Category: #Sensemaking
-
Bayesian model: prior–cost
Sohna and Jazayeri discuss in “Validating model-based Bayesian integration using prior–cost metamers” the two competing views on how humans make decisions under uncertainty. Bayesian decision theory (BDT) posits that humans optimize their behavior by establishing and integrating internal models of past sensory experiences (priors) and decision outcomes (cost functions). An alternative hypothesis posits that decisions…
-
Representation of priors and decisions
The PLOS article by Marshall, Ruesseler, Hunt, O’Reilly “representation of priors and decisions in the human parietal cortex” discusses how both humans and animals actively sample the environment using their sensory organs, far from being passive recipients of sensory information. In rodents, active sampling processes include whisking and sniffing; in primates, the most important and…
-
It Takes Two To Think
The title refers to the recent article by Yanai & Lercher. (Itai Yanai is a Professor at the NYU School of Medicine. Martin Lercher is Professor at Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf at both the Institute for Computer Science and the Department of Biology. ) At the heart of science is a creative ‘night science‘ process,…
-
“don’t hate the players, change the game” – The dark side of competition in AI
Competition. It’s a fundamental part of human nature. […] When it’s done right, it can drive us to incredible feats in sports and innovation, […] healthy competition, because even though individual companies might come and go, in the long run, the game between them creates win-win outcomes where everyone benefits in the end. But sometimes…
-
Interoception and Active Inference for mental health
Interoception refers to the process by which the nervous system senses and integrates signals originating from within the body, providing a momentary mapping of the body’s internal landscape and its relationship to the outside world. Active inference is based on the premise that afferent sensory input to the brain is constantly shaped and modified by…
-
Human society is currently undergoing a socio-cultural ETI
An evolutionary transition in individuality (ETI) occurs when a previously independent organism becomes a lower level unit within a higher hierarchical level (for example, cells in an organism, ants in a colony). Based on archaeological and historical accounts from the last 12000 years, this article “Human societal development: is it an evolutionary transition in individuality?”…
-
The Future of Artificial Intelligence by Melanie Mitchell
AI is all around us recognizing our faces in photos, transcribing our speech, constructing our news feeds, navigating our driving routes, answering our search queries, and much more. But rapidly improving AI is poised to play a much bigger role in all of our lives. In this lecture, AI expert Melanie Mitchell demystifies how current-day…
-
EXplore-versus-EXploit problems
Trade-offs between producing costly movements for gathering information (‘explore’) and using previously acquired information to achieve a goal (‘exploit’) arise in a wide variety of problems, including foraging, reinforcement learning and sensorimotor control. Determining the optimal balance between exploration and exploitation is computationally intractable, necessitating heuristic solutions. In “Mode switching in organisms for solving explore-versus-exploit…
-
Conceptual Bootstrapping (human cognition)
To tackle a hard problem, it is often wise to reuse and recombine existing knowledge. Such an ability to bootstrap enables us to grow rich mental concepts despite limited cognitive resources. This article presents a computational model of conceptual bootstrapping. This model uses a dynamic conceptual repertoire that can cache and later reuse elements of…
-
How adults understand what young children say
When babies first begin to talk, their vocabulary is very limited. Often one of the first sounds they generate is “da,” which may refer to dad, a dog, a dot, or nothing at all. How does an adult listener make sense of this limited verbal repertoire? A new study “How adults understand what young children…
-
Puzzled …? – Consider the Bayesian brain hypothesis!
Dysfunctional breathing disorder(s) (DBD) is an umbrella term for a set of poorly distinguishable clinical conditions including the most emblematic and anciently known hyperventilation syndrome. DBD affects in a variable proportion (between 5 and 35%) both adults and children, with a highly negative impact on health-related quality of life. DBD is consensually considered as a…
-
ART CONNECTS ALL THE DOTS : Ride your upside Horse – Harvey Seifter
Herbert Seifter is known for his experiences with the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, as a proof of management and leadership excellence of being the world first conductor-less Orchestra. Here I would like to refer to a recent TED talk , where he extends the idea:. … so I learned a ton of things during my time…
-
Humor – Filosofie
“Een kleine filosofie van de humor” door de Zwitserse filosoof Yves Bossart neemt ons mee op een even reis door de wereld van de humor. Volgens Ludwig Wittgenstein is humor geen stemming, maar een heuse levenshouding. Humor ontregelt én stelt ons in staat om enige afstand te nemen en zaken ter discussie te stellen. Umberto Eco…
-
Wicked7 – looking for “Regenerative” solution
12 jul 2022, TedX@Athens. Christian Sarkar makes bold statements: Globalization has failed. Income inequality has exploded. COVID hasn’t disappeared yet. And War is at the gate. What can be done in your neighborhood, in your city? We learn the lessons of regeneration from Palermo, Sicily – and the (website and) book by Christian Sarkar, Philip…
