tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15453937.post2951640269642418722..comments2024-01-10T17:36:15.040-07:00Comments on The Lippard Blog: Imitation, isolation, and independenceLippardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16826768452963498005noreply@blogger.comBlogger17125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15453937.post-35807001312564697142009-12-19T17:29:14.874-07:002009-12-19T17:29:14.874-07:00Sorry for the long delay in responding.
It's ...Sorry for the long delay in responding.<br /><br />It's perhaps <i>how</i> the Epigenetics operates which is the actual evolving "trait" or genetic tool. That's what I was calling a policy or conserved tool. That is, explicitly or implicitly within the silent DNA are guidelines for epigenetic reactions -- plus preferred paths for mutation of same. These are the "tools" which, if they arise once, are likely to become highly conserved, yet also foci of important evolutionary change.<br />Recent studies also indicate that as far back as the split with marsupials evolution has proceeded by duplicating and altering the activation of existing genes, rather than creation of new ones or even alteration of old. This is a highly leveraged system-level pattern.Brian Hhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17895289104798325252noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15453937.post-67595140172938796242009-10-26T19:42:15.437-07:002009-10-26T19:42:15.437-07:00Epigenetics sounds like a fancy way to describe ph...Epigenetics sounds like a fancy way to describe physiological development. It seems like some yearning that hearkens back to LeMarck. Maybe that's too harsh a general statement, but as a reply to intelligent design...<br /><br />Epigenetics seems like an umbrella term to describe an angle of study rather than something you could point to and say "look! epigenetics is happening!"<br /><br />I shouldn't have responded to Brian Hs first comment. It had nothing to do with the blog entry, but I took the bait.<br /><br />His short answers and absolute statements are characteristic of trollism.<br /><br />Dude capitalized intelligent design.Bradhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07817607645978561961noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15453937.post-49418489921059867102009-10-26T11:06:27.856-07:002009-10-26T11:06:27.856-07:00Aside from the teleological bent (which I'm su...Aside from the teleological bent (which I'm sure is what Brad found distasteful, too), there was this phrase that bugged me:<br /><br /><i>"...advantageous mutation options..."</i><br /><br />I am willing to be shown data that proves me wrong, but my understanding of epigenetics is that it operates on the individual and has nothing to do with what genes get passed on to one's offspring to make them (or not make them) more fitted to the environment. In other words, it has nothing to do with "intelligently designing" offspring, or evolution.<br /><br />I'm more than willing to eat crow on this (and learn something truly fascinating), as soon as I see some data.Einzigehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06406227217230727209noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15453937.post-70655668910978224652009-10-26T10:04:47.855-07:002009-10-26T10:04:47.855-07:00I didn't think Brian was actually advocating i...I didn't think Brian was actually advocating intelligent design. What he says doesn't strike me as wholly implausible--we are already learning that genes are switched on and off not only during development but during the life of the organism (e.g., through gene activation and interference), such as <a href="http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/04/070418104300.htm" rel="nofollow">genes involved with memory</a>. This is the burgeoning field of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Epigenetic" rel="nofollow">epigenetics</a>.Lippardhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16826768452963498005noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15453937.post-34361968670524717552009-10-25T20:52:17.534-07:002009-10-25T20:52:17.534-07:00Brian, even if that prediction is found to pay out...Brian, even if that prediction is found to pay out, it still is not evidence for anything supernatural let alone a god of a specific religion. Calling it intelligent design at that point is still unjustifiable.Bradhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07817607645978561961noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15453937.post-72961181642225438892009-10-25T16:51:54.418-07:002009-10-25T16:51:54.418-07:00Wow, Brian, that sounds r e a l l y unlikely.
Do ...Wow, Brian, that sounds <i>r e a l l y</i> unlikely.<br /><br />Do you have any sources you can cite?Einzigehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06406227217230727209noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15453937.post-3301163178652288322009-10-24T16:04:28.794-07:002009-10-24T16:04:28.794-07:00Theo;
The new news about evolution will be that th...Theo;<br />The new news about evolution will be that there is Intelligent Design. By the genome. It will be found to operate like layered neural nets do, with higher level "policies" for advantageous mutation options embedded in the "silent" DNA -- which is actually an evolution manual.<br />Such "policies" are highly conserved by the genome, as they provide huge leverage and advantages in making efficient modifications. I.e.: mutation is not random.Brian Hhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17895289104798325252noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15453937.post-21077587032320853012009-10-24T04:43:47.723-07:002009-10-24T04:43:47.723-07:00I've seen numerous references to this over the...I've seen numerous references to this over the last year or two, but here's a recent one:<br />http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/cutting-edge-leadership/200909/do-presidents-lieBrian Hhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17895289104798325252noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15453937.post-16287713231453692772009-09-29T10:27:13.996-07:002009-09-29T10:27:13.996-07:00This is a really old entry but there's a few f...This is a really old entry but there's a few fun things still to say.<br /><br />As far as average people taking an asperger's test, keep in mind that the actual condition of asperger's indicates that the person is firmly wired to behave that way and have little to no inclination to model social behaviors. An average person might just not care about being extroverted. Huge difference.<br /><br />A mirror neuron might be an oversimplification of a more complex networked process of imitation. We know that our mind has made decision seconds before we can consciously register the decision, and that's plenty of time to make it appear automatic when we imitate an action or feeling.<br /><br />Brian H, please provide your source for your statements, that sounds fascinating.Bradhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07817607645978561961noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15453937.post-67415881864819885192009-09-23T19:07:42.094-07:002009-09-23T19:07:42.094-07:00"Leaders" and politicians score very hig..."Leaders" and politicians score very high on liars' tests and sociopathic scales, even as children. <br /><br />Manipulative skills (button-pushing) are what followers appreciate in a #1!Brian Hhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17895289104798325252noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15453937.post-80569171163705012992009-08-27T18:35:18.300-07:002009-08-27T18:35:18.300-07:00As usual for me, even though I am female (albeit a...As usual for me, even though I am female (albeit an engineer), my score is 41 - even farther into the Asperger zone than my spouse Eamon. Ironically, I became an evangelical Christian while I was a (secular Jewish) socially dysfunctional teenager, and what convinced me was mostly the fact that the small bunch of Christian teenagers I encountered at my high school were nice to me (in stark contrast to almost everyone else). I figured this must be sufficient evidence of God's transformative power to overcome my moderate skepticism. On the other hand even before I completely tossed the whole thing, I generally gravitated to the outgroups of Christianity - I was into social activism, not to mention my staunch defense of evolution.Theo Brominehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14078583453130339726noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15453937.post-67828339632235339922009-08-27T11:51:36.447-07:002009-08-27T11:51:36.447-07:00I scored above 40 on that test. Been an atheist s...I scored above 40 on that test. Been an atheist since at least age 14, and hate socializing.critterhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14331359234846241164noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15453937.post-59804203856067605112009-08-27T10:56:33.467-07:002009-08-27T10:56:33.467-07:00I think if anything, our minds want to put everyth...I think if anything, our minds want to put everything into one world view. For many people its hard to make sense of or uncomfortable to flatly accept the strange random things that occur.<br /><br />So, its filed away into the "defies logic" category rather than "defies probability" and once that "defies logic" category contains enough material to represent some sort of intentional pattern, that becomes the belief behind the world view.<br /><br />If the common ideology provides a structure for those events, then the social networking of the pattern can occur.<br /><br />I'm starting to think that consciousness AND cognition are forms of representation for the physiological processes going on underneath. Sort of a complex internal language. So, its just pragmatic to be able to adopt the surrounding ideology and still function with fitness.<br /><br />Religion and skepticism can probably considered spandrels where a skeptical mind is either pre-wired or becomes concerned with accurately representing reality whereas the religious mind is concerned with the actual function of representations whether they are accurate or not.Bradhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07817607645978561961noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15453937.post-68381820807954756222009-08-27T09:55:45.236-07:002009-08-27T09:55:45.236-07:00I actually would love to go to it, because I like ...I actually would love to go to it, because I like having my blood pressure go up. Unfortunately, I need to have a root canal performed this afternoon...which isn't much better.Magic Tonyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01218502680044614195noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15453937.post-57819862088077371102009-08-27T09:50:29.949-07:002009-08-27T09:50:29.949-07:00Tony: Thanks--I might have time to catch part of ...Tony: Thanks--I might have time to catch part of that between classes, but it will be a stretch. I take it you won't be there?Lippardhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16826768452963498005noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15453937.post-16666190248776226552009-08-27T09:40:19.230-07:002009-08-27T09:40:19.230-07:00As usual for such tests, I score well into the Asp...As usual for such tests, I score well into the Asperger zone (37) ;-).<br /><br />More relevantly: I suspect you're in the right ballpark -- much religion is an intensely social activity. Of course, in my case, we'd still have to account for why I had an extended religious phase in my life, despite supposedly being an unsocial clod ;-).Eamon Knighthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04262012749524758120noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15453937.post-65929242033036555272009-08-27T09:25:33.640-07:002009-08-27T09:25:33.640-07:00I hate myself for plugging this, Jim, but Marco Ia...I hate myself for plugging this, Jim, but Marco Iacoboni, the most prominent mirror neuron researcher in the US, is giving a presentation in the MU (room 202) today at 3:30. I despise mirror neuron theories...I feel that very few of them are grounded in actual science, and Iaconobi's theories are no different. Attend at your own risk!Magic Tonyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01218502680044614195noreply@blogger.com