If I Only Had A Brain...

Your handy-dandy Roomba might soon have no reason to lament its lack of brain cells - an article in New Science reports that two researchers at the University of Reading, UK, have been working on controlling simple robots with neurons - that is to say, honest-to-gosh live brain tissue. Their current work has been done with rat neurons; but they hope to upgrade to human cells in their next phase.

Scary? Awesome? What potential uses for such technology can you think of?

Thursday homework

Oops, almost forgot...

Tonight: comment below, addressing one (or both!) of the following questions (from p. 37 in the text):

3. If everything in the universe were to grow proportionally one-thousand times larger, would we be able to detect it?

4. Does one have the obligation to be a hero? Does one have the obligation to be a saint? Discuss whether of not the needs of others should always be put before one’s own.

Bonus points for the first to correctly identify the branch of philosophy each question deals with.

Local Philosophy News!

Hey everybody - I was just talking with two of my colleagues in the philosophy department at MCLA who've just published a book together. They're going to be doing a reading of the book at the Water Street Grill on October 15 in the evening.

More details to follow; but the proprietor of the venue was interested in inviting interested high school students for the audience. It's a really accessible book they'll be reading (translation: no jargon!). Both authors are former profs of mine, and have become good friends - plus they're smart philosophers. Save the date!

Wednesday Homework

Reading (or listening to) pages 20-25 of chapter 3 - up to, but not including, the "Barometer story".

Homework

PLEASE CHANGE YOUR OLD BOOKMARK TO THIS LINK!

Now that I've got your attention...

My original idea of using this post as a permanent homework link didn't pan out so well. It just got too messy keeping up with the new batches of comments every day. So, here's the new plan: simply go to the main blog site (http://mountiesphilosophy.blogspot.com/) for the daily homework. It will always be visible as the most recent post (i.e., the post at the top of the page).

To Talk, or to Listen?

That is the question Bill Schubart ponders in this commentary I heard on the radio Monday morning, driving to Williamstown. Read the transcript (or listen to the stream/mp3), and see if you agree with him that

[t]he shrill chaos of a million tweets, blogs and call-in cable and radio
shows has entranced us with the sounds of our own voices and immersed us in the
white noise of narcissism.

Comment: do you think that Facebook and Twitter, utilities that let us immediately share any little detail of our lives, makes us more self-absorbed or narcissistic? Can you give an example of something or someone that supports your view?

First!

I Thought that this was a rather interesting opinion.... if slightly cliched http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nq5R9wHCJVg

--Chris
p.s. if you're feeling really courageous watch "BRICKS"
(I will not be held responsible for any mental and /or physical harm incurred via the watching of "BRICKS")