The Brains Blog — Since 2005, a leading forum for work in the philosophy and science of mind

2. Do Experts Really Perceive the World Differently from Non-Experts?

People sometimes say things like the following: Cabernet Sauvignon tastes different to an expert wine taster than to a novice; or, Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony sounds different to a seasoned conductor than it does to someone just hearing it for the first time. But does wine literally taste differently (or the …

Vincente Raja & Michael Anderson’s “Behavior Considered as an Enabling Constraint”

Nick Byrd May 13, 2019 May 9, 2019 Neural Mechanisms Online / Neuroscience / Neuroscience; Philosophy of Science / NM Webinar

The Brains blog is excited about the next Neural Mechanisms webinar this Friday. It is free. You can find information about how and when to join the webinar below or at the Neural Mechanisms website—where you can also join their mailing list to be notified of their webinars, webconferences, and …

1. What Is Perceptual Learning?

Kevin Connolly May 13, 2019 July 28, 2020 books / Kevin Connolly: Perceptual Learning / perception / Philosophy of Mind / Psychology

Last summer I tried to learn how to surf. I learned how to paddle to catch a wave, how to “pop up” to my feet on the surfboard from lying flat on my stomach, and how to turn on the board to surf down the wave once I caught it. …

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John Schwenkler May 13, 2019 May 19, 2019 books

We are grateful to Kevin Connolly for blogging this week on Perceptual Learning: The Flexibility of the Senses (Oxford University Press, 2019). To view all of Kevin’s posts on a single page, please click here.

Jackie Sullivan on Optogenetics, Pluralism, and Progress

Nick Byrd April 30, 2019 April 30, 2019 Neural Mechanisms Online / NM Webinar

Conference Announcement: Varieties of Intentionality

John Schwenkler April 23, 2019 April 23, 2019 Conferences / Intentionality

Dates: Friday, May 10 and Saturday, May 11 Location: The New School, Arnhold Hall, Room I-202, 55 West 13th Street, New York, NY 10011 Website: www.varietiesofintentionality.com On Friday May 10 and Saturday May 11, there will be a two-day conference at the New School for Social Research, titled “Varieties of Intentionality.” …

4. Cognitive Structures, Predictive Coding and the Free Energy Principle

Majid D. Beni April 18, 2019 November 9, 2022 M.D. Beni: Cognitive Structural Realism / Philosophy of Science

As I explained in the previous post, CSR’s account of scientific representation is based on the neuroscientific account of the brain-world relationship. The neuroscientific account is presented in terms of the Predictive Processing Theory (PPT) and the Free Energy Principle (FEP) as being developed by Karl Friston and others. PPT …