12 replies to this topic

[Log In Username]

Hi all.

There is one project that looks to me Really Amazing, and with lot of potential, that feets very well with the predictions of Ray Kurzweil, I'm talking of cource about the Blue Brain project -

1. http://seedmagazine....out_of_the_blue

2. http://seedmagazine...._of_the_blue/P2

3. http://ditwww.epfl.c...p;checkplugin=1

(If you watch the video, which is very recommended, better to wach it in the full screen mode to see the presentations well)


But I don't know why, in all of his lectures, Ray Kurzweil NEVER mentions this amazing project even in a one single word, he gives some examples of how we built models of some small parts of the brain, which works quite well, but he never say anything about the blue brain project, and I have no doubt that he knows about it, and it looks like he deliberately ignoring it. Do you know why is that? do you have any explenation for his ignorance with this project?

In a new lectures of Ray that I saw today: (nothing new, as in all of his lectures, he just keep repeathing the same things over and over again...)



He says something in seconds 50:10 - 50:25 that MAY refer to the blue brain project

(can you please tell me what does he say after "that I don't believe that it is quite accurate becouse" ? I couldn't understand what he say right after this in the following sentence...)

Anyway, I thing that it's a little irritate and annoying, and I just wanted to understand if there is a good reason for that.

Thanks.

Edited by Log In Username, 17 July 2009 - 02:50 PM.

[Log In Username]

"do you have any explenation for his ignorance with this project?"

I meant to say "ignoring", his ignoring with this project, not ignorance.


I'm sure that he knows about this project, no doubt about it, so the question is why does he never mention it or talk about it, although that it's fits very well with his own predictions about understanding the human mind, and although the project has shown an amazing results so far.

There must be a reason for that.

Edited by Log In Username, 18 July 2009 - 11:50 AM.

[forever freedom]

Maybe he doesn't want people to think that his prediction's success is somehow linked with whether the Blue Brain project will keep evolving and improving or not. So should the Blue Brain project fail/stall, he doesn't want people to think that his predictions have been invalidated. I'm just speculating here..

[Log In Username]

Maybe he doesn't want people to think that his prediction's success is somehow linked with whether the Blue Brain project will keep evolving and improving or not. So should the Blue Brain project fail/stall, he doesn't want people to think that his predictions have been invalidated. I'm just speculating here..

I don't know, it just deosn't looks logic to me, also becouse he gives examples of other projects that also may fail.

As far as I know, the Blue Brain project is one of the most ambitious and most advanced project today trying to to understand the brain and also to build one on a computer, so far it seems that the model has shown an amazing results (like the gamma oscillations) , and it looks like this project and it's schedule fits almost in 100% to what Ray talks about in his book, and to his predictions, so I just can't understand how can he ignore this project? and never say a word about it?

Say what you say, it looks really really strange.

Could it be that he have something personal against them or something? maybe he wanted to join them and it didn't work out?

Just wondering.

Edited by Log In Username, 18 July 2009 - 04:45 PM.

[okok]

(can you please tell me what does he say after "that I don't believe that it is quite accurate becouse" ? I couldn't understand what he say right after this in the following sentence...)

... cause i don't think we understand how it does invariant feature detection yet.

[Log In Username]

... cause i don't think we understand how it does invariant feature detection yet.

Thanks okok, what do you understand from this sentence?

Do you also think that it may refer to the blue brain project?

Edited by Log In Username, 18 July 2009 - 04:43 PM.

[forever freedom]

I don't know, it just deosn't looks logic to me, also becouse he gives examples of other projects that also may fail.

As far as I know, the Blue Brain project is one of the most ambitious and most advanced project today trying to to understand the brain and also to build one on a computer, so far it seems that the model has shown an amazing results (like the gamma oscillations) , and it looks like this project and it's schedule fits almost in 100% to what Ray talks about in his book, and to his predictions, so I just can't understand how can he ignore this project? and never say a word about it?

Say what you say, it looks really really strange.

Could it be that he have something personal against them or something? maybe he wanted to join them and it didn't work out?

Just wondering.

I'm really not sure of his reasons, although i don't think it's anything personal.. that would be kinda silly of him. He apparently doesn't show much enthusiasm for Aubrey's work either but it doesn't mean he has anything personal against it.

Edited by forever freedom, 18 July 2009 - 10:00 PM.

[Log In Username]

I'm really not sure of his reasons, although i don't think it's anything personal.. that would be kinda silly of him. He apparently doesn't show much enthusiasm for Aubrey's work either but it doesn't mean he has anything personal against it.

OK, Maybe you are right and it's not personal

But, it still looks very strange to me.... and I also don't think that you can compare Aubrey's work to the blue brain project....

I really hope that Ray will refer to this project in the next Singularity Summit, or at least explain why he is ignoring it like it's just some kind of an unimportant project in this field, I want to understand why does he ignore something that reflect so good his own ideas.

If someone didn't check yet the links in my first message, then now is the time, don't miss it.

Edited by Log In Username, 19 July 2009 - 05:17 PM.

[Log In Username]

Another good link, from not long ago -

http://news.bbc.co.u...ure/8012496.stm


"The Blue Brain has been put in a virtual body, and observing it gives the first indications of the molecular and neural basis of thought and memory...."

Man, that's amazing.

Edited by Log In Username, 20 July 2009 - 03:25 PM.

[valkyrie_ice]

hummm.

The most immediate benefit I can see to this project is design and virtual testing of brain machine interfaces, for artificial limbs, nerve damage bypasses, and even the creation of completely artificial neurons.

However, as I also know that we do not yet understand every chemical and hormonal function of the brain, it is unlikely this model will ever be 100% accurate until we have advanced our base of knowledge further. It is something which can accelerate that process enormously and I can see enormous fallout benefits to this project.

However, I think you pointed out something very true of Kurzweil in general. His lectures have been fine tuned, refined, and rehearsed, but if you see one, you've seen most of them. He's added very little to them in the last few years. I think he's more or less coasting atm. Hopefully something dynamic will occur to re ignite the old spark he used to have.

[Brain Mystery 2010]

Check here -

Henry Markram and Ray Kurzweil on the Israeli Presidential Conference 2009 "Facing Tomorrow", double click on the video for full screen -

http://presidentconf...ideo.asp?vId=40

(If you can't see the picture, click the "Stop" button beneath the video, then "Play" again)


And to those of you who know Hebrew, here are some astonishing lectures of Prof. Idan Segev -

1. an Interview with Idan Segev, this one have an english translation:




2. Here are first 3 lectures of Prof. Idan Segev from his new course called "From synapses to free will", this lectures include lot of interesting stuff, as well as videos, new images, and most update information about the brain research and on the "Blue Brain" project, there should be about 15 lectures altogether in this course (one of them will be dedicated to the Blue-Brain project) , each week another one will be added to YouTube. It sounds very very interesting, and I hope that they will soon also add an english translation so that everyone will be able to enjoy it -

Lecture 1:

Lecture 2:

Lecture 3: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-DPOZfLQuSU


3. Idan Segev - "The Artistic Brain", the first 10 minutes doesn't require any translation -

http://switch5.castu...ain.asp?Lang=HE

(double click on the video for a full screen view)


4. Idan Segev is talking about the "Blue Brain Project":

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L0AR1cUlhTk

Edited by Brain Mystery 2010, 06 November 2009 - 11:38 PM.

[Brain Mystery 2010]

Don't understand why link number 1 is not working from my message. Go to YouTube and type in the searching box "blue brain project", it should be on the first results.

[Brain Mystery 2010]

Strange, it's working again...