Tag Archives: intelligence

Metaphor Generators: Douglas Hofstadter and Shakespeare

I’ve been reading Douglas Hofstadter’s new book, Surfaces and Essences, in which he posits an analogy model for what human intelligence ultimately is, and I notice that the new November edition of The Atlantic has a profile piece on Hofstadter, a … Continue reading

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Are You My Missing Piece?

Steven Johnson on why the Internet-connected world may be a historic boon to human creativity and collective intelligence.

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Dog Plays By Itself

Pleasure in concentration and pursuit. And notice the constant tail wagging. On your way to dusty death (Heidegger called us “beings unto death”), do you have a satisfying mental and physical practice that keeps you occupied? Aside from giving you … Continue reading

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Give George Orwell a Statue Near BBC Headquarters

The exact site has yet to be settled on, but this is in the Telegraph today (quoting the artist commissioned to make the statue): George Orwell is regarded as something of a patron saint of political journalism so his presence … Continue reading

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Evolution’s Eccentricity: Head Injury Savants And The Right Way To Organize Society

Imagine banging your head and suddenly having a talent for piano playing (or oil painting, or doing complex mathematics). It’s a real phenomenon. Here’s an example: __________ To my mind, this suggests that individuals are a lot like birds. Birds … Continue reading

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Will Computers Ever Really Be Conscious and Intelligent?

Philosopher John Searle thinks not. _____ And literary critic Stanley Fish, writing in the New York Times, appears to agree with Searle, offering the following as a key distinction between himself and a computer: [I]ts procedures do not track my practice. I … Continue reading

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Why Do Super Brainiacs Drink More Alcohol Than the Rest of Us?

It appears that super smart people tend to be bigger consumers of alcohol than average and dull people, and Andrew Sullivan has an armchair theory for why this is the case: It’s what Oakeshott called “the ordeal of consciousness.” When you have … Continue reading

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