Brain+and+Mind

On Thursday May 22, we were pleased to have Professor Richard Clark join us.

Things we explored with Richard included:

Ontology Brain & Mind - are they the same or different? Qualia Problem - are others experiences of the same things the same as my experiences of them? Do we all see the same orange? (at least some) religion regards brain & mind as different In Richard's work, he regards them as the same

Epistemology What we know and what we think we know

Transliteration - different languages of discourse - each discipline uses its own words - interdisciplinary discourse requires shared understandings

Levels of organisation in the brain

Different parts of the brain mature at different times Some things are easier to learn at different ages Language - earlier Calculus - later

Synaptic Pruning - severing connections - different stages - 8, 13, 16, 19 - heavy pruning times Some is always happening - at night, when we sleep Evolutionary development