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protonfish commented on We can, must, and will simulate nematode brains   asteriskmag.com/issues/09... · Posted by u/l1n
dj_axl · 5 months ago
Just wire neurons (human or otherwise) to computers, and see what happens.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/science/2025-03-05/cortical-labs...

protonfish · 5 months ago
Unfortunately, it's not that easy. Axon terminals of neurons release neurotransmitters. We know of dozens of different types, but are not certain that we know about all of them yet. The same synapse can release multiple different neurotransmitters too, with one or more released depending on the axonic signals. And what to these chemicals do? It depends! There are receptors on the post-synaptic cell that respond to neurotransmitters, but there can be multiple different receptors that respond differently to the same neurotransmitter. Again, we aren't sure we know about all of them. The post-synaptic neuron is probably also listening to neurons of other types that signal using different neurotransmitters that it uses to determine if it should transmit an action potential or not. Oh, and invertebrates (like nematodes) send graded potentials (not action potentials like us vertebrates usually do) where the signal strength can vary.

In short - we are a long way from being able to simulate a nervous system. Our knowledge of neuronal biochemistry is not there yet.

protonfish commented on Space is a latent sequence: A theory of the hippocampus   science.org/doi/10.1126/s... · Posted by u/XzetaU8
protonfish · a year ago
The paper is specifically about how space is represented in the human brain. Data representing space can be encoded in many different, but functionally equivalent, ways. Showing how it could be encoded by neurons in the hippocampus is valuable to understand our brain, but philosophically not significant.
protonfish commented on Are animals conscious? New research   bbc.com/news/articles/cv2... · Posted by u/boto3
throwup238 · a year ago
> We now know that bees can count, recognise human faces and learn how to use tools.

I was curious what that means in this context and found this research (co-authored by Prof Chittka mentioned in the article): https://journals.plos.org/plosbiology/article?id=10.1371/jou...

Apparently only a small minority of bumble bees can figure out how to pull a string to access a reward, but then other bees adopt the behavior by mimicry. IMO I think we're doomed to move the goalposts on intelligence for a while, like with the statistical abilities of LLMs to manipulate language and insects' ability to use tools. Moravec's paradox keeps rearing it's ugly head as more and more complex systems turn out to be relatively easy compared to basic cognition (the system that keeps them flying and identifies threats, flowers, etc.).

It'd take a lot more to convince me that bumble bees are conscious just because of the their brains' simplicity compared to humans or other animals that appear more intelligent like pigs, corvids, octopuses, etc. I'm not categorically against such a possibility, but I think the bar for recognizing intelligence in general has been set too low.

This sidesteps the main problem anyway: What is consciousness? I don't think we're any closer to rigorously defining that anymore than intelligence.

protonfish · a year ago
If a rigorous definition of consciousness existed, how would you be convinced that it was correct?
protonfish commented on Social-Media Influencers Aren't Getting Rich–They're Barely Getting By   wsj.com/tech/social-media... · Posted by u/thm
Euphorbium · a year ago
But the entire point of the influencer is to flaunt wealth. Others do something.
protonfish · a year ago
That's why it's so great to hear they aren't doing well. The delicious schadenfreude.
protonfish commented on Psychedelics are challenging the standard of randomized controlled trials   theatlantic.com/health/ar... · Posted by u/chapulin
ziddoap · a year ago
Faith healing has heavy religious tones. Yet not everyone who responds positively to a placebo is religious. So, it feels sort of weird to call the placebo effect some form of faith healing.
protonfish · a year ago
I guess it depends on how you define religion. I think that we can have faith in anything - science, your doctor, etc. that could work in a similar fashion to religious faith.
protonfish commented on Living Wage Calculator   livingwage.mit.edu/... · Posted by u/mitchbob
Izmaki · 2 years ago
Don't all 16 year olds get a car for their birthday or is that just in movies?

Best regards,

Europe

protonfish · 2 years ago
We usually wait until Christmas so we can put a giant novelty bow around it in the driveway.
protonfish commented on Free Public WiFi   computer.rip/2023-07-29-F... · Posted by u/EamonnMR
RankingMember · 2 years ago
My opinion as well unless we're talking their "Blonde Roast", which is somehow decent despite Starbucks' apparent burnt-flavor bias.

I think the reason Starbucks stays afloat is not their coffee, but their 900 calorie "coffee drinks", which they market such that people can pretend to be coffee snobs while drinking what are essentially milkshakes.

protonfish · 2 years ago
It's a good way to get the kids hooked.
protonfish commented on Always the same warning signs   science.org/content/blog-... · Posted by u/rossdavidh
thimkerbell · 2 years ago
"Only one person can get this great stuff to work;... Legitimate questions are met with stonewalling;... Important data are missing or kept secret"
protonfish · 2 years ago
Precisely - these aren't "Warning signs" that are only clear in hindsight. They are proof of fraud beyond a reasonable doubt. If a person or organization has these traits and you continue to trust them, it is not an honest mistake.
protonfish commented on Lisp as the Maxwell’s Equations of Software (2012)   michaelnielsen.org/ddi/li... · Posted by u/graderjs
sitkack · 3 years ago
If Lisp is the Maxwell's Equations, what is the Heaviside language?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oliver_Heaviside

protonfish · 3 years ago
Heaviside promoted Maxwell's equations and created clearer, simpler versions of them. So I think it would be a language that uses list processing and functional concepts as a feature of a syntax that is easier for beginners. Something like Python or JavaScript.
protonfish commented on I wish my web server were in the corner of my room   interconnected.org/home/2... · Posted by u/flobosg
zh3 · 3 years ago
Our (decades old) house web server has a home page with useful links, and in particular to a simple wiki on the same box. Without any pushing (that never works) the rest of the house has slowly learnt to use it, so the calendar, the wish lists, the pet histories, holiday ideas, all sorts of stuff are on it. The server also hosts simple apps like JS clocks, calculators and of course the [0] pewpew attack map (maybe a little less funny these days, but hey).

Edit: ref CGI, there's a few apps on there that do that as well (e.g. fish tank temperature monitor). Nice thing about a small private network is being able to do CGI scripts in bash/whatever without having to worry too much).

[0] https://github.com/hrbrmstr/pewpew

protonfish · 3 years ago
How do you give your intranet site an internal domain? Or do you make the family use the IP address?

u/protonfish

KarmaCake day1958October 25, 2012View Original