Mathematics Rising

A recent blog from Jennifer Ouellette (from the Scientific American Blog Network)  brought my attention once again to how mathematics is related to the structure-building functions of the brain. As I followed up on some of the references in her post, I found myself on a little journey through hallucinatory experiences that I really enjoyed. [...]

Current research into the neuroscience of our visual system tells us that what we see is constructed through the coordinated effect of cells sensitive to particular aspects of a visual scene. Attributes such as motion, form and color are processed in individually specialized areas, along paths that lead to the primary visual cortex, creating what [...]

In a blog back in January, I referenced a talk given by David Deutsch in which he made the argument that, while empiricism has been the basis of science, empiricism alone is inadequate because scientific theories explain the seen in terms of the unseen. What we see, in all these cases, bears no resemblance to [...]

On April 16 Scientificamerican.com reported on research that links hunting for words with foraging for food. Our brains may have evolved to forage for some kinds of memories in the same way, shifting our attention from one cluster of stored information to another depending on what each patch has to offer. Recently, Thomas Hills of [...]

I listened to three short talks today and found that they had something nice in common – they each show us how sensory experience (often vision) gives rise to mathematics that provides access to what cannot be seen, and clarifies what is seen. The first of these talks was called Symmetry, reality’s riddle presented by [...]

Hearing about visual processes, from neuroscientists and artists alike, consistently brings mathematical thoughts to mind for me – like Samir Zeki’s descriptions of how visual images are constructed, or the Impressionist painters’ attention to the sensations in the eye rather than the subject of the painting, and, of course, Poincaré’s suggestion that visual space has [...]

Back in July, David Castelvechhi blogged about a conversation between John Horgan and George Musser. I missed it when it was new, but I’m glad I didn’t miss it completely.   Most of their discussion focuses on the value or viability of what has come to be known as string theory. It was a thoughtful debate [...]

I came across an article on vision at Physicsworld.com that is concerned chiefly with how digital imaging technology may and may not be able to provide a fix for damaged retinas.  While digital cameras can better mimic the human eye, the gaze of the camera, unlike the eye, is static and uniform. As sensors in [...]

I feel like I was pulled into a little whirlpool of interesting bits of info this morning.  I was attracted to the title of David Castelvecchi’s blog: Archimedes and Euclid?  Like String Theory versus Freshman Calculus.   The blog reports the opening of an exhibition at the Walters Art Museum in Baltimore, showcasing one of three [...]

In a recent post on the Scientific American blog network, George Musser reported on talks given by neuroscientists at a conference, organized by the Foundational Questions Institute on how the brain works to construct our sense of past, present and future. Musser’s post made some observations that were familiar to me – like the idea [...]