science
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The Mercury-Neptune Dilemma
An Epistemic Limitation in Science
It is not possible to know whether a gap between theory and observation requires adding a bit of missing data, or is instead grounds for revamping the theory. Let me explain. The planet Neptune was discovered “with the point of a pen”: it solved an apparent discrepancy between the observed orbit of Uranus and what…
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‘Representing’ means exactly what you think it means
The continued defense of a much-maligned placeholder
I. The evocative intermediary In the previous post, I offered a potted history of the debate surrounding neural and/or mental representations, and tried to expand the scope of the typical genealogical narratives, which tend to begin in the post-WWII era, at the birth of cognitive science. I also argued that representations are usually placeholders, especially…
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Spy vs Psi
Psychotronics, Gateway Experiences, and Orbitals of Consciousness
The image below is from a paper uploaded to the virtual “reading room” of a certain well-known intelligence agency. I came across this paper on the “psychotronic universe” as the indirect result of googling for the phrase “a reconciliation of opposites” along with “consciousness”. The first result was something from the agency.
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Intrinsic Incompleteness: Deacon on ‘ententional’ processes
This is the first in a planned series of posts on Terrence Deacon’s book Incomplete Nature: How Mind Emerged From Matter. I’m calling it the Deactionary, since Deacon is fond of coining new terms and redefining old ones. Deacon outlines an ambitious goal: understanding the emergence of consciousness from insensate matter. Of course, not everyone…
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The Finger Pointing At the Map
A description is a way of dividing the world into at least two parts: the phenomenon to be described, and the phenomenon used to do the describing. If we describe a rose as red, we implicitly divide the world into the rose on one side and everything else (such as concept of redness) — on…