Connectionists: Brain-like computing fanfare and big data fanfare

[james bower]

On Jan 25, 2014, at 2:33 PM, Richard Loosemore <rloosemore at susaro.com> wrote:

> 
> 1) Re. Ptolemy's Epicycles, and the bankruptcy of that approach to psychology/neuroscience.  
> 
> Treat the discovery of theories not as the work of bright individuals (one theory per individual per lifetime) but as a process that is quasi-automated, and which yields a thousand theories a day.

seems so painful when the brain is right there - begging to be considered on its own terms (I think).

> 
> 2)  Re Brain Imaging.
> 
> In the Loosemore and Harley paper I pointed out the massive impact that a slightly off-beat theory can have.  If the functional units of the brain are actually "virtual" entities that are allowed to move around on a physical network of column-like units,

pause here, with a genuflect to a very bad idea (cortical columns) which has disrupted thinking about cerebral cortical mechanisms for years - and no, I don’t want to start that debate again - just look at the literature for any evidence that cortex is built of a serious of independent functional columnar units.  It isn’t there.

> 
> My conclusion is with James, and with Juyang Weng, who started the discussion.  The Big Data/Brain-Simulation-Or-Bust approach is a gigantic boondoggle.

Little doubt about that - 

I don’t know if they taped and put on the web the big talk about it at the neuroscience meeting - but take a look in case you wonder.  (actually, I only lasted about 20 minutes myself).

:-)

Jim



> 
> Richard Loosemore
> Mathematical and Physical Science
> Wells College
> Aurora NY 13026
> USA
> 
> 
> 
> 
> On 1/25/14, 12:05 PM, james bower wrote:
>> 
>> Hi Jose,
>> 
>> Ah, neuroimaging - don’t get me started.  Not all, but a great deal of neuroimaging has become a modern form of phrenology IMHO, distorting not only neuroscience, but it turns out, increasingly business too.  To wit:
>> 
> [.....]
> 
> 
> 

 

 

Dr. James M. Bower Ph.D.

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