Is “nothing” a thing, or is there no such thing as “nothing”?
Perhaps we have to start by asking what a “thing” is. Let’s try the following definition: a thing has the attribute of location in space and time. Further, we might conclude that…
Why human memory is not a bit like a computer’s
(This is a cross-post of a 3 Quarks Daily article I wrote last year.)
A few months ago I attended a rather peculiar seminar at MIT’s Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences. A neuroscientist colleague of mine named Robert Ajemian had invited an unusual speaker: a man named Jim Karol, who was billed as having the world’s best memory. According to his website, his abilities include “knowing over 80,000 zip codes, thousands of digits of Pi, the Scrabble dictionary, sports almanacs, MEDICAL journals, and thousands of other facts.” He has memorized the day of the week for every date stretching back to 1AD. And his abilities are not simply matter of superhuman willingness to spend hours memorizing lists. He can add new items to his memory rapidly, on the fly. After a quick look at a deck of cards, he can recall perfectly the order in which they were shuffled. I witnessed him do this last ‘trick’, as well as a few others, so I can testify that his abilities are truly extraordinary [1].
The Tao that can be expressed
[This is an essay I wrote in 2008, on an old blog.] The following is the first part of Lao Tzu’s Tao Te Ching — it’s my favourite piece of…
Is the mind a machine?
My latest 3QD essay explores the “mind as machine” metaphor, and metaphors in general. Putting the "cog" in "cognitive": on the "mind as machine" metaphor Here’s an excerpt: People who…
Could the brain be a radio for receiving consciousness?
Here’s an answer I wrote a while ago to the following question:
This is actually a fun question! Taken in the right spirit, it can be a good way to learn about what science is, and also what the limitations of science are.