the product of physical changes that occur in our brains. Nerve cells in our brains called neurons talk to each other via physical connections called synapses. At the synapse, one neuron does the ‘talking’ and one neuron does the ‘listening...."
No doubt this captures what's happening from a human observer's angle but technical descriptions of memories and their formation never completely gel with me. The human mind, as per the articles above, regularly defies logic. It only apes the mechanisms of an ordered system. The mind is like an Escher drawing - glaringly impossible in its structure. It seems replete with trap doors and pathways only accessible at certain times, in certain contexts. I call it the Rubix-cube effect: certain rotations open different doors.
What will our metaphor of mind be in the future? Is it possible that the brain is mirroring or picking up from elsewhete, rather than just recording? How are our memories tied to and modified by our dreams? What's going on?!
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