>This course is an introduction to the theory that tries to explain how minds are made from collections of simpler processes.
Whereas, at least in parts, the brain seems to work 'reductively': [1]
>In fish...
>"Contrary to expectation, the synaptic strengths in the pallium remained about the same regardless of whether the fish learned anything. Instead, in the fish that learned, the synapses were pruned from some areas of the pallium — producing an effect “like cutting a bonsai tree,” Fraser said — and replanted in others."
Could it be that we need other forms of thinking than mere 'analytical thinking' to come up with a full understanding of the human mind?
There is the theory that the mind is a construction of culture. Essentially we use tools (such as maps or fingers to count) which are external to us, later become internalized. It´s an oversimplification but the point being is that you need other people for minds to develop, and this development happens through culture. [1]
The thing that we talk about here is the property of Emergence. [2]
"In philosophy, systems theory, science, and art, emergence occurs when an entity is observed to have properties its parts do not have on their own, properties or behaviors which emerge only when the parts interact in a wider whole. "
>This course is an introduction to the theory that tries to explain how minds are made from collections of simpler processes.
Whereas, at least in parts, the brain seems to work 'reductively': [1]
>In fish...
>"Contrary to expectation, the synaptic strengths in the pallium remained about the same regardless of whether the fish learned anything. Instead, in the fish that learned, the synapses were pruned from some areas of the pallium — producing an effect “like cutting a bonsai tree,” Fraser said — and replanted in others."
Could it be that we need other forms of thinking than mere 'analytical thinking' to come up with a full understanding of the human mind?
[1] Scientists watch a memory form in the brain of a living fish https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=30572633