An article in the Guardian today reports that "In two separate experiments, scientists have formed a network from the brains of monkeys and rats, allowing them to co-operate and learn as a “superbrain”". In a nutshell: scientists have connected monkey and rat brains together so that the brains connect and solve problems as a neuronal team. Miguel Nicolelis says that "the development of brain-machine interfaces [...] could allow amputees and paralysed people to directly control prosthetic limbs and exoskeletons," and that the "latest advance may have clinical benefits in brain rehabilitation [...] but could also pave the way for “organic computers” - collectives of animal brains linked together to solve problems." Most telling is Nicolelis's response to the thought that--just perhaps--such an experiment might force comparisons with science fiction: "“We’re conditioned by movies and Hollywood to think that everything related to science is dangerous and scary. These scary scenarios never crossed my mind and I’m the one doing the experiments.”" The scary scenarios never crossed his mind--isn't that the problem here?
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Project THE HUMANIST anthropoceneis a thought archive and workspace of Phillip John Usher (NYU) at the crossroads of early modern humanism and the problems and insights of the Anthropocene. Main Research Page. Categories
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May 2016
Related SitesASLE (Association for the Study of Literature and the Environment)
Environmental Humanities (journal) Resilience (A Journal of the Environmental Humanities) All text and images quoted from other sources used according to fair use. If I have used one of your images and you would like me to remove it, please email me.
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