Daily Archives: December 5, 2021

If you could upload your consciousness to the cloud and live forever as a mind in the metaverse, would you do it?

Think carefully before answering. In Feeling & Knowing: Making Minds Conscious, neuroscientist Antonio Damasio argues that consciousness is far more than an algorithmic process. Uploading your consciousness to the cloud, he says, would be like experiencing a meal by reading a recipe rather than by eating.

BOOK REVIEW Feeling & Knowing: Making Minds Conscious, by Antonio Damasio (Pantheon, 256 pages).

So then what is consciousness? Thats the question at the heart of this book. Damasio is a professor of neuroscience, philosophy, and psychology and the director of the Brain and Creativity Institute at the University of Southern California, Los Angeles, as well as the author of the 2018 book The Strange Order of Things, in which he extols the power of homeostasis, the force that keeps all living beings in equilibrium and therefore alive.

Consciousness is such a slippery and ephemeral concept that it doesnt even have its own word in many Romance languages, but nevertheless its a hot topic these days. Feeling & Knowing is the result of Damasios editors request to weigh in on the subject by writing a very short, very focused book. Over 200 pages, Damasio ponders profound questions: How did we get here? How did we develop minds with mental maps, a constant stream of images, and memories mechanisms that exist symbiotically with the feelings and sensations in our bodies that we then, crucially, relate back to ourselves and associate with a sense of personhood?

Damasio argues that the answers are not simple (not so simple as an algorithm, anyway) but its also not as complex as some theorists and scientists believe. Proponents of the so-called hard problem of consciousness argue that even once weve unlocked all the physiological components of the brain, we will still not be able to define or explain consciousness. For many of these theorists, there is something mysterious and even magical about it.

But Damasio disagrees, and this book attempts to show why. His major argument is that when studying consciousness, hard problem theorists fail to account for processes that take place outside the brain. Consciousness is not just about what happens in our minds; its about what happens in our bodies, and what happens when our minds interpret our bodies and feelings and reflect their processes back to us. In order to understand consciousness, Damasio maintains, one must understand it from the ground up: from the sensing experienced by plants to the social cooperation observed in bacteria, through the advent of the animal mind and the dawn of feelings, and finally the evolution of consciousness.

In the course of four brief sections and an epilogue, Damasio walks us through each of these concepts, exploring what consciousness is and is not. He distinguishes between non-explicit intelligence (which hums along in the background, keeping us alive) versus explicit intelligence (the kind of which were aware). He writes about the transformative nature of the nervous system. And he explains that while plants are not conscious in a traditional sense, they are nonetheless able to sense and communicate with each other blindly by which I mean that they do not know why or how they do what they do.

Consciousness is not just about what happens in our minds; its about what happens in our bodies, and what happens when our minds interpret our bodies and feelings and reflect their processes back to us.

The latter half of the book is devoted to On Feelings and On Consciousness and Knowing, and it is here where Damasios arguments start to coalesce. In On Feelings, he delves into the remarkable mechanisms that allow us to feel, whether base feelings like pain and hunger or socially driven feelings like shame or joy. He marvels at how feelings probably began as a timid conversation between the chemistry and nervous system of a being, then evolved to shepherd us in the right direction during the uphill battle of staying alive.

In the final section, he explores what exactly consciousness is and what its not, and what its good for chiefly, keeping us alive more efficiently by identifying and processing a particular organisms experiences and advocating for that organisms needs. Here, he also emphasizes the importance of the body the substrate, as he calls it to the experience of consciousness. Artificial intelligence as its currently constructed is limited in its ultimate level of creativity and intelligence, he writes, because AI removes the body an essential component in the evolution of human intelligence.

In style, Damasios book has more in common with experimental memoirs like Maggie Nelsons Bluets (2009) or Carmen Maria Machados In the Dream House: A Memoir (2019) than with a conventional science text. The writing is spare and his argument accrues mainly by searching and building on developments in brain research, including his own work. A playful tone often helps leaven the science. (One has to have a soft spot for a person who talks to plants, as Prince Charles is supposed to do.) But the spareness occasionally renders the book frustrating or inaccessible to those who arent already well-versed in conversations around consciousness. After all, this is a topic that asks us to grapple with abstract, brain-twisting paradoxes: The power of feelings comes from the presence of a conscious mind, for instance, but we are also able to be conscious because we have feelings. Damasio might have done well to include more real-life examples to ground some of the more nebulous concepts in his book.

But at the same time, there is something seductive about the succinct, almost literary, chapters and Damasios unabashed wonder at and reverence for the concept of consciousness although he believes it can be explained using the disciplines known to us, he is no less in awe of its mechanisms. It is clear, for example, that Damasio holds in reverence the fact that our bodies can both experience feelings and modify those feelings within the same vessel. And often, this awe shines through in charming, allusive, whimsical sentences. On the subject of feelings, Damasio writes, the alignment of homeostasis, efficiency, and varieties of well-being was signed in heaven, in the language of feeling, and it was made popular by natural selection. Nervous systems officiated.

Undark is a non-profit, editorially independent magazine covering the complicated and often fractious intersection of science and society. If you would like to help support our journalism, please consider making a tax-deductible donation. All proceeds go directly to Undarks editorial fund.

Give Now

At the end of the day, why should any of this matter? Besides the fact that consciousness allows us to read and write articles, to live in complex societies, to solve complex problems, to appreciate great art, and to, well, do everything that makes us human, Damasio includes another argument for why we should trust his view of consciousness: its universality. Rather than viewing it as some mystical process bestowed on humanity alone, we should acknowledge that consciousness is the sum of feelings, nervous systems, social cooperation, homeostasis, and other biological processes that have their root in other life forms like bacteria, plants, and nonhuman animals.

When seeking to understand consciousness, Damasio writes, we should not see ourselves as singular. Rather, we should position ourselves as one part of the big biological stage of life.

And in positioning ourselves where we belong, perhaps we can help judiciously undo some of the damage that the human conscious mind has wrought. Recognizing interdependence may come in handy, he concludes, as we cope with the ravages that we humans have inflicted on the earth and on its life, ravages that are likely responsible for some of the catastrophes we currently face, climate changes and pandemics being two prominent examples.

Emily Cataneo is a writer and journalist from New England whose work has appeared in Slate, NPR, the Baffler, and Atlas Obscura, among other publications.

Continue reading here:

Book Review: Demystifying the Idea of Consciousness - Undark Magazine

E Ji-ah presents the evolution of the universe with XR technology in "The Home" (EBS)

Extended reality is an umbrella term encompassing virtual reality, augmented reality and mixed reality. The computing technology can merge physical and virtual worlds, bringing digital elements to the viewers.

There has been a few music programs partly applying XR technology, but The Home and The Dreamer are the first television shows completely based on XR, an EBS official told The Korea Herald on Monday.

The XR space documentary The Home seeks to deliver a space travel experience through the small screen, entertaining viewers with various space-related topics, including the Big Bang, gravity, the sun and more.

Actor E Ji-ah, who played Shim Su-ryeon in the hit SBS drama series The Penthouse: War in Life, is the presenter of the documentary.

The 10-part program airs on EBS1 at 11:55 p.m. from Monday to Thursday, starting on Nov. 29.

Ha Seok-jin appears as a show host in "The Dreamer" (EBS)

The sci-fi talk show deals with possible crimes in a technologically advanced future of 2049, including mind uploading, artificial intelligence and space colonization.

According to EBS, the XR technologies are applied to create the futuristic stages, allowing viewers to further empathize with the stories.

With actor Ha Seok-jin as the shows host and neuroscientist Chang Dong-seon and profiler-turned-actor Kim Yoon-hee appearing as panelists, the upcoming Thursday night program discusses illegal activities that might take place in 2049 and possible solutions.

The three-part series will air at 9:50 p.m. every Thursday, starting Dec. 9, on EBS1.

The Dreamer will also be available on EBS official YouTube Channel MOMOe.

By Lee Si-jin (sj_lee@heraldcorp.com)

See the rest here:

EBS presents XR television shows The Home and The Dreamer - The Korea Herald

In 1992, the very funny cyberpunk novelist Neal Stephenson brought the pizza Deliverator, also known as Hiro Protagonist, to life along with the notion of the Metaverse in his book Snow Crash.

Hiro, a member of the hacker community in his spare time, lives with a roommate in a U-Stor-It container in Inglewood, California. After losing his day job, he turns to his auxiliary emergency backup job as a freelance stringer for the CIC, the Central Intelligence Corporation of Langley, Virginia. He, along with thousands of others, uploads information to a repository known as the Library, where it is organized into an alternative environment. The Library was formerly the Library of Congress, but it long since has evolved from information in books to complex computer files.

Mark Zuckerberg reminded us that the notion of the Metaverse has been flourishing in the tech world

Much of the time, Hiros not here at all. He lives in a computer-generated universe that his computer is drawing on his goggles and pumping into his earphones. In the lingo, this imaginary place is known as the Metaverse. Hiro spends a lot of time in the Metaverse. It beats the [expletive] out of the U-Stor-It.

Recently, Mark Zuckerberg reminded us that the notion of the Metaverse has been flourishing in the tech world. Lets assume that his adoption of the notion as a central organizing strategy for Facebook is more than a public relations ploy to divert attention from the companys well-publicized problems.

After all, Google can now provide an Oxford dictionary definition of the Metaverse as a virtual reality space in which users can interact with a computer-generated environment and other users. It has been described as a shared virtual world where you (or more accurately, your hologram or avatar) can, among other things, go to school, go to work, play games, watch concerts, and browse stores. For Facebook, or now Meta, its dominance in social networking combined with a Meta-based strategy is an inviting path into much larger markets.

Futurist Cathy Hackl has described the Metaverse as alternate digital realities where people work, play, and socialize. That reminds us of the things that were promised us by futurists at the time of the development of the internet, many of which have exceeded expectations and some that have not. For example, it wasnt so long ago that livestreaming was thought to be a luxury possible only when the capacity of the internet could be expanded to accommodate storage and uploading capabilities demanded by the new services. Now its commonplace; we take it for granted.

Even today, one can argue that the internet gives and takes away productivity.

Fans of the television show, Alter Ego, in which avatars controlled by contestants competing to become the next pop star, would argue that Alter Ego is little more than an introduction to the Metaverse. Theyre ready to enter and enjoy it, and possibly become more productive in it.

On the other hand, phenomena that didnt live up to expectations, at least for many years, were improvements in productivity, to the extent they can be measured. There are many explanations. We had to learn how to use the technology. Much of the early use of the internet was for activities that had little impact on productivity. Even today, one can argue that the internet gives and takes away productivity (in terms of mind-numbing activities that contribute little to productivity). However, like the space program, we have undoubtedly benefitted as a society in many ways that contribute to realnot the measured kind ofproductivity.

Some will argue that the Metaverse is little more than a place in which misfits can escape their own U-Stor-Its. Before assuming that, remember that this will be a virtual world of work as well as play.

The question here is how we can expect the Metaverse to affect productivity. Will it follow patterns associated with many new technologiesthat is, disappoint us for a number of years? Or will the innovations in how we work and collaborate in the Metaverse be so profound that real (whether measured or not) gains in productivity will occur relatively soon?

This article is republished from Harvard Business Schools Working Knowledge under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

See the original post:

How Metaverse could change the way people work and live - Quartz

Mike MarslandGetty Images

Marking the 1st of December in true style, Holly Willoughby opted for the perfect festive dress ahead of Wednesdays episode of The Morning and looked incredible.

Uploading a photograph of herself twirling in her dressing room, the mum-of-three could be seen wearing the crimson Aurora Ballerina Dress by Needle & Thread and pointed stilettos by Aquazzura.

This content is imported from Instagram. You may be able to find the same content in another format, or you may be able to find more information, at their web site.

The Aurora Ballerina Dress was inspired by vintage lace and features sparkling red sequins all over and floral embellishments. It has long, sheer sleeves and a frilled neckline and can be worn to countless soires.

Needle & Thread

Aurora Ballerina Dress

435.00

Retailing at 435, its admittedly not cheap but its a classic dress that youll be able to wear to parties and smart events for years to come. Earlier this year, the brand also launched a mini-me version priced at 275 so you can twin with your little one if you so wish.

Needle & Thread

Aurora Kids Dress

275.00

For keen followers of the Duchess of Cambridges fashion, youll most likely recognise the design. Cast your mind back to January 2020 when Kate appeared at a royal reception at Buckingham Palace on behalf of the Queen and looked totally beautiful in this exact design.

After the royal wore it, it predictably sold out in minutes but its now fully back in stock. However, just like when the Duchess wears something and it instantly sells out, the same thing happens with Holly too so if this dress is on your wishlist - dont wait around. You might just regret it.

This content is created and maintained by a third party, and imported onto this page to help users provide their email addresses. You may be able to find more information about this and similar content at piano.io

View post:

This Morning's Holly Willoughby wows in red sequin dress - goodhousekeeping.com

Hawkeye follows former SHIELD assassin and founding Avengers members Clint Barton in the fallout of the teams victory over Thanos in Endgame. One of the Avengers most naturally skilled heroes with his pinpoint accuracy with a bow-and-arrow, Barton is often seen as one of the most underappreciated members of the MCU.

Hawkeye delves further into the character than weve seen in any of his previous appearances to-date, in particular his actions as vigilante Ronin after losing his entire family to the Blip.

If youre wondering about Hawkeyes MCU journey so far here is a look at all his appearances to-date on screen. This list only includes his live action appearances, so any Hawkeye What If? storylines have been excluded.

We first see Barton briefly in the first Thor film, where he is in New Mexico assisting in SHIELDs hold on Thors weapon, Mjolnir.

Not much depth is given to Hawkeyes character at this point, other than the fact that he has the trust of director Nick Fury as he chooses him to keep tabs on Thor as he works his way through the SHIELD complex to try and reclaim his prized hammer.

Barton is still working closely with SHIELD in the first Avengers film when he is put under Lokis mind control.

The Asgardian prince uses Barton as a key pawn in his plan to take control of the earth, which includes stealing iridium from a facility in Stuttgart in order to stablise the Tesseract.

During a fight aboard the Avengers Helicarrier, he is knocked out by Natasha Romanoff, breaking him free of Lokis spell.

He later plays a key role as the Avengers battle an alien army of Chitauri in New York, where he alludes to an incident in Budapest that he and Romanoff took part in that wed learn more about later in the MCU. Romanoff had earlier revealed to Loki that Barton had once been sent to kill her, choosing instead to recruit her into SHIELD, beginning their close friendship.

Hawkeye again plays a prominent role in Avengers activity in the second ensemble film as they try to retrieve Lokis scepter back from Hydra.

During a battle in South Africa with the Maximoff twins, his past experience under Lokis spell helps him fight off Wandas attempts to warp his mind.

Age of Ultron is the first film in the MCU that delves further into Bartons life outside of the Avengers, as it is revealed that he is married with two kids and a third on the way. It turns out that Nick Fury set up a safe house for the Barton family when he joined SHIELD to keep both parts of his life separate.

Barton later stops Ultron from uploading himself into a Mind Stone-powered vibranium body, before convincing the Maximoff twins to take sides with the Avengers in Sokovia in the films final fight.

Having been saved by the male twin, Pietro as he protected a child from gunfire, Hawkeye chooses to retire with his family after Ultron is vanquished.

Barton comes out of retirement during the third Captain America film due to his opposition to the Sokovia Accords.

After retrieving Wanda from the Avengers compound, he joins her, Sam Rogers, Bucky Barnes, Scott Lang and Sam Wilson in a battle with the rest of the team led by Tony Stark in Leipzig.

He is later captured and imprisoned on the Raft, where he is broken out at the film's conclusion by Rogers.

Having been put under house arrest following the events of Civil War, Barton was unable to partake in the battle against Thanos throughout Infinity War.

Whilst his fate from the Blip is unknown in that film, it is quickly resolved towards the start of Endgame, where we see that he is the only member of his family to survive.

During the next five years, we find out that Barton has been living as a vigilante, massacring Mexican drug cartel members and Yakuza in Tokyo.

He soon reunites with his surviving Avengers comrades to travel back in time via the Quantum Realm in a plan to reverse Thanos Blip.

In an alternate 2014, Barton and Romanoff travel to the planet Vormir to retrieve the Soul Stone, which as shown with Thanos and Gamora in Infinity War, can only be acquired by sacrificing someone they love.

A confrontation transpires between the two long time friends as both try to sacrifice themselves, ultimately leading to Romanoffs death and Barton returning to the present day with the Soul Stone.

A phone call from his wife Laura after Bruce Banner uses the Stark Gauntlet gives the first indication to the team that their efforts have been successful.

He then plays a pivotal role in the final battle against Thanos army before joining the group at Tony Starks funeral.

Whilst he doesnt appear in 2021 film Black Widow, we learn that the Budapest incident Barton and Romanoff mentioned in The Avengers was in fact a plot to kill Natashas former holder General Dreykov.

He also plays a big role in the films post credits scene, where Contessa Valentina Allegra de Fontaine tells Romanoffs sister Yelena Belova that Barton was responsible for Natashas death, setting up a potential appearance for Yelena in the Hawkeye TV series.

Read more here:

All of Hawkeye's MCU appearances as new Disney+ show explores his past as The Ronin - Daily Express

TEEN Mom Jenelle Evans gave her followers a health update since revealing that she was diagnosed with a "rare" spinal disorder earlier this year.

The 29-year-old suffers from syringomyelia, which is a development of a cyst in the spinal cord causing pain and muscle weakness.

5

5

Jenelle took a break from most of her social media platforms recently due to her not "feeling good," explaining her health struggles in a TikTok video.

"Honestly I've been taking a break from TikTok and I've been uploading more to YouTube," the ex MTV star began.

"Also, I've been taking a break from social media a lot more because I don't feel good," she added before sharing an update on her back issues.

"I had another MRA of my back done where my cyst is and my cyst is actually growing from six months ago. I've been in a lot of back pain, just been resting a lot lately.

"I have a follow-up appointment with my neurosurgeon next week, but yea, sorry I haven't been as active. I've just been taking it easy, been resting. I've been in a lot of pain so just trying to take it easy on my body."

The TV star then mentioned that the stress of her recent failed business venture did not help ease her anxiety as just weeks ago she was dropped from her clothing line.

"With how much stress I've had in my life with the launch not going through and now I've received some crazy news about my back so I've been really nervous.

"But thanks for thinking about me. I'll be back soon," she concluded giving a thumbs up to her fans.

The former Teen Mom 2 star first broke the news to her fans of her diagnosis on her Instagram Stories back in March, saying she was "in shock."

TheMTVstar elaborated on her condition in aYouTube vlogcalled "My Neck, My Back."

The mother-of-three said she's been battling daily headaches and dealing with her neck "cracking 10 times a day."

TheTeen Momalum has beenhaving tests done for the past five monthsand not getting any answers, which she described as "really frustrating."

Previously, Jenelle -who is married to David Eason-had an MRI, which revealed the cyst in her spine.

"It's pretty concerning. That's not good. None of this is good," she said as she fought back tears.

The reality star admitted she hasn't spoken to her doctor about the results as she got them at the weekend, so is trying not to "jump to conclusions."

She said of her daily health struggles: "I have neck pain every day and headaches every day and my neck cracks every day.

"I do what I can. By this time, at 5 o'clock, I usually have to tap out because my neck hurts so bad. I try to get up and be happy and act like I don't have this problem.

"I have head shaking too, it's kind of embarrassing, it feels like a tremor. My hands are not that steady and my fingertips are numb most of the time."

"It's kind of scary. I feel like slowly I'm losing my ability in my hands and I really need that. I really need my hands!" she added.

Jenelle went on: "It really sucks. It had to be the worst thing ever when I got my results.

"It's just, like, your life is off course. I have my kids here and my work is online. A lot of things are going through my mind right now."

At the time, Jenelle discussed possible courses of action and considered the prospect of having the cyst removed.

Symptoms of the disorder include: headaches, pain in the neck, arms and back, loss of reflexes and muscle weakness and wasting.

Unfortunately the TV personality has been dealing with other family problems on top of her health battle.

Back in November, her husband David Eason, 33, was arrested and charged with driving with license revoked and possession of open container

The incident report claimed David used alcohol at the time of the arrest.

He was held on $750 bond and was bailed out through a bondsman.

He is to appear in court on February 16.

He was charged with Driving With License Revoked back in July 2020 in a separate incident.

But the drama on the road doesn't end there, as David has additional charges for driving with license revoked, expired registration tag and speeding out of Pender County.

He is expected to appear in court for those charges on February 9.

The Ashley's Reality Roundupwas the first to report on the charges.

The Teen Mom alum has also admitted that both of her sons are suffering from behaviorial issues.

Earlier this year the ex reality TV star revealed her eldest child hadset fire to his grandma Barbara's house, and Kaiser had been booted from two schools.

Talking exclusively to The Sun, Jenelle shared: "Kaiser is doing very good. Jace is having some issues at school and at my mom's house, which I can't go into detail about because there's a pending custody case but Kaiser's doing much better in school.

"He had to repeat kindergarten twice, basically. And the first time he was too young. The second time, he kept getting in trouble. So I was like you know what I'm going to hold him back myself so now he's in first grade and he's doing great. And he's actually learning and not running around the classroom and doing cartwheels."

Jenelle continued: "I think Kaiser just had too much energy and they would have quiet reading time and the teacher would be reading a book, he would be the one in the background doing flips and cartwheels, getting in and out of his chair.

"He would be like, 'I'm going to the bathroom' without asking. So he's just calmed down a little bit."

She added: "Kaiser's now more into figuring out what they're learning. He's more focused."

Jenellealso revealed she believed her boys' behavioral issues was due to both just needing to "mature."

Aside from Jace, 12, and Kaiser, seven, Jenelle is also a mom to four-year-olddaughter Ensleywith David.

5

5

5

We pay for your stories!

Do you have a story for The US Sun team?

See the original post:

Teen Mom Jenelle Evans says shes in a lot of pain & cyst on her spine is growing as star admits shes... - The Sun

Although Madhuri Dixits husband Dr Shriram Nene doesnt hail from the entertainment industry, he sure knows how to steal the limelight with his social media presence. Time and again, Dr Nene takes to his social media space to share stunning pictures alongside wife and actor Madhuri Dixit, thereby giving major couple goals to her fans. On Tuesday, November 30, he once again took to Instagram to give a glimpse of their latest getaway.

The celebrity couple turned each others travel buddies and took over the streets of Italy with great zeal and enthusiasm. In the selfie shared by him, both Madhuri Dixit and Dr Nene can be seen sporting an infectious smile as they pose in front of what appears to be a monument. Glowing in the sun, the couple can be seen having a gala time together. While sharing the picture online, Dr Nene wrote, Milan anyone? #traveltuesday. Meanwhile, even Madhuri shared a solo picture of herself from her Milan outing, while uploading the photo, the star said, My state of mind = Vacation #TravelTuesday #TuesdayVibes.

Previously, on the special occasion of her birthday, Dr Nene shared a stunning throwback photo of the couple leaving fans absolutely stunned. While sharing the photo, he said, Happy Birthday to my soul mate, @madhuridixitnene Life has been an amazing journey for us together and I look forward to the road ahead. Much Love and many happy returns of the day.

In terms of work, Madhuri Dixit was last seen on the celluloid in Karan Johars period drama flick, Kalank. Previously, she was also seen judging the dance reality TV show, Dance Deewane season 3.

ALSO READ| Madhuri Dixit in Seema Gujral's wine floral saree is an absolute gleaming goddess: Yay or Nay?

See the original post here:

Madhuri Dixit & husband Dr Nene turn Travel Tuesday buddies as they take over Milan; See pic - PINKVILLA