sensitive, aren't we?

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sensitive, aren't we?

Prof David West
Doing some reading on quantum consciousness and embodied mind and came across these items:


https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/the-human-eye-could-help-test-quantum-mechanics/

https://www.nature.com/news/people-can-sense-single-photons-1.20282

(A Rebecca Holmes from Los Alamos Natl. Labs is part of the Scientific American reported research.)

not only can the human eye perceive individual photons (and perhaps quanta level phenomena)
"The healthy human cochlea is so sensitive that it can detect vibration with amplitude less than the diameter of an atom, and it can resolve time intervals down to 10µs [i.e., microseconds, or millionths of a second]. It has been calculated that the human ear detects energy levels 10- fold lower than the energy of a single photon in the green wavelength…” Regarding human tactile and related senses (haptic, proprioceptive), it has recently been determined that “human tactile discrimination extends to the nanoscale [ie, within billionths of a meter],” this research having been published in the journal, Scientific Reports (Skedung et al 2013)"

interesting stuff
dave west



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Re: sensitive, aren't we?

Nick Thompson
David,

Can somebody forward this on to Mike Daly, whose email I can NEVER recover?

I was taught this fascinating trope in graduate school... yes, THAT long ago.  There is a second shoe, however.  Yes the retina (cochlea, etc.) is that sensitive BUT the neural noise is much louder than that.  So ... I think this is the right language ... even though the elements are sensitive to the smallest stimuli possible, the whole system cannot resolve stimuli that small ... anywhere near.   To do what it does, it needs to weed out its own noise.  So accuracy in vision is not a question of accuracy of the elements, but of the ingenuity of construction.  Note, for instance that we wear our retinas "backwards": we actually see THOUGH the many layers of the retina because the light sensitive elements ... the rods and cones ... are at the back of the retina.  So all that sensitivity of light sensing elements is rudely cast away in the organization of the retina.  It's like we are a football players who wear our jerseys inside out but boast about the precision, detail, and color of our logos.    


Hope you are well.  Where are you well?  

All my Peirce books were lost in the mail coming here, so I have been focusing on my garden.  Mild, calm June.  May be the best garden ever.  But my mind?  Not so sure about that.

Nick  

Nicholas S. Thompson
Emeritus Professor of Psychology and Biology
Clark University
http://home.earthlink.net/~nickthompson/naturaldesigns/


-----Original Message-----
From: Friam [mailto:[hidden email]] On Behalf Of Prof David West
Sent: Friday, June 21, 2019 4:15 AM
To: [hidden email]
Subject: [FRIAM] sensitive, aren't we?

Doing some reading on quantum consciousness and embodied mind and came across these items:


https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/the-human-eye-could-help-test-quantum-mechanics/

https://www.nature.com/news/people-can-sense-single-photons-1.20282

(A Rebecca Holmes from Los Alamos Natl. Labs is part of the Scientific American reported research.)

not only can the human eye perceive individual photons (and perhaps quanta level phenomena) "The healthy human cochlea is so sensitive that it can detect vibration with amplitude less than the diameter of an atom, and it can resolve time intervals down to 10µs [i.e., microseconds, or millionths of a second]. It has been calculated that the human ear detects energy levels 10- fold lower than the energy of a single photon in the green wavelength…” Regarding human tactile and related senses (haptic, proprioceptive), it has recently been determined that “human tactile discrimination extends to the nanoscale [ie, within billionths of a meter],” this research having been published in the journal, Scientific Reports (Skedung et al 2013)"

interesting stuff
dave west



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Re: sensitive, aren't we?

gepr
This is the funniest thing I've read in several weeks! And I'm not being mean by that, either. Renee' and I have a running joke. She loaned all my HP Lovecraft books to some kid back in ... 1998 or somesuch. I never saw them again. I still can't tell if that was good or bad.

On 6/21/19 7:32 AM, Nick Thompson wrote:
> All my Peirce books were lost in the mail coming here, so I have been focusing on my garden.  Mild, calm June.  May be the best garden ever.  But my mind?  Not so sure about that.

--
☣ uǝlƃ

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Re: sensitive, aren't we?

Marcus G. Daniels
We jettisoned much of our furniture when we moved to California.   So until we buy new shelves, the books and other dubious accumulations are stored in nice boxes in the garage.    Somehow we get by.   Books really are an anachronism.     Meanwhile bay area network speeds are a gigabit a second and I'd have to hire a consultant to suggest what media networks to watch, as the thousands of channels scroll by..  

On 6/21/19, 8:45 AM, "Friam on behalf of uǝlƃ ☣" <[hidden email] on behalf of [hidden email]> wrote:

    This is the funniest thing I've read in several weeks! And I'm not being mean by that, either. Renee' and I have a running joke. She loaned all my HP Lovecraft books to some kid back in ... 1998 or somesuch. I never saw them again. I still can't tell if that was good or bad.
   
    On 6/21/19 7:32 AM, Nick Thompson wrote:
    > All my Peirce books were lost in the mail coming here, so I have been focusing on my garden.  Mild, calm June.  May be the best garden ever.  But my mind?  Not so sure about that.
   
    --
    ☣ uǝlƃ
   
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Re: sensitive, aren't we?

Frank Wimberly-2
I grew up in the Bay Area and graduated from Cal.  Now I live in Santa Fe with 20ish mb DSL.  The compensation-fewer people and more cows (maybe).

-----------------------------------
Frank Wimberly

My memoir:
https://www.amazon.com/author/frankwimberly

My scientific publications:
https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Frank_Wimberly2

Phone (505) 670-9918

On Fri, Jun 21, 2019, 1:16 PM Marcus Daniels <[hidden email]> wrote:
We jettisoned much of our furniture when we moved to California.   So until we buy new shelves, the books and other dubious accumulations are stored in nice boxes in the garage.    Somehow we get by.   Books really are an anachronism.     Meanwhile bay area network speeds are a gigabit a second and I'd have to hire a consultant to suggest what media networks to watch, as the thousands of channels scroll by.. 

On 6/21/19, 8:45 AM, "Friam on behalf of uǝlƃ ☣" <[hidden email] on behalf of [hidden email]> wrote:

    This is the funniest thing I've read in several weeks! And I'm not being mean by that, either. Renee' and I have a running joke. She loaned all my HP Lovecraft books to some kid back in ... 1998 or somesuch. I never saw them again. I still can't tell if that was good or bad.

    On 6/21/19 7:32 AM, Nick Thompson wrote:
    > All my Peirce books were lost in the mail coming here, so I have been focusing on my garden.  Mild, calm June.  May be the best garden ever.  But my mind?  Not so sure about that.

    --
    ☣ uǝlƃ

    ============================================================
    FRIAM Applied Complexity Group listserv
    Meets Fridays 9a-11:30 at cafe at St. John's College
    to unsubscribe http://redfish.com/mailman/listinfo/friam_redfish.com
    archives back to 2003: http://friam.471366.n2.nabble.com/
    FRIAM-COMIC http://friam-comic.blogspot.com/ by Dr. Strangelove


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Re: sensitive, aren't we?

Marcus G. Daniels

Per capita, maybe.

 

https://vegparentsecrets.files.wordpress.com/2010/10/2162538287_353e97a62c_b.jpg

 

From: Friam <[hidden email]> on behalf of Frank Wimberly <[hidden email]>
Reply-To: The Friday Morning Applied Complexity Coffee Group <[hidden email]>
Date: Friday, June 21, 2019 at 12:48 PM
To: The Friday Morning Applied Complexity Coffee Group <[hidden email]>
Subject: Re: [FRIAM] sensitive, aren't we?

 

I grew up in the Bay Area and graduated from Cal.  Now I live in Santa Fe with 20ish mb DSL.  The compensation-fewer people and more cows (maybe).

-----------------------------------
Frank Wimberly

My memoir:
https://www.amazon.com/author/frankwimberly

My scientific publications:
https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Frank_Wimberly2

Phone (505) 670-9918

 

On Fri, Jun 21, 2019, 1:16 PM Marcus Daniels <[hidden email]> wrote:

We jettisoned much of our furniture when we moved to California.   So until we buy new shelves, the books and other dubious accumulations are stored in nice boxes in the garage.    Somehow we get by.   Books really are an anachronism.     Meanwhile bay area network speeds are a gigabit a second and I'd have to hire a consultant to suggest what media networks to watch, as the thousands of channels scroll by.. 

On 6/21/19, 8:45 AM, "Friam on behalf of uǝlƃ " <[hidden email] on behalf of [hidden email]> wrote:

    This is the funniest thing I've read in several weeks! And I'm not being mean by that, either. Renee' and I have a running joke. She loaned all my HP Lovecraft books to some kid back in ... 1998 or somesuch. I never saw them again. I still can't tell if that was good or bad.

    On 6/21/19 7:32 AM, Nick Thompson wrote:
    > All my Peirce books were lost in the mail coming here, so I have been focusing on my garden.  Mild, calm June.  May be the best garden ever.  But my mind?  Not so sure about that.

    --
    uǝlƃ

    ============================================================
    FRIAM Applied Complexity Group listserv
    Meets Fridays 9a-11:30 at cafe at St. John's College
    to unsubscribe http://redfish.com/mailman/listinfo/friam_redfish.com
    archives back to 2003: http://friam.471366.n2.nabble.com/
    FRIAM-COMIC http://friam-comic.blogspot.com/ by Dr. Strangelove


============================================================
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Meets Fridays 9a-11:30 at cafe at St. John's College
to unsubscribe http://redfish.com/mailman/listinfo/friam_redfish.com
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FRIAM-COMIC
http://friam-comic.blogspot.com/ by Dr. Strangelove


============================================================
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Meets Fridays 9a-11:30 at cafe at St. John's College
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Re: sensitive, aren't we?

Frank Wimberly-2
Cattle vs people in NM:

http://www.inkstain.net/fleck/2016/01/new-mexico-population-cattle-v-people-through-history/

Maybe I'm remembering when I was little.
-----------------------------------
Frank Wimberly

My memoir:
https://www.amazon.com/author/frankwimberly

My scientific publications:
https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Frank_Wimberly2

Phone (505) 670-9918

============================================================
FRIAM Applied Complexity Group listserv
Meets Fridays 9a-11:30 at cafe at St. John's College
to unsubscribe http://redfish.com/mailman/listinfo/friam_redfish.com
archives back to 2003: http://friam.471366.n2.nabble.com/
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Re: sensitive, aren't we?

Marcus G. Daniels

Ranking of cattle

 

https://beef2live.com/story-cattle-inventory-state-rankings-89-108182

 

And finally a city with the right priorities!

 

https://thebolditalic.com/there-are-more-dogs-than-kids-in-sf-so-why-are-they-so-hard-to-have-a1e63d1ff6b4

 

From: Friam <[hidden email]> on behalf of Frank Wimberly <[hidden email]>
Reply-To: The Friday Morning Applied Complexity Coffee Group <[hidden email]>
Date: Friday, June 21, 2019 at 1:11 PM
To: The Friday Morning Applied Complexity Coffee Group <[hidden email]>
Subject: Re: [FRIAM] sensitive, aren't we?

 

Cattle vs people in NM:

 

http://www.inkstain.net/fleck/2016/01/new-mexico-population-cattle-v-people-through-history/

Maybe I'm remembering when I was little.

-----------------------------------
Frank Wimberly

My memoir:
https://www.amazon.com/author/frankwimberly

My scientific publications:
https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Frank_Wimberly2

Phone (505) 670-9918


============================================================
FRIAM Applied Complexity Group listserv
Meets Fridays 9a-11:30 at cafe at St. John's College
to unsubscribe http://redfish.com/mailman/listinfo/friam_redfish.com
archives back to 2003: http://friam.471366.n2.nabble.com/
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Re: sensitive, aren't we?

Frank Wimberly-2
So CA has about 20 times as many people as NM but 3 times as many cows.  You were right about per capita.  I agree about the need for dogs.

-----------------------------------
Frank Wimberly

My memoir:
https://www.amazon.com/author/frankwimberly

My scientific publications:
https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Frank_Wimberly2

Phone (505) 670-9918

On Fri, Jun 21, 2019, 2:17 PM Marcus Daniels <[hidden email]> wrote:

Ranking of cattle

 

https://beef2live.com/story-cattle-inventory-state-rankings-89-108182

 

And finally a city with the right priorities!

 

https://thebolditalic.com/there-are-more-dogs-than-kids-in-sf-so-why-are-they-so-hard-to-have-a1e63d1ff6b4

 

From: Friam <[hidden email]> on behalf of Frank Wimberly <[hidden email]>
Reply-To: The Friday Morning Applied Complexity Coffee Group <[hidden email]>
Date: Friday, June 21, 2019 at 1:11 PM
To: The Friday Morning Applied Complexity Coffee Group <[hidden email]>
Subject: Re: [FRIAM] sensitive, aren't we?

 

Cattle vs people in NM:

 

http://www.inkstain.net/fleck/2016/01/new-mexico-population-cattle-v-people-through-history/

Maybe I'm remembering when I was little.

-----------------------------------
Frank Wimberly

My memoir:
https://www.amazon.com/author/frankwimberly

My scientific publications:
https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Frank_Wimberly2

Phone (505) 670-9918

============================================================
FRIAM Applied Complexity Group listserv
Meets Fridays 9a-11:30 at cafe at St. John's College
to unsubscribe http://redfish.com/mailman/listinfo/friam_redfish.com
archives back to 2003: http://friam.471366.n2.nabble.com/
FRIAM-COMIC http://friam-comic.blogspot.com/ by Dr. Strangelove

============================================================
FRIAM Applied Complexity Group listserv
Meets Fridays 9a-11:30 at cafe at St. John's College
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Re: sensitive, aren't we?

gepr
In reply to this post by Marcus G. Daniels
On 6/21/19 12:16 PM, Marcus Daniels wrote:
> Books really are an anachronism.
Yes. And eBooks suck. A friend is making me read a book on anarcho-capitalism. The meatspace form is way to expensive for my taste, whereas the eBook is only $25. But in order for it to be like a real book, where I can write my brain farts in the margins, underline things, etc., I had to remove the DRM and OCR it so that my typical PDF reader can txt2speech it. Pfft. The take-home is that books are obsolete whatever their delivery platform. "Books" like this one should really be a collection of essays ... or maybe a twitter thread. >8^D

--
☣ uǝlƃ

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Meets Fridays 9a-11:30 at cafe at St. John's College
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uǝʃƃ ⊥ glen
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Re: sensitive, aren't we?

Prof David West
In reply to this post by Nick Thompson
Nick said:
 "I was taught this fascinating trope in graduate school... yes, THAT
 long ago.  There is a second shoe, however.  Yes the retina (cochlea,
 etc.) is that sensitive BUT the neural noise is much louder than that.  
 So ... I think this is the right language ... even though the elements
 are sensitive to the smallest stimuli possible, the whole system cannot
 resolve stimuli that small ... anywhere near."

Not to impugn your professors, but bushwah!

To make an analogy: the "neural noise" is akin to "junk DNA" just because they had not figured out what signals existed within the noise and how they were transmitted and received does not mean lost signal.

While "the system" seldom makes the effort to resolve at quanta scale does not mean that it cannot. (Why it seldom does is whole 'nuther thread.)

But, assuming your professors were correct, would it be permissible to ask why the organism evolved the sensitivity only to evolve  the blockade? Or, having evolved the blockade why then evolve the sensitivity? Where is the competitive advantage in having either the sensitivity or the blockade? Or, do such questions tend not to edification?

I have seen the angels dancing on the head of the pin, so I know it can be done. Have also consorted with others, directly or intermediated by words, who can say, and demonstrate, the same.

davew


On Fri, Jun 21, 2019, at 4:32 PM, Nick Thompson wrote:

> David,
>
> Can somebody forward this on to Mike Daly, whose email I can NEVER recover?
>
> I was taught this fascinating trope in graduate school... yes, THAT
> long ago.  There is a second shoe, however.  Yes the retina (cochlea,
> etc.) is that sensitive BUT the neural noise is much louder than that.  
> So ... I think this is the right language ... even though the elements
> are sensitive to the smallest stimuli possible, the whole system cannot
> resolve stimuli that small ... anywhere near.   To do what it does, it
> needs to weed out its own noise.  So accuracy in vision is not a
> question of accuracy of the elements, but of the ingenuity of
> construction.  Note, for instance that we wear our retinas "backwards":
> we actually see THOUGH the many layers of the retina because the light
> sensitive elements ... the rods and cones ... are at the back of the
> retina.  So all that sensitivity of light sensing elements is rudely
> cast away in the organization of the retina.  It's like we are a
> football players who wear our jerseys inside out but boast about the
> precision, detail, and color of our logos.    
>
>
> Hope you are well.  Where are you well?  
>
> All my Peirce books were lost in the mail coming here, so I have been
> focusing on my garden.  Mild, calm June.  May be the best garden ever.  
> But my mind?  Not so sure about that.
>
> Nick  
>
> Nicholas S. Thompson
> Emeritus Professor of Psychology and Biology
> Clark University
> http://home.earthlink.net/~nickthompson/naturaldesigns/
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Friam [mailto:[hidden email]] On Behalf Of Prof David West
> Sent: Friday, June 21, 2019 4:15 AM
> To: [hidden email]
> Subject: [FRIAM] sensitive, aren't we?
>
> Doing some reading on quantum consciousness and embodied mind and came
> across these items:
>
>
> https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/the-human-eye-could-help-test-quantum-mechanics/
>
> https://www.nature.com/news/people-can-sense-single-photons-1.20282
>
> (A Rebecca Holmes from Los Alamos Natl. Labs is part of the Scientific
> American reported research.)
>
> not only can the human eye perceive individual photons (and perhaps
> quanta level phenomena) "The healthy human cochlea is so sensitive that
> it can detect vibration with amplitude less than the diameter of an
> atom, and it can resolve time intervals down to 10µs [i.e.,
> microseconds, or millionths of a second]. It has been calculated that
> the human ear detects energy levels 10- fold lower than the energy of a
> single photon in the green wavelength…” Regarding human tactile and
> related senses (haptic, proprioceptive), it has recently been
> determined that “human tactile discrimination extends to the nanoscale
> [ie, within billionths of a meter],” this research having been
> published in the journal, Scientific Reports (Skedung et al 2013)"
>
> interesting stuff
> dave west
>
>
>
> ============================================================
> FRIAM Applied Complexity Group listserv
> Meets Fridays 9a-11:30 at cafe at St. John's College to unsubscribe
> http://redfish.com/mailman/listinfo/friam_redfish.com
> archives back to 2003: http://friam.471366.n2.nabble.com/
> FRIAM-COMIC http://friam-comic.blogspot.com/ by Dr. Strangelove
>
>
> ============================================================
> FRIAM Applied Complexity Group listserv
> Meets Fridays 9a-11:30 at cafe at St. John's College
> to unsubscribe http://redfish.com/mailman/listinfo/friam_redfish.com
> archives back to 2003: http://friam.471366.n2.nabble.com/
> FRIAM-COMIC http://friam-comic.blogspot.com/ by Dr. Strangelove
>

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Meets Fridays 9a-11:30 at cafe at St. John's College
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Re: sensitive, aren't we?

Nick Thompson
David,

I will see your "bushwash" and raise you a hornswaggle.

Why, my feathered friend, if quantum accuracy is so important, do you wear your retina backwards?  Why do you see through your ganglion cells.  

Nick

Nicholas S. Thompson
Emeritus Professor of Psychology and Biology
Clark University
http://home.earthlink.net/~nickthompson/naturaldesigns/


-----Original Message-----
From: Friam [mailto:[hidden email]] On Behalf Of Prof David West
Sent: Monday, June 24, 2019 4:24 AM
To: [hidden email]
Subject: Re: [FRIAM] sensitive, aren't we?

Nick said:
 "I was taught this fascinating trope in graduate school... yes, THAT  long ago.  There is a second shoe, however.  Yes the retina (cochlea,
 etc.) is that sensitive BUT the neural noise is much louder than that.  
 So ... I think this is the right language ... even though the elements  are sensitive to the smallest stimuli possible, the whole system cannot  resolve stimuli that small ... anywhere near."

Not to impugn your professors, but bushwah!

To make an analogy: the "neural noise" is akin to "junk DNA" just because they had not figured out what signals existed within the noise and how they were transmitted and received does not mean lost signal.

While "the system" seldom makes the effort to resolve at quanta scale does not mean that it cannot. (Why it seldom does is whole 'nuther thread.)

But, assuming your professors were correct, would it be permissible to ask why the organism evolved the sensitivity only to evolve  the blockade? Or, having evolved the blockade why then evolve the sensitivity? Where is the competitive advantage in having either the sensitivity or the blockade? Or, do such questions tend not to edification?

I have seen the angels dancing on the head of the pin, so I know it can be done. Have also consorted with others, directly or intermediated by words, who can say, and demonstrate, the same.

davew


On Fri, Jun 21, 2019, at 4:32 PM, Nick Thompson wrote:

> David,
>
> Can somebody forward this on to Mike Daly, whose email I can NEVER recover?
>
> I was taught this fascinating trope in graduate school... yes, THAT
> long ago.  There is a second shoe, however.  Yes the retina (cochlea,
> etc.) is that sensitive BUT the neural noise is much louder than that.  
> So ... I think this is the right language ... even though the elements
> are sensitive to the smallest stimuli possible, the whole system cannot
> resolve stimuli that small ... anywhere near.   To do what it does, it
> needs to weed out its own noise.  So accuracy in vision is not a
> question of accuracy of the elements, but of the ingenuity of
> construction.  Note, for instance that we wear our retinas "backwards":
> we actually see THOUGH the many layers of the retina because the light
> sensitive elements ... the rods and cones ... are at the back of the
> retina.  So all that sensitivity of light sensing elements is rudely
> cast away in the organization of the retina.  It's like we are a
> football players who wear our jerseys inside out but boast about the
> precision, detail, and color of our logos.    
>
>
> Hope you are well.  Where are you well?  
>
> All my Peirce books were lost in the mail coming here, so I have been
> focusing on my garden.  Mild, calm June.  May be the best garden ever.
> But my mind?  Not so sure about that.
>
> Nick
>
> Nicholas S. Thompson
> Emeritus Professor of Psychology and Biology Clark University
> http://home.earthlink.net/~nickthompson/naturaldesigns/
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Friam [mailto:[hidden email]] On Behalf Of Prof David
> West
> Sent: Friday, June 21, 2019 4:15 AM
> To: [hidden email]
> Subject: [FRIAM] sensitive, aren't we?
>
> Doing some reading on quantum consciousness and embodied mind and came
> across these items:
>
>
> https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/the-human-eye-could-help-te
> st-quantum-mechanics/
>
> https://www.nature.com/news/people-can-sense-single-photons-1.20282
>
> (A Rebecca Holmes from Los Alamos Natl. Labs is part of the Scientific
> American reported research.)
>
> not only can the human eye perceive individual photons (and perhaps
> quanta level phenomena) "The healthy human cochlea is so sensitive
> that it can detect vibration with amplitude less than the diameter of
> an atom, and it can resolve time intervals down to 10µs [i.e.,
> microseconds, or millionths of a second]. It has been calculated that
> the human ear detects energy levels 10- fold lower than the energy of
> a single photon in the green wavelength…” Regarding human tactile and
> related senses (haptic, proprioceptive), it has recently been
> determined that “human tactile discrimination extends to the nanoscale
> [ie, within billionths of a meter],” this research having been
> published in the journal, Scientific Reports (Skedung et al 2013)"
>
> interesting stuff
> dave west
>
>
>
> ============================================================
> FRIAM Applied Complexity Group listserv Meets Fridays 9a-11:30 at cafe
> at St. John's College to unsubscribe
> http://redfish.com/mailman/listinfo/friam_redfish.com
> archives back to 2003: http://friam.471366.n2.nabble.com/
> FRIAM-COMIC http://friam-comic.blogspot.com/ by Dr. Strangelove
>
>
> ============================================================
> FRIAM Applied Complexity Group listserv Meets Fridays 9a-11:30 at cafe
> at St. John's College to unsubscribe
> http://redfish.com/mailman/listinfo/friam_redfish.com
> archives back to 2003: http://friam.471366.n2.nabble.com/
> FRIAM-COMIC http://friam-comic.blogspot.com/ by Dr. Strangelove
>

============================================================
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Meets Fridays 9a-11:30 at cafe at St. John's College to unsubscribe http://redfish.com/mailman/listinfo/friam_redfish.com
archives back to 2003: http://friam.471366.n2.nabble.com/
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============================================================
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Meets Fridays 9a-11:30 at cafe at St. John's College
to unsubscribe http://redfish.com/mailman/listinfo/friam_redfish.com
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Re: sensitive, aren't we?

Prof David West
Ah Nick,

because they finely tune the carrier wave (that which you perceive as neural noise) in such a way that my quantum signal, being the delicate creature it is, can survive multiple synaptic shocks as it moves from neuron to neuron — the way you would want a well padded barrel when going over Niagara Falls.

davew

(I assume you are wearing your hip boots as standard gear in the MIB.)



On Mon, Jun 24, 2019, at 4:10 PM, Nick Thompson wrote:

> David,
>
> I will see your "bushwash" and raise you a hornswaggle.
>
> Why, my feathered friend, if quantum accuracy is so important, do you
> wear your retina backwards?  Why do you see through your ganglion
> cells.  
>
> Nick
>
> Nicholas S. Thompson
> Emeritus Professor of Psychology and Biology
> Clark University
> http://home.earthlink.net/~nickthompson/naturaldesigns/
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Friam [mailto:[hidden email]] On Behalf Of Prof David West
> Sent: Monday, June 24, 2019 4:24 AM
> To: [hidden email]
> Subject: Re: [FRIAM] sensitive, aren't we?
>
> Nick said:
>  "I was taught this fascinating trope in graduate school... yes, THAT  
> long ago.  There is a second shoe, however.  Yes the retina (cochlea,
>  etc.) is that sensitive BUT the neural noise is much louder than that.
>  
>  So ... I think this is the right language ... even though the elements
>  are sensitive to the smallest stimuli possible, the whole system
> cannot  resolve stimuli that small ... anywhere near."
>
> Not to impugn your professors, but bushwah!
>
> To make an analogy: the "neural noise" is akin to "junk DNA" just
> because they had not figured out what signals existed within the noise
> and how they were transmitted and received does not mean lost signal.
>
> While "the system" seldom makes the effort to resolve at quanta scale
> does not mean that it cannot. (Why it seldom does is whole 'nuther
> thread.)
>
> But, assuming your professors were correct, would it be permissible to
> ask why the organism evolved the sensitivity only to evolve  the
> blockade? Or, having evolved the blockade why then evolve the
> sensitivity? Where is the competitive advantage in having either the
> sensitivity or the blockade? Or, do such questions tend not to
> edification?
>
> I have seen the angels dancing on the head of the pin, so I know it can
> be done. Have also consorted with others, directly or intermediated by
> words, who can say, and demonstrate, the same.
>
> davew
>
>
> On Fri, Jun 21, 2019, at 4:32 PM, Nick Thompson wrote:
> > David,
> >
> > Can somebody forward this on to Mike Daly, whose email I can NEVER recover?
> >
> > I was taught this fascinating trope in graduate school... yes, THAT
> > long ago.  There is a second shoe, however.  Yes the retina (cochlea,
> > etc.) is that sensitive BUT the neural noise is much louder than that.  
> > So ... I think this is the right language ... even though the elements
> > are sensitive to the smallest stimuli possible, the whole system cannot
> > resolve stimuli that small ... anywhere near.   To do what it does, it
> > needs to weed out its own noise.  So accuracy in vision is not a
> > question of accuracy of the elements, but of the ingenuity of
> > construction.  Note, for instance that we wear our retinas "backwards":
> > we actually see THOUGH the many layers of the retina because the light
> > sensitive elements ... the rods and cones ... are at the back of the
> > retina.  So all that sensitivity of light sensing elements is rudely
> > cast away in the organization of the retina.  It's like we are a
> > football players who wear our jerseys inside out but boast about the
> > precision, detail, and color of our logos.    
> >
> >
> > Hope you are well.  Where are you well?  
> >
> > All my Peirce books were lost in the mail coming here, so I have been
> > focusing on my garden.  Mild, calm June.  May be the best garden ever.
> > But my mind?  Not so sure about that.
> >
> > Nick
> >
> > Nicholas S. Thompson
> > Emeritus Professor of Psychology and Biology Clark University
> > http://home.earthlink.net/~nickthompson/naturaldesigns/
> >
> >
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: Friam [mailto:[hidden email]] On Behalf Of Prof David
> > West
> > Sent: Friday, June 21, 2019 4:15 AM
> > To: [hidden email]
> > Subject: [FRIAM] sensitive, aren't we?
> >
> > Doing some reading on quantum consciousness and embodied mind and came
> > across these items:
> >
> >
> > https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/the-human-eye-could-help-te
> > st-quantum-mechanics/
> >
> > https://www.nature.com/news/people-can-sense-single-photons-1.20282
> >
> > (A Rebecca Holmes from Los Alamos Natl. Labs is part of the Scientific
> > American reported research.)
> >
> > not only can the human eye perceive individual photons (and perhaps
> > quanta level phenomena) "The healthy human cochlea is so sensitive
> > that it can detect vibration with amplitude less than the diameter of
> > an atom, and it can resolve time intervals down to 10µs [i.e.,
> > microseconds, or millionths of a second]. It has been calculated that
> > the human ear detects energy levels 10- fold lower than the energy of
> > a single photon in the green wavelength…” Regarding human tactile and
> > related senses (haptic, proprioceptive), it has recently been
> > determined that “human tactile discrimination extends to the nanoscale
> > [ie, within billionths of a meter],” this research having been
> > published in the journal, Scientific Reports (Skedung et al 2013)"
> >
> > interesting stuff
> > dave west
> >
> >
> >
> > ============================================================
> > FRIAM Applied Complexity Group listserv Meets Fridays 9a-11:30 at cafe
> > at St. John's College to unsubscribe
> > http://redfish.com/mailman/listinfo/friam_redfish.com
> > archives back to 2003: http://friam.471366.n2.nabble.com/
> > FRIAM-COMIC http://friam-comic.blogspot.com/ by Dr. Strangelove
> >
> >
> > ============================================================
> > FRIAM Applied Complexity Group listserv Meets Fridays 9a-11:30 at cafe
> > at St. John's College to unsubscribe
> > http://redfish.com/mailman/listinfo/friam_redfish.com
> > archives back to 2003: http://friam.471366.n2.nabble.com/
> > FRIAM-COMIC http://friam-comic.blogspot.com/ by Dr. Strangelove
> >
>
> ============================================================
> FRIAM Applied Complexity Group listserv
> Meets Fridays 9a-11:30 at cafe at St. John's College to unsubscribe
> http://redfish.com/mailman/listinfo/friam_redfish.com
> archives back to 2003: http://friam.471366.n2.nabble.com/
> FRIAM-COMIC http://friam-comic.blogspot.com/ by Dr. Strangelove
>
>
> ============================================================
> FRIAM Applied Complexity Group listserv
> Meets Fridays 9a-11:30 at cafe at St. John's College
> to unsubscribe http://redfish.com/mailman/listinfo/friam_redfish.com
> archives back to 2003: http://friam.471366.n2.nabble.com/
> FRIAM-COMIC http://friam-comic.blogspot.com/ by Dr. Strangelove
>

============================================================
FRIAM Applied Complexity Group listserv
Meets Fridays 9a-11:30 at cafe at St. John's College
to unsubscribe http://redfish.com/mailman/listinfo/friam_redfish.com
archives back to 2003: http://friam.471366.n2.nabble.com/
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Re: sensitive, aren't we?

Nick Thompson
Deep philosophical question:  I don't think the nervous system is interested in accuracy, per se.  It is interested in prediction.  So, an "inaccurate" system that give a better prediction of future events would be favored overran accurate one.  The deep question, which I suspect you Wise Guys are in a position to answer for me is: to what degree is predictive accuracy dependent on accuracy of input.  Now the first intuition is "entirely."   In meteorology, they talk about the "initiation of models", which I take to mean how good were the measurements that they plugged in for today's observations on which they based their predictions of future ones.   I wonder what sort of tradesoff exist between getting the original points right and getting the model right.  

But I note, even as I drown here, how come we wear our retina's backwards.  Seems awfully careless of us, doesn't it?   Is there any world in which messy input is an advantage, or at least, not much of a disadvantage?

Nick


Nicholas S. Thompson
Emeritus Professor of Psychology and Biology
Clark University
http://home.earthlink.net/~nickthompson/naturaldesigns/


-----Original Message-----
From: Friam [mailto:[hidden email]] On Behalf Of Prof David West
Sent: Monday, June 24, 2019 12:42 PM
To: [hidden email]
Subject: Re: [FRIAM] sensitive, aren't we?

Ah Nick,

because they finely tune the carrier wave (that which you perceive as neural noise) in such a way that my quantum signal, being the delicate creature it is, can survive multiple synaptic shocks as it moves from neuron to neuron — the way you would want a well padded barrel when going over Niagara Falls.

davew

(I assume you are wearing your hip boots as standard gear in the MIB.)



On Mon, Jun 24, 2019, at 4:10 PM, Nick Thompson wrote:

> David,
>
> I will see your "bushwash" and raise you a hornswaggle.
>
> Why, my feathered friend, if quantum accuracy is so important, do you
> wear your retina backwards?  Why do you see through your ganglion
> cells.
>
> Nick
>
> Nicholas S. Thompson
> Emeritus Professor of Psychology and Biology Clark University
> http://home.earthlink.net/~nickthompson/naturaldesigns/
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Friam [mailto:[hidden email]] On Behalf Of Prof David
> West
> Sent: Monday, June 24, 2019 4:24 AM
> To: [hidden email]
> Subject: Re: [FRIAM] sensitive, aren't we?
>
> Nick said:
>  "I was taught this fascinating trope in graduate school... yes, THAT
> long ago.  There is a second shoe, however.  Yes the retina (cochlea,
>  etc.) is that sensitive BUT the neural noise is much louder than that.
>  
>  So ... I think this is the right language ... even though the
> elements  are sensitive to the smallest stimuli possible, the whole
> system cannot  resolve stimuli that small ... anywhere near."
>
> Not to impugn your professors, but bushwah!
>
> To make an analogy: the "neural noise" is akin to "junk DNA" just
> because they had not figured out what signals existed within the noise
> and how they were transmitted and received does not mean lost signal.
>
> While "the system" seldom makes the effort to resolve at quanta scale
> does not mean that it cannot. (Why it seldom does is whole 'nuther
> thread.)
>
> But, assuming your professors were correct, would it be permissible to
> ask why the organism evolved the sensitivity only to evolve  the
> blockade? Or, having evolved the blockade why then evolve the
> sensitivity? Where is the competitive advantage in having either the
> sensitivity or the blockade? Or, do such questions tend not to
> edification?
>
> I have seen the angels dancing on the head of the pin, so I know it
> can be done. Have also consorted with others, directly or
> intermediated by words, who can say, and demonstrate, the same.
>
> davew
>
>
> On Fri, Jun 21, 2019, at 4:32 PM, Nick Thompson wrote:
> > David,
> >
> > Can somebody forward this on to Mike Daly, whose email I can NEVER recover?
> >
> > I was taught this fascinating trope in graduate school... yes, THAT
> > long ago.  There is a second shoe, however.  Yes the retina
> > (cochlea,
> > etc.) is that sensitive BUT the neural noise is much louder than that.  
> > So ... I think this is the right language ... even though the
> > elements are sensitive to the smallest stimuli possible, the whole system cannot
> > resolve stimuli that small ... anywhere near.   To do what it does, it
> > needs to weed out its own noise.  So accuracy in vision is not a
> > question of accuracy of the elements, but of the ingenuity of
> > construction.  Note, for instance that we wear our retinas "backwards":
> > we actually see THOUGH the many layers of the retina because the
> > light sensitive elements ... the rods and cones ... are at the back
> > of the retina.  So all that sensitivity of light sensing elements is
> > rudely cast away in the organization of the retina.  It's like we
> > are a football players who wear our jerseys inside out but boast about the
> > precision, detail, and color of our logos.    
> >
> >
> > Hope you are well.  Where are you well?  
> >
> > All my Peirce books were lost in the mail coming here, so I have
> > been focusing on my garden.  Mild, calm June.  May be the best garden ever.
> > But my mind?  Not so sure about that.
> >
> > Nick
> >
> > Nicholas S. Thompson
> > Emeritus Professor of Psychology and Biology Clark University
> > http://home.earthlink.net/~nickthompson/naturaldesigns/
> >
> >
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: Friam [mailto:[hidden email]] On Behalf Of Prof
> > David West
> > Sent: Friday, June 21, 2019 4:15 AM
> > To: [hidden email]
> > Subject: [FRIAM] sensitive, aren't we?
> >
> > Doing some reading on quantum consciousness and embodied mind and
> > came across these items:
> >
> >
> > https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/the-human-eye-could-help-
> > te
> > st-quantum-mechanics/
> >
> > https://www.nature.com/news/people-can-sense-single-photons-1.20282
> >
> > (A Rebecca Holmes from Los Alamos Natl. Labs is part of the
> > Scientific American reported research.)
> >
> > not only can the human eye perceive individual photons (and perhaps
> > quanta level phenomena) "The healthy human cochlea is so sensitive
> > that it can detect vibration with amplitude less than the diameter
> > of an atom, and it can resolve time intervals down to 10µs [i.e.,
> > microseconds, or millionths of a second]. It has been calculated
> > that the human ear detects energy levels 10- fold lower than the
> > energy of a single photon in the green wavelength…” Regarding human
> > tactile and related senses (haptic, proprioceptive), it has recently
> > been determined that “human tactile discrimination extends to the
> > nanoscale [ie, within billionths of a meter],” this research having
> > been published in the journal, Scientific Reports (Skedung et al 2013)"
> >
> > interesting stuff
> > dave west
> >
> >
> >
> > ============================================================
> > FRIAM Applied Complexity Group listserv Meets Fridays 9a-11:30 at
> > cafe at St. John's College to unsubscribe
> > http://redfish.com/mailman/listinfo/friam_redfish.com
> > archives back to 2003: http://friam.471366.n2.nabble.com/
> > FRIAM-COMIC http://friam-comic.blogspot.com/ by Dr. Strangelove
> >
> >
> > ============================================================
> > FRIAM Applied Complexity Group listserv Meets Fridays 9a-11:30 at
> > cafe at St. John's College to unsubscribe
> > http://redfish.com/mailman/listinfo/friam_redfish.com
> > archives back to 2003: http://friam.471366.n2.nabble.com/
> > FRIAM-COMIC http://friam-comic.blogspot.com/ by Dr. Strangelove
> >
>
> ============================================================
> FRIAM Applied Complexity Group listserv Meets Fridays 9a-11:30 at cafe
> at St. John's College to unsubscribe
> http://redfish.com/mailman/listinfo/friam_redfish.com
> archives back to 2003: http://friam.471366.n2.nabble.com/
> FRIAM-COMIC http://friam-comic.blogspot.com/ by Dr. Strangelove
>
>
> ============================================================
> FRIAM Applied Complexity Group listserv Meets Fridays 9a-11:30 at cafe
> at St. John's College to unsubscribe
> http://redfish.com/mailman/listinfo/friam_redfish.com
> archives back to 2003: http://friam.471366.n2.nabble.com/
> FRIAM-COMIC http://friam-comic.blogspot.com/ by Dr. Strangelove
>

============================================================
FRIAM Applied Complexity Group listserv
Meets Fridays 9a-11:30 at cafe at St. John's College to unsubscribe http://redfish.com/mailman/listinfo/friam_redfish.com
archives back to 2003: http://friam.471366.n2.nabble.com/
FRIAM-COMIC http://friam-comic.blogspot.com/ by Dr. Strangelove


============================================================
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Meets Fridays 9a-11:30 at cafe at St. John's College
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Re: sensitive, aren't we?

Frank Wimberly-2
Fuzzy logic?

This sounds like the distinction between measurement error and systematic errors?

-----------------------------------
Frank Wimberly

My memoir:
https://www.amazon.com/author/frankwimberly

My scientific publications:
https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Frank_Wimberly2

Phone (505) 670-9918

On Mon, Jun 24, 2019, 10:52 AM Nick Thompson <[hidden email]> wrote:
Deep philosophical question:  I don't think the nervous system is interested in accuracy, per se.  It is interested in prediction.  So, an "inaccurate" system that give a better prediction of future events would be favored overran accurate one.  The deep question, which I suspect you Wise Guys are in a position to answer for me is: to what degree is predictive accuracy dependent on accuracy of input.  Now the first intuition is "entirely."   In meteorology, they talk about the "initiation of models", which I take to mean how good were the measurements that they plugged in for today's observations on which they based their predictions of future ones.   I wonder what sort of tradesoff exist between getting the original points right and getting the model right. 

But I note, even as I drown here, how come we wear our retina's backwards.  Seems awfully careless of us, doesn't it?   Is there any world in which messy input is an advantage, or at least, not much of a disadvantage?

Nick


Nicholas S. Thompson
Emeritus Professor of Psychology and Biology
Clark University
http://home.earthlink.net/~nickthompson/naturaldesigns/


-----Original Message-----
From: Friam [mailto:[hidden email]] On Behalf Of Prof David West
Sent: Monday, June 24, 2019 12:42 PM
To: [hidden email]
Subject: Re: [FRIAM] sensitive, aren't we?

Ah Nick,

because they finely tune the carrier wave (that which you perceive as neural noise) in such a way that my quantum signal, being the delicate creature it is, can survive multiple synaptic shocks as it moves from neuron to neuron — the way you would want a well padded barrel when going over Niagara Falls.

davew

(I assume you are wearing your hip boots as standard gear in the MIB.)



On Mon, Jun 24, 2019, at 4:10 PM, Nick Thompson wrote:
> David,
>
> I will see your "bushwash" and raise you a hornswaggle.
>
> Why, my feathered friend, if quantum accuracy is so important, do you
> wear your retina backwards?  Why do you see through your ganglion
> cells.
>
> Nick
>
> Nicholas S. Thompson
> Emeritus Professor of Psychology and Biology Clark University
> http://home.earthlink.net/~nickthompson/naturaldesigns/
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Friam [mailto:[hidden email]] On Behalf Of Prof David
> West
> Sent: Monday, June 24, 2019 4:24 AM
> To: [hidden email]
> Subject: Re: [FRIAM] sensitive, aren't we?
>
> Nick said:
>  "I was taught this fascinating trope in graduate school... yes, THAT
> long ago.  There is a second shoe, however.  Yes the retina (cochlea,
>  etc.) is that sensitive BUT the neural noise is much louder than that.

>  So ... I think this is the right language ... even though the
> elements  are sensitive to the smallest stimuli possible, the whole
> system cannot  resolve stimuli that small ... anywhere near."
>
> Not to impugn your professors, but bushwah!
>
> To make an analogy: the "neural noise" is akin to "junk DNA" just
> because they had not figured out what signals existed within the noise
> and how they were transmitted and received does not mean lost signal.
>
> While "the system" seldom makes the effort to resolve at quanta scale
> does not mean that it cannot. (Why it seldom does is whole 'nuther
> thread.)
>
> But, assuming your professors were correct, would it be permissible to
> ask why the organism evolved the sensitivity only to evolve  the
> blockade? Or, having evolved the blockade why then evolve the
> sensitivity? Where is the competitive advantage in having either the
> sensitivity or the blockade? Or, do such questions tend not to
> edification?
>
> I have seen the angels dancing on the head of the pin, so I know it
> can be done. Have also consorted with others, directly or
> intermediated by words, who can say, and demonstrate, the same.
>
> davew
>
>
> On Fri, Jun 21, 2019, at 4:32 PM, Nick Thompson wrote:
> > David,
> >
> > Can somebody forward this on to Mike Daly, whose email I can NEVER recover?
> >
> > I was taught this fascinating trope in graduate school... yes, THAT
> > long ago.  There is a second shoe, however.  Yes the retina
> > (cochlea,
> > etc.) is that sensitive BUT the neural noise is much louder than that. 
> > So ... I think this is the right language ... even though the
> > elements are sensitive to the smallest stimuli possible, the whole system cannot
> > resolve stimuli that small ... anywhere near.   To do what it does, it
> > needs to weed out its own noise.  So accuracy in vision is not a
> > question of accuracy of the elements, but of the ingenuity of
> > construction.  Note, for instance that we wear our retinas "backwards":
> > we actually see THOUGH the many layers of the retina because the
> > light sensitive elements ... the rods and cones ... are at the back
> > of the retina.  So all that sensitivity of light sensing elements is
> > rudely cast away in the organization of the retina.  It's like we
> > are a football players who wear our jerseys inside out but boast about the
> > precision, detail, and color of our logos.   
> >
> >
> > Hope you are well.  Where are you well? 
> >
> > All my Peirce books were lost in the mail coming here, so I have
> > been focusing on my garden.  Mild, calm June.  May be the best garden ever.
> > But my mind?  Not so sure about that.
> >
> > Nick
> >
> > Nicholas S. Thompson
> > Emeritus Professor of Psychology and Biology Clark University
> > http://home.earthlink.net/~nickthompson/naturaldesigns/
> >
> >
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: Friam [mailto:[hidden email]] On Behalf Of Prof
> > David West
> > Sent: Friday, June 21, 2019 4:15 AM
> > To: [hidden email]
> > Subject: [FRIAM] sensitive, aren't we?
> >
> > Doing some reading on quantum consciousness and embodied mind and
> > came across these items:
> >
> >
> > https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/the-human-eye-could-help-
> > te
> > st-quantum-mechanics/
> >
> > https://www.nature.com/news/people-can-sense-single-photons-1.20282
> >
> > (A Rebecca Holmes from Los Alamos Natl. Labs is part of the
> > Scientific American reported research.)
> >
> > not only can the human eye perceive individual photons (and perhaps
> > quanta level phenomena) "The healthy human cochlea is so sensitive
> > that it can detect vibration with amplitude less than the diameter
> > of an atom, and it can resolve time intervals down to 10µs [i.e.,
> > microseconds, or millionths of a second]. It has been calculated
> > that the human ear detects energy levels 10- fold lower than the
> > energy of a single photon in the green wavelength…” Regarding human
> > tactile and related senses (haptic, proprioceptive), it has recently
> > been determined that “human tactile discrimination extends to the
> > nanoscale [ie, within billionths of a meter],” this research having
> > been published in the journal, Scientific Reports (Skedung et al 2013)"
> >
> > interesting stuff
> > dave west
> >
> >
> >
> > ============================================================
> > FRIAM Applied Complexity Group listserv Meets Fridays 9a-11:30 at
> > cafe at St. John's College to unsubscribe
> > http://redfish.com/mailman/listinfo/friam_redfish.com
> > archives back to 2003: http://friam.471366.n2.nabble.com/
> > FRIAM-COMIC http://friam-comic.blogspot.com/ by Dr. Strangelove
> >
> >
> > ============================================================
> > FRIAM Applied Complexity Group listserv Meets Fridays 9a-11:30 at
> > cafe at St. John's College to unsubscribe
> > http://redfish.com/mailman/listinfo/friam_redfish.com
> > archives back to 2003: http://friam.471366.n2.nabble.com/
> > FRIAM-COMIC http://friam-comic.blogspot.com/ by Dr. Strangelove
> >
>
> ============================================================
> FRIAM Applied Complexity Group listserv Meets Fridays 9a-11:30 at cafe
> at St. John's College to unsubscribe
> http://redfish.com/mailman/listinfo/friam_redfish.com
> archives back to 2003: http://friam.471366.n2.nabble.com/
> FRIAM-COMIC http://friam-comic.blogspot.com/ by Dr. Strangelove
>
>
> ============================================================
> FRIAM Applied Complexity Group listserv Meets Fridays 9a-11:30 at cafe
> at St. John's College to unsubscribe
> http://redfish.com/mailman/listinfo/friam_redfish.com
> archives back to 2003: http://friam.471366.n2.nabble.com/
> FRIAM-COMIC http://friam-comic.blogspot.com/ by Dr. Strangelove
>

============================================================
FRIAM Applied Complexity Group listserv
Meets Fridays 9a-11:30 at cafe at St. John's College to unsubscribe http://redfish.com/mailman/listinfo/friam_redfish.com
archives back to 2003: http://friam.471366.n2.nabble.com/
FRIAM-COMIC
http://friam-comic.blogspot.com/ by Dr. Strangelove


============================================================
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Meets Fridays 9a-11:30 at cafe at St. John's College
to unsubscribe http://redfish.com/mailman/listinfo/friam_redfish.com
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============================================================
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Meets Fridays 9a-11:30 at cafe at St. John's College
to unsubscribe http://redfish.com/mailman/listinfo/friam_redfish.com
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Re: sensitive, aren't we?

Prof David West
In reply to this post by Nick Thompson
re: "deep philosophical questions:

Two (at least) quite different answers depending on the philosophical school answering. One, the Rationalists among us will agree with your "entirely" comment. Precision is required for both the model and the inputs — subject of course to the odd butterfly or two.

Process philosophers (e.g. Whitehead, Heidegger, Korzibski, Heraclitus, some Postmodernists, Alan Watts and most Buddhists) would assume inaccuracy in both model and input. A 'process' is highly dynamic and constantly changing, at least in 'detail'. What appears to be 'consistency' and 'predictability' is more akin to a kind of momentum.

I have to take a ferry each morning and evening across the IJ river and the process of steering a multi-ton, 35-meter, ferry to align with a 5-meter opening at the dock on each side requires constant imperfect measurements of dynamic forces of varying degrees - river current, wakes from passing ships, wind, etc. - and imperfect or 'gross' adjustments via engines and rudder is a process. There is not model, except a transient and constantly changing one in the captain's head and measurements / adjustments arise from another process - constant adjustment of heuristic observations synthesized (overlay fashion) with memories.

The assumption for a process philosopher is that the world provides nothing but messy inputs to the ability to deal with them would be the advantage.

To bring the sensitivity question back into play: the real messiness of the external world arises from the quantum level - the fundamental 'process' occurs within (below, underneath, at different level) the apparent stability and predictability of the Newtonian world. The latter is illusion and attempts to conform to it lead to silliness like wearing retinas backwards, attachment, karma, rebirth, politics, etc. etc. Luckily we have sensitivity to the quantum and therefore have the potential for enlightenment.

[Imagine the smile on my face as I contemplate Nick reading the last paragraph]

davew




On Mon, Jun 24, 2019, at 6:53 PM, Nick Thompson wrote:

> Deep philosophical question:  I don't think the nervous system is
> interested in accuracy, per se.  It is interested in prediction.  So,
> an "inaccurate" system that give a better prediction of future events
> would be favored overran accurate one.  The deep question, which I
> suspect you Wise Guys are in a position to answer for me is: to what
> degree is predictive accuracy dependent on accuracy of input.  Now the
> first intuition is "entirely."   In meteorology, they talk about the
> "initiation of models", which I take to mean how good were the
> measurements that they plugged in for today's observations on which
> they based their predictions of future ones.   I wonder what sort of
> tradesoff exist between getting the original points right and getting
> the model right.  
>
> But I note, even as I drown here, how come we wear our retina's
> backwards.  Seems awfully careless of us, doesn't it?   Is there any
> world in which messy input is an advantage, or at least, not much of a
> disadvantage?
>
> Nick
>
>
> Nicholas S. Thompson
> Emeritus Professor of Psychology and Biology
> Clark University
> http://home.earthlink.net/~nickthompson/naturaldesigns/
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Friam [mailto:[hidden email]] On Behalf Of Prof David West
> Sent: Monday, June 24, 2019 12:42 PM
> To: [hidden email]
> Subject: Re: [FRIAM] sensitive, aren't we?
>
> Ah Nick,
>
> because they finely tune the carrier wave (that which you perceive as
> neural noise) in such a way that my quantum signal, being the delicate
> creature it is, can survive multiple synaptic shocks as it moves from
> neuron to neuron — the way you would want a well padded barrel when
> going over Niagara Falls.
>
> davew
>
> (I assume you are wearing your hip boots as standard gear in the MIB.)
>
>
>
> On Mon, Jun 24, 2019, at 4:10 PM, Nick Thompson wrote:
> > David,
> >
> > I will see your "bushwash" and raise you a hornswaggle.
> >
> > Why, my feathered friend, if quantum accuracy is so important, do you
> > wear your retina backwards?  Why do you see through your ganglion
> > cells.
> >
> > Nick
> >
> > Nicholas S. Thompson
> > Emeritus Professor of Psychology and Biology Clark University
> > http://home.earthlink.net/~nickthompson/naturaldesigns/
> >
> >
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: Friam [mailto:[hidden email]] On Behalf Of Prof David
> > West
> > Sent: Monday, June 24, 2019 4:24 AM
> > To: [hidden email]
> > Subject: Re: [FRIAM] sensitive, aren't we?
> >
> > Nick said:
> >  "I was taught this fascinating trope in graduate school... yes, THAT
> > long ago.  There is a second shoe, however.  Yes the retina (cochlea,
> >  etc.) is that sensitive BUT the neural noise is much louder than that.
> >  
> >  So ... I think this is the right language ... even though the
> > elements  are sensitive to the smallest stimuli possible, the whole
> > system cannot  resolve stimuli that small ... anywhere near."
> >
> > Not to impugn your professors, but bushwah!
> >
> > To make an analogy: the "neural noise" is akin to "junk DNA" just
> > because they had not figured out what signals existed within the noise
> > and how they were transmitted and received does not mean lost signal.
> >
> > While "the system" seldom makes the effort to resolve at quanta scale
> > does not mean that it cannot. (Why it seldom does is whole 'nuther
> > thread.)
> >
> > But, assuming your professors were correct, would it be permissible to
> > ask why the organism evolved the sensitivity only to evolve  the
> > blockade? Or, having evolved the blockade why then evolve the
> > sensitivity? Where is the competitive advantage in having either the
> > sensitivity or the blockade? Or, do such questions tend not to
> > edification?
> >
> > I have seen the angels dancing on the head of the pin, so I know it
> > can be done. Have also consorted with others, directly or
> > intermediated by words, who can say, and demonstrate, the same.
> >
> > davew
> >
> >
> > On Fri, Jun 21, 2019, at 4:32 PM, Nick Thompson wrote:
> > > David,
> > >
> > > Can somebody forward this on to Mike Daly, whose email I can NEVER recover?
> > >
> > > I was taught this fascinating trope in graduate school... yes, THAT
> > > long ago.  There is a second shoe, however.  Yes the retina
> > > (cochlea,
> > > etc.) is that sensitive BUT the neural noise is much louder than that.  
> > > So ... I think this is the right language ... even though the
> > > elements are sensitive to the smallest stimuli possible, the whole system cannot
> > > resolve stimuli that small ... anywhere near.   To do what it does, it
> > > needs to weed out its own noise.  So accuracy in vision is not a
> > > question of accuracy of the elements, but of the ingenuity of
> > > construction.  Note, for instance that we wear our retinas "backwards":
> > > we actually see THOUGH the many layers of the retina because the
> > > light sensitive elements ... the rods and cones ... are at the back
> > > of the retina.  So all that sensitivity of light sensing elements is
> > > rudely cast away in the organization of the retina.  It's like we
> > > are a football players who wear our jerseys inside out but boast about the
> > > precision, detail, and color of our logos.    
> > >
> > >
> > > Hope you are well.  Where are you well?  
> > >
> > > All my Peirce books were lost in the mail coming here, so I have
> > > been focusing on my garden.  Mild, calm June.  May be the best garden ever.
> > > But my mind?  Not so sure about that.
> > >
> > > Nick
> > >
> > > Nicholas S. Thompson
> > > Emeritus Professor of Psychology and Biology Clark University
> > > http://home.earthlink.net/~nickthompson/naturaldesigns/
> > >
> > >
> > > -----Original Message-----
> > > From: Friam [mailto:[hidden email]] On Behalf Of Prof
> > > David West
> > > Sent: Friday, June 21, 2019 4:15 AM
> > > To: [hidden email]
> > > Subject: [FRIAM] sensitive, aren't we?
> > >
> > > Doing some reading on quantum consciousness and embodied mind and
> > > came across these items:
> > >
> > >
> > > https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/the-human-eye-could-help-
> > > te
> > > st-quantum-mechanics/
> > >
> > > https://www.nature.com/news/people-can-sense-single-photons-1.20282
> > >
> > > (A Rebecca Holmes from Los Alamos Natl. Labs is part of the
> > > Scientific American reported research.)
> > >
> > > not only can the human eye perceive individual photons (and perhaps
> > > quanta level phenomena) "The healthy human cochlea is so sensitive
> > > that it can detect vibration with amplitude less than the diameter
> > > of an atom, and it can resolve time intervals down to 10µs [i.e.,
> > > microseconds, or millionths of a second]. It has been calculated
> > > that the human ear detects energy levels 10- fold lower than the
> > > energy of a single photon in the green wavelength…” Regarding human
> > > tactile and related senses (haptic, proprioceptive), it has recently
> > > been determined that “human tactile discrimination extends to the
> > > nanoscale [ie, within billionths of a meter],” this research having
> > > been published in the journal, Scientific Reports (Skedung et al 2013)"
> > >
> > > interesting stuff
> > > dave west
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > > ============================================================
> > > FRIAM Applied Complexity Group listserv Meets Fridays 9a-11:30 at
> > > cafe at St. John's College to unsubscribe
> > > http://redfish.com/mailman/listinfo/friam_redfish.com
> > > archives back to 2003: http://friam.471366.n2.nabble.com/
> > > FRIAM-COMIC http://friam-comic.blogspot.com/ by Dr. Strangelove
> > >
> > >
> > > ============================================================
> > > FRIAM Applied Complexity Group listserv Meets Fridays 9a-11:30 at
> > > cafe at St. John's College to unsubscribe
> > > http://redfish.com/mailman/listinfo/friam_redfish.com
> > > archives back to 2003: http://friam.471366.n2.nabble.com/
> > > FRIAM-COMIC http://friam-comic.blogspot.com/ by Dr. Strangelove
> > >
> >
> > ============================================================
> > FRIAM Applied Complexity Group listserv Meets Fridays 9a-11:30 at cafe
> > at St. John's College to unsubscribe
> > http://redfish.com/mailman/listinfo/friam_redfish.com
> > archives back to 2003: http://friam.471366.n2.nabble.com/
> > FRIAM-COMIC http://friam-comic.blogspot.com/ by Dr. Strangelove
> >
> >
> > ============================================================
> > FRIAM Applied Complexity Group listserv Meets Fridays 9a-11:30 at cafe
> > at St. John's College to unsubscribe
> > http://redfish.com/mailman/listinfo/friam_redfish.com
> > archives back to 2003: http://friam.471366.n2.nabble.com/
> > FRIAM-COMIC http://friam-comic.blogspot.com/ by Dr. Strangelove
> >
>
> ============================================================
> FRIAM Applied Complexity Group listserv
> Meets Fridays 9a-11:30 at cafe at St. John's College to unsubscribe
> http://redfish.com/mailman/listinfo/friam_redfish.com
> archives back to 2003: http://friam.471366.n2.nabble.com/
> FRIAM-COMIC http://friam-comic.blogspot.com/ by Dr. Strangelove
>
>
> ============================================================
> FRIAM Applied Complexity Group listserv
> Meets Fridays 9a-11:30 at cafe at St. John's College
> to unsubscribe http://redfish.com/mailman/listinfo/friam_redfish.com
> archives back to 2003: http://friam.471366.n2.nabble.com/
> FRIAM-COMIC http://friam-comic.blogspot.com/ by Dr. Strangelove
>

============================================================
FRIAM Applied Complexity Group listserv
Meets Fridays 9a-11:30 at cafe at St. John's College
to unsubscribe http://redfish.com/mailman/listinfo/friam_redfish.com
archives back to 2003: http://friam.471366.n2.nabble.com/
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Re: sensitive, aren't we?

Nick Thompson

Dave West  Wrot:

To bring the sensitivity question back into play: the real messiness of the external world arises from the quantum level - the fundamental 'process' occurs within (below, underneath, at different level) the apparent stability and predictability of the Newtonian world. The latter is illusion and attempts to conform to it lead to silliness like wearing retinas backwards, attachment, karma, rebirth, politics, etc. etc. Luckily we have sensitivity to the quantum and therefore have the potential for enlightenment.

 

The Monist replyeth,

 

I care not for your quantum or Newtonian world.  All I care for is experience.  I care not at all if it is experience OF anything, except insofar as such constructions help me to regulate my experience.  But the Monist still wonders why the design of my retina does not introduce unnecessary turbulence in the prediction and control of my experience.  Why go to all the trouble to have a quantum-sensitive system, and then throw it away by the design of the retina?

 

Nick

 

Nicholas S. Thompson

Emeritus Professor of Psychology and Biology

Clark University

http://home.earthlink.net/~nickthompson/naturaldesigns/

 

 

-----Original Message-----
From: Friam [mailto:[hidden email]] On Behalf Of Prof David West
Sent: Tuesday, June 25, 2019 2:14 AM
To: [hidden email]
Subject: Re: [FRIAM] sensitive, aren't we?

 

re: "deep philosophical questions:

 

Two (at least) quite different answers depending on the philosophical school answering. One, the Rationalists among us will agree with your "entirely" comment. Precision is required for both the model and the inputs — subject of course to the odd butterfly or two.

 

Process philosophers (e.g. Whitehead, Heidegger, Korzibski, Heraclitus, some Postmodernists, Alan Watts and most Buddhists) would assume inaccuracy in both model and input. A 'process' is highly dynamic and constantly changing, at least in 'detail'. What appears to be 'consistency' and 'predictability' is more akin to a kind of momentum.

 

I have to take a ferry each morning and evening across the IJ river and the process of steering a multi-ton, 35-meter, ferry to align with a 5-meter opening at the dock on each side requires constant imperfect measurements of dynamic forces of varying degrees - river current, wakes from passing ships, wind, etc. - and imperfect or 'gross' adjustments via engines and rudder is a process. There is not model, except a transient and constantly changing one in the captain's head and measurements / adjustments arise from another process - constant adjustment of heuristic observations synthesized (overlay fashion) with memories.

 

The assumption for a process philosopher is that the world provides nothing but messy inputs to the ability to deal with them would be the advantage.

 

To bring the sensitivity question back into play: the real messiness of the external world arises from the quantum level - the fundamental 'process' occurs within (below, underneath, at different level) the apparent stability and predictability of the Newtonian world. The latter is illusion and attempts to conform to it lead to silliness like wearing retinas backwards, attachment, karma, rebirth, politics, etc. etc. Luckily we have sensitivity to the quantum and therefore have the potential for enlightenment.

 

[Imagine the smile on my face as I contemplate Nick reading the last paragraph]

 

davew

 

 

 

 

On Mon, Jun 24, 2019, at 6:53 PM, Nick Thompson wrote:

> Deep philosophical question:  I don't think the nervous system is

> interested in accuracy, per se.  It is interested in prediction.  So,

> an "inaccurate" system that give a better prediction of future events

> would be favored overran accurate one.  The deep question, which I

> suspect you Wise Guys are in a position to answer for me is: to what

> degree is predictive accuracy dependent on accuracy of input.  Now the

> first intuition is "entirely."   In meteorology, they talk about the

> "initiation of models", which I take to mean how good were the

> measurements that they plugged in for today's observations on which

> they based their predictions of future ones.   I wonder what sort of

> tradesoff exist between getting the original points right and getting

> the model right.

>

> But I note, even as I drown here, how come we wear our retina's

> backwards.  Seems awfully careless of us, doesn't it?   Is there any

> world in which messy input is an advantage, or at least, not much of a

> disadvantage?

>

> Nick

>

>

> Nicholas S. Thompson

> Emeritus Professor of Psychology and Biology Clark University

> http://home.earthlink.net/~nickthompson/naturaldesigns/

>

>

> -----Original Message-----

> From: Friam [[hidden email]] On Behalf Of Prof David

> West

> Sent: Monday, June 24, 2019 12:42 PM

> To: [hidden email]

> Subject: Re: [FRIAM] sensitive, aren't we?

>

> Ah Nick,

>

> because they finely tune the carrier wave (that which you perceive as

> neural noise) in such a way that my quantum signal, being the delicate

> creature it is, can survive multiple synaptic shocks as it moves from

> neuron to neuron — the way you would want a well padded barrel when

> going over Niagara Falls.

>

> davew

>

> (I assume you are wearing your hip boots as standard gear in the MIB.)

>

>

>

> On Mon, Jun 24, 2019, at 4:10 PM, Nick Thompson wrote:

> > David,

> >

> > I will see your "bushwash" and raise you a hornswaggle.

> >

> > Why, my feathered friend, if quantum accuracy is so important, do

> > you wear your retina backwards?  Why do you see through your

> > ganglion cells.

> >

> > Nick

> >

> > Nicholas S. Thompson

> > Emeritus Professor of Psychology and Biology Clark University

> > http://home.earthlink.net/~nickthompson/naturaldesigns/

> >

> >

> > -----Original Message-----

> > From: Friam [[hidden email]] On Behalf Of Prof

> > David West

> > Sent: Monday, June 24, 2019 4:24 AM

> > To: [hidden email]

> > Subject: Re: [FRIAM] sensitive, aren't we?

> >

> > Nick said:

> >  "I was taught this fascinating trope in graduate school... yes,

> > THAT long ago.  There is a second shoe, however.  Yes the retina

> > (cochlea,

> >  etc.) is that sensitive BUT the neural noise is much louder than that.

> > 

> >  So ... I think this is the right language ... even though the

> > elements  are sensitive to the smallest stimuli possible, the whole

> > system cannot  resolve stimuli that small ... anywhere near."

> >

> > Not to impugn your professors, but bushwah!

> >

> > To make an analogy: the "neural noise" is akin to "junk DNA" just

> > because they had not figured out what signals existed within the

> > noise and how they were transmitted and received does not mean lost signal.

> >

> > While "the system" seldom makes the effort to resolve at quanta

> > scale does not mean that it cannot. (Why it seldom does is whole

> > 'nuther

> > thread.)

> >

> > But, assuming your professors were correct, would it be permissible

> > to ask why the organism evolved the sensitivity only to evolve  the

> > blockade? Or, having evolved the blockade why then evolve the

> > sensitivity? Where is the competitive advantage in having either the

> > sensitivity or the blockade? Or, do such questions tend not to

> > edification?

> >

> > I have seen the angels dancing on the head of the pin, so I know it

> > can be done. Have also consorted with others, directly or

> > intermediated by words, who can say, and demonstrate, the same.

> >

> > davew

> >

> >

> > On Fri, Jun 21, 2019, at 4:32 PM, Nick Thompson wrote:

> > > David,

> > >

> > > Can somebody forward this on to Mike Daly, whose email I can NEVER recover?

> > >

> > > I was taught this fascinating trope in graduate school... yes,

> > > THAT long ago.  There is a second shoe, however.  Yes the retina

> > > (cochlea,

> > > etc.) is that sensitive BUT the neural noise is much louder than that. 

> > > So ... I think this is the right language ... even though the

> > > elements are sensitive to the smallest stimuli possible, the whole system cannot

> > > resolve stimuli that small ... anywhere near.   To do what it does, it

> > > needs to weed out its own noise.  So accuracy in vision is not a

> > > question of accuracy of the elements, but of the ingenuity of

> > > construction.  Note, for instance that we wear our retinas "backwards":

> > > we actually see THOUGH the many layers of the retina because the

> > > light sensitive elements ... the rods and cones ... are at the

> > > back of the retina.  So all that sensitivity of light sensing

> > > elements is rudely cast away in the organization of the retina. 

> > > It's like we are a football players who wear our jerseys inside out but boast about the

> > > precision, detail, and color of our logos.   

> > >

> > >

> > > Hope you are well.  Where are you well? 

> > >

> > > All my Peirce books were lost in the mail coming here, so I have

> > > been focusing on my garden.  Mild, calm June.  May be the best garden ever.

> > > But my mind?  Not so sure about that.

> > >

> > > Nick

> > >

> > > Nicholas S. Thompson

> > > Emeritus Professor of Psychology and Biology Clark University

> > > http://home.earthlink.net/~nickthompson/naturaldesigns/

> > >

> > >

> > > -----Original Message-----

> > > From: Friam [[hidden email]] On Behalf Of Prof

> > > David West

> > > Sent: Friday, June 21, 2019 4:15 AM

> > > To: [hidden email]

> > > Subject: [FRIAM] sensitive, aren't we?

> > >

> > > Doing some reading on quantum consciousness and embodied mind and

> > > came across these items:

> > >

> > >

> > > https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/the-human-eye-could-hel

> > > p-

> > > te

> > > st-quantum-mechanics/

> > >

> > > https://www.nature.com/news/people-can-sense-single-photons-1.2028

> > > 2

> > >

> > > (A Rebecca Holmes from Los Alamos Natl. Labs is part of the

> > > Scientific American reported research.)

> > >

> > > not only can the human eye perceive individual photons (and

> > > perhaps quanta level phenomena) "The healthy human cochlea is so

> > > sensitive that it can detect vibration with amplitude less than

> > > the diameter of an atom, and it can resolve time intervals down to

> > > 10µs [i.e., microseconds, or millionths of a second]. It has been

> > > calculated that the human ear detects energy levels 10- fold lower

> > > than the energy of a single photon in the green wavelength…”

> > > Regarding human tactile and related senses (haptic,

> > > proprioceptive), it has recently been determined that “human

> > > tactile discrimination extends to the nanoscale [ie, within

> > > billionths of a meter],” this research having been published in the journal, Scientific Reports (Skedung et al 2013)"

> > >

> > > interesting stuff

> > > dave west

> > >

> > >

> > >

> > > ============================================================

> > > FRIAM Applied Complexity Group listserv Meets Fridays 9a-11:30 at

> > > cafe at St. John's College to unsubscribe

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Re: sensitive, aren't we?

Frank Wimberly-2
Nick,

I think I remember, from my time as a psych student, an experiment in which the reversal of the retina was undone by special lenses and the subjects adapted perfectly surprisingly quickly.  Is that correct?

Frank

-----------------------------------
Frank Wimberly

My memoir:
https://www.amazon.com/author/frankwimberly

My scientific publications:
https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Frank_Wimberly2

Phone (505) 670-9918

On Tue, Jun 25, 2019, 8:16 AM Nick Thompson <[hidden email]> wrote:

Dave West  Wrot:

To bring the sensitivity question back into play: the real messiness of the external world arises from the quantum level - the fundamental 'process' occurs within (below, underneath, at different level) the apparent stability and predictability of the Newtonian world. The latter is illusion and attempts to conform to it lead to silliness like wearing retinas backwards, attachment, karma, rebirth, politics, etc. etc. Luckily we have sensitivity to the quantum and therefore have the potential for enlightenment.

 

The Monist replyeth,

 

I care not for your quantum or Newtonian world.  All I care for is experience.  I care not at all if it is experience OF anything, except insofar as such constructions help me to regulate my experience.  But the Monist still wonders why the design of my retina does not introduce unnecessary turbulence in the prediction and control of my experience.  Why go to all the trouble to have a quantum-sensitive system, and then throw it away by the design of the retina?

 

Nick

 

Nicholas S. Thompson

Emeritus Professor of Psychology and Biology

Clark University

http://home.earthlink.net/~nickthompson/naturaldesigns/

 

 

-----Original Message-----
From: Friam [mailto:[hidden email]] On Behalf Of Prof David West
Sent: Tuesday, June 25, 2019 2:14 AM
To: [hidden email]
Subject: Re: [FRIAM] sensitive, aren't we?

 

re: "deep philosophical questions:

 

Two (at least) quite different answers depending on the philosophical school answering. One, the Rationalists among us will agree with your "entirely" comment. Precision is required for both the model and the inputs — subject of course to the odd butterfly or two.

 

Process philosophers (e.g. Whitehead, Heidegger, Korzibski, Heraclitus, some Postmodernists, Alan Watts and most Buddhists) would assume inaccuracy in both model and input. A 'process' is highly dynamic and constantly changing, at least in 'detail'. What appears to be 'consistency' and 'predictability' is more akin to a kind of momentum.

 

I have to take a ferry each morning and evening across the IJ river and the process of steering a multi-ton, 35-meter, ferry to align with a 5-meter opening at the dock on each side requires constant imperfect measurements of dynamic forces of varying degrees - river current, wakes from passing ships, wind, etc. - and imperfect or 'gross' adjustments via engines and rudder is a process. There is not model, except a transient and constantly changing one in the captain's head and measurements / adjustments arise from another process - constant adjustment of heuristic observations synthesized (overlay fashion) with memories.

 

The assumption for a process philosopher is that the world provides nothing but messy inputs to the ability to deal with them would be the advantage.

 

To bring the sensitivity question back into play: the real messiness of the external world arises from the quantum level - the fundamental 'process' occurs within (below, underneath, at different level) the apparent stability and predictability of the Newtonian world. The latter is illusion and attempts to conform to it lead to silliness like wearing retinas backwards, attachment, karma, rebirth, politics, etc. etc. Luckily we have sensitivity to the quantum and therefore have the potential for enlightenment.

 

[Imagine the smile on my face as I contemplate Nick reading the last paragraph]

 

davew

 

 

 

 

On Mon, Jun 24, 2019, at 6:53 PM, Nick Thompson wrote:

> Deep philosophical question:  I don't think the nervous system is

> interested in accuracy, per se.  It is interested in prediction.  So,

> an "inaccurate" system that give a better prediction of future events

> would be favored overran accurate one.  The deep question, which I

> suspect you Wise Guys are in a position to answer for me is: to what

> degree is predictive accuracy dependent on accuracy of input.  Now the

> first intuition is "entirely."   In meteorology, they talk about the

> "initiation of models", which I take to mean how good were the

> measurements that they plugged in for today's observations on which

> they based their predictions of future ones.   I wonder what sort of

> tradesoff exist between getting the original points right and getting

> the model right.

>

> But I note, even as I drown here, how come we wear our retina's

> backwards.  Seems awfully careless of us, doesn't it?   Is there any

> world in which messy input is an advantage, or at least, not much of a

> disadvantage?

>

> Nick

>

>

> Nicholas S. Thompson

> Emeritus Professor of Psychology and Biology Clark University

> http://home.earthlink.net/~nickthompson/naturaldesigns/

>

>

> -----Original Message-----

> From: Friam [[hidden email]] On Behalf Of Prof David

> West

> Sent: Monday, June 24, 2019 12:42 PM

> To: [hidden email]

> Subject: Re: [FRIAM] sensitive, aren't we?

>

> Ah Nick,

>

> because they finely tune the carrier wave (that which you perceive as

> neural noise) in such a way that my quantum signal, being the delicate

> creature it is, can survive multiple synaptic shocks as it moves from

> neuron to neuron — the way you would want a well padded barrel when

> going over Niagara Falls.

>

> davew

>

> (I assume you are wearing your hip boots as standard gear in the MIB.)

>

>

>

> On Mon, Jun 24, 2019, at 4:10 PM, Nick Thompson wrote:

> > David,

> >

> > I will see your "bushwash" and raise you a hornswaggle.

> >

> > Why, my feathered friend, if quantum accuracy is so important, do

> > you wear your retina backwards?  Why do you see through your

> > ganglion cells.

> >

> > Nick

> >

> > Nicholas S. Thompson

> > Emeritus Professor of Psychology and Biology Clark University

> > http://home.earthlink.net/~nickthompson/naturaldesigns/

> >

> >

> > -----Original Message-----

> > From: Friam [[hidden email]] On Behalf Of Prof

> > David West

> > Sent: Monday, June 24, 2019 4:24 AM

> > To: [hidden email]

> > Subject: Re: [FRIAM] sensitive, aren't we?

> >

> > Nick said:

> >  "I was taught this fascinating trope in graduate school... yes,

> > THAT long ago.  There is a second shoe, however.  Yes the retina

> > (cochlea,

> >  etc.) is that sensitive BUT the neural noise is much louder than that.

> > 

> >  So ... I think this is the right language ... even though the

> > elements  are sensitive to the smallest stimuli possible, the whole

> > system cannot  resolve stimuli that small ... anywhere near."

> >

> > Not to impugn your professors, but bushwah!

> >

> > To make an analogy: the "neural noise" is akin to "junk DNA" just

> > because they had not figured out what signals existed within the

> > noise and how they were transmitted and received does not mean lost signal.

> >

> > While "the system" seldom makes the effort to resolve at quanta

> > scale does not mean that it cannot. (Why it seldom does is whole

> > 'nuther

> > thread.)

> >

> > But, assuming your professors were correct, would it be permissible

> > to ask why the organism evolved the sensitivity only to evolve  the

> > blockade? Or, having evolved the blockade why then evolve the

> > sensitivity? Where is the competitive advantage in having either the

> > sensitivity or the blockade? Or, do such questions tend not to

> > edification?

> >

> > I have seen the angels dancing on the head of the pin, so I know it

> > can be done. Have also consorted with others, directly or

> > intermediated by words, who can say, and demonstrate, the same.

> >

> > davew

> >

> >

> > On Fri, Jun 21, 2019, at 4:32 PM, Nick Thompson wrote:

> > > David,

> > >

> > > Can somebody forward this on to Mike Daly, whose email I can NEVER recover?

> > >

> > > I was taught this fascinating trope in graduate school... yes,

> > > THAT long ago.  There is a second shoe, however.  Yes the retina

> > > (cochlea,

> > > etc.) is that sensitive BUT the neural noise is much louder than that. 

> > > So ... I think this is the right language ... even though the

> > > elements are sensitive to the smallest stimuli possible, the whole system cannot

> > > resolve stimuli that small ... anywhere near.   To do what it does, it

> > > needs to weed out its own noise.  So accuracy in vision is not a

> > > question of accuracy of the elements, but of the ingenuity of

> > > construction.  Note, for instance that we wear our retinas "backwards":

> > > we actually see THOUGH the many layers of the retina because the

> > > light sensitive elements ... the rods and cones ... are at the

> > > back of the retina.  So all that sensitivity of light sensing

> > > elements is rudely cast away in the organization of the retina. 

> > > It's like we are a football players who wear our jerseys inside out but boast about the

> > > precision, detail, and color of our logos.   

> > >

> > >

> > > Hope you are well.  Where are you well? 

> > >

> > > All my Peirce books were lost in the mail coming here, so I have

> > > been focusing on my garden.  Mild, calm June.  May be the best garden ever.

> > > But my mind?  Not so sure about that.

> > >

> > > Nick

> > >

> > > Nicholas S. Thompson

> > > Emeritus Professor of Psychology and Biology Clark University

> > > http://home.earthlink.net/~nickthompson/naturaldesigns/

> > >

> > >

> > > -----Original Message-----

> > > From: Friam [[hidden email]] On Behalf Of Prof

> > > David West

> > > Sent: Friday, June 21, 2019 4:15 AM

> > > To: [hidden email]

> > > Subject: [FRIAM] sensitive, aren't we?

> > >

> > > Doing some reading on quantum consciousness and embodied mind and

> > > came across these items:

> > >

> > >

> > > https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/the-human-eye-could-hel

> > > p-

> > > te

> > > st-quantum-mechanics/

> > >

> > > https://www.nature.com/news/people-can-sense-single-photons-1.2028

> > > 2

> > >

> > > (A Rebecca Holmes from Los Alamos Natl. Labs is part of the

> > > Scientific American reported research.)

> > >

> > > not only can the human eye perceive individual photons (and

> > > perhaps quanta level phenomena) "The healthy human cochlea is so

> > > sensitive that it can detect vibration with amplitude less than

> > > the diameter of an atom, and it can resolve time intervals down to

> > > 10µs [i.e., microseconds, or millionths of a second]. It has been

> > > calculated that the human ear detects energy levels 10- fold lower

> > > than the energy of a single photon in the green wavelength…”

> > > Regarding human tactile and related senses (haptic,

> > > proprioceptive), it has recently been determined that “human

> > > tactile discrimination extends to the nanoscale [ie, within

> > > billionths of a meter],” this research having been published in the journal, Scientific Reports (Skedung et al 2013)"

> > >

> > > interesting stuff

> > > dave west

> > >

> > >

> > >

> > > ============================================================

> > > FRIAM Applied Complexity Group listserv Meets Fridays 9a-11:30 at

> > > cafe at St. John's College to unsubscribe

> > > http://redfish.com/mailman/listinfo/friam_redfish.com

> > > archives back to 2003: http://friam.471366.n2.nabble.com/

> > > FRIAM-COMIC http://friam-comic.blogspot.com/ by Dr. Strangelove

> > >

> > >

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> > >

> >

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> >

>

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> 

 

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Re: sensitive, aren't we?

Bruce Simon
In reply to this post by Prof David West
And what about stochastic resonance?

Sent from my iPhone

> On Jun 24, 2019, at 12:42 PM, Prof David West <[hidden email]> wrote:
>
> Ah Nick,
>
> because they finely tune the carrier wave (that which you perceive as neural noise) in such a way that my quantum signal, being the delicate creature it is, can survive multiple synaptic shocks as it moves from neuron to neuron — the way you would want a well padded barrel when going over Niagara Falls.
>
> davew
>
> (I assume you are wearing your hip boots as standard gear in the MIB.)
>
>
>
>> On Mon, Jun 24, 2019, at 4:10 PM, Nick Thompson wrote:
>> David,
>>
>> I will see your "bushwash" and raise you a hornswaggle.
>>
>> Why, my feathered friend, if quantum accuracy is so important, do you
>> wear your retina backwards?  Why do you see through your ganglion
>> cells.  
>>
>> Nick
>>
>> Nicholas S. Thompson
>> Emeritus Professor of Psychology and Biology
>> Clark University
>> http://home.earthlink.net/~nickthompson/naturaldesigns/
>>
>>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: Friam [mailto:[hidden email]] On Behalf Of Prof David West
>> Sent: Monday, June 24, 2019 4:24 AM
>> To: [hidden email]
>> Subject: Re: [FRIAM] sensitive, aren't we?
>>
>> Nick said:
>> "I was taught this fascinating trope in graduate school... yes, THAT  
>> long ago.  There is a second shoe, however.  Yes the retina (cochlea,
>> etc.) is that sensitive BUT the neural noise is much louder than that.
>>
>> So ... I think this is the right language ... even though the elements
>> are sensitive to the smallest stimuli possible, the whole system
>> cannot  resolve stimuli that small ... anywhere near."
>>
>> Not to impugn your professors, but bushwah!
>>
>> To make an analogy: the "neural noise" is akin to "junk DNA" just
>> because they had not figured out what signals existed within the noise
>> and how they were transmitted and received does not mean lost signal.
>>
>> While "the system" seldom makes the effort to resolve at quanta scale
>> does not mean that it cannot. (Why it seldom does is whole 'nuther
>> thread.)
>>
>> But, assuming your professors were correct, would it be permissible to
>> ask why the organism evolved the sensitivity only to evolve  the
>> blockade? Or, having evolved the blockade why then evolve the
>> sensitivity? Where is the competitive advantage in having either the
>> sensitivity or the blockade? Or, do such questions tend not to
>> edification?
>>
>> I have seen the angels dancing on the head of the pin, so I know it can
>> be done. Have also consorted with others, directly or intermediated by
>> words, who can say, and demonstrate, the same.
>>
>> davew
>>
>>
>>> On Fri, Jun 21, 2019, at 4:32 PM, Nick Thompson wrote:
>>> David,
>>>
>>> Can somebody forward this on to Mike Daly, whose email I can NEVER recover?
>>>
>>> I was taught this fascinating trope in graduate school... yes, THAT
>>> long ago.  There is a second shoe, however.  Yes the retina (cochlea,
>>> etc.) is that sensitive BUT the neural noise is much louder than that.  
>>> So ... I think this is the right language ... even though the elements
>>> are sensitive to the smallest stimuli possible, the whole system cannot
>>> resolve stimuli that small ... anywhere near.   To do what it does, it
>>> needs to weed out its own noise.  So accuracy in vision is not a
>>> question of accuracy of the elements, but of the ingenuity of
>>> construction.  Note, for instance that we wear our retinas "backwards":
>>> we actually see THOUGH the many layers of the retina because the light
>>> sensitive elements ... the rods and cones ... are at the back of the
>>> retina.  So all that sensitivity of light sensing elements is rudely
>>> cast away in the organization of the retina.  It's like we are a
>>> football players who wear our jerseys inside out but boast about the
>>> precision, detail, and color of our logos.    
>>>
>>>
>>> Hope you are well.  Where are you well?  
>>>
>>> All my Peirce books were lost in the mail coming here, so I have been
>>> focusing on my garden.  Mild, calm June.  May be the best garden ever.
>>> But my mind?  Not so sure about that.
>>>
>>> Nick
>>>
>>> Nicholas S. Thompson
>>> Emeritus Professor of Psychology and Biology Clark University
>>> http://home.earthlink.net/~nickthompson/naturaldesigns/
>>>
>>>
>>> -----Original Message-----
>>> From: Friam [mailto:[hidden email]] On Behalf Of Prof David
>>> West
>>> Sent: Friday, June 21, 2019 4:15 AM
>>> To: [hidden email]
>>> Subject: [FRIAM] sensitive, aren't we?
>>>
>>> Doing some reading on quantum consciousness and embodied mind and came
>>> across these items:
>>>
>>>
>>> https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/the-human-eye-could-help-te
>>> st-quantum-mechanics/
>>>
>>> https://www.nature.com/news/people-can-sense-single-photons-1.20282
>>>
>>> (A Rebecca Holmes from Los Alamos Natl. Labs is part of the Scientific
>>> American reported research.)
>>>
>>> not only can the human eye perceive individual photons (and perhaps
>>> quanta level phenomena) "The healthy human cochlea is so sensitive
>>> that it can detect vibration with amplitude less than the diameter of
>>> an atom, and it can resolve time intervals down to 10µs [i.e.,
>>> microseconds, or millionths of a second]. It has been calculated that
>>> the human ear detects energy levels 10- fold lower than the energy of
>>> a single photon in the green wavelength…” Regarding human tactile and
>>> related senses (haptic, proprioceptive), it has recently been
>>> determined that “human tactile discrimination extends to the nanoscale
>>> [ie, within billionths of a meter],” this research having been
>>> published in the journal, Scientific Reports (Skedung et al 2013)"
>>>
>>> interesting stuff
>>> dave west
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> ============================================================
>>> FRIAM Applied Complexity Group listserv Meets Fridays 9a-11:30 at cafe
>>> at St. John's College to unsubscribe
>>> http://redfish.com/mailman/listinfo/friam_redfish.com
>>> archives back to 2003: http://friam.471366.n2.nabble.com/
>>> FRIAM-COMIC http://friam-comic.blogspot.com/ by Dr. Strangelove
>>>
>>>
>>> ============================================================
>>> FRIAM Applied Complexity Group listserv Meets Fridays 9a-11:30 at cafe
>>> at St. John's College to unsubscribe
>>> http://redfish.com/mailman/listinfo/friam_redfish.com
>>> archives back to 2003: http://friam.471366.n2.nabble.com/
>>> FRIAM-COMIC http://friam-comic.blogspot.com/ by Dr. Strangelove
>>>
>>
>> ============================================================
>> FRIAM Applied Complexity Group listserv
>> Meets Fridays 9a-11:30 at cafe at St. John's College to unsubscribe
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>>
>>
>> ============================================================
>> FRIAM Applied Complexity Group listserv
>> Meets Fridays 9a-11:30 at cafe at St. John's College
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>> FRIAM-COMIC http://friam-comic.blogspot.com/ by Dr. Strangelove
>>
>
>


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Re: sensitive, aren't we?

Nick Thompson
Hang on!  I missed this the first time.  What the dickens is a quantum signal, anyway?

N

Nicholas S. Thompson
Emeritus Professor of Psychology and Biology
Clark University
http://home.earthlink.net/~nickthompson/naturaldesigns/


-----Original Message-----
From: Friam [mailto:[hidden email]] On Behalf Of Bruce Simon
Sent: Tuesday, June 25, 2019 10:47 AM
To: Prof David West <[hidden email]>
Cc: [hidden email]
Subject: Re: [FRIAM] sensitive, aren't we?

And what about stochastic resonance?

Sent from my iPhone

> On Jun 24, 2019, at 12:42 PM, Prof David West <[hidden email]> wrote:
>
> Ah Nick,
>
> because they finely tune the carrier wave (that which you perceive as neural noise) in such a way that my quantum signal, being the delicate creature it is, can survive multiple synaptic shocks as it moves from neuron to neuron — the way you would want a well padded barrel when going over Niagara Falls.
>
> davew
>
> (I assume you are wearing your hip boots as standard gear in the MIB.)
>
>
>
>> On Mon, Jun 24, 2019, at 4:10 PM, Nick Thompson wrote:
>> David,
>>
>> I will see your "bushwash" and raise you a hornswaggle.
>>
>> Why, my feathered friend, if quantum accuracy is so important, do you
>> wear your retina backwards?  Why do you see through your ganglion
>> cells.
>>
>> Nick
>>
>> Nicholas S. Thompson
>> Emeritus Professor of Psychology and Biology Clark University
>> http://home.earthlink.net/~nickthompson/naturaldesigns/
>>
>>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: Friam [mailto:[hidden email]] On Behalf Of Prof
>> David West
>> Sent: Monday, June 24, 2019 4:24 AM
>> To: [hidden email]
>> Subject: Re: [FRIAM] sensitive, aren't we?
>>
>> Nick said:
>> "I was taught this fascinating trope in graduate school... yes, THAT
>> long ago.  There is a second shoe, however.  Yes the retina (cochlea,
>> etc.) is that sensitive BUT the neural noise is much louder than that.
>>
>> So ... I think this is the right language ... even though the
>> elements are sensitive to the smallest stimuli possible, the whole
>> system cannot  resolve stimuli that small ... anywhere near."
>>
>> Not to impugn your professors, but bushwah!
>>
>> To make an analogy: the "neural noise" is akin to "junk DNA" just
>> because they had not figured out what signals existed within the
>> noise and how they were transmitted and received does not mean lost signal.
>>
>> While "the system" seldom makes the effort to resolve at quanta scale
>> does not mean that it cannot. (Why it seldom does is whole 'nuther
>> thread.)
>>
>> But, assuming your professors were correct, would it be permissible
>> to ask why the organism evolved the sensitivity only to evolve  the
>> blockade? Or, having evolved the blockade why then evolve the
>> sensitivity? Where is the competitive advantage in having either the
>> sensitivity or the blockade? Or, do such questions tend not to
>> edification?
>>
>> I have seen the angels dancing on the head of the pin, so I know it
>> can be done. Have also consorted with others, directly or
>> intermediated by words, who can say, and demonstrate, the same.
>>
>> davew
>>
>>
>>> On Fri, Jun 21, 2019, at 4:32 PM, Nick Thompson wrote:
>>> David,
>>>
>>> Can somebody forward this on to Mike Daly, whose email I can NEVER recover?
>>>
>>> I was taught this fascinating trope in graduate school... yes, THAT
>>> long ago.  There is a second shoe, however.  Yes the retina
>>> (cochlea,
>>> etc.) is that sensitive BUT the neural noise is much louder than that.  
>>> So ... I think this is the right language ... even though the
>>> elements are sensitive to the smallest stimuli possible, the whole system cannot
>>> resolve stimuli that small ... anywhere near.   To do what it does, it
>>> needs to weed out its own noise.  So accuracy in vision is not a
>>> question of accuracy of the elements, but of the ingenuity of
>>> construction.  Note, for instance that we wear our retinas "backwards":
>>> we actually see THOUGH the many layers of the retina because the
>>> light sensitive elements ... the rods and cones ... are at the back
>>> of the retina.  So all that sensitivity of light sensing elements is
>>> rudely cast away in the organization of the retina.  It's like we
>>> are a football players who wear our jerseys inside out but boast about the
>>> precision, detail, and color of our logos.    
>>>
>>>
>>> Hope you are well.  Where are you well?  
>>>
>>> All my Peirce books were lost in the mail coming here, so I have
>>> been focusing on my garden.  Mild, calm June.  May be the best garden ever.
>>> But my mind?  Not so sure about that.
>>>
>>> Nick
>>>
>>> Nicholas S. Thompson
>>> Emeritus Professor of Psychology and Biology Clark University
>>> http://home.earthlink.net/~nickthompson/naturaldesigns/
>>>
>>>
>>> -----Original Message-----
>>> From: Friam [mailto:[hidden email]] On Behalf Of Prof
>>> David West
>>> Sent: Friday, June 21, 2019 4:15 AM
>>> To: [hidden email]
>>> Subject: [FRIAM] sensitive, aren't we?
>>>
>>> Doing some reading on quantum consciousness and embodied mind and
>>> came across these items:
>>>
>>>
>>> https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/the-human-eye-could-help-
>>> te
>>> st-quantum-mechanics/
>>>
>>> https://www.nature.com/news/people-can-sense-single-photons-1.20282
>>>
>>> (A Rebecca Holmes from Los Alamos Natl. Labs is part of the
>>> Scientific American reported research.)
>>>
>>> not only can the human eye perceive individual photons (and perhaps
>>> quanta level phenomena) "The healthy human cochlea is so sensitive
>>> that it can detect vibration with amplitude less than the diameter
>>> of an atom, and it can resolve time intervals down to 10µs [i.e.,
>>> microseconds, or millionths of a second]. It has been calculated
>>> that the human ear detects energy levels 10- fold lower than the
>>> energy of a single photon in the green wavelength…” Regarding human
>>> tactile and related senses (haptic, proprioceptive), it has recently
>>> been determined that “human tactile discrimination extends to the
>>> nanoscale [ie, within billionths of a meter],” this research having
>>> been published in the journal, Scientific Reports (Skedung et al 2013)"
>>>
>>> interesting stuff
>>> dave west
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> ============================================================
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>>>
>>>
>>> ============================================================
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>>>
>>
>> ============================================================
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>> cafe at St. John's College to unsubscribe
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>>
>>
>> ============================================================
>> FRIAM Applied Complexity Group listserv Meets Fridays 9a-11:30 at
>> cafe at St. John's College to unsubscribe
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>>
>
>


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Meets Fridays 9a-11:30 at cafe at St. John's College
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