Comments on: What is the Brain Activity Map? A Q&A with George Church http://www.kurzweilai.net/what-is-the-brain-activity-map-a-qa-with-george-church Accelerating Intelligence Wed, 19 Jun 2013 02:46:50 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.4.1 By: Giulio Prisco http://www.kurzweilai.net/what-is-the-brain-activity-map-a-qa-with-george-church/comment-page-1#comment-106338 Giulio Prisco Mon, 04 Mar 2013 18:33:06 +0000 http://www.kurzweilai.net/?p=182890#comment-106338 @melajara - One word: realpolitik. Church knows that academy is full of petty jealousies, gossip and political correctness. He could not mention intelligence augmentation without being attacked by the dull bureaucrats of science, jeopardizing his career and funding chances for BAM. But he says something here, for those who want to understand: "A brain activity map could tell us about decision making, about normal behavior that isn’t pathological, about artificial intelligence. It could give us profound philosophical insights that could be troubling or awe-inspiring, like what it means to be conscious or even various levels of consciousness." @melajara – One word: realpolitik. Church knows that academy is full of petty jealousies, gossip and political correctness. He could not mention intelligence augmentation without being attacked by the dull bureaucrats of science, jeopardizing his career and funding chances for BAM.

But he says something here, for those who want to understand:

“A brain activity map could tell us about decision making, about normal behavior that isn’t pathological, about artificial intelligence. It could give us profound philosophical insights that could be troubling or awe-inspiring, like what it means to be conscious or even various levels of consciousness.”

]]> By: snake0 http://www.kurzweilai.net/what-is-the-brain-activity-map-a-qa-with-george-church/comment-page-1#comment-106199 snake0 Mon, 04 Mar 2013 14:51:50 +0000 http://www.kurzweilai.net/?p=182890#comment-106199 It doesn't matter whether you disagree or not, the facts don't change. It has already been proven that when using tools the mammalian brain maps the tool as if it was part of the body. There is no real distinction between internal and external enhancements as far as the neo-cortex is concerned. It doesn’t matter whether you disagree or not, the facts don’t change. It has already been proven that when using tools the mammalian brain maps the tool as if it was part of the body. There is no real distinction between internal and external enhancements as far as the neo-cortex is concerned.

]]> By: melajara http://www.kurzweilai.net/what-is-the-brain-activity-map-a-qa-with-george-church/comment-page-1#comment-106174 melajara Mon, 04 Mar 2013 14:22:15 +0000 http://www.kurzweilai.net/?p=182890#comment-106174 I fully disagree. Knowing where to find an answer and having it within yourself is as different as being, at most, indirectly knowledgeable and really grasping a subject. Besides, intelligence is leveraging on memory but is independent of memory. Perusing your comparison, does the fact to have Wolfram Alpha on your Smartphone makes you a good mathematician? It can render you a better mathematician, but if you are clueless in maths, so you still will be with any Wolfram soft or Maple or MATLAB... This is part of the digital divide problem, the new technologies are benefiting most to the already most talented people. But what humanity desperately needs in this ever more complex world is a way to bootstrap the g factor (general intelligence) of everybody! I fully disagree. Knowing where to find an answer and having it within yourself is as different as being, at most, indirectly knowledgeable and really grasping a subject.

Besides, intelligence is leveraging on memory but is independent of memory.

Perusing your comparison, does the fact to have Wolfram Alpha on your Smartphone makes you a good mathematician? It can render you a better mathematician, but if you are clueless in maths, so you still will be with any Wolfram soft or Maple or MATLAB…

This is part of the digital divide problem, the new technologies are benefiting most to the already most talented people.

But what humanity desperately needs in this ever more complex world is a way to bootstrap the g factor (general intelligence) of everybody!

]]> By: tim the realist http://www.kurzweilai.net/what-is-the-brain-activity-map-a-qa-with-george-church/comment-page-1#comment-106143 tim the realist Mon, 04 Mar 2013 13:07:18 +0000 http://www.kurzweilai.net/?p=182890#comment-106143 I carry my human intelligence augmentation device in my pocket. I would be very hard pressed to learn and remember perfectly everything it "knows" and remembers for me that's probably why it's called a smartphone :) I carry my human intelligence augmentation device in my pocket. I would be very hard pressed to learn and remember perfectly everything it “knows” and remembers for me

that’s probably why it’s called a smartphone :)

]]> By: melajara http://www.kurzweilai.net/what-is-the-brain-activity-map-a-qa-with-george-church/comment-page-1#comment-106111 melajara Mon, 04 Mar 2013 12:26:35 +0000 http://www.kurzweilai.net/?p=182890#comment-106111 Professor Church is careful enough not mentioning intelligence augmentation as a benefit for the BAM project. In a sense this is sad, as most of the readers here would applaud if not volunteer themselves to be guinea pigs for being brain augmented (I would do provided the procedure is stem cells based). Yet, such a program would surely inspire more fear than awe in the general public. Professor Church is careful enough not mentioning intelligence augmentation as a benefit for the BAM project.

In a sense this is sad, as most of the readers here would applaud if not volunteer themselves to be guinea pigs for being brain augmented (I would do provided the procedure is stem cells based).

Yet, such a program would surely inspire more fear than awe in the general public.

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