Author: walterstiers
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Structure Inference Improves From Childhood to Adulthood
“Structure Inference in Complex Environments Improves From Childhood to Adulthood” also available on website of Aaron M. Bornstein. Early in development, children can infer latent structure in the world from sparse and ambiguous evidence. Through a process known as structure learning, they extract statistical regularities, construct causal models from those regularities, and use those models…
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Four faces of information in natural systems
Ever wonder what “information” really means? Here‘s a new paper, that lays out the multiple ways the term is used in natural science. Instead of arguing for a single valid interpretation, the paper proposes a pluralistic view where rigorous alternatives coexist — each with affordances and limits. The idea of ‘information’ has been instrumental to…
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On Minds
“On Minds: Reflections of a Cognitive Architect”MIT Press OA Toward a deeper understanding of minds, whether natural or artificial, and of how they are studied and built across AI, AGI, and cognitive science. Minds are functional entities that enable intelligent behavior. In On Minds, Paul Rosenbloom offers reflections and perspectives on the study of minds arising from…
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Making sense of wickedness
“Making sense of wickedness: Directionality heuristics for challenge-led innovation policy” Highlights This article contributes to the burgeoning literature on directionality challenges by introducing directionality heuristics as a lens to conceptualize how policymakers and other stakeholders interpret and respond to problems in challenge-led innovation policy. Our starting point is that the “wickedness” of problems is strongly…
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In de wolk of op de grond? – Is AI dan toch intelligent?
Ik was aangenaam verrast met de volgende uitspraak en de verduidelijking die ze me aanreikte: “Man with head in the clouds and feet on the ground, he very big man.”Niet echt een “quote” of gezegde, maar toch aangehaald om te verwijzen naar de groten der aarde. “Einstein was a giant. His head was in the…
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Brain rhythms – predictive processing perspective
“Brain rhythms of depression: A predictive processing perspective” Findings from electroencephalography studies converge on the notion that depression involves disrupted updating of beliefs, wherein positive and corrective information carries too little weight to revise rigid expectations about the self and the world. Across a range of neural signals, the brains of individuals with depression register…
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Brabant eindelijk belicht
VRT-journalist Luc Pauwels brengt een naar eigen zeggen ‘schandelijk onderbelicht stuk’ van de Vlaamse geschiedschrijving opnieuw tot leven. Pauwels beschrijft hoe één illustere Brabantse dynastie uit de brokstukken van het uiteengevallen Karolingische rijk een middeleeuws staatje smeedt dat ruim de helft van het huidige Vlaanderen en het zuiden van Nederland beslaat: het aloude hertogdom Brabant.…
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Embodied Intelligence
“Embodied Intelligence, Multidisciplinary Perspectives on Natural, Artificial, and Hybrid Systems” An exploration of embodied intelligence that moves beyond the traditional focus on brains and code to the role of embodiment across various disciplines. Nihil est in intellectu quod non sit prius in sensu. —Thomas Aquinas, De Veritate,There is nothing in the understanding that is…
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What Lives?
“What Lives? A Meta-Analysis of Diverse Opinions on the Definition ofLife” The question of “what is life?” has challenged scientists and philosophers for centuries, producing an array of definitions that reflect both the mystery of its emergence and the diversity of disciplinary perspectives brought to bear on the question.Despite significant progress in our understanding of…
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Conducting – all about the people.
A conducting masterclass is all about the music, right? Well… it’s actually about the people.I did already write about this a few years ago… 2026 The Ammodo Masterclass was delivered by Iván Fischer.A few highlight interactions between Iván Fischer and four talented young conductors is available in the video below: This quote on the image…
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The Beautiful Engineering of Us
“The Beautiful Engineering of Us: From Neurons to Collective Minds” SFI External Professor Thalia Wheatley’s community lecture, held on June 23 2026 at the Lensic Performing Arts Center. In this talk, Wheatley explored intelligence not simply as a property of individual brains, but as a collective process of our intensely social species, whose minds are…
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To explore or exploit: Individual differences in preschool decision making
“To explore or exploit: Individual differences in preschool decision making” esearch suggests a pattern of moderate early exploration (shifting from deck to deck) followed by exploitation (consistent choice from advantageous decks) characterizes good decision makers. The main goal of the current study was to use a person centered (latent profile analysis) to explore individual differences…
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Reframing neuroergonomics
“Reframing neuroergonomics in an evolutionary and active inference context” Everyday situations, such as feeling nauseous in virtual-reality environments or getting dizzy when reading as a car passenger, reveal how easily our senses can become confused when modern technology disrupts the innate relationship between the physical environment and human sensory systems. Such disruptions expose the vulnerability…
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Empire of Normality
“Empire of Normality Neurodiversity and Capitalism” by Robert Chapman (Following is an extract from Purkis, J. (2024, augustus 1). Empire of Normality: Neurodiversity and Capitalism by Robert Chapman. The Sociological Review Magazine.) Chapman has penned an important contribution to understanding the genealogy of the ideas that sustain these western capitalist constructs of who is mentally worthy to participate in…
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Cooperation versus social welfare
“Cooperation versus social welfare” Understanding and promoting cooperative behaviour among self-interested individuals is a critical concern in physical, biological, and social sciences. Numerous foundational mechanisms for the evolution of cooperation have been identified, and these mechanisms have served as the basis for developing tools and interventions designed to sustain and enhance cooperative behaviour. However, since…
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