The Brain
1 view
Skip to first unread message
Ashok Banerji
Oct 21, 2009, 9:44:02 AM10/21/09
to eworld
Understanding the Brain
We know so little about our brain although we are carrying it! Here
are some resources that may help us to understand it a little better.
Articles
Intelligence Explained By Emily Singer. Technology Review November/
December 2009
Tracking and understanding the complex connections within the brain
may finally reveal the neural secret of cognitive ability.
http://www.technologyreview.com/biomedicine/23695/?nlid=2446
Understanding the Brain and Reading by Sebastian Wren. SEDL Reading
Resources
http://www.sedl.org/reading/topics/brainreading.html
Understanding the Brain: The Birth of a Learning Science. OECD.
http://www.oecd.org/document/60/0,3343,en_2649_35845581_38811388_1_1_1_1,00.html
Centre for Educational Research and Innovation (CERI) - Brain and
Learning. OECD.
www.oecd.org/edu/brain
Videos
White Matter by Emily Singer. Technology Review November/December 2009
Biomedical editor Emily Singer had a diffusion tensor scan, a
variation of MRI that allows scientists to visualize the brain's white
matter, at UCLA. Neuroscientist Andrew Frew used brain imaging
software from BrainLab to create these movies, highlighting different
sections of white matter.
http://www.technologyreview.com/video/?vid=461
Brain Imaging and IQ by Emily Singer. Technology Review November/
December 2009
Richard Haier, a psychologist and emeritus professor at the University
of California, Irvine, explains how brain imaging is shedding light on
intelligence.
http://www.technologyreview.com/video/?vid=459
We know so little about our brain although we are carrying it! Here
are some resources that may help us to understand it a little better.
Articles
Intelligence Explained By Emily Singer. Technology Review November/
December 2009
Tracking and understanding the complex connections within the brain
may finally reveal the neural secret of cognitive ability.
http://www.technologyreview.com/biomedicine/23695/?nlid=2446
Understanding the Brain and Reading by Sebastian Wren. SEDL Reading
Resources
http://www.sedl.org/reading/topics/brainreading.html
Understanding the Brain: The Birth of a Learning Science. OECD.
http://www.oecd.org/document/60/0,3343,en_2649_35845581_38811388_1_1_1_1,00.html
Centre for Educational Research and Innovation (CERI) - Brain and
Learning. OECD.
www.oecd.org/edu/brain
Videos
White Matter by Emily Singer. Technology Review November/December 2009
Biomedical editor Emily Singer had a diffusion tensor scan, a
variation of MRI that allows scientists to visualize the brain's white
matter, at UCLA. Neuroscientist Andrew Frew used brain imaging
software from BrainLab to create these movies, highlighting different
sections of white matter.
http://www.technologyreview.com/video/?vid=461
Brain Imaging and IQ by Emily Singer. Technology Review November/
December 2009
Richard Haier, a psychologist and emeritus professor at the University
of California, Irvine, explains how brain imaging is shedding light on
intelligence.
http://www.technologyreview.com/video/?vid=459
Ashok Banerji
Nov 12, 2009, 6:18:45 AM11/12/09
to eworld
How Can Humans Talk?
A new study links the evolution of single gene to human capacity for
language.
By Erika Jonietz
The first concrete evidence of a genetic link to the evolution of
language in humans was published today in the journal Nature.
Researchers led by UCLA neurogeneticist Daniel Geschwind have shown
that two small differences between the human and chimpanzee versions
of a protein called FOXP2 result in significant differences in the
behavior of dozens of genes in human neurons.
You may read the interesting article in Technology Review at:
http://www.technologyreview.com/blog/editors/24393/?nlid=2507
Simple Truth About Appreciation
An excellent video on appreciation from simpletruths.com at:
http://www.appreciationmovie.com/
Amazing is the human brain and more so is our mind. I will appreciate
contributions from you on this topic.
Best wishes
Ashok
A new study links the evolution of single gene to human capacity for
language.
By Erika Jonietz
The first concrete evidence of a genetic link to the evolution of
language in humans was published today in the journal Nature.
Researchers led by UCLA neurogeneticist Daniel Geschwind have shown
that two small differences between the human and chimpanzee versions
of a protein called FOXP2 result in significant differences in the
behavior of dozens of genes in human neurons.
You may read the interesting article in Technology Review at:
http://www.technologyreview.com/blog/editors/24393/?nlid=2507
Simple Truth About Appreciation
An excellent video on appreciation from simpletruths.com at:
http://www.appreciationmovie.com/
Amazing is the human brain and more so is our mind. I will appreciate
contributions from you on this topic.
Best wishes
Ashok
Ashok Banerji
Dec 10, 2009, 8:26:11 AM12/10/09
to eworld
Rethinking Artificial Intelligence
MIT News (12/07/09) Chandler, David L.
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is embarking on the
Mind Machine Project (MMP), an initiative led by artificial
intelligence (AI) pioneers to create new breakthroughs by rethinking
fundamental AI assumptions. "Essentially, we want to rewind to 30
years ago and revisit some ideas that had gotten frozen" while fixing
basic mistakes made over the years, says MIT professor Neil
Gershenfeld. He says the MMP aims to specifically address the three
biggest quagmires in AI research--the modeling of thought, the
reliable simulation of memory, and bridging the gap between computer
science and physical science. Tackling the first challenge entails
establishing what Gershenfeld calls "an ecology of models" so that
problem-solving can be facilitated in multiple ways. Addressing the
memory issue involves teaching computers to learn to reason while
incorporating rather than excluding inconsistency and ambiguity. The
third AI research area requires a new programming approach called
reconfigurable asynchronous logic automata, whose goal is to "re-
implement all of computer science on a base that looks like physics,"
representing computations "in a way that has physical units of time
and space, so the description of the system aligns with the system it
represents," Gershenfeld says. One of the projects the MMP group is
developing is a brain co-processor, an assistive system designed to
help people with cognitive disorders by monitoring a person's
activities and brain functions, determining when he or she requires
help, and supplying precisely the right piece of information at the
right time.
Read: http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/ai-overview.html
Optimism as Artificial Intelligence Pioneers Reunite
The New York Times (12/08/09) P. D4; Markoff, John
An optimistic outlook has returned to the field of artificial
intelligence (AI) 45 years after the pronouncement by computer
scientist John McCarthy that a thinking machine could be created
within a decade. Fueling the renewed optimism is rapid progress in AI
technologies. More than 200 of the Stanford Artificial Intelligence
Laboratory's (SAIL's) original scientists recently convened for a
reunion, where the optimism was palpable. On hand were such luminaries
as Don Knuth, who wrote the definitive texts on computer programming,
and spell-checker designer Les Earnest. Other SAIL alumni included Raj
Reddy and Hans Moravec, who made important foundational contributions
to speech recognition and robotics at Carnegie Mellon University. The
development of the graphical user interface was based on the
philosophy of simplicity defined by SAIL veteran Larry Tesler, while
McCarthy, who was SAIL's director, developed the LISP programming
language and the time-sharing approach to computers prior to joining
the laboratory. The strides that AI has made in recent years is
especially apparent at Stanford, where a team of researchers developed
an autonomous vehicle that successfully traversed 131 miles of
mountain roads to win the 2005 Grand Challenge held by the U.S.
Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency. "We are a first-class
citizen right now with some of the strongest recent advances in the
field," says current SAIL director and Stanford roboticist Sebastian
Thrun.
Read: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/08/science/08sail.html?_r=1
MIT News (12/07/09) Chandler, David L.
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is embarking on the
Mind Machine Project (MMP), an initiative led by artificial
intelligence (AI) pioneers to create new breakthroughs by rethinking
fundamental AI assumptions. "Essentially, we want to rewind to 30
years ago and revisit some ideas that had gotten frozen" while fixing
basic mistakes made over the years, says MIT professor Neil
Gershenfeld. He says the MMP aims to specifically address the three
biggest quagmires in AI research--the modeling of thought, the
reliable simulation of memory, and bridging the gap between computer
science and physical science. Tackling the first challenge entails
establishing what Gershenfeld calls "an ecology of models" so that
problem-solving can be facilitated in multiple ways. Addressing the
memory issue involves teaching computers to learn to reason while
incorporating rather than excluding inconsistency and ambiguity. The
third AI research area requires a new programming approach called
reconfigurable asynchronous logic automata, whose goal is to "re-
implement all of computer science on a base that looks like physics,"
representing computations "in a way that has physical units of time
and space, so the description of the system aligns with the system it
represents," Gershenfeld says. One of the projects the MMP group is
developing is a brain co-processor, an assistive system designed to
help people with cognitive disorders by monitoring a person's
activities and brain functions, determining when he or she requires
help, and supplying precisely the right piece of information at the
right time.
Read: http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/ai-overview.html
Optimism as Artificial Intelligence Pioneers Reunite
The New York Times (12/08/09) P. D4; Markoff, John
An optimistic outlook has returned to the field of artificial
intelligence (AI) 45 years after the pronouncement by computer
scientist John McCarthy that a thinking machine could be created
within a decade. Fueling the renewed optimism is rapid progress in AI
technologies. More than 200 of the Stanford Artificial Intelligence
Laboratory's (SAIL's) original scientists recently convened for a
reunion, where the optimism was palpable. On hand were such luminaries
as Don Knuth, who wrote the definitive texts on computer programming,
and spell-checker designer Les Earnest. Other SAIL alumni included Raj
Reddy and Hans Moravec, who made important foundational contributions
to speech recognition and robotics at Carnegie Mellon University. The
development of the graphical user interface was based on the
philosophy of simplicity defined by SAIL veteran Larry Tesler, while
McCarthy, who was SAIL's director, developed the LISP programming
language and the time-sharing approach to computers prior to joining
the laboratory. The strides that AI has made in recent years is
especially apparent at Stanford, where a team of researchers developed
an autonomous vehicle that successfully traversed 131 miles of
mountain roads to win the 2005 Grand Challenge held by the U.S.
Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency. "We are a first-class
citizen right now with some of the strongest recent advances in the
field," says current SAIL director and Stanford roboticist Sebastian
Thrun.
Read: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/08/science/08sail.html?_r=1
Ashok Banerji
Dec 11, 2009, 12:59:36 AM12/11/09
to eworld
A Vision of Computing From Microsoft's Future Thinker
CNN (12/03/09) Voigt, Kevin
Over the next 10 years, how people interact with computers will evolve
drastically, with hand gesture controls becoming as common as
keyboards, and file selection being determined by eye scans instead of
mouse movements, predicts Microsoft chief research and strategy
officer Craig Mundie. "Today, most people's interaction is through a
screen--whether they touch it, type it, point or click, it's still
just graphical user interface," Mundie says. "While that's very
powerful and has a lot of applicability, I think it will be
supplemented in dramatic ways by what we call a natural user
interface." He says computers will soon be able to emulate the human
senses of sight, hearing, speech, touch, and gesture, and combine them
in multiple ways for people to interact with machines. The
interactivity revolution will be fueled by new multiprocessor
computers, which are expected to be widely available by 2012. Mundie
says these new processors should provide a major performance gain,
with some performances increasing by a factor of 100. One of the first
major commercial applications of the new interface technology is
expected to be released next year when Microsoft launches its new line
of Xbox gaming consoles, which will completely eliminate the need for
handheld controllers. Mundie says the new gaming interface enables
players to move and use gesture controls, with the system calculating
in real time the angular position of the 22 major joints in the body.
Mundie envisions a day when users will simply be able to talk to their
computers about solving problems. "You should be able to describe the
problem or the policy you want and the computer should be able to
somehow implement that," he says.
http://edition.cnn.com/2009/TECH/12/01/craig.mundie.microsoft/
CNN (12/03/09) Voigt, Kevin
Over the next 10 years, how people interact with computers will evolve
drastically, with hand gesture controls becoming as common as
keyboards, and file selection being determined by eye scans instead of
mouse movements, predicts Microsoft chief research and strategy
officer Craig Mundie. "Today, most people's interaction is through a
screen--whether they touch it, type it, point or click, it's still
just graphical user interface," Mundie says. "While that's very
powerful and has a lot of applicability, I think it will be
supplemented in dramatic ways by what we call a natural user
interface." He says computers will soon be able to emulate the human
senses of sight, hearing, speech, touch, and gesture, and combine them
in multiple ways for people to interact with machines. The
interactivity revolution will be fueled by new multiprocessor
computers, which are expected to be widely available by 2012. Mundie
says these new processors should provide a major performance gain,
with some performances increasing by a factor of 100. One of the first
major commercial applications of the new interface technology is
expected to be released next year when Microsoft launches its new line
of Xbox gaming consoles, which will completely eliminate the need for
handheld controllers. Mundie says the new gaming interface enables
players to move and use gesture controls, with the system calculating
in real time the angular position of the 22 major joints in the body.
Mundie envisions a day when users will simply be able to talk to their
computers about solving problems. "You should be able to describe the
problem or the policy you want and the computer should be able to
somehow implement that," he says.
http://edition.cnn.com/2009/TECH/12/01/craig.mundie.microsoft/
Ashok Banerji
Dec 16, 2009, 2:19:01 PM12/16/09
to eworld
The A-Z of Programming Languages: MATLAB
Computerworld Australia (12/09/09) Edwards, Kathryn
Cleve Moler, the creator of the MATLAB programming language, says he
originally developed the language to solve problems involving
computations with matrices and mathematics. "The original intention
was that it would be easy to use and that it would have solid
mathematics underlying it," he notes. MATLAB has since transitioned
into a general purpose programming language. Moler says MATLAB is used
to design everyday products such as hearing aids and automobile
electronics and he attributes much of its popularity to its graphics
and plotting capabilities. "Whenever I read a scientific or
engineering publication or journal article and there's a plot in it I
look to see if it's made from MATLAB," he says. "It's [a] sort of
puzzle; they don't say if it is a MATLAB plot--they don't need to--but
there are clues in the way the axes are labeled and so on that
indicates a MATLAB plot."
Read: http://www.computerworld.com.au/article/329191/-z_programming_languages_matlab
Learning Computer Science From Scratch
National Science Foundation (12/10/09) Cruikshank, Dana W.
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) researcher Mitchel Resnick
and colleagues at the MIT Media Lab have enjoyed great success with
Scratch, a computer programming language geared toward children ages
eight to 16. Scratch users write code by connecting graphical blocks
together. Concurrent with the launch of Scratch two years ago was the
rollout of the Scratch Web site, where programmers can publish their
Scratch projects online and share them with others. Nearly 800,000
projects have been uploaded to the site since its launch, and the site
has nurtured an online community that enables sharing and
collaboration on Scratch projects. Resnick's motivation behind
Scratch's creation was to make programming fun for kids as part of an
effort to get young people more interested in computer science as well
as achieve fluency in digital technologies. Resnick and his team
believe Scratch is an important tool through which computer science
concepts can be introduced to students. The team is creating support
materials and cooperating with educators on the best way to use
Scratch in the classroom. Resnick believes that digital fluency is
becoming increasingly essential for many careers, including those that
are outside of technology, such as the creative arts. He notes, for
example, that Scratch is being used in English courses as a tool to
help produce book reports.
Read: http://www.nsf.gov/news/news_summ.jsp?cntn_id=116070&org=OLPA&from=news
Computerworld Australia (12/09/09) Edwards, Kathryn
Cleve Moler, the creator of the MATLAB programming language, says he
originally developed the language to solve problems involving
computations with matrices and mathematics. "The original intention
was that it would be easy to use and that it would have solid
mathematics underlying it," he notes. MATLAB has since transitioned
into a general purpose programming language. Moler says MATLAB is used
to design everyday products such as hearing aids and automobile
electronics and he attributes much of its popularity to its graphics
and plotting capabilities. "Whenever I read a scientific or
engineering publication or journal article and there's a plot in it I
look to see if it's made from MATLAB," he says. "It's [a] sort of
puzzle; they don't say if it is a MATLAB plot--they don't need to--but
there are clues in the way the axes are labeled and so on that
indicates a MATLAB plot."
Read: http://www.computerworld.com.au/article/329191/-z_programming_languages_matlab
Learning Computer Science From Scratch
National Science Foundation (12/10/09) Cruikshank, Dana W.
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) researcher Mitchel Resnick
and colleagues at the MIT Media Lab have enjoyed great success with
Scratch, a computer programming language geared toward children ages
eight to 16. Scratch users write code by connecting graphical blocks
together. Concurrent with the launch of Scratch two years ago was the
rollout of the Scratch Web site, where programmers can publish their
Scratch projects online and share them with others. Nearly 800,000
projects have been uploaded to the site since its launch, and the site
has nurtured an online community that enables sharing and
collaboration on Scratch projects. Resnick's motivation behind
Scratch's creation was to make programming fun for kids as part of an
effort to get young people more interested in computer science as well
as achieve fluency in digital technologies. Resnick and his team
believe Scratch is an important tool through which computer science
concepts can be introduced to students. The team is creating support
materials and cooperating with educators on the best way to use
Scratch in the classroom. Resnick believes that digital fluency is
becoming increasingly essential for many careers, including those that
are outside of technology, such as the creative arts. He notes, for
example, that Scratch is being used in English courses as a tool to
help produce book reports.
Read: http://www.nsf.gov/news/news_summ.jsp?cntn_id=116070&org=OLPA&from=news
Reply all
Reply to author
Forward
0 new messages