Philosophy posts
- July 20, 2011
- 04:02 AM
- 907 views
Blindsight and Consciousness In The Brain
by Neuroskeptic in Neuroskeptic
A new paper claims to show the neural activity associated with consciously seeing something: Awareness-related activity in prefrontal and parietal cortices in blindsight reflects more than superior visual performance. You might think it would be easy to find the neural correlates of seeing stuff. Just pop someone in the scanner and show them a picture.However, it's not that simple, because that wouldn't tell you which brain activations were associated with concious awareness........ Read more »
Persaud, N., Davidson, M., Maniscalco, B., Mobbs, D., Passingham, R., Cowey, A., & Lau, H. (2011) Awareness-related activity in prefrontal and parietal cortices in blindsight reflects more than superior visual performance. NeuroImage. DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2011.06.081
- July 15, 2011
- 01:04 AM
- 1,015 views
The Future of Psychology: Can We Know What It’s Like To Be A Bat?
by Sam McNerney in Why We Reason
The other day, something unusual happened. I was lucky enough to find myself talking to someone who actually seemed like he was interested in what I do. Yes, I have to admit, I like talking about what I do, and … Continue reading →... Read more »
Nagel, T. (1974) What Is It Like to Be a Bat?. The Philosophical Review, 83(4), 435. DOI: 10.2307/2183914
- July 8, 2011
- 07:33 AM
- 840 views
"the definition of “metaphoricity” is problematic in itself"
by Chris in The Lousy Linguist
One of the metaphor recognition papers I read this week had an interesting finding wrt inter-annotator agreement and metaphor: The Automatic Identification of Conceptual Metaphors in Hungarian Texts: A Corpus-based Analysis (Babarczy et a., LREC 2010 Workshop). The purpose of the paper was to run a sort-of bake-off between three methods of creating source/target word lists (to be used by selection preference metaphor recognition system): Three different methods of compiling the word lists w........ Read more »
Anna Babarczy, Ildikó Bencze M., István Fekete, & Eszter Simon. (2010) The Automatic Identification of Conceptual Metaphors in Hungarian Texts: A Corpus-Based Analysis. LREC 2010 Workshop. Proceedings. info:/
- July 7, 2011
- 11:15 AM
- 1,091 views
The Saga on Fat Continues
by Brooke N in Smaller Questions
It turns out there is one more reason extra fat in our diet just isn’t good for you – excess fat can trigger cell suicide. Recently, Jean Schaffer’s group at Washington University have identified a very special RNA that responds to excess fat in the cell.... Read more »
Michel CI, Holley CL, Scruggs BS, Sidhu R, Brookheart RT, Listenberger LL, Behlke MA, Ory DS, & Schaffer JE. (2011) Small Nucleolar RNAs U32a, U33, and U35a Are Critical Mediators of Metabolic Stress. Cell metabolism, 14(1), 33-44. PMID: 21723502
- July 7, 2011
- 07:33 AM
- 998 views
more on auto metaphor recognition methods
by Chris in The Lousy Linguist
A quick follow-up to my previous post on automatic metaphor recognition. The paper Automatic Metaphor Recognition Based on Semantic Relation Patterns by Tang et al. challenges the dominant selectional preferences method by substituing their own Semantic Relations Patterns. They point out the problems with Selection Preferences (unfortunately I don't think they solved the problems with their own method, more on that in a bit).Again I'll give the Ling 101, computational linguistics for dummie........ Read more »
Xuri Tang, Weiguang Qu, Xiaohe Chen, & Shiwen Yu. (2010) Automatic Metaphor Recognition Based on Semantic Relation Patterns. International Conference on Asian Language Processing. info:/
- July 5, 2011
- 09:49 AM
- 970 views
the big picture: automatic metaphor identification
by Chris in The Lousy Linguist
The recently popularized IARPA Metaphor Program piqued my curiosity, so I've been reviewing a variety of articles on contemporary approaches to automatic metaphor identification. I've read three articles so far and one thing is somewhat dissapointing: they all severely restrict the notion of metaphor to mean local metaphors within single sentences.They all pay considerable lip service to Lakoff & Johnson's seminal 1980 work Metaphors We Live By, taking as gospel the notion that metaphor is d........ Read more »
Xuri Tang, Weiguang Qu, Xiaohe Chen, & Shiwen Yu. (2010) Automatic Metaphor Recognition Based on Semantic Relation Patterns. International Conference on Asian Language Processing. info:/
- July 5, 2011
- 03:55 AM
- 600 views
Throwing Rocks From the Shores of the Cosmic Ocean
by Eric Michael Johnson in The Primate Diaries
I’m teaching my son to think like a scientist. He is two years old. We frequently go for walks together through the woods and along the coastlines of British Columbia where I allow his curiosity to run free. His current research project is throwing rocks into the ocean (this is just the exploratory phase mind [...]... Read more »
Michael Elazar. (2011) Projectile Motion and the Rejection of Superposition. Boston Studies in the Philosophy of Science, 169-187. info:/10.1007/978-94-007-1605-6_16
- July 4, 2011
- 01:23 PM
- 1,079 views
A mathematical proof of the Church-Turing Thesis?
by Aaron Sterling in Nanoexplanations
The Church-Turing Thesis lies at the junction between computer science, mathematics, physics and philosophy. The Thesis essentially states that everything computable in the “real world” is exactly what is computable within our accepted mathematical abstractions of computation, such as Turing machines. … Continue reading →... Read more »
Nachum Dershowitz, & Yuri Gurevich. (2008) A Natural Axiomatization of Computability and Proof of Church's Thesis. The Bulletin of Symbolic Logic. DOI: 10.2178/bsl/1231081370
- July 1, 2011
- 08:50 PM
- 1,041 views
Q&A's with a Science Journalist: 'It's All Relativity'
by Paige Brown in From The Lab Bench
This week I am interviewing Louise Ogden, a science blogger on our own community blog Student Voices, which is hosted on Scitable by Nature Education. Louise also has her own science blog, It’s All Relativity, where she talks about space missions, climate change, exoplanets, solar eclipses, and much more! Louise is currently finishing up her Masters project at City University in London, which will earn her an (exciting!) degree in science journalism.... Read more »
Alison Wright. (2010) High-energy physics: Top of the class . Nature Physics, 6(644). info:/10.1038/nphys1783
- June 29, 2011
- 04:18 PM
- 1,092 views
Through the Language Glass (Part 2) [reposted]
by Chris in The Lousy Linguist
This is part 2 of my review of Guy Deutscher's new book Through the Language Glass: Why the World Looks Different in Other Languages. This covers The Language Lens (129-249). Part 1 is here. This review will cover the scientific evidence that Deutscher reviews suggesting that language affects thought, and will end with a shocking proposal.To sum up my review of part one: meh. Okay, we've established that culture can influence language. This is a lot less controversial than Deutscher makes it see........ Read more »
Guy deutscher. (2010) Through the Language Glass: Why the World Looks Different in Other Languages. Metropolitan Books. info:/
- June 27, 2011
- 05:30 AM
- 1,199 views
The deleterious impact of snacking on journalistic integrity
by Yoni Freedhoff in Weighty Matters
It's been a bad few weeks for obesity related press releases.The first was that press release from CIHI, where its headline and first paragraph served here in Canada, to lead journalists to declare that all that's necessary to combat obesity are 15 minutes of exercise a day, and a diet rich in fruits and vegetables (and consequently anyone who's obese is lazy and eats Ding Dongs for supper).Now there's this one.It came from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and it was released in ........ Read more »
Sampey, B., Vanhoose, A., Winfield, H., Freemerman, A., Muehlbauer, M., Fueger, P., Newgard, C., & Makowski, L. (2011) Cafeteria Diet Is a Robust Model of Human Metabolic Syndrome With Liver and Adipose Inflammation: Comparison to High-Fat Diet. Obesity, 19(6), 1109-1117. DOI: 10.1038/oby.2011.18
- June 24, 2011
- 08:58 AM
- 1,339 views
The Great Atlantic Divide – Why Europeans Riot (but American’s don’t)
by Stuart Farrimond in Dr Stu's Science Blog
A fireball erupts as civilians shriek and run for cover. A security officer burns and a gas mask-wearing man dashes through the smoke. Men beat each another with bats and stones. Shots are fired and grenades hurled as a city centre descends into chaos. Is this a scene from a warzone? No – this is … Continue reading »... Read more »
Alesina, A., Di Tella, R., & MacCulloch, R. (2004) Inequality and happiness: are Europeans and Americans different?. Journal of Public Economics, 88(9-10), 2009-2042. DOI: 10.1016/j.jpubeco.2003.07.006
- June 21, 2011
- 12:43 PM
- 1,217 views
Post-Hoc Supernatural Punishers
by Cris Campbell in Genealogy of Religion
In the inaugural issue of Religion, Brain & Behavior, Jeffrey Schloss and Michael Murray examine the idea that belief in supernatural agents is adaptive because these agents are punishers: supernatural policeman if you will. This policing can have two effects. First, belief in supernatural punishment can enhance within group cooperation. Second, it can reduce cheating [...]... Read more »
Schloss, Jeffrey P., & Murray, Michael J. (2011) Evolutionary Accounts of Belief in Supernatural Punishment: A Critical Review. Religion, Brain , 1(1), 46-99. info:/10.1080/2153599X.2011.558707
Brandhorst, Mario. (2010) Naturalism and the Genealogy of Moral Institutions. The Journal of Nietzsche Studies, 5-28. info:/
- June 14, 2011
- 03:56 AM
- 909 views
Consciousness? FFS...
by Neuroskeptic in Neuroskeptic
An interesting paper on the neurobiology of conscious awareness: Unconscious High-Level Information Processing.The authors propose that consciousness may be associated, not with activation in any given area of the brain, but with recurrent information processing between areas, a kind of neural ping-pong.When presented with sensory information, say the sight of an object, signals travel up through the brain from "primary" sensory areas to "higher" areas associated with more complicated proces........ Read more »
van Gaal S, & Lamme VA. (2011) Unconscious High-Level Information Processing: Implication for Neurobiological Theories of Consciousness. The Neuroscientist : a review journal bringing neurobiology, neurology and psychiatry. PMID: 21628675
- June 9, 2011
- 09:35 PM
- 755 views
FDA 'Steps up' for Nanotechnology
by Paige Brown in From The Lab Bench
In a memorandum issued by the White House today (June 9th, 2011) the US government set in place more rigorous standards for the regulation and oversight of nanomaterials. According to the U.S. memorandum, federal agencies must increasingly seek out and develop information about the potential effects of nanomaterials on human health and the environment. ... Read more »
Bawa R. (2011) Regulating Nanomedicine - Can the FDA Handle it?. Current drug delivery, 8(3), 227-34. PMID: 21291376
- June 4, 2011
- 04:26 PM
- 1,352 views
Decoding Frazer’s “Golden Bough”
by Cris Campbell in Genealogy of Religion
Few books in the history of anthropology are better known (but never read) than James George Frazer’s The Golden Bough: A Study in Magic and Religion. First published in 1890 (2 volumes), Frazer published a second edition in 1900 (3 volumes), and a rolling third edition between 1911 and 1915 which ballooned to 12 volumes.
Though [...]... Read more »
Ackerman, Robert. (1975) Frazer on Myth and Ritual. Journal of the History of Ideas, 36(1), 115-134. DOI: 10.2307/2709014
- June 2, 2011
- 02:37 PM
- 1,189 views
Lost in (Western) Translation
by Cris Campbell in Genealogy of Religion
There is a sense in which we are all cultural narcissists. By this, I mean that because all of us are acculturated at a particular time and in a particular place, we have a strong tendency to view other times and places through our own cultural lens. These lenses are prismatic and what we see [...]... Read more »
Bird-David, Nurit. (1999) "Animism" Revisited: Personhood, Environment, and Relational Epistemology. Current Anthropology. DOI: 10.1086/200061
Bergman, I., Ostlund, L., Zackrisson, O., & Liedgren, L. (2008) Varro Muorra: The Landscape Significance of Sami Sacred Wooden Objects and Sacrificial Altars. Ethnohistory, 55(1), 1-28. DOI: 10.1215/00141801-2007-044
- May 30, 2011
- 08:00 AM
- 1,153 views
How my ethics of brain scanning paper was overtaken by events
by Zen Faulkes in NeuroDojo
I know my most recent paper is probably going take some flak as being naïve.
This is the price you pay for trying to expand your horizons. An invert neuro guy writing an ethics paper? About brain scans? In humans? With spies? The potential to look foolish is huge.
But since I’ve gone and done it anyway, let me tell you how it all came about.
This paper started about three years when I ran into my colleague Cynthia Jones at lunch at the student union. I actually hadn’t seen her for a whil........ Read more »
Faulkes Z. (2011) Can brain imaging replace interrogation and torture?. Global Virtue Ethics Review, 6(2), 55-78. info:/
Ganis G, Rosenfeld J, Meixner J, Kievit R, & Schendan H. (2011) Lying in the scanner: Covert countermeasures disrupt deception detection by functional magnetic resonance imaging. NeuroImage, 55(1), 312-319. DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2010.11.025
Rissman J, Greely H, & Wagner A. (2010) Detecting individual memories through the neural decoding of memory states and past experience. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 107(21), 9849-9854. DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1001028107
Shirer, W., Ryali, S., Rykhlevskaia, E., Menon, V., & Greicius, M. (2011) Decoding Subject-Driven Cognitive States with Whole-Brain Connectivity Patterns. Cerebral Cortex. DOI: 10.1093/cercor/bhr099
Slotnick S, & Schacter D. (2004) A sensory signature that distinguishes true from false memories. Nature Neuroscience, 7(6), 664-672. DOI: 10.1038/nn1252
- May 30, 2011
- 02:32 AM
- 926 views
Shamanic Initiations: A hidden Theme within the Fairy Tale of Hansel and Gretel
by Franco Bejarano in CulturePotion
While the fairy tale of "Hansel and Gretel" is often regarded as a coming of age story, the tale actually depicts another kind of rite of passage, that of shamanic initiations. The article is a comparative study with the narrative of initiation rituals around the world, along with other figures of folklore.
To say that by defeating the witch, one becomes a witch would be a paradox, especially in the genre of fairy tales that often demonizes witches, however, given the ambiguity attrib........ Read more »
Joan Halifax. (1990) The shaman's initiation. ReVision, 13(2), 53. info:/9607292149
- May 25, 2011
- 04:16 PM
- 1,169 views
Beach Vacation 2k11vs Tanning Bed 2k11
by Brooke N in Smaller Questions
A review over why the sun is better than the tanning bed. ... Read more »
Anne Bagg Britt. (1995) Repair of DNA Damage Induced by Ultraviolet Radiation . Plant Physiologyq, 891-896. info:/
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