Saturday, May 01, 2004

part 1 of "what is self?" imagine a newly born brain with a billion inputs/outputs and no idea what they correspond to. how does the brain figure out which are related to self and which are not? one heuristic is based on control; if you have perfect control over something, it's most likely part of you. for example, if you wish your arm to move, it moves, so it's part of you. if you wish the traffic light to turn green and it doesn't immediately do so, it's not part of you. funnily enough, when a baby is first being cared for by its mother, it often thinks that its mother is part of self because the mother so readily adminsters to its every need. only when the mother starts to pull away and stop immediately satisfying every need does the baby begin to release that the mother it not part of self. this is sometimes called "separation anxiety". i don't think that control is the only heuristic, but it's a good start. i'll add another section to this series next week. 10:31:19 PM    comment []

just ordered "altered carbon" based on a recommendation from wesley felter's web site. 10:23:02 PM    comment []

well, last week i said goodbye to my furry friend of 14 years, and today i said goodbye to my metallic friend of 9 years, namely my beloved lotus esprit. it was really a fantastic car, and never ceased to take my breath away, but i felt it was time to purchase a new car. and i have to say, my new mercedes SL55 is close to sex on wheels. i came close to getting a black SL600, then moved towards a red SL500, but finally settled on a diamond silver SL55. the diamond silver is a special color scheme that looks awesome on the car, and the performance is great. unlike the lotus, which sounded like an overactive egg beater, the SL55 gives a throaty roar when you floor the accelerator. that, combined with the retractable roof, the panoramic sunroof, and all the other mod cons, makes an unbeatable combination. summer in washington d.c. is going to be that much more enjoyable with this new convertible! the first CD i put in the changer; ABBA! 10:22:15 PM    comment []

if you want to contribute to a really good cause, i recommend the smile train charity, at http://www.smiletrain.org. check out the site. just $250 can dramatically improve a child's life. 12:21:02 AM    comment []