The metaphor of a Global Brain raises the question of how the brain actually works.  We may need to rethink the distinction between the brain and the "mind."  Mind is sometimes thought of as spiritual rather than material.  One of 14 definitions in the Oxford English Dictionary is "the seat of awareness, thought, volition, and feeling;  cognitive and emotional phenomena and powers as constituting a controlling system, spec. as opposed to matter, the spiritual as distinguished from the bodily part of a human being."  This reflects the philosophy of mind/body dualism usually associated with Rene Descarte.  Artificial intelligence researchers, on the other hand, operate on the assumption that the Mind emerges from the complex system dynamics of the three pounds of "wetware" we call the human brain.  They are working to replicate much of the structure and functioning of the brain using silicon chips and electronics.
 
 
 

The human brain is the most complex entity known to us in the universe.  It evolved over a long period of time, and is similar in many ways to the brains of other species.  The extent to which other species think as we do is in dispute -  Dr. Irene Pepperberg claims to have taught a parrot to carry on real conversations.  Scientists know quite a bit about the anatomy and physiology of the brain, and they are rapidly making progress on how our thoughts, ideas and consciousness emerge from it.  A good history of this research is Mind, Brain, and Adaptation: the Localization of Cerebral Function  by Robert H. Wozniak of Bryn Mawr College.
 
 
 

Some excellent pictures of brain cells, including a 3-D rotating image, are available from Mark Goldberg's laboratory at the Washington University School of Medicine.
 
 

Assigned reading on this week's topic:

How the Brain Does It, a selection from the Webmind Manuscript.

How the Mind Does It, a selection from the Webmind Manuscript.   A main point here is how the concepts from the "Tao of Mind" are used to formulate a theory which can be programmed on a computer.  I've had to leave out quite a bit of this chapter because it is too long and difficult.  The main points will be summarized in the lecture notes.

The Brain May Grow New Cells Daily.

A New Way of Looking at Diseases of the Brain.

A NY Times article about a treatment for dyslexia which may result in rewiring the brain.  This shows how knowledge about the brain may be used.

Note:  I'm giving you quite a bit of reading this week and the next week, but the assignments will be lighter for the last five weeks of the semester.  This way you have the material, and you can read it on your own schedule.

Looking for some interesting things to write about in your Internet Diary?  May I suggest surfing some of the sites on my Suggested Links page?  Most of these lead to additional links.....