linkedin post 2020-05-25 05:02:37

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NATURE OF THOUGHT. “The human brain is composed of about 100 billion nerve cells (neurons) interconnected by trillions of connections, called synapses. On average, each connection transmits about one signal per second. Some specialized connections send up to 1,000 signals per second. “Somehow… that’s producing thought." https://lnkd.in/dufBtMc View in LinkedIn
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linkedin post 2020-05-25 05:00:36

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BAUM BACKGROUND. “Eric B. Baum has held positions at the University of California at Berkeley, Caltech, MIT, Princeton, and the NEC Research Institute. He is currently developing algorithms based on Machine Learning and Bayesian Reasoning to found a hedge fund.” https://lnkd.in/dBwDZAr View in LinkedIn
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linkedin post 2020-05-25 04:58:42

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SEMANTICS BEHIND THE MIND. “The mind understands by exploiting semantics, or meaning, for the purposes of computation; constraints are built in so that although there are myriad possibilities, only a few make sense. Evolution discovered corresponding subroutines or shortcuts to speed up its processes and to construct creatures whose survival depends on making the right choice quickly.” https://lnkd.in/dBwDZAr View in LinkedIn
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linkedin post 2020-05-24 04:08:33

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SO ENDS this first of two weekends on the subject of protoplasm. Although its fine structure has been elucidated further, it still remains a rather mysterious substance, backed by a biological lore that is almost mystical, pure food for the Vitalists. It is hard not to have sympathy with Vitalists when contemplating this marvelous stuff, by whose fine structure proximate chemistry in vitro in buffered solutions with pure reagents would not occur. View in LinkedIn
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linkedin post 2020-05-26 03:59:36

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THE UNKNOWN. “Can an upload be conscious? The issue here is complicated by the fact that our understanding of consciousness is so poor. No-one knows just why or how brain processes give rise to consciousness. Neuroscience is gradually discovering various neural correlates of consciousness, but this research program largely takes the existence of consciousness for granted.” https://lnkd.in/e335knp View in LinkedIn
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linkedin post 2020-05-26 03:58:04

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TWO OPPOSING VIEWS. “Biological theorists of consciousness hold that consciousness is essentially biological and that no nonbiological system can be conscious. Functionalist theorists of consciousness hold that what matters to consciousness is not biological makeup but causal structure and causal role, so that a nonbiological system can be conscious as long as it is organized correctly.” https://lnkd.in/e335knp View in LinkedIn
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