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Archive for 'cognitive science'

new book by Paul Churchland – ‘Plato’s Camera: How the Physical Brain Captures a Landscape of Abstract Universals’

January 28, 2012

Plato's Camera

Plato’s Camera: How the Physical Brain Captures a Landscape of Abstract Universals by Paul M. Churchland (MIT Press, 2012)

(amazon.co.uk)

In Plato’s Camera, eminent philosopher Paul Churchland offers a novel account of how the brain constructs a representation–or ‘takes a picture’–of the universe’s timeless categorical and dynamical structure. This construction process, which begins at birth, yields the enduring background conceptual framework with which we will interpret our sensory experience for the rest of our lives. But, as even Plato knew, to make singular perceptual judgments requires that we possess an antecedent framework of abstract categories to which any perceived particular can be relevantly assimilated. How that background framework is assembled in the first place is the motivating mystery, and the primary target, of Churchland’s book.

His account draws on the best of the recent philosophical literature on semantic theory, and on the most recent results from cognitive neurobiology. The resulting story throws immediate light on issues that have been at the center of philosophy for at least two millennia, such as how the mind represents reality, both in its ephemeral and in its timeless dimensions.

Unexpectedly, this neurobiologically grounded account of human cognition also provides a systematic story of how such low-level epistemological activities are integrated within an enveloping framework of linguistic structures and regulatory mechanisms at the social level. As Churchland illustrates, this integration of cognitive mechanisms at several levels has launched the human race on an epistemological adventure denied to all other terrestrial creatures.

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Comments (1) - cognitive science,new books,philosophy of mind

new book – ‘Guitar Zero: The New Musician and the Science of Learning’ by Gary Marcus

January 27, 2012

Guitar Zero

Guitar Zero: The New Musician and the Science of Learning by Gary Marcus (Penguin, 2012)

(kindle ed.), (amazon.co.uk)

Product description from the publisher:

On the eve of his 40th birthday, Gary Marcus, a renowned scientist with no discernible musical talent, learns to play the guitar and investigates how anyone—of any age —can become musical. Do you have to be born musical to become musical? Do you have to start at the age of six?

Using the tools of his day job as a cognitive psychologist, Gary Marcus becomes his own guinea pig as he takes up the guitar. In a powerful and incisive look at how both children and adults become musical, Guitar Zero traces Marcus’s journey, what he learned, and how anyone else can learn, too. A groundbreaking peek into the origins of music in the human brain, this musical journey is also an empowering tale of the mind’s enduring plasticity.

Marcus investigates the most effective ways to train body and brain to learn to play an instrument, in a quest that takes him from Suzuki classes to guitar gods. From deliberate and efficient practicing techniques to finding the right music teacher, Marcus translates his own experience—as well as reflections from world-renowned musicians—into practical advice for anyone hoping to become musical, or to learn a new skill.

Guitar Zero debunks the popular theory of an innate musical instinct while simultaneously challenging the idea that talent is only a myth. While standing the science of music on its head, Marcus brings new insight into humankind’s most basic question: what counts as a life well lived? Does one have to become the next Jimi Hendrix to make a passionate pursuit worthwhile, or can the journey itself bring the brain lasting satisfaction?

For all those who have ever set out to play an instrument—or wish that they could—Guitar Zero is an inspiring and fascinating look at the pursuit of music, the mechanics of the mind, and the surprising rewards that come from following one’s dreams.

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See also: Author’s website, New York Times article

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new book – ‘Simplexity: Simplifying Principles for a Complex World’

January 23, 2012

Simplexity

Simplexity: Simplifying Principles for a Complex World (An Editions Odile Jacob Book) by Alain Berthoz, tr. Giselle Weiss (Yale University Press, 2012)

(kindle ed.), (amazon.co.uk)

Product description from the publisher:

In this book a noted physiologist and neuroscientist introduces the concept of simplexity, the set of solutions living organisms find that enable them to deal with information and situations, while taking into account past experiences and anticipating future ones. Such solutions are new ways of addressing problems so that actions may be taken more quickly, more elegantly, and more efficiently.

In a sense, the history of living organisms may be summed up by their remarkable ability to find solutions that avoid the world’s complexity by imposing on it their own rules and functions. Evolution has resolved the problem of complexity not by simplifying but by finding solutions whose processes—though they can sometimes be complex—allow us to act in the midst of complexity and of uncertainty. Nature can inspire us by making us realize that simplification is never simple and requires instead that we choose, refuse, connect, and imagine, in order to act in the best possible manner. Such solutions are already being applied in design and engineering and are significant in biology, medicine, economics, and the behavioral sciences.

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Comments (0) - cognitive science,mind,new books

new book – ‘Neuroculture: On the Implications of Brain Science’

January 14, 2012

Neuroculture

Neuroculture: On the Implications of Brain Science by Edmund T. Rolls (Oxford University Press, USA, 2012)

(amazon.co.uk)

Product description from the publisher:

Why do we have emotions? What are the bases of social behaviour? What is the relationship between the mind and the brain? How, and why, do we appreciate art? How do we make decisions? Are there biological foundations to ethical behaviour? Why do people follow religions, or believe in life after death?

These wide-ranging, but important questions are just some of those considered in this exploration of the field of neuroscience, and how it can crucially inform our knowledge across a range of seemingly unrelated disciplines.
‘Neuroculture’ considers the implications of our modern understanding of how the brain works, how it was shaped by evolution, and how it can help us understand many mental issues central to everyday life.

The book starts with a look at emotions and how they are important in our behaviour. It then considers social behaviour, looking at the adaptive differences between men and women. The next chapter considers emotion and rationality, and the mechanisms of decision making. In the following chapter, the author looks at philosophical issues, considering the relationship between the mind and brain, and considering whether the hardware/software distinction in a computer might tell us something about mind-brain interactions. The following chapter considers neuroaesthetics – the biological foundations of our appreciation of art – including visual art, literature, and music. Is art a useless ornament? Is music, to quote Steven Pinker, really just ‘auditory cheesecake’?
After this, the author looks at the field of neuroeconomics – how neuroscience is informing us about how we make economic choices. The wide-ranging chapters that follow consider neuroethics – the biological foundations of ethical behaviour, neuropsychiatry – the connection between neural functioning and psychiatric disorders, neuroreligion – the possible biological foundations of religious belief, and neuropolitics – how our knowledge of the emotion and rational reasoning systems might help us develop strategies to solve political problems.

Written to appeal to students and researchers across the biological sciences and humanities, Neuroculture will be fascinating reading for those in neuroscience, psychology, biology, medicine, economics, animal behaviour, psychiatry, philosophy, the arts – indeed anyone interested in why we behave as we do.

See also: Author’s website

Comments (1) - cognitive science,culture,mind,new books

new book – ‘Dirty Minds: How Our Brains Influence Love, Sex, and Relationships’

January 4, 2012

Dirty Minds

Dirty Minds: How Our Brains Influence Love, Sex, and Relationships by Kayt Sukel (Free Press, 2012)

(kindle ed.), (amazon.co.uk)

Product description from the publisher:

Philosophers, theologians, artists, and boy bands have waxed poetic about the nature of love for centuries. But what does the brain have to say about the way we carry our hearts? In the wake of a divorce, science writer and single mother Kayt Sukel made herself a guinea pig in the labs of some unusual love experts to find out.

In each chapter of this edgy romp through the romantic brain, Sukel looks at a different aspect of love above the belt. What in your brain makes you love someone—or simply lust after them? (And is there really a difference?) Why do good girls like bad boys? Is monogamy practical? How thin is that line between love and hate? Do mothers have a stronger bond with their children than their fathers do? How do our childhood experiences affect our emotional control? Should you be taking an oxytocin supplement to improve your luck in love? Who is most at risk for love addiction? In her search for truth, Sukel also has an fMRI during orgasm, ponders a cure for heartbreak, and samples a pheromone spray called Boarmate.

As science allows us a more focused examination on the intricate dance between the brain and our environments, we can use it to shed new light on humanity’s oldest question: What is love and why does it torture, delight, and transform us so?

Fiercely honest and wonderfully funny, Sukel can offer no simple solutions for the curveballs love throws our way. But after reading this gimlet-eyed look at love, sex, and the brain, you’ll never look at romance the same way again.

See also: Author’s website

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