CTP Energy的动态

I cannot get enough of this excellent Nature Neuroscience commentary about the IIT (a theory of consciousness) controversy by brilliant field-discerners Anil Seth at University of Sussex and Alex Gomez-Marin at The Pari Center. Hats off also to Giulio Tononi at University of Wisconsin-Madison and colleagues for holding their ground on IIT. I have been a neuroscientist interested in consciousness for 3+ decades now and there's nothing like the rare moments when the field is seen clearly for what it is: a fantastic place of burgeoning ideas and confusing hypotheses that can be easily overshadowed by the cloud of authoritarianism that gives comfort to those afraid to be humbled by the unknown. I've highlighted my favorite parts of the article below, but here are a few gems: "When a new theory attempts to explain something that has resisted previous explanations, theory development may involve creating new concepts and even formulating new questions (not just providing new answers to old questions). Good theories often behave like organisms; they grow, develop, mutate, and learn from mistakes. One must not forget that any scientific theory is inherently provisional. Absolute certainty is the absolute enemy of scientific inquiry.?" -- This speaks to the need to understand that Edge (unsettled) Science and Tech requires different rules than filling in details on "settled" theories. https://lnkd.in/gUqTbJCh "Calling out pseudoscience is important, but the term can be weaponized in part through its ambiguity and stigma. The demarcation problem can be used as a defamation solution when the pseudo-use of the word pseudoscience is used to cancel people or ideas." -- AMEN. "In 1931, a collection of essays entitled Hundred Authors against Einstein appeared, taking aim against Einstein’s theory of general relativity. A total of 121 academics (28 wrote a piece each, and 93 were?simply listed) emphatically rejected the theory “as a fundamentally misguided and logically untenable fiction,” and complained that it was being given unwarranted publicity. According to Stephen Hawking, Einstein replied: “If I were wrong, then one would have been enough!”" -- Yes, science is not a democracy or an authoritarian regime. Nature is the ultimate peer reviewer. "We end with a plea for healthy diversity and daring humility. When it comes to consciousness, we have the right to be wrong and perhaps even the duty to be bold. The hard problem seems unlikely to be solved (or dissolved) without some radical rethinking. Let us keep an open mind while holding on to our brains. Paraphrasing the mystic poet Rumi, beyond ideas of pseudo-science and pseudo-consciousness there is a field. Let’s meet there." -- Rumi always wins the day. #Consciousness #Neuroscience #IIT #quantumbrain