11 Matching Annotations
  1. Nov 2023
    1. about 20 years ago francisco varela introduced a completely new idea in cognitive neurosciences he said that in order to progress in the understanding of the mind 00:08:24 science cannot rely only on the study of cerebral activity but has to create a rigorous method to study human experience
      • for: cognitive neuroscience - shift from study of cerebral function alone, Fransisco Verella, cognitive neuroscience - study of lived experience
  2. Aug 2023
    1. Penrose‘s theory promises a deeper level of explanation. He starts with the premise that consciousness is not computational, and it’s beyond anything that neuroscience, biology, or physics can now explain. “We need a major revolution in our understanding of the physical world in order to accommodate consciousness,“ Penrose told me in a recent interview. ”The most likely place, if we‘re not going to go outside physics altogether, is in this big unknown—namely, making sense of quantum mechanics.“↳ Nautilus Members enjoy an ad-free experience. Log in or Join now. He draws on the basic properties of quantum computing, in which bits (qubits) of information can be in multiple states—for instance, in the “on” or “off” position—at the same time. These quantum states exist simultaneously—the “superposition”—before coalescing into a single, almost instantaneous, calculation. Quantum coherence occurs when a huge number of things—say, a whole system of electrons—act together in one quantum state.↳It was Hameroff‘s idea that quantum coherence happens in microtubules, protein structures inside the brain’s neurons. And what are microtubules, you ask? They are tubular structures inside eukaryotic cells (part of the cytoskeleton) that play a role in determining the cell‘s shape, as well as its movements, which includes cell division—separation of chromosomes during mitosis. Hameroff suggests that microtubules are the quantum device that Penrose had been looking for in his theory. In neurons, microtubules help control the strength of synaptic connections, and their tube-like shape might protect them from the surrounding noise of the larger neuron. The microtubules‘ symmetry and lattice structure are of particular interest to Penrose. He believes “this reeks of something quantum mechanical.” ↳Still, you‘d need more than just a continuous flood of random moments of quantum coherence to have any impact on consciousness. The process would need to be structured, or orchestrated, in some way so we can make conscious choices. In the Penrose-Hameroff theory of Orchestrated Objective Reduction, known as Orch-OR, these moments of conscious awareness are orchestrated by the microtubules in our brains, which—they believe—have the capacity to store and process information and memory.↳“Objective Reduction” refers to Penrose‘s ideas about quantum gravity—how superposition applies to different spacetime geometries—which he regards as a still-undiscovered theory in physics. All of this is an impossibly ambitious theory that draws on Penrose’s thinking about the deep structure of the universe, from quantum mechanics to relativity. As Smolin has said, “All Roger‘s thoughts are connected … twistor theory, his philosophical thinking, his ideas about quantum mechanics, his ideas about the brain and the mind.”

      对于意识的本质问题,彭罗斯的理论提出了一种更深层的解读。他的理论基于一个前提假设,即意识无法被计算,而且它绝非神经科学、生物学和物理学现阶段能够解释的问题。

      在 2017 年的一次采访中,彭罗斯告诉笔者,「为了理解并认知意识,我们首先要经历一次对于物理世界的巨大认知变革。至于那个可以研究意识本质的领域,如果我们不打算完全脱离物理学范畴的话,那么该领域最有可能一直存在于那个巨大的谜题中,换句话说,我们首先要解开量子物理的谜题。」

      彭罗斯将量子计算的基本特性吸收到他的理论中,即每一比特的信息,即量子位(Qubit)可以同时表现为多种状态,比如同时既是「激活」的,又是「未激活」的。在一次几乎是瞬间完成的计算之前,这些量子态(Quantum States)并未聚合(Coalescing),而是同时存在的,即叠加态(Ssuperposition)。而量子相干性(Quantum Coherence)只有在大量事件在量子态下同时发生的时候才会出现——比如某系统中的大量电子相互作用。

      对此,哈默洛夫认为量子相干性发生于微管(Microtubule)中,这是一种大脑神经元内部的蛋白质结构。也许读者会好奇所谓微管到底是什么东西:它们是存在于真核细胞中的管状结构,可以把它看成是细胞骨架(Cytoskeleton)的一部分,它们可以在细胞活动时发挥决定性作用,这些细胞活动也包括细胞分裂在内,比如在有丝分裂时决定染色体的分离。

      哈默洛夫认为,这些微管就是彭罗斯一直在为自己理论寻找的一种「量子装置」。在神经元中,微管可以帮助控制突触的连接强度,而它们管状的结构可以帮助它们免受周围更大的神经元带来的噪音影响。这些微管的对称、晶格结构恰恰是彭罗斯最感兴趣的。他相信这样的特征「散发着某种量子物理的气味」。

      不过,想要对意识产生任何影响,你需要的不仅仅是随机且持续发生的量子相干性事件。这个过程首先要经过某种方式重组,或者重新经过精心的编排,人类正是因为这一重组过程才能做出有意识的选择。在彭罗斯与哈默洛夫提出的协同客观崩现(Orchestrated Objective Reduction,简称「Orch-OR」)理论中,他们认为人类大脑中的微管会精密编排、操纵这些有意识的瞬间,而正是这样的瞬间给了人脑处理信息并存储记忆的能力。

      所谓「客观崩现」的概念则要涉及到彭罗斯对量子引力——即叠加态如何应用于不同的多个时空几何结构——方面的观点,他也把该理论视为目前物理学尚未发现的理论。然而所有这一切都是一个不可能被验证的、野心勃勃的假说,这个假说不过是借鉴了彭罗斯在量子力学领域和相对论领域对宇宙深层结构的思考。正如斯莫林说过的另一句话:「罗杰的所有观点都是相互勾连的扭量理论(Twistor Theory),无论是他的哲学思想、那些关于量子力学的观点,还是关于人类大脑与心灵的观点。」

      中文译文来自微信公众号「利维坦(liweitan2014)」2020 年的推送「意识无法被计算吗?

  3. May 2023
    1. https://pressbooks.pub/illuminated/

      A booklet prepared for teachers that introduces key concepts from the Science of Learning (i.e. cognitive neuroscience). The digital booklet is the result of a European project. Its content have been compiled from continuing professional development workshops for teachers and features evidence-based teaching practices that align with our knowledge of the Science of Learning.

  4. Jul 2022
    1. when we attribute sensory experiences to 00:06:39 ourselves for instance like the experience of red or the experience of seeing blue the model is external properties and we think of there as being inner properties just like those external properties that somehow we are 00:06:52 um we are seeing immediately

      This comment suggests a Color BEing Journey. How can we demonstrate in a compelling way that color is an attribute of the neural architecture of the person and NOT a property of the object we are viewing?

      See Color Constancy Illusion here:

      David Eagleman in WIRED interview https://hyp.is/go?url=http%3A%2F%2Fdocdrop.org%2Fvideo%2FMJBfn07gZ30%2F&group=world

      Beau Lotto, TED Talk https://hyp.is/go?url=http%3A%2F%2Fdocdrop.org%2Fvideo%2Fmf5otGNbkuc%2F&group=world

      Andrew Stockman, TEDx talk on how we see color: https://hyp.is/go?url=http%3A%2F%2Fdocdrop.org%2Fvideo%2F_l607r2TSwg%2F&group=world

      Science shows that color is an experience of the subject, not a property of the object: https://youtu.be/fQczp0wtZQQ but what Jay will go on to argue, is that this explanation itself is part of the COGNITIVE IMMEDIACY OF EXPERIENCE that we also take for granted.

  5. Feb 2022
    1. I don't think it's a surprise to anyone to know that there are certain activities that help create that space, and it’s been widely commented upon. Doing the dishes, walking the dog, cleaning the house – you need to be doing something.For me, pruning trees in our olive grove is perfect. It takes a little bit of attention, but not that much attention.

      This is related to the idea of diffuse thinking caused by taking breaks or doing things that don't require extreme concentration. Flaneuring... walking, etc.

      You want an activity that requires a little bit of attention but not too much attention. Doing dishes, walking, errands, etc. are good examples.

      Relate this to the

  6. Dec 2021
    1. In fact, the methodical use of notebooks changed the relationship between natural memory and artificial memory, although contemporaries did not immediately realize it. Historical research supports the idea that what was once perceived as a memory aid was now used as secondary memory.18

      During the 16th century there was a transition in educational centers from using the natural and artificial memories to the methodical use of notebooks and commonplace books as a secondary memory saved by means of writing.

      This allows people in some sense to "forget" what they've read and learned and be surprised by it again later. They allow themselves to create liminal memories which may be refreshed and brought to the center later. Perhaps there is also some benefit in this liminal memory for allowing ideas to steep on the periphery before using them. Perhaps combinatorial creativity happens unconsciously?

      Cross reference: learning research by Barbara Oakley and Terry Sejnowski.

  7. May 2021
  8. Aug 2020
  9. Jul 2020
  10. Feb 2017