Thiago Carvalho @cyrilpedia@social.cleverlibre.org

Trying to wrap my head around it.

I'm a brain researcher in a psychology department; arguably what they call a "cognitive neuroscientist with a computational bent." And I love me a good brain metaphor. But this (cognitive science) paragraph and I live on different planets, and I'm trying to wrap my head around why, exactly, that is. Curious to hear your thoughts.

In this kind of metaphorical thinking, psychic states (such as emotions) are local maxima in a multidimensional space, which is not constrained to inner-brain dimensions, but incorporates bodily and perceptual dimensions as well (see Barrett, Ochsner, & Gross, 2007). Local maxima are established through constraint satisfaction processes. That is, in any given situation, some dimensions are fixed at specific values, be they input-related dimensions (seeing a crocodile nearby) or the inner-psychic retrieval of specific thoughts (remembering a horrifying scene from a movie). The network system identifies the best com- promise solution given the constraints.
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30654702/

I'm not here to belittle this in any way. But rather curious about all the embedded assumptions that go into my own way of thinking and how they compare with the ones that go into this paragraph. Setting aside the fact that the word "psychic" gives me chills:

*) I also like to think about dimensionality and how cognition is reflected in multi-D spaces (and I'm quite fluent in that).
*) I am, however, curious about a few things. What is an "inner brain dimension?" Something about emotion/affect, I think. And so this paragraph is describing something like how perception, emotion and interoception combine to create our experience.
*) It focuses on the idea that our experience right now (a psychic state) is created by a "constraint satisfaction process" to maximize something. I can appreciate that once the question is posed in this metaphorical way, then one can inquire: what is that process? But that's consciousness, I guess?
*) I'm once again stuck by the jargon that separates us. Again, I'm quite adjacent to this world but not in it. Why aren't we better talking to one another? My 1st year undergrads are really smart. Why aren't we all talking to them (to ensure we can talk to one another)?

Postdoc (m/f/x) in Genetics and Genomics

Leibniz-Institut für Alternsforschung – Fritz-Lipmann-Institut e.V. (FLI)

The research group led by Prof. Dr. Dario Riccardo Valenzano at FLI is currently looking for a postdoctoral researcher IN GENETICS AND GENOMICS.

See the full job description on jobRxiv: https://jobrxiv.org/job/leibniz-instit...
https://jobrxiv.org/job/leibniz-institut-fur-alternsforschung-fritz-lipmann-institut-e-v-fli-27778-postdoc-m-f-x-in-genetics-and-genomics/?feed_id=59692

The transport sector is one of the major contributors to global climate change making up a quarter of the European Union's greenhouse gas emissions. It is also the only major sector where emissions are on the rise.

Sales of bigger, heavier cars have never been higher, with sport utility vehicles (SUVs) accounting for nearly half of all new cars sold.

But as the EU pushes towards electrification, more efficient vehicles could spell the end for SUVs.

https://www.euronews.com/next/2023/09/22/are-new-aerodynamic-lighter-car-designs-spelling-the-end-of-the-beloved-suv

#EU #Cars #EV #SUV

The UC Davis Center for Population Biology postdoctoral fellowship is now being advertised. This is a great opportunity to come join our wonderful community of Evolution & Ecology here at Davis. Please RT.

https://cpb.sf.ucdavis.edu/cpb-postdoc-fellowship

Research Staff Assistant

Zuckerman Institute, Columbia University

See the full job description on jobRxiv: https://jobrxiv.org/job/research-staff-assistant-38/?feed_id=59685

#ScienceJobs #hiring #research
New York City #UnitedStatesUS #ResearchAssistant #ResearchTechnician #Researcher
https://jobrxiv.org/job/research-staff-assistant-38/?feed_id=59685

Really sad to read c this about frontline workers left unprotected at work with inadequate ppe who developed Long covid and how poorly supported they are now.

https://www.bmj.com/content/382/bmj.p1983

Salon:
"What are we going to find out next?": Clarence Thomas' shocking ethics scandal "sickens" experts

"Justice Clarence Thomas continues to bring shame upon himself and the United States Supreme Court," Rep. Ted Lieu, D-Calif., wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter. "He should resign. What are we going to find out next? A fundraiser for Trump headlined by Clarence Thomas? Ridiculous."
https://www.salon.com/2023/09/22/what-are-we-going-to-find-out-next-clarence-thomas-shocking-ethics-scandal-sickens-experts/

#News #Politics #Democracy #Democrats

'As simple as they are, a team of researchers has found compelling evidence of neuron-like cells in placozoans. And given how long these animals have existed, it’s possible that placozoans served as the blueprint for the nervous systems in more complex animals, including humans.'

https://www.nytimes.com/2023/09/19/science/placazoans-neurons-evolution.html

'Second Place, Overall. A crab sits in the center of a sea anemone as it sways in ocean current. Philippines.
© Andrei Savin / Ocean Photographer of the Year'

https://www.theatlantic.com/photo/2023/09/winners-ocean-photographer-of-the-year-2023/675387/

"O julgamento de que está a ser alvo Mamadou Ba, resultante da queixa do neonazi Mário Machado e que conta com o acompanhamento do Ministério Público, é uma derrota enorme para a democracia"

https://www.publico.pt/2023/09/21/opiniao/opiniao/mamadou-2064047

'O Ministério Público de Espanha pediu esta quinta-feira, pela primeira vez, a um tribunal a abertura de uma investigação de alegados crimes de tortura durante a ditadura franquista, apoiando-se numa Lei de Memória Democrática aprovada há um ano.'

https://www.publico.pt/2023/09/21/mundo/noticia/ministerio-publico-espanhol-pede-primeira-investigacao-torturas-ditadura-2064215

"The U.S. must also recognize how anti-science rhetoric has emerged as a new lethal force and find mechanisms to halt its advance."
"The unvaccinated were targeted by a well-financed and newly politicized anti-vaccine movement."
https://latimes.com/opinion/story/2023-09-22/antiscience-climate-change-covid-vaccines-antivax

Keizo Takemi, 71, the new health minister appointed in this week’s Cabinet reshuffle, is known for being well-versed in medical policies, but critics are worried that he may be too close to the industry. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2023/09/15/japan/politics/keizo-takemi-health-minister-profile/?utm_content=buffer99676&utm_medium=social&utm_source=mastodon&utm_campaign=bffmstdn #japan #politics #keizotakemi #mhlw #ldp

Prospective magnetic resonance imaging of 259 people with Covid (requiring hospitalization) vs controls showed significant multi-organ abnormalities at 5 months (median), linked to symptoms https://thelancet.com/journals/lanres/article/PIIS2213-2600(23)00262-X/fulltext

Hey there! 👋🏽

I'm a biomedical engineer and informaticist curious about all intersections of data and society 💡

I work in #Philly at the Penn Urban Health Lab on #RSpatial projects centering urban nature, racial justice, and health equity 🌱

I'm also an #RStats educator passionate about #DataLiteracy and #FOSS as tools to build power in communities ✊🏽

You can learn more about me at https://silviacanelon.com, and I hope to learn more about you here! 🦣

#introduction

@TomSwirly @shuttersparks @aral

Clarence Thomas - always on the make

'Investigadores chinos han modificado genéticamente gusanos de seda para que produzcan seda, pero de araña. Los hilos conseguidos combinan las propiedades mecánicas de fibras sintéticas como el nailon, una de las más resistentes, o el kevlar, material usado en los chalecos antibalas.'

https://elpais.com/ciencia/2023-09-21/investigadores-chinos-crean-gusanos-mutantes-que-fabrican-seda-de-arana.html

'Here, we discovered a phenomenon in which male offspring in maternal immune activation models of autism spectrum disorder do not experience infantile amnesia.'

#Preprint #Immunology #Neuroimmunology

https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2022.04.24.488172v3