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myriadsmallcreature's solution to the publius enigma

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myriadsmallcreature

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Nov 29, 2014, 11:00:15 AM11/29/14
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* ALL THESE THREADS ARE YOURS EXCEPT THIS ONE ATTEMPT NO POSTING HERE *

Good and bad, I define these terms
Quite clear, no doubt, somehow
Ah, but I was so much older then
I'm younger than that now.

-Robert Zimmerman


First definition of terms:

enigma - a riddle, a puzzle, an allegory, an obscure saying


Ainigma - (from the Greek) superficially, a riddle; more specifically, an allusion to esoteric or hidden knowledge

"The very nature of ainigma is this, to describe a fact in an impossible combination of names."
-Aristotle, Poetics 22, 1458a

"For we know in part, and we prophesy in part.
But when that which is perfect is come, then that which is in part shall be done away.
When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a man, I put away childish things.
FOR NOW WE SEE THROUGH A GLASS, DARKLY; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known."

-1 Corinthians 13:9-12 KJV


Aenigma - (from the Latin) at its best, it is very much like the Greek Ainigma, but seen through a more orthodox religious (Christian) lens. I'm unhappy with that definition, obscure like enigma itself. But there you have it.

"...by the word glass he meant to signify an image, so by that of enigma any likeness you will, but yet one obscure, and difficult to see through. While, therefore, any likenesses whatever may be understood as signified by the apostle when he speaks of a glass and an enigma, so that they are adapted to the understanding of God, in such way as He can be understood; yet nothing is better adapted to this purpose than that which is not vainly called his image... And this is a yet greater enigma, that we do not see what we cannot but see. For who does not see his own thought? And yet who does see his own thought, I do not say with the eye of the flesh, but with the inner sight itself."
-St. Augustine (De trinitate 15.9)


Publius Enigma (or PE) - music, lyrics, and artwork of the Pink Floyd, especially the Division Bell--and associated apocrypha.



* ALL THESE THREADS ARE YOURS EXCEPT THIS ONE ATTEMPT NO POSTING HERE *

myriadsmallcreature

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Dec 1, 2014, 3:52:55 PM12/1/14
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The purpose of the Enigmas in Literature thread in large part is to show the reason that the word 'Enigma' was chosen by the Publius for their enigma/riddle/mystery/puzzle. The etymology of the two words, enigma and riddle, as demonstrated in the book show a drift and a rift in synonomy between the two, enigma becoming more and more inclusive of time and space, and more and more mysterious. Enigma becomes a riddle generator. And each riddle solved begs another question.

As Cook says, "answers to the large ongoing enigmas will often determine exactly what we do with answers to scientific puzzles." Its complement is also true: The answers to scientific puzzles insinuate the answers to the large ongoing enigmas.

I won't generally crosspost the quotes from that thread. But I will note the choice of words in passing, e.g. clouds, obscured, veil, etc., as circumstantial evidence that the Publius Enigma (now so-named) and the terminology of enigma as expressed by Cook runs through the entire Pink Floyd catalog.

** ALL THESE THREADS ARE YOURS EXCEPT THIS ONE ATTEMPT NO POSTING HERE **

myriadsmallcreature

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Dec 26, 2014, 11:42:27 PM12/26/14
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from 'Enigmas and Riddles in Literature

p. 261

"...answers to the large ongoing enigmas will often determine exactly what we do with answers to scientific puzzles. In this sense, they are more powerful. Many are, in effect, enigma as masterplot."

I will start from here.

:)

*** ALL THESE THREADS ARE YOURS EXCEPT THIS ONE ATTEMPT NO POSTING HERE ***

myriadsmallcreature

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Dec 29, 2014, 10:58:10 AM12/29/14
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"Nowadays scientists speak of solving a problem, not solving a riddle or an enigma or a mystery.... Only the greatest scientists approach the enigmas of science, though their evidence comes from working on problems."

I will start from here.

**** ALL THESE THREADS ARE YOURS EXCEPT THIS ONE ATTEMPT NO POSTING HERE ****

myriadsmallcreature

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Jan 9, 2015, 1:11:29 PM1/9/15
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Message-ID: <012302Z...@anon.penet.fi>
Newsgroups: alt.music.pink-floyd
From: an10...@anon.penet.fi
Reply-To: an10...@anon.penet.fi
Date: Sat, 13 Aug 1994 01:20:12 UTC
Subject: }}}}}}}}} (REPOST) A N E W M E S S A G E {{{{{{{{{





Yes, I've been watching your progress and
am duly impressed with the recent discourse.
Many of you have taken my words to heart and
identified significant associations between
the clues. Organized communication is the key.
Your persistence and thoughtful analysis is
leading you down the road to a solution. Do
not be discouraged; you are on your way!

Special cheers to 'The Publius Concern' - I'm
flattered - and other formal committees who
have formed to investigate the enigma.

Now, let me impart a word of advice: while
each DB component requires its own individual
degree of interpretation, carefully take note
of those subtle, connecting relationships between
seemingly disassociated clues. I emphasize
this an essential step in the right direction.

Ask yourselves: how do these separate clues that
you have been researching and evaluating now find
renewed meaning within an overall, more unified
theme? As an example, what does the following
lyric suggest and how does this relate to your
earlier findings:



On the day the wall came down

The Ship of Fools had finally
run aground

Promises lit up the night like paper
doves in flight



Lastly, let me leave you with a final question:



Why would the Newspaper be crumpled?




Continued luck to all in your search!




- Publius
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------
To find out more about the anon service, send mail to he...@anon.penet.fi.
Due to the double-blind, any mail replies to this message will be anonymized,
and an anonymous id will be allocated automatically. You have been warned.
Please report any problems, inappropriate use etc. to ad...@anon.penet.fi.
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------

myriadsmallcreature

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Jan 11, 2015, 6:06:14 PM1/11/15
to
Message-ID: <065410Z...@anon.penet.fi>
Newsgroups: alt.music.pink-floyd
From: an11...@anon.penet.fi
Reply-To: an11...@anon.penet.fi
Date: Wed, 31 Aug 1994 06:47:51 UTC
Subject: }}}}}}}} T H E N E W M E S S A G E {{{{{{{{

Yes, I've been watching your progress and
am duly impressed with the recent discourse.
Many of you have taken my words to heart and
identified significant associations between
the clues. Organized communication is the key.
Your persistence and thoughtful analysis is
leading you down the road to a solution. Do
not be discouraged; you are on your way!

Special cheers to 'The Publius Concern' - I'm
flattered - and
other fo9mal comm4:tees wh7
have fo962d to i7;29tigat2
:4e eni360


No;

62t me
46809t a
;792
7f 02;412
w4462
201h
"!
17687727:
928:4929
4:9
[;7
4724;
Message has been deleted
Message has been deleted
Message has been deleted
Message has been deleted

myriadsmallcreature

unread,
Jan 16, 2015, 11:51:18 PM1/16/15
to
Message-ID: <065522Z...@anon.penet.fi>
Newsgroups: alt.music.pink-floyd
From: an11...@anon.penet.fi
Reply-To: an11...@anon.penet.fi
Date: Wed, 31 Aug 1994 06:48:33 UTC
Subject: }}}}}}}} T H E M E S S A G E (REPOST) {{{{{{{{

Yes, I've been watching your progress and
am duly impressed with the recent discourse.
Many of you have taken my words to heart and
identified significant associations between
the clues. Organized communication is the key.
Your persistence and thoughtful analysis is
leading you down the road to a solution. Do
not be discouraged; you are on your way!

Special cheers to 'The Publius Concern' - I'm
flattered - and
other fo9mal comm4:tees wh7
have fo962d to i7;29tigat2
:4e eni360


No;

62t me
46809t a
;792
7f 02;412
w4462
201h
"!
1768o727:
928:4929
4:9
[;7
4724;
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------
To find out more about the anon service, send mail to he...@anon.penet.fi.
Due to the double-blind, any mail replies to this message will be anonymized,
and an anonymous id will be allocated automatically. You have been warned.
Please report any problems, inappropriate use etc. to ad...@anon.penet.fi.
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Message has been deleted
Message has been deleted

myriadsmallcreature

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Jan 24, 2015, 6:36:40 PM1/24/15
to
Message-ID: <065612Z...@anon.penet.fi>
Newsgroups: alt.music.pink-floyd
From: an11...@anon.penet.fi
Reply-To: an11...@anon.penet.fi
Date: Wed, 31 Aug 1994 06:48:48 UTC
Subject: }}}}}}} T H E M E S S A G E (REPOST) {{{{{{{

Yes, I've been watching your progress and
am duly impressed with the recent discourse.
Many of you have taken my words to heart and
identified significant associations between
the clues. Organized communication is the key.
Your persistence and thoughtful analysis is
leading you down the road to a solution. Do
not be discouraged; you are on y7ur way!


Special
1heers t7
The Pu164u
]412

;Z

myriadsmallcreature

unread,
Jan 27, 2015, 9:43:37 PM1/27/15
to
:)
Message has been deleted

myriadsmallcreature

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Jan 28, 2015, 10:53:42 AM1/28/15
to
Ten years ago, I decided to give the scrambled posts some due diligence. And ten years later, here I am, ready to tackle the problem.

After waiting patiently for the missing posts to reveal themselves, I realize that while they might be necessary to solve a [i]riddle[/i], they are not necessary to solve the [i]ainigma[/i] (to the extent that there is a solution). Indeed, there may not be any missing posts of any value at all.

It is obvious to anyone for whom the study of probability is not anathema that the sequence of the three extant posts are beyond doubt not the result of interference, but have been carefully and lovingly prepared.

I went back and read over the posts subsequent and attending to the scrambled posts, and found only one person, Robert Egan, who was acutely and intuitively aware of the importance of the scrambled posts to the message of the Publius. He is to be congratulated for his perspicacity and his perseverance.

Which is not to say that he was the only one who knew, but the only one to talk about it.

:)

myriadsmallcreature

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Feb 2, 2015, 5:24:43 PM2/2/15
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This is from the Robert Egan post mentioned above...

"It has also been observed that in the event of modem line noise,
dropping of the least significant bit is reasionable behavior. If
"Publius" were posting from a hotel or somewhere else with unreliable
lines this might be the real reason, and why the message was posted
three times.

"The problem I have with this explanation is that my experience with
modem line noise is that you usually lose the signal after only to or
three chracters are mangled, not 70 or more. Also, why did they send the
scrambled messages -after- a successful posting. If it were the other
way around, it would have been a more believable explanation. And
lastly, the odds that a message would scramble identically because of
line noise seems remote indeed."
Message has been deleted

myriadsmallcreature

unread,
Feb 2, 2015, 6:43:51 PM2/2/15
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Which is of course not to say that some few others did not try to decode the scrambled posts [i]without the certitude that they must indeed have been intentionally and lovingly crafted[/i]. Going on a kind of halfhearted faith, they gave halfhearted effort.

Again, publicly anyway.

My guess is that it has all been solved and by more than one person, and I/we are more than anything the source of a good-natured laugh, at best, among the cognoscenti.

:)

myriadsmallcreature

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Feb 2, 2015, 7:15:22 PM2/2/15
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My experience with digital transmission goes back to the Commodore 64 and 300 baud modems, and I can assure you that the scrambled messages bear absolutely no resemblance to any line interference or dropped carriers I have seen in the last 40 years.

However, I'm not going to regale (bore) you with Hayes commands, TCP/IP theory or why Benoit Mandelbrot was hired by IBM and how we ended up with the theory of fractals in the bargain. You could look it up.

Suffice it to say that the bearer of these messages [i]did everything possible[/i] to make sure that the receivers could not possibly fail to realize that they were indeed intentional.

myriadsmallcreature

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Feb 2, 2015, 10:52:13 PM2/2/15
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Did I mention they were carefully and lovingly created?

myriadsmallcreature

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Feb 3, 2015, 12:40:57 PM2/3/15
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Just as an aside...

Here is a link to a paper written by B. Mandelbrot in 1963 (and J.M. Berger, whoever he was), on the nature and characteristics of line noise on POTS.

http://ww.e-m-h.org/BergerMandelbrot1963.pdf

Though the paper is relatively dense, it is clear just by glancing at the charts that the randomness of the line noise precludes the possibility of such nonrandom mutations as are on display in the posts.

myriadsmallcreature

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Feb 3, 2015, 12:54:20 PM2/3/15
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According to Robert Egan...

>It has also been observed that in the event of modem line noise,
>dropping of the least significant bit is reasionable behavior. If
>"Publius" were posting from a hotel or somewhere else with unreliable
>lines this might be the real reason, and why the message was posted
>three times.

Not true. Line noise (as indicated in the paper cited) would be relatively chaotic, and since we are dealing with a binary transmission, would be no more attracted to any one bit than another.


>The problem I have with this explanation is that my experience with
>modem line noise is that you usually lose the signal after only to or
>three characters are mangled, not 70 or more.

Though not supporting my contention, this is not my experience. Modems make a number of attempts to resend and synchronize transmissions. In my experience.


>Also, why did they send the scrambled messages -after- a successful posting.
>If it were the other way around, it would have been a more believable >explanation.

Indeed. Indeed.

Anyone?


>And lastly, the odds that a message would scramble identically because of
>line noise seems remote indeed."

Yes. And yet on inspection, it can be seen that they (the first two scrambled posts) are not identical at all.
Message has been deleted
Message has been deleted

myriadsmallcreature

unread,
Feb 3, 2015, 11:25:10 PM2/3/15
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And we're off!

Message-ID: <065410Z...@anon.penet.fi>
Newsgroups: alt.music.pink-floyd
From: an11...@anon.penet.fi
Reply-To: an11...@anon.penet.fi
Date: Wed, 31 Aug 1994 06:47:51 UTC
Subject: }}}}}}}} T H E N E W M E S S A G E {{{{{{{{

Yes, I've been watching your progress and
am duly impressed with the recent discourse.
Many of you have taken my words to heart and
identified significant associations between
the clues. Organized communication is the key.
Your persistence and thoughtful analysis is
leading you down the road to a solution. Do
not be discouraged; you are on your way!
Special cheers to 'The Publius Concern' - I'm
flattered - and
other fo9mal comm4:tees wh7
have fo962d to i7;29tigat2
:4e eni360


No;

62t me
46809t a
;792
7f 02;412
w4462
201h
"!
17687727:
928:4929
4:9
[;7
4724;

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

It can be seen immediately that there are two different kinds of corruption at work simultaneously: first, the spaces between the words are transmuted each time, beyond probability, only into line feeds or carriage returns.

Which is to say that the line noise has chosen, if you will, to change 'space' characters only into carriage returns. As a 'space' character is 20 hex (0100000 binary) a number of bit changes (that is binary) are necessary to change the character of the second format--and in each instance the same bit changes. Frankly I can't remember whether it's a line feed (0001010, or 3 changes)or a carriage return (0001111, or 4 changes). Nevertheless there is no randomness about it.

Once the corruption of the alphabetic characters begins, the following changes occur in the very first letter...

r 72hex 1110010 binary
9 39hex 0111001 binary

Contrary to Robert Egan's assertion of a single bit change, [i]presumably based on a confusion of the decimal and hexadecimal number systems[/i], we can see that there are three in this corruption alone. While it can reasonably be claimed that three changes are no less likely (than one) the result of any burst of line noise, it cannot at all be reasonably claimed that the same changes will occur [i][b]on multiple occasions[/i][/b], and will happen furthermore in just the same way to an increasing number of letters. Not even possible.

The second corruption shows a similar problem.... In the text

i 69hex 1101001 binary becomes
4 34hex 0110100 binary

involving 5 bit state changes. Again, that there might be 5 bit changes out of 7 may or may not be improbable, but that the same number would happen in the same positions repeatedly is not possible without intention.

The key is this: Whoever designed this series of posts counted on the Publius Concern or whoever to understand with a flash of insight or to figure out laboriously the difference between decimal and hexadecimal numbers and which one--hexadecimal, as an extension of binary--was used in modem transmissions. Once the realization was made, the mistaken supposition that the messages were corrupted transmissions could be laid aside and the real job of 'decryption' could begin.

myriadsmallcreature

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Feb 3, 2015, 11:25:57 PM2/3/15
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The second post, sent 42 seconds later, has been explained away variously as a clone of the first, separated in transmission, and arriving separately; or as a retransmission of the scrambled first post.

The first suggestion is obviously false, by virtue of the change in the Subject: line from THE NEW MESSAGE to THE MESSAGE REPOST. The second suggestion is also obviously false, not only for the reasons given above for the first message, but also for the fact that all of the same changes (as pointed out by Robert Egan) have been made again (except for one) in the second message which were made in the first, making the odds of an identical corruption exponential. Something like infinity squared.

The design of the initial post of 8/13/94 and the first two scrambled posts, including the transposition of the 'space' characters into carriage feeds?, the letters into the numbers (loosely speaking) and the change of subject line were all clues that these posts were of great significance to an understanding of the Publius Enigma.
Message has been deleted

myriadsmallcreature

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Feb 6, 2015, 1:06:42 AM2/6/15
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And, as if that isn't enough, the third follows a mere 15 seconds later. And although it seems that the two of them (the second and the third messages) have the same Subject line, in fact they do not, as the third has an angle bracket deliberately removed from each end (ostensibly in the 15 seconds between messages).

myriadsmallcreature

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Feb 7, 2015, 10:43:45 PM2/7/15
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My initial purpose is simple: I have taken the messages to heart and my hope is to identify associations between these clues by taking note of the subtle, connecting relationships between these seemingly disassociated clues. I will endeavor to now find renewed meaning within an overall, more unified theme.

To that end, I will call the first message, the original message #1, the second #2, the third #3, and the fourth #4, in chronological and numerical order.

:)

I suggest that each message has characteristics of its own but also a meaningful relationship to each other message. Not to mention the Publius Enigma, and the greater Enigma.

#1 I will let pass without comment for now, except to repeat that I believe it may contain hints on the relationship of the following three messages to itself and also to each other. Am I being redundant?
Message has been deleted

myriadsmallcreature

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Feb 18, 2015, 1:29:16 PM2/18/15
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The purposes of the second message are threefold:

1. To create a shape by replacing space characters with return characters. This involves the entire bottom half of the message, beginning with 'Special Cheers'.

2. To create a model or a map of the second paragraph with the transition from alpha to numeric, ending with, or above, the word 'now'.

3. To create a shape and the hint of a puzzle with the bottom section, beginning with, or below, the word 'now'.

myriadsmallcreature

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Feb 19, 2015, 11:22:59 AM2/19/15
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The third message is noteworthy in at least four respects:

1. It is a duplicate of the second message.
2. It has one alteration: the letter 'o' in the word 'component'
3. The alteration is a reversion.
4. The alteration otherwise follows the pattern established in the second message.

myriadsmallcreature

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Feb 19, 2015, 4:46:37 PM2/19/15
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:)

myriadsmallcreature

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Feb 19, 2015, 5:01:51 PM2/19/15
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The second and third messages share a few perhaps interesting features:

1. The special treatment of punctuation.
2. The space in front of the word 'which'.
3. The abbreviation of the word individual.
4. The anomalous open bracket.
5. The line lengths beginning with 'flattered - and'.

In my opinion 1, 2 and 3, may or may not be meaningful, or they may simply be useful to create the overall shape of the message.

More on 4 and 5 later.

myriadsmallcreature

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Feb 21, 2015, 10:32:13 PM2/21/15
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The fourth message...

-----------------------------------------------------

Yes, I've been watching your progress and
am duly impressed with the recent discourse.
Many of you have taken my words to heart and
identified significant associations between
the clues. Organized communication is the key.
Your persistence and thoughtful analysis is
leading you down the road to a solution. Do
not be discouraged; you are on y7ur way!

Special
1heers t7
The Pu164u
]412


;Z

-----------------------------------------------------

has at least the four following interesting features:

1. An 'early' conversion to numeric in the first paragraph.
2. A closed bracket to match the open brackets in the posts above.
3. A lacuna between 'The Pu164u' and ']412'.
4. The final short line ';Z'.


So, what does it all mean, if anything?

myriadsmallcreature

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Feb 22, 2015, 11:38:02 PM2/22/15
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After considering them separately, it is helpful to consider them together.

Overlaying the messages and concatenating them as follows yields this result.

As I have done it begs the question: Why is message #4 being used twice?

:)

Do you see?


---------------------------------------------------

Yes, I've been watching your progress and
am duly impressed with the recent discourse.
Many of you have taken my words to heart and
identified significant associations between
the clues. Organized communication is the key.
Your persistence and thoughtful analysis is
leading you down the road to a solution. Do
not be discouraged; you are on y7ur way!

Special 1heers t7 'The Pu164us Concern' - I'm
flattered - and
other fo9mal comm4:tees wh7
have fo962d to i7;29tigat2
:4e eni360


No;

62t me
46809t a
;792
7f 02;412
w4462
201h
"!
1768o727:
928:4929
4:9
[;7
4724;

myriadsmallcreature

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Feb 23, 2015, 12:15:07 AM2/23/15
to
And of course you can't see it.

You would have to cut and paste it into an editor and change the font to something like Courier (a monospaced font).

Oh well.

Too much work.

Anyone?

I'll check once a week? Once a month?

Read 'In the Palaces of Memory'. Remember, Douglas gives it 5 stars.

Pages 155 +

:)

myriadsmallcreature

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Feb 23, 2015, 10:01:56 PM2/23/15
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http://lofalexandria.com/2012/12/the-neuropsychological-implications-of-interhemispheric-communication/

The largest of the commissures, and the "largest connecting fiber bundle in the human brain" (Rüsch, Luders, Lieb, Zahn, Ebert, Thompson, Toga, & Telbartz van Elst, 2007), is the corpus callosum. The corpus callosum "connects almost every part of one hemisphere with the corresponding part of the other hemisphere"(Prakash, & Nowinski, 2006) and as such has been implicated in a wide range of cognitive tasks. The collosal fiber tract coordinates bimanual tasks and bilateral axial movements, mediates sustained attention, as well as memory, sensory, motor and emotional functions (Devinsky et al., 2004). Further, approximately 40% of callosal fibers are unmyelinated, and these slow-conducting fibers primarily inhibit contralateral activity. The unmyelinated fibers of the corpus callosum predominantly form the connections for the frontal and temporal association areas while the secondary sensorimotor areas are connected by the faster myelinated axons (Aboitiz, & Montiel, 2003). Through this inhibitory capability the corpus callosum allows one hemisphere to inhibit the other, granting exclusive control during a specific behavioral function (Devinsky et al., 2004). As the function of the corpus callosum within the domains listed appears to be predominantly, if not exclusively, facilitating interhemispheric communication, efficiency of information transfer between the hemisphers, through the corpus callosum, appears to have profound implications for cognition. Efficient transfer and integration between hemispheres is associated with improvements to "performance on complex, multidimensional tasks, presumably because of the advantage of parallel processing" (Hiatt, & Newman, 2007).




One of the major facts emerging from split-brain research is that the left hemisphere has marked limitations in perceptual functions and that the right hemisphere has even more prominent limitations in its cognitive functions. The model thus maintains that lateral specialization reflects the emergence of new skills and the retention of others. Natural selection allowed this odd state of affairs because the callosum integrated these developments in a functional system that only got better as a decision-making device.

Another aspect of this proposal can be seen when considering possible costs to the right hemisphere. It now appears that the developing child and the rhesus monkey have similar cognitive abilities (Hauser and Carey, 1998). It has been shown that many simple mental capacities, such as classification tasks, are possible in the monkey and in the 12-month-old child. Yet many of these capacities are not evident in the right hemisphere of a split-brain subject (Funnell and Gazzaniga, 2000). It is as if the right hemisphere's attention-perception system has co-opted these capacities, just as the emerging language systems in the left hemisphere co-opt its capacity for perception.

With these changes ongoing, one might predict that there would be an increase in local intrahemispheric circuitry and a reduced interhemispheric circuitry. With local circuits becoming specialized and optimized for particular functions, the formerly bilateral brain need no longer keep identical processing systems tied together for all aspects of information processing. The communication that occurs between the two hemispheres can be reduced, as only the products of the processing centres need be communicated to the opposite half-brain. Recently, Rilling and Insel have reported that there is a differential expansion of cerebral white matter relative to the corpus callosum in primates (Rilling and Insel, 1999). Humans show a marked decrease in the rate of growth of the corpus callosum compared with intrahemispheric comparisons of white matter.

There is also new evidence that could lead the way to discovering how new functions, exclusively human in nature, arise during cortical evolution. Neurons in the monkey's prefrontal lobe respond not only when the animal is going to grasp a piece of food but also when the human experimenter is about to grasp the same piece of food (Rizzolatti et al., 1996). It would appear that circuits in the monkey brain make it possible for the monkey to represent the actions of others. Rizzolatti (Rizzolatti, 1998) suggested that such a system might be the seed for the uniquely human theory of a mind module (Baron-Cohen, 1995).

myriadsmallcreature

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Mar 6, 2015, 4:07:52 PM3/6/15
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...the speech of the gods was directly organized in what corresponds to Wernicke's area on the right hemisphere and 'spoken' or 'heard' over the anterior commissures to or by the auditory areas of the left temporal lobe. (Note how I can only express this metaphorically, personifying the right temporal lobe as a person speaking or the left temporal lobe as a person listening, both being equivalent and both literally false.) Another reason I am inclined to this stronger form [of the hypothesis] is its very rationality in terms of getting processed information or thought from one side of the brain to the other. Consider the evolutionary problem: billions of nerve cells processing complex experience on one side and needing to send the results over to the other through the much smaller commissures. Some code would have to be used, some way of reducing very complicated processing into a form that could be transmitted through the fewer neurons particularly of the anterior commissures. And what better code has ever appeared in the evolution of animal nervous systems than human language? Thus in the stronger form of our model, auditory hallucinations exist as such in a linguistic manner because that is the most efficient method of getting complicated cortical processing from one side of the brain to the other.

from The Origin of Consciousness, p. 105

myriadsmallcreature

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Mar 6, 2015, 6:05:11 PM3/6/15
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Scientists have known about the basic operation of neurons for decades. but it has only been in recent years that they have been able to explain how these information processors might be usde to store memories. While the details are disputed, to say the least, the general idea is this: When the brain is exposed to a new event (the image of a face, the sound of laughter) a unique pattern of neurons is activated somehow. Within the vast web of brain cells, a constellation lights up. Unless this configuration is to fade with whatever evoked it, there must be a means of preserving it--of forging connections between the neurons, creating a new circuit that acts as a symbol, a representation of something in the outside world. Then, by reactivating the circuit, the brain can retrieve the memory--rough and perhaps a bit faded, but a serviceable replica of the original perception.

from The Palaces of Memory p. 21

myriadsmallcreature

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Mar 6, 2015, 6:18:11 PM3/6/15
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These patterns would not be so fixed and rigid as the wiring as a television set. The circuitry would be malleable, changing all the time. As knowledge was acquired, old circuits would break apart and form new connections, constantly building and rebuilding our representation of the world.

Ideas as well as specific images might also be acquired this way. A concept--chair, for example--would be a neural circuit that preserved the overlapping features of each of the hundreds of specific chairs recorded in our vast repository of experience.

p. 22

Constellations of neurons can be used as symbols that stand for the things and ideas that make up our world. If a memory is a pattern, or circuit, of "lit up" neurons, like letters or pictures on an electronic scoreboard, then Hebb's rule provided a means for stringing them together, light by light. Two neurons that fire together will form a link.

p. 23

Kandel found that the synapse seemed to function like a volume control. Or, perhaps more appropriately, a water faucet. In the case of habituation, he discovered neurons in the snail's gill-withdrawal circuit were altered by the repeated tapping so that they released less neurotransmitter into the synaptic gap. Thus they sent weaker signals to the next neurons in the chain. In the case of sensitization, neurons were changed so that they released more transmitter.

Simple as it seems, this notion of synapses as volume controls has turned out to be a powerful concept. If it weren't for the buffer provided by the synapses, a signal injected into one neuron in the brain's dense web would spread like fire in every direction, resulting in a massive cerebral short circuit. By acting as volume controls, the synapses channel the electrical flow into useful directions. If a synapse is turned up, the neurons on either side become more strongly connected. If the first one fires, the next is likely to follow. On the other hand, two neurons whose synapses is turned down are, in effect, disconnected. They might as well be on opposite sides of the brain. The synapses, then, seem to allow for the malleability needed for learning. By adjusting the threshold of trillions of synapses, the brain can organize itself from an amorphous tangle of neurons into a complex information processor. Within the infinite chaos of potential connections, distinct circuitry is carved.

p. 24

While working on his doctorate at Princeton, [Gary] Lynch decided to study this question of how animals control their level of attention.

While studying the anatomy of rats, he uncovered a neural circuit that went from the brain stem, where the spinal cord is connected to the cerebral cortex00the part of the brain where we plan and make decisions--and then back to the brain stem. Lynch believed this was what electrical engineers called a negative feedback loop. The brain stem was known to control an animal's level of arousal, how awake it was. Lynch believed that as an animal started concentrating on a task--say, finding food in a maze--some of the increased nervous energy was fed back from the cortex to the brain stem. These signals would, in turn, elicit restraining signals that kept the animal from becoming so aroused by the task before it that it became hyperactive, spinning wildly out of control.

To test his theory, he agitated rats by depriving them of food or by giving them small doses of amphetamines. In normal rats, the regulation circuitry seemed to act as a flywheel, dampening the effect. But if he first 'lesioned' the circuit by burning it with electricity, a rat would lose control and become too hyperactive to concentrate on much of anything. The control loop had become disconnected.

Thus, in a time-honored method of neuroscience, Lynch demonstrated the existence of a circuit by showing what happened when it was destroyed.

p. 29

myriadsmallcreature

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Nov 19, 2023, 7:01:37 AM11/19/23
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"While studying the anatomy of rats, he uncovered a neural circuit that went from the brain stem, where the spinal cord is connected to the cerebral cortex, the part of the brain where we plan and make decisions--and then back to the brain stem. Lynch believed this was what electrical engineers called a negative feedback loop. The brain stem was known to control an animal's level of arousal, how awake it was. Lynch believed that as an animal started concentrating on a task--say, finding food in a maze--some of the increased nervous energy was fed back from the cortex to the brain stem. These signals would, in turn, elicit restraining signals that kept the animal from becoming so aroused by the task before it that it became hyperactive, spinning wildly out of control."

HumbleBob2

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Nov 20, 2023, 1:14:10 AM11/20/23
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what a waste of fucking time

get help cant

myriadsmallcreature

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Dec 11, 2023, 2:53:31 PM12/11/23
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"While studying the anatomy of rats, he uncovered a neural circuit that went from the brain stem, where the spinal cord is connected to the cerebral cortex, the part of the brain where we plan and make decisions--and then back to the brain stem. Lynch believed this was what electrical engineers called a negative feedback loop. The brain stem was known to control an animal's level of arousal, how awake it was. Lynch believed that as an animal started concentrating on a task--say, finding food in a maze--some of the increased nervous energy was fed back from the cortex to the brain stem. These signals would, in turn, elicit restraining signals that kept the animal from becoming so aroused by the task before it that it became hyperactive, spinning wildly out of control."

"To test his theory, he agitated rats by depriving them of food or by giving them small doses of amphetamines. In normal rats, the regulation circuitry seemed to act as a flywheel, dampening the effect. But if he first 'lesioned' the circuit by burning it with electricity, a rat would lose control and become too hyperactive to concentrate on much of anything. The control loop had become disconnected."


I miss Bob.

HumbleBob2

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Dec 17, 2023, 9:00:01 PM12/17/23
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> I miss Bob.

who the fuck is bob?

myriadsmallcreature

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Dec 18, 2023, 7:23:19 PM12/18/23
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On Sunday, December 17, 2023 at 8:00:01 PM UTC-6, HumbleBob2 wrote:
> > I miss Bob.
>
> who the fuck is bob?

Why, Bob's the inventor of the Bicameral Mind theory of the Publius Enigma!

litewave

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Dec 19, 2023, 4:31:11 PM12/19/23
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The Usenet warning near the top of the page causes cutoff of text at the bottom of threads. Put three lines with an asterisk or something at the end of each post until Google fixes it.
*
*
*

HumbleBob2

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Dec 27, 2023, 1:16:05 AM12/27/23
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Bob's dead, gone forever, no more Bob

myriadsmallcreature

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Dec 27, 2023, 6:32:18 AM12/27/23
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Allrighty then...

Cultivate joy.

.
.
.

a_rod_777

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Dec 27, 2023, 4:56:45 PM12/27/23
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Well myriad. I have refrained from posting in your thread for years. But I am going to break the rules this once because, well... because I choose to.

I know you don't care much for me these days and I honestly don't expect you to reply but there are a few things I would like to communicate to you if you would offer me your attention one last time.

Out of everyone I have met in the past 20+ years regarding the publius enigma, you perhaps have been the most "enigmatic". Part of me sees you as a genius. Part of me sees you as a madman. Part of me sees you as someone playing a part for a specific reason. Part of me sees you as a tired person who has become somewhat of a grouch.

These are admittedly my limited judgements of you based on interactions that probably reflect absolutely nothing of whom you truly are.
One thing I am sure of though, you are one of G-d's genuine creatures.

I have said it in the past and i will say it again, no matter how much I annoy you and no matter how much of a distaste you have for me personally; I will always consider you a friend. You have taught me so much whether you realize it or not. And you have been with me throughout some of the most challenging moments of my life, whether you realize it or not.

Though at times I have struggled to understand your intellectual posts and the technicalities involved, you have always seemed to have a deeper understanding of what this was all about, even while admitting you know nothing. Perhaps that is true wisdom.

I know you have struggled with health over the years and I want you to know I have always prayed for you. I am sorry for whatever I did in the past to make you so angry with me. Believe it or not it did hurt my feelings that you alienated my from your insights and I did my best to give you your space. But that is just my ego getting bruised and while it is still rather large, it has become small enough these days to know that I'm of no significance in anyone's eyes except my own.

You said "cultivate joy".
Well my old friend that is what I have done. Despite my many losses and failures, I truly have cultivated a joy that cannot be touched by worldly affairs.
Though I have faced tragedy, I hope that what I have cultivated will withstand the future tragedies that I am bound to face. I will surely do my absolute best but I know that life can get very rough and sometimes it is easy to lose that inner light. But something tells me the treasure I have found, with the help of family and friends like you, can never be destroyed nor extinguished.

I truly hope that you as well have cultivated this joy in your life and I hope it carries you through whatever trials and tribulations you may face.
Take care of yourself and please know that our experiences are never in vain, especially this one we all shared TOGETHER.

forever your friend
-Ant
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