Archive for May, 2008

Understanding Memory

Friday, May 30th, 2008

How are memories made? And where are they stored? How do short term memories become long term memories? How does our brain process new information, so that we can recall it later?  Los Angeles Times features a four-part article series seeking to shed light on these questions.

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Old Brains Think More

Thursday, May 29th, 2008

When older people don’t remember the relevant or correct word, they might think, it is a sign of old age and thus of declining brain power. 

However research shows, that this is a sign that the brains of older people absorb and process more information. Which might indicate what wisdom is. 

(via nytimes.com

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Brain Food

Wednesday, May 28th, 2008

It is not only exercise that can be beneficial to the brain (see Does Exercise Keep our Brain Fit?), food too can affect the brain.

Research has now proven a long-held truth: You think what you eat. Our brain requires neurotransmitters - chemicals required for the communication between neurons. However, the body does not produce these chemicals. We have to eat them.

So, taking Ginseng to improve our memory is not just an old wives tale (anymore).

(via redorbit.com)

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Jeff Hawkins on Intelligence

Tuesday, May 27th, 2008

Jeff Hawkins is best known as the creator of the PalmPilot PDA - he is the founder of Palm Computing and Handspring.

Now Jeff Hawkins seeks to build truly intelligent computer systems by understanding how the human brain works. He has written the book “On Intelligence“, where he says that the brain does not work like a mikrochip. (more…)

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Are People Really Getting Smarter?

Monday, May 26th, 2008

Remember how IQ scores kept rising? (see Do IQ Tests Really Measure Intelligence?

James Flynn discovered that IQ scores were rising. However, Tom Teasdale has discovered that this increase in IQ is not irreversible. Tom Teasdale compared the IQ tests of Danish soldiers between 1959 and 2004. The average IQ scores peaked in the late 1990s and has since declined.  

What has happened? And why?  

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Game Site Designed to Advance Machine Intelligence

Friday, May 23rd, 2008

Scientist have launched a new game site designed to make computers smarter by enlisting internet users to play the games. 

Games With a Purpose were developed by Luis von Ahn, the Carnegie Mellon University professor whose research led to the CAPTCHA, which is used by websites to prevent computer scripts from signing up for accounts. 

So, the intelligence comes from us, humans.

(via Cosmic Log).

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Eric Kandel Festival in Vienna

Thursday, May 22nd, 2008

The german director Petra Seeger has made a documentary about the life and work of Eric Kandel, the Nobel laureate, which premieres on May 26, in Vienna. Eric Kandel will be present at the opening of the documentary.

In the course of the week Eric Kandel will give talks and hold a press conference.

(via derstandard.at, in german)

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Science on the Brink of Answering the Brain/Mind Question

Wednesday, May 21st, 2008

What does “mind” mean? For some, the mind is a memory. For others, the mind has a broader meaning: It is tantamount to awareness of consciousness and also memory.

Science understands for example how new connections between brain cells grow and how unused connections die. But, what exactly is the mind? And how does the mind arise from the brain? 

(via Mind/Brain)

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Videos of the Brain and Mind Symposium

Tuesday, May 20th, 2008

Leading neuroscientist convened at the Columbia University for the Brain and Mind Symposium

There is a video archive on the Columbia University website of the talks including John R. Searle and Eric Kandel. 

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ai-one™ white paper

Monday, May 19th, 2008

ai-one™ is the name of the basic technology of semantic system ag. Now a white paper is available which gives the reader an overview about its broad range of functionality. Currently the white paper is available only in German. An English version will be announced on this blog.

For questions regarding the white paper please do not hesitate to ask. Either directly via this blog, or by sending an email to the CTO of semantic system ag, Thomas Diggelmann, td(at)semanticsystem.com.

The white paper can be downloaded directly from this post or by visiting the Homepage of semantic system ag.

Download PDF: ai-one™ white paper

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