(Click for big)
The primary visual cortex is normally understood as being a direct map from the retinal image onto the brain. Apparently we were wrong.

1. Constraining, impelling; powerful, forcible.
b. esp. Having power to compel assent or belief; argumentatively forcible, convincing.
c. with dependent phr.
- OED

via pong
via graffiti 

I’ve introduced a new feature on this page, since I have the webspace and bandwidth to spare. The Academy is for the philosophers sick of the problems with the Social list serve to have a place to discuss upcoming parties and poker and such, and to generally fuck off. But don’t let that stop anyone [...]

The always astute Bellman posted a link to a nice little story on Atwood’s new machine for remotely autographing books. It is a good and far less artificial example of the deep confusion we have of how to treat the technology that continually interferes and intervenes in our lives.I’ll let the discussion continue over there, [...]

From The Gaurdian: Slime mould used to create first robot run by living cells
Dr Zauner grew a star-shaped sample of the slime mould and attached it to a six-legged robot (with each point of the star attached to a leg) to control its movements.

I have finished going through the archives and classifying all the posts, which you can peruse if you like. As you can see, I spend far more time talking about myself than anything else. To be fair, I have been including anything remotely relating to my personal and social life under ‘eripsa’, so it has [...]

Melnick’s advice on my proto-proposal was that it seems I need to give the machines something like a self to be responsible, or to otherwise hold the seat of agency. My first philosophy class as a freshman at UCR was on Parfit and persons, and I haven’t thought about issues of ’self’ since. I thought [...]

From CNN: Scientists enlist clergy in evolution battle
“The intelligent design movement belittles God. It makes God a designer, an engineer,” said Vatican Observatory Director George Coyne, an astrophysicist who is also ordained. “The God of religious faith is a god of love. He did not design me.”

From the Pew Internet & American Life Project (PDF)
Surfing the Web has become one of the most popular activities that internet users will do online on a typical day. Some 30% of internet users go online on any given day for no particular reason, just for fun or to pass the time.
This makes the act [...]