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Facebook Fan Page "Forced Like" Ethics
I recently dove into a project to set up Facebook Tab Manager, a cool plugin from David Carr that feeds a Facebook fan page it's content from your WordPress install. There are a couple cool features of the plugin for turning off certain WP filters that makes it especially nice. Otherwise, you can create your fan page content just like you create your blog content — same interface, editor, and plugins.
The challenge I set up for myself was to get the much touted "forced like" feature integrated for my friends and clients. I let a few people know that I was looking for testers and my friend @ShelHorowitz sent a DM on twitter mentioning that he boycotts any pages that use "forced like." This got me thinking.
So here was my question: is having more content available to those who "like" your fan page on Facebook any different than sending exclusive content to those who subscribed via an email capture page on a web site?
For those that don't know, the idea of a "forced like" is that in order to see the content on a Facebook fan page you would have to click the "like" button and become their "fan" first. I've seen people selling poorly thought out schemes for collecting a bazillion fans overnight that rely on the curiosity factor around this hidden content as the only reason to become a fan.
I suspected that the reason Shel found that objectionable is that the reason it is named forced like — it is typically done with such hype and strong language that it is assumed you won't be able to see anything unless you are a fan. In the extreme cases, where the only content on the fan page is the single piece of "hidden" content, it is probably true that you'd have to "like" it before seeing anything. The funny thing is, if that's all there is to see, it's probably not worth the time/energy/attention to like it.
There are many legitimate uses for splitting publicly viewable content from fan/like/subscriber-only content. Rewarding those who "join the tribe" is a great thing, you just need to make sure you're giving other reasons to join besides just the "bribe."
Personally, I intend to use this splitting of content in much the same way that Seth Godin suggests we use cookies — giving those who have not opted-in and "liked" the fan page useful information that A) they may need/want before deciding to "like" the page and B) they probably won't need after they have opted-in because they'll be a part of the tribe. Then, and only then, I would consider a bribe if deemed necessary.
You shouldn't need the landing tab to include things like contact info because that is always visible on the "Info" tab, and with congruent activity the wall posts should give people a good idea of what to expect in their news feeds as fans. Depending on the level of tech-savvy of your audience, you may need that landing tab to include explicit instructions for a visitor to browse your other tabs and/or click "Like" to receive future updates and describing how they'll get those updates.
It turns out that not being able to see much content was only a minor part of Shel's objection, which he elaborated to me later in the day. The main issue around liking pages, forced or not, is that of implied endorsement in a public arena and the reputation management that goes along with that Like/endorsement being spread across your friends' news feeds.
This adds a new twist on the old aphorism:
Now you need people to know and trust you enough to "Like" you!
With all that in mind, if you'd like to be notified when I have my updated version of that plugin ready for a wider audience, go ahead and enter your name and email in the form below and opt-in.
(See, that wasn't so hard to do — a little relationship building, sharing some good info, and then suggesting the next action for those who are interested. Go do the same thing on your Facebook fan pages and you'll be just fine.)


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grease wrote:Frog Rock action tomorrow at noon. Please show up so I can make some money off of you because that's all I care about according to Keith.
gvan wrote:While I would rather play LITW, I am unavailable for the first round. 2 in the afternoon I can do. I'll be there as long as you limit the action to 72 players...
grease wrote:I'm a loser like that!
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Samsonite L.I.F.T. Upright 24" Expandable Luggage
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Here's one for all the autobody guys out there. Ever try to pour paint out of a 5 gallon pail into a 1 pint mixing jar? If the pail is full you almost always make a mess on your first try. Here is the solution I came uup with:
Results 1 to 10 of 13
Thread: "Bucket Tipper"
08-10-2010, 10:01 PM #1Senior Member
- Join Date
- Jan 2009
- Location
- Whitehorse, Yukon
- Posts
- 279
"Bucket Tipper"Big Blue 400D
Trailblazer 302
Miller S-32 suitcase
12VS suitcase
Lincoln LN-7 (BIG suitcase)
Victor torches
Lincoln 350MP with 35' push-pull gun
Lincoln PrecisionTIG 375
Spectrum 1000 plasma cutter
08-10-2010, 10:12 PM #2Member
- Join Date
- Jun 2008
- Posts
- 51
I like it alot. Any more close up pics or details of the hinges and the drum securing parts?
Thanks, Scott
08-10-2010, 10:43 PM #3Senior Member
- Join Date
- Jan 2009
- Location
- Whitehorse, Yukon
- Posts
- 279
The whole material list is as follows:
1/8" plate cut into a 10" dia. circle
16' of 3/4"x3/4"x0.100" tubing
18" 1/2" dia. hot rolled mild steel
36" 1/8"x3/4" flat bar
3" 1" hot roll with 17/32" hole bored through
10@ 1/2" flat washers
2@ 1//2"x2" NC bolts
2@ 1/2" NC nuts
After boring (drilling if you don't have a lathe) the 1" round bar, cut 2 1" pcs and 2 1/2" pcs. the short pieces become part of the clamp system. The 1" pieces are for the hinge assemblies.
Make 2 assy. for the clamps by welding a 1/2"nut, a 2" piece of the 1/2" hot roll and one of the 1/2" bushings together (repeat twice). I ran a bolt through each nut on the clamp assemblies and tacked a 1/2" washer to the end of it to make the pads. Put both of these on a 3" piece of hot roll with a washer tacked at each end. These make a small bar- or bessy-style clamp
Hinges are the same type of thing: a 2" piece of hot roll run through a 1" bushing w/ washers welded on either side to eliminate lateral play.
Clear as mud? Hope this helps-- If not PM me and I'll take some more photos this week. Cheers!!
WHBig Blue 400D
Trailblazer 302
Miller S-32 suitcase
12VS suitcase
Lincoln LN-7 (BIG suitcase)
Victor torches
Lincoln 350MP with 35' push-pull gun
Lincoln PrecisionTIG 375
Spectrum 1000 plasma cutter
Sweet idea! And a nice job.Professional firefighter (retired). Amateur everything else I try to do...
Oh yeah: GO BIG RED!
I like it! Don't often deal with 5 gallon cans, but dealing with 1 gallon cans into a mixing cup is hard enough.Miller Syncrowave 200
Homemade Water Cooler
Spectrum 375
60 year old Logan Lathe
Select Machine and Tool Mill
More stuff than I can keep track of..
08-13-2010, 02:31 AM #6Senior Member
- Join Date
- Jul 2006
- Posts
- 1,508
08-13-2010, 03:35 AM #7Senior Member
- Join Date
- Apr 2010
- Location
- Bronson, Fl
- Posts
- 168
cool idea, Add an adapter for the space of a 1 gallon can and voila' multi use can pourer. Sweet deal, looks good miller blue too!!!
Before your post the only "bucket tipper" I knew about was a horse that would dump out his water/feed bucket.
Since I had a little painting job coming up about the time you posted this I decided to build one of my own. I also made a "mixer stand" to hold my 1/2" Milwaukee drill with a paint mixing attachment. The stand is tall enough to be used with a 5 gallon bucket while it is in the tipper stand.
BucketTipper1.jpg MixerStand1.jpg PaintPallet.jpgLarry
"I feel for the man who can only spell a word one way"......Mark Twain
Lincoln AC225-S (OLD/Copper Wound)
Lincoln Weldpac 100
Miller Matic 180 (auto set)
Miller Spool gun 100
Miller Spectrum 375 Extreme
Victor Super Range II
09-15-2010, 08:09 PM #9Member
- Join Date
- Jul 2010
- Location
- central Kansas
- Posts
- 66
that would make pouring the coolant in to a five gallon bucket much easier wonder if i could make one for 55 gal. Hmmm
Looks good and very practical.Miller 180


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City of Jefferson Law Enforcement ServicesProvided by Marion County Sheriff's Office
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Contact Information:Emergencies: 9-1-1Non-Emergency Dispatch: 503-588-5032Sheriff's Office Administration: 503-588-5094
If you have questions about the Sheriff's Office or suggestions for this webpage, please email firstname.lastname@example.com.


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Terms & Conditions.
Some product exclusions may apply. See product page details for more information. Clearance items are final sale. Price matching does not apply to this or any promotion. Offer is valid until September 13 at 11:59 PM PST. May not be combined with any other offer/discount (unless specified), including invitation credits, promotional gift cards and/or special discount links. Discount applied upon checkout. Log in to your account to see your savings.
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The County Commission meets in formal session on Tuesdays at 10 a.m. in Room 422 of the Broward County Governmental Center. Public Hearings begin at 2 p.m. as designated on the meeting schedule.
The County Commission schedules workshops as needed on specific topics that require additional discussion. Individuals who wish to address the Commission at a Commission Meeting or Public Hearing may do so, subject to the rules and procedures established in the Broward County Administrative Code.
Call County Administration at 954-357-7350 to confirm workshop meeting dates, times and locations. If due to a disability, you require communication aids, please contact the Office of County Administrator at 954-357-7000 or for Hearing Impaired/TTY 954-831-3940. Please make your request in advance, if possible.
Commission Meeting Agendas and Public Hearing Agendas are posted to the Web site prior to the meeting, along with back-up material. Supplemental agenda items may be added to the current agenda at any time prior to the Commission Meeting. Prior to the Commission meeting, please check online for the possible addition of supplemental agenda items. You can register to receive an email notification each time a new agenda is posted. You can also view the archive of Action Agendas and meeting minutes.
Archive of County Action Agendas
Archive of Broward County Commission Meeting Minutes
County Commission meetings are televised live on participating cable channels on Tuesdays beginning at 10 a.m. Public Hearing broadcasts begin at 2 p.m. Over 507,000 cable subscribers in Broward County have access to television coverage of these meetings. Find a participating service provider.
Meetings are also Webcast live in a larger screen viewing format or on Broward County's Video Central. View minimum system requirements and downloads.
County Commission meetings including Public Hearings are rebroadcast on participating cable channels beginning each Friday at 5:30 p.m. Find a participating cable channel.


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Calgary, AB (SportsNetwork.com) - Marc-Andre Fleury made 27 saves and the Pittsburgh Penguins took a 2-1 win over the Calgary Flames on Saturday.
Chris Kunitz and Matt Niskanen scored for the Penguins, who went 2-0-1 in a Western Canada road swing.
"It was nice to have a nice, low-scoring game," said Fleury. "The last few games were a little crazy. We have a lot of guys who can score goals, but if we want to be successful we have to do well defensively."
Calgary, meanwhile, is in the midst of a scoring slump that has seen the team score just six goals in its last eight games, losing seven of those contests.
Mikael Backlund scored the lone goal of the game for the Flames, who got 24 saves from Reto Berra.
"I wasn't as good as the guy on the other side tonight," said Berra. "You know, the guys in front made some blocks and I was able to make some saves, but not enough."
The Penguins went on top at 16:34 of the first period as Kunitz's heavy wrist shot from a sharp angle at the right side of the net found a hole for his 24th of the season.
At 6:42 of the second, the Penguins took a 2-0 lead as Niskanen drifted over from the right point and threw a shot on net that made it through traffic.
Calgary was awarded a five-minute major when Robert Bortuzzo was handed a major for checking from behind, but Michael Cammalleri took a cross checking call just over two minutes into the advantage.
The Flames, though, finally managed to break through as Backlund flew down the left wing and left fly with a wrister that beat Fleury to the glove side at 11:29.
That goal broke a home scoreless streak of 174 minutes, 59 seconds, but that was all the Flames were able to manage as the team was unable to net the equalizer before time expired.
Pittsburgh has off until Wednesday when it will host Washington ... Calgary
heads to Carolina for a game on Monday ... Pittsburgh has won seven straight
against Calgary, last losing a game on Dec. 3, 2005.


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NAMI FaithNet Newsletter: October 2010
Welcome to the October issue of the NAMI FaithNet Newsletter.
In This Issue:
- One Mind Mental Illness Ministry: Changing the World One Mind at a Time
- The Role of Religion in the Well-being of Older Adults Living with Schizophrenia
- The Spiritual Life and Bipolar Disorder
- NAMI FaithNet Bookshelf: Just Like Your Father
- October Mental Wellness Series in Indianapolis
One Mind Mental Illness Ministry: Changing the World One Mind at a Time
After her daughter was diagnosed with mental illness, Bonnie Kinschner's family joined together to create One Mind Mental Illness Ministry. One Mind's mission is to raise awareness of the role of spirituality in recovery, educate people about mental illness, erase stigma and create caring communities.
The Role of Religion in the Well-being of Older Adults Living with Schizophrenia
According to Psychiatric Services, a new study explores the impact of religion on the quality of life of older adults living with schizophrenia.
The study findings suggest that religiousness may have a positive impact on the quality of life of older adults with schizophrenia, and it must be considered along with other therapeutically beneficial resources.
The Spiritual Life and Bipolar Disorder
In a recent Beyond Blue blog entry, Therese Borchard discusses the sometimes murky distinction between spiritual enthusiasm and more intense religiosity that may be a symptom of bipolar mania.
NAMI FaithNet Bookshelf
Just Like Your Father
Brenda S. Baranowski, R.N; B.S.N.
(PublishAmerica, 2010)
Baranowski's memoir captures her 10-year struggle with mental illness before receiving an accurate diagnosis of bipolar disorder. Her illness impacted all aspects of her life, including her relationships with family and her career. Brenda reflects on the significant role spirituality plays in her recovery, which ultimately leads her to strengthened family relationships and a rewarding new career.
October Mental Wellness Series in Indianapolis
North United Methodist Church in Indianapolis will host three free Saturday mental health ministry seminars from 9 a.m. - 12 p.m. throughout October.
Saturday, Oct. 9
- Mental Illness and Families of Faith: How Congregations Can Respond
- Facilitator: Carole Wills, M.A.R.
Saturday, Oct. 16
- Mental Wellness: Managing Stress & Depression
- Presenter: Jay D. Fawver, M.D., Clinical Professor of Psychiatry, Indiana University School of Medicine
Saturday, Oct. 23
- Caring for our Veterans and Military Families
- Presenters: Scott Patterson, Ph.D. and John W. Myers, M.S.W., Veterans Health Administration
Register by calling (317) 924-2612.
North United Methodist Church
3808 North Meridian St.
Indianapolis, IN 46208


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Read to a Dog
Tuesday, September 9, 2014 - 3:00pm to 4:00pm
Type of Event:
- Read to a Dog
Branch:Windsor Regional Library
Event Address:
9291 Old Redwood Highway
Building 100
Windsor, CA 95492
Come read to one of our reading dog teams. They are here in the library every Tuesday from 3:00 - 4:00 pm and would love to hear some stories read to them by children! Visit 7 times and earn a free book to keep!


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Nb: infants must be under the age of 2 and
children must be under the age of 12 at the time of
This exquisite hotel, ideally situated in the resort centre, is family-run, which means that you can always rely on a genuine welcome from the charming Italian owners. The Bouton d'Or's well furnished rooms and its warm and friendly atmosphere are just two of the reasons why British guests return to this hotel year after year.
35 Bedrooms: All bedrooms have private bath or shower, WC, satellite TV, minibar, hairdryer, safe and some have balcony.Family room: Comprising of a twin and single room sharing a bathroom. When booked by two people the single remains closed.
Iglu acts as a travel agent for disclosed principals/tour operators, further details
of which will be made available at the time of booking. Your holiday contract will
be bound by the tour operators terms and conditions.
Prices are shown for a basic room or unit, can be subject to change and are indicative
until time of booking. Please call on 020 8544 7114 for prices for other travel
and room options for this property.
Prices shown are per person per week based on maximum occupancy. Descriptions and
quality ratings are provided by the Tour Operator (or one of the Tour Operators
where similar holidays are offered by more than one supplier). We reserve the right
to make minor adjustments to the description or rating based on staff and customer
feedback. For payments by credit card, a 2.5% credit card charge (4% for AMEX) will
be added to your invoice. If you pay by a UK issued debit card, there is no charge.
All bookings are subject to a £5 per person Passenger Admin Fee charged by Iglu.com.


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Nick Haines interviews Bryan Hansel, whose Kansas City-based company, Smith Electric, is a leading manufacturer of electric trucks.
Inside Smith Electric:
President Obama's speech at Smith Electric on July 8, 2010


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Asia ACCESS Global MSL Pressure/Thickness/Rainfall Analysis Chart
- location
- Africa
- Asia
- Europe
- New Zealand
- North America
- South America
About ACCESS Global
Australian Community Climate and Earth-System Simulator (ACCESS). Based upon the UK Met Office Unified Model system. ACCESS G is the global numerical forecast model operated by the BoM. It is run twice daily (00Z and 12Z) and provides forecast data out to 240 hours with a horizontal resolution of 80km and 50 vertical levels.
Weather News
A gusty day for SA
Yesterday, much of South Australia was being battered by a low pressure system, sending gusty showers onshore.
Thundery start for NSW and southern QLD
A band of thunderstorms swept across NSW and QLD late last night and into this morning, bringing a thundery alarm.
Canberra experiences wettest winter in 10 years, coldest nights since 1997
Canberra has shivered its way through the most cold nights since 1997 and its wettest winter since 2005.


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From Textop Wiki
←Older revision | Newer revision→
|Welcome to the planning pages
|for the
The planning wiki
As future members of Citizendium, please feel free to make this into an excellent project planning resource.
If you wish to contribute to this wiki, in the spirit of Citizendium, please sign up using your own real name as your username.
This wiki is for any documents about the Citizendium project that you would like others to collaborate on. Here: arguments from the discussion forums and mailing lists are summarised; ideas are documented; and technical designs are advanced. It's a useful resource for those who have little time to spare. Please contribute, and add any pages created to Category:Citizendium.
- For relaxed, conversational debate - head to the Citizendium forums at http://smf.citizendium.org.
- For reasoned argument and in-depth collaboration - please use the Citizendium mailing lists at http://www.citizendium.org/lists.html
- What is Citizendium and the vision for it? - See http://www.citizendium.org.
We will move these planning pages to a specially set-up "meta" wiki when one is created.
Project news
05 October 2006 - Pilot Project
Larry Sanger has announced on the Citizendium-L mailing list that a pilot project was to start development straight away.
26 September 2006 - Communications
The Citizendium mailing lists are active. Maturing topics are being refactored onto the Project Pages listed below. Please help.
The mailing lists are a place to focus on quality over quantity; somewhere to put minds together and carefully and at length come to well-reasoned, deeply-reasoned recommendations for the project. :See Working rules for the Mailing lists.
The Citizendium discussion forums are now live at http://smf.citizendium.org. This is the place for chat and informal exchanges for the project. The forums are moderated.
22 September 2006 - Citizendium on the web
As of Friday, 22 September 2006, 06:17 GMT, a search on Google, using the term "Citizendium", returned over one million hits. Library staff around the world, whose job it is to monitor blogs to do with new forms of information dissemination and information technology, have already noticed a huge upsurge in interest in this project, as well as links to this wiki.
Projected Milestones
These milestones should be only the most significant "watershed" developments in the project.
Launch website(Sept. 15)
Make initial announcement(Sept. 15)
Launch mailing lists(Sept. 20)
Launch forums and re-launch mailing lists(Sept. 26)
Find wiki host/co-lo(Oct. 12)
- Do press release
- Launch wiki privately (pilot project)
- Launch wiki publicly
- Hold first face-to-face meeting
- Adopt charter
Project Pages
Pilot project
- How do we define a field?
- How should topics be structured?
- How should we handle sourcing?
- On the nature and sources of knowledge
- Mailing lists to solicit
- Blogs to solicit
- Professional organizations to solicit
- How do we attract collaborators?
- How shall we do copyediting?
- On the nature and sources of expertise
- What makes someone an expert?
- What types of contributors do we need?
Basic Mechanics
- Do we need a temporary forum?
- How do we market Citizendium?
- How should the Real Names policy work?
- What should we do about importing articles?
- When should we aim to go public?
- Pilot project
Technical Specifications
Suggestion Box
- JA: Here's the thing, as far as I go. I don't get this bit about "constables" and I probably never will. I think that you'll probably be sorry someday that you ever went down that road -- again. I think that I can begin to see the wisdom of forking the whole compendious-quality content at once. If you ever get around to actually working on articles, then that is something I can understand, and if I am lucky enough to be "chosen" to work on some of the articles that I created or made major contributions to on Wikipedia then I will help you work on those. 'Nuff said. Jon Awbrey 09:00, 8 October 2006 (PDT)
- JA: Larry's idea to treat the Forum as a chat-room has reduced the usefulness of that kind of board system. If you have to be away for an hour or two there are 40 new messages, swamping the 10-new-message list, and 90% of them trivial chatter. Plus we are having power blips here, forcing me to work through a notepad buffer. So I'll have deal off the top and respond via wiki only to what I regard as the most important issues that I happen to see. Jon Awbrey 10:32, 13 October 2006 (PDT)
- JA: Somebody suggested "adjudicator". I had at one time been thinking of "ombudsman", but I got the impression that Larry was thinking more of a "decision of the constabulary is final" sort of role, so I didn't bother with that. I begin to think that maybe we should just call a Sam Spade a Sam Spade and use the term that Plato used in the Republic, to wit, phylax, usually translated guardian. Now, that's the word we get prophylactic from, so be prepared for some, er, ribbing. But heck, if you can take the heat of Dogberry and Keystone Cop, what's a little more poking in the ribs gonna hurt? Jon Awbrey 10:46, 13 October 2006 (PDT)
- All kidding aside -- not an EZ thing for me to do this late on a Friday night -- and as I've tried to emphasize repeatedly, it's not about the name, it's about the game. Like the title says, it's a larger problem with the very metaphor of community itself. Saying this is yet another painful duty for a person who frequently argues for the value of metaphors, but there is more than a metaphor here -- there's what we call a "category confusion" that confounds abstract and concrete senses of the word "community" and slips down the slope from one to the other and back again without most folks noticing the logical and practical error that has grabbed you by the lapels and truncheoned you about the head and ears before you even know what's happened.
- PS. I will move these notes to the talk page when they get to be old biz. Jon Awbrey 19:28, 13 October 2006 (PDT)


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Crisis in Syria: What you need to know
POSTED: 11:22 AM PDT Sep 09, 2013 UPDATED: 10:29 PM PDT Sep 09, 2013
As the U.S. considers a military strike in Syria, take a look at some of the key things to know about the conflict and the country.
The views expressed are not those of this company or its affiliated companies. Please note by clicking on "Post" you acknowledge that you have read the Terms Of Service and the comment you are posting is in compliance with such terms.blog comments powered by Disqus


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What Does Mac Miller Think About Donald Trump's Lawsuit?
Donald Trump took to Twitter yesterday to voice his displeasure with Mac Miller profiting off of his name with the song "Donald Trump."
Leaving no controversy unaddressed, Mac Miller took to his Twitter account to let his 3 million plus followers know where his head was at following the news.


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The Lady Wolves played 80 solid minutes of soccer on Monday on their way to posting an impressive 2-1 victory over the visiting Brockway Lady Rovers. The Kane offense dominated the action early, controlling the ball for most of the early going.
The Elk County Catholic Crusader football team had their homecoming game on Saturday afternoon at Dutch Country Stadium, losing 35-7 to the Kane Wolves to fall to 0-6 on the season.
"We had some things going there. We made some mistakes," said ECC head coach Tony Gerg. "I wish we could have had a better showing for homecoming."
Kane football Coach Todd Silfies doesn't have to look far to find an example of an undefeated underestimating an opponent and getting upset.
The Kane girls golf team won the 2013 District 9 AA girls golf championship at Coundersport Golf Club on Monday.
JACKSON, N.Y. – The Kane cross country teams traveled to Jackson New Jersey over the weekend to compete in the Six Flags Wild Safari Invite.
The St. Marys Lady Dutch traveled to Kane on Tuesday evening and came away with a 5-set victory, 25-23, 17-25, 25-16, 14-25 and 15-7.
The Kane boys' soccer team hosted the West Forest Fire on Monday and came away with a 5-1 loss.
Neither team was able to score for the first 20 minutes as both teams missed chances at the net. The visitors got onto the scoreboard first with 20:41 left in the half when a Fire player scored among a crowd in front of Kane goalie Tyler Schleicher. The team from Tionesta tacked on two more goals before the break.
The Kane Wolves dominated Friday night's game with Curwensville on both sides of the ball, winning the battle of 4-0 AML South teams by a score of 42-8. The Wolves' defense, led by senior lineman Evan Delong, forced four turnovers and the Wolves offense scored early and often against the visiting Golden Tide.
The Kane Wolves survived a wild game with Brockway last Friday, rallying for a 35-31 win in a battle of 3-0 teams. Things don't get any easier this week as Kane coach Todd Silfies' Wolves host the Curwensville Golden Tide in a clash between two 4-0 AML South heavyweights.
The Kane Lady Wolves hosted the DuBois Central Catholic Lady Cardinals on Thursday night in volleyball action. The Lady Wolves weren't very cordial hosts as they made short work of the visitors, defeating them in three sets, 25-12, 25-15 and 25-15.


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Staff Picks
Don't forget to check out our staff picks for kids!
September 24, 2012
The Cat Who Went to Paris
by Gethers, Peter
This is the true story of Norton, an adorable Scottish Fold kitten, who comes to live with a cat-hating screenwriter named Peter Gethers and grows up to travel the world meeting famous actors and writers and dining in style at the best restaurants in Paris. Amazingly, this classy cat actually enjoys traveling whether it is riding in Peter's pocket through the streets and subways of New York City or jetsetting across country and around the world. Although Peter is initially aghast when his girlfriend presents him with this tiny kitten, Norton has Peter wrapped around his paw before the evening is over. This is the first hilarious volume in the Norton trilogy followed by A Cat Abroad and The Cat Who'll Live Forever.
— Recommended by Deborah Jones, Franklin Road Library
September 17, 2012
by Malarkey, Tucker
If you liked The Da Vinci Code this is the book for you. The story takes place at the end of World War II and involves the actual discovery of the Nag Hammadi texts. Gemma is the daughter of an archeologist who is trying to obtain these texts before they are lost to the academic world by being sold to private collectors. When she receives a letter telling her that her father is dead she travels to Egypt to bury him and put his affairs in order. There she is drawn into the lives of an English ex-patriot family with two sons. One son has been badly wounded in the war and the other is an archaeologist and friend of her father. Each represents a different path to healing and spiritual growth and challenges her concepts of life and biblical teachings. What is also given is a factual look at the antiquities market and the intrigue involved is getting this archaeological discovery into a museum. This book can also be "read" in audio book format.
— Recommended by Lygia Bischoff, Pike Library
September 10, 2012
The Empty Mirror: Experiences in a Japanese Zen Monastery
by Vetering, Janwillem van de
I've read and enjoyed many of Janwillem van de Wetering's murder mysteries featuring the Amsterdam cops, but my favorite book by this wandering Dutchman was his first, a memoir about his stay in a Zen monastery in Kyoto. No mystical halo glows over the abbey or its residents. The same goes for Wetering--on a bus in town, he uses his elevated powers of concentration to persuade a beautiful woman to rub up against him--but he is for the most part an earnest student of meditation, while most of the young Japanese monks are there because that's where their families sent them. A lot of them take periodic trips into town to spend time with prostitutes and otherwise amuse themselves. Sometime after reading this book, I spent a couple months at a Zen abbey, and the abbess there, who had trained in Japan, expressed contempt for monasteries where this sort of behavior was allowed. Had she read The Empty Mirror and been irritated by it, or was such laxness rampant in Japanese abbeys?
Strangest thing of all about this down-to-earth book: I found it inspiring.
— Recommended by Glenn Halberstadt, Information Technology
September 3, 2012
by Winslow, Don
Once you've read a book by Don Winslow, you know what to expect: something totally different than his last book. This is one author whose style changes from book to book, who takes chances with his prose and isn't going to get trapped in that rut of writing the same book over and over, thank you very much. Savages is gritty and raunchy and has moments that had me saying, "I can't believe I'm reading this." It's about two likeable small-time marijuana dealers in southern California and their girlfriend, O. Reading it, I kept asking myself if there was any possibility that Winslow hadn't taken his research into the drug trade a little too seriously. But Winslow is such a terrific writer than he manages to make the reader care about Ben and Chon and O. Sure they're criminals, but compared to the guys they're up against, aren't they pretty doggone likable? Apparently so, because a movie is said to be in the works, directed by Oliver Stone and starring John Travolta.
— Recommended by Cheryl Holtsclaw, West Indianapolis Library
August 27, 2012
Hard Country
by McGarrity, Michael
Hard Country traces the years between 1875 and 1918 through the eyes of one family, the Kerneys, and their friends, enemies, and neighbors, both fictional and historical. The book opens brutally; John Kerney, within one day, acquires a son and loses his wife, brother, and nephew on the lonesome plains of West Texas. Leaving his son, Patrick, in the care of his bereaved sister-in-law, he ends up working his way into New Mexico Territory as a trail hand, finally establishing a ranch in the Tularosa Basin. Written with care, compassion, and an astute eye for beauty, the novel not only portrays a family (the good, the bad, and the ugly) through parts of three generations, but the politics and history--both human and natural--of the state they call home. Readers please note that this book is closer to the works of Larry McMurtry and Ivan Doig than those of Zane Grey. Followers of McGarrity's Kevin Kerney police procedurals will find immediately that this is part of the back story of McGarrity's modern day detective.
— Recommended by Miriam Guidero, Glendale Library.


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Malcolm Gladwell, author of the best-selling Blink, Outliers and The Tipping Point, makes some typically counterintuitive — and controversial — claims in his new David and Goliath: Underdogs, Misfits and the Art of Battling Giants.
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Take dyslexia: Far from being a learning disability, it might just be a "desirable difficulty" that teaches those with the disorder to deal with failure — and thereby achieve career success.
Losing a parent in childhood is a traumatic burden, no question — but might it also instill a resilience to life's shocks that makes you tougher than your peers?
And could it be possible there's "a point at which money and resources stop making our lives better and start making them worse"?
We asked the man who's made a career of rejecting conventional wisdom to explain.
Q: Thanks to your four previous books, phrases like "the tipping point" and "10,000 hours" [to master any skill] have become part of the cultural conversation. What will readers take away from David and Goliath?
A: I have no idea! The takeaways from the previous books all surprised me. It never occurred to me that the 10,000 hours thing [from Outliers: The Story of Success] would be something people remember. I put that in as a kind of throwaway little moment; I never thought anything would come of it. That experience convinced me you can't predict how people will respond to your work.
Q: But what would you like them to take away?
A: I'd just like people to have more respect for the hidden virtues of certain kinds of adversity. And I'd like people with power to be a little more cautious in how they use it.
Q: You say "the act of facing overwhelming odds produces greatness and beauty." Aren't most underdogs just trying to survive?
A: Yeah, but sometimes in merely trying to survive, greater things happen. Out of a child's struggle to overcome an unspeakable upbringing, for example, often comes the strength and the tools to do something transcendent.
Q: You say "the right question" for us to ask is whether "we as a society need people who have emerged from some kind of trauma — and the answer is that we plainly do. This is not a pleasant fact to contemplate."
A: I'm saying that hardship in a certain sense is inevitable. People will always be born with disabilities of one kind or another; there will always be minorities alongside majorities. These things are a constant feature of our world. It makes sense to examine them and say, "What comes of them?"
Next page: Malcolm Gladwell on turning 50 and the secret to his success. »


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I have some liquid mead yeast that has expired a couple years ago, according to the date on it. It has always been kept in the refrigerator. Could it be revived and used or do I need to buy some new yeast?
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A couple years is a LONG time :) I would make a starter with the yeast, if the starter takes off then you're all set. If it doesn't get going, get some new yeast.
These are some good instructions for making a starter
I haven't brewed mead, but having brewed regularly for a couple of years I would suggest not using it. Liquid yeast (for beer) costs about $10 where I am, and I wouldn't risk wrecking a batch because of some old yeast.


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We're entering the dog days of summer, Books on Screen readers. What does that mean for us? I'm not sure! And judging from August's batch of releases, I'd bet the studios aren't either. Let's talk about it!
The big disappointment this month is the un-fantastic Fantastic Four. And I don't just mean star Miles Teller and his…um…unflattering profile in Esquire; the resounding consensus is that FF is kind of a mess, and not the hot kind (sorry, Human Torch). The good news is that if you're looking for a bit of action, Insurgent is now available on DVD --- if you're on the fence (or, er, wall) about it, check out this clip featuring author Veronica Roth and the cast discussing adapting the book into a movie. Plus, Ansel Elgort is basically Miles Teller-lite, so you won't be missing out on any summer fun.
One movie that's getting rave reviews (which we featured in our Books on Screen bookshelf) is The Diary of a Teenage Girl. Based on Phoebe Gloeckner's frank, heavily autobiographical novel, it's the story of a precocious 15-year-old girl's sexual awakening, set in 1970s San Francisco. The film got great early buzz when it debuted at Sundance, and it's a must-see for anyone interested in honest, avant-garde storytelling. And if you're interested in the visually stunning, check out the gorgeously animated The Prophet, which intersperses Khalil Gibran's elegant poetry within breathtaking animated sequences, and tells the story of an exiled poet who must find his way home. I was sold on the trailer alone.
The big TV news this month is that David Simon, creator of the universally acclaimed "The Wire," is returning to HBO with "Show Me a Hero," a nine-part miniseries based on the true story of young mayor Nick Wasicsko's fight for the desegregation of Yonkers' public housing --- and the bitter battle fueled by fear, racism, murder and politics it incited. And if all you're looking for from your summer watching is some entertaining escapism, be sure to catch "The Astronaut Wives Club" on ABC and "Pretty Little Liars" on ABC Family.
All in all, it's been a pretty mediocre summer for Books on Screen! We may not have hit any high highs or low lows, but we did see thoughtful teen movies (and some less thoughtful), a small-scale yet surprisingly affable Marvel movie, dinosaurs! (and I don't just mean Michael Douglas) and some uncharacteristically literary summer fare.
---Written and compiled by Emily Hoenig
Each month we spotlight a selection of Young Adult (YA) titles that we believe are great reads for adult readers. Explore our picks here!
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Has this patent been awarded or is the patent still pending? It shows in the database as pending, but that was back in 2009. If the idea was abandoned, would the patent still be listed as pending?
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text: Forget Sex and the City. We're old school, hardcore AbFab fans here at FoS. And when it comes to the Joanna Lumley Absolutely Fabulous wardrobe, it's a gaga. No, not the Lady but of the "La Croix sweetie darling, La Croix" pop the Boli kind. So here we have it, from Joanna Lumley of Absolutely…Published on November 07, 2012


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Noone is really lurking in the fantasy forum and I desperately need advice. So I know this will be moved quickly but here's hoping that I will at least get some responses before..
Do I start Fitzgerald against the 49ers at home on Monday Night or Jamaal Charles on the road against Seattle? Logic says Charles because of his pass catching ability along with his running but he rarely scores TD's. Thomas Jones gets all the goalline carries..
P.S. Sorry mods I know this will get moved... I just really need the help!


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These are the emergency contact numbers consumers
will need to call to report lost or stolen plastic cards.
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Ashland, Ore.-- A busy Sunday morning at Callahan's Lodge is something the owner's said they want to see more of.
"It's been a reckoning that we would have never projected," said owner, Donna Bergquist.
Bergquist and her husband Ron have owned the lodge for 18 years; the go to spot for many avid skiers and snowboarders.
She said the lack of snow and skiers on Mt. Ashland this year translates into not enough money for the lodge.
"Business is down about 25% from last year. It's one of those things you don't anticipate and when it does happen it is a shock."
That comes out to a loss of about $30,000 according to Bergquist. But they said this isn't the first time they've been in a tight spot.
In 2006 the lodge burned down to the ground and they had to completely rebuild. Bergquist said if they can get through that they can get through a slow ski season.
"We'll go on we continue business we're blessed with the opportunity to do banquets and receptions."
And weddings, the reason why Bergquest said she does her job and is able to carry out the Callahan's tradition.


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- Serge Patlavskiy
- L'viv
- Ukraine
This conversation is closed.
Are cognitive abilities indeed dependent on the number of neurons? Is mental (not social) development indeed dependent on thermal cooking?
Are cognitive abilities indeed dependent on the number of neurons? Is mental (not social) development of humans and other organisms indeed dependent on what they eat? Let us discuss these questions in more details.
Dec 22 2013: I would say every aspect of our experiences are dependent upon the functionality of our brain. This would include neurons, axons, neurotransmitters, dendrites, etc.
There is also correlation between our cranial capacity and our cognitive abilities. For example, I believe the mean cranial capacity for chimps and our distant ancestor Homo Erectus is about 800 or 900 and something cubic centimeters. For us modern humans its around 1300 i believe. (I don't know the exact number and I'm sure there is someone on this site who can correct me if I'm wrong).
So why is this important? because the bigger the cranial capacity the more information our neurons can hold and process. This also allows for more complicated connections between other neurons....this is just one aspect to answering your question but there are other factors as well.
From my understanding we are our neurons but we are also more than our neurons. The issue is that we do not experience anything that goes on in our brains. We don't experience the voltage changes and chemical interactions. In all honesty if the brain sciences were never developed it would appear that our experiences are completely independent from our brain. Even in the 1970's the brain was thought to be a black box (it was only responsible for imputing and outputting information). It was thought to not have any relation to consciousness. Which now brings us to a philosophical enigma?:
How is it possible that our brain states (or cognitive states) relate to our experiences? From my understanding there is no way to know for sure. You can take a metaphysical approach or naturalistic approach and you are still stuck with the mystery but from my understanding, I would say all the evidence states that it is the case that our cognitive abilities are dependent upon the number and functionality of our neurons. How that's the case, I think the answer is unclear.
Dec 23 2013: Orlando: "So why is this important? because the bigger the cranial capacity the more information our neurons can hold and process."
Two remarks here. First, it is not information that is being processed. Information is what we have in result of processing the physical (sensory) signals and/or the already memorized elements of our subjective experience. Buy the way, from the fact that some physical signal has been processed does not follow that the new information will be necessary acquired yet. As a case in point, we may be looking at the same photo, but it may be informative for you, whereas not informative for me.
Second. Even when we consider a computing machine (a computer), its computing power depends not only on the number of transistors, but on processor's architecture too. As I have mentioned in my commentary in the main thread, cognitive abilities, in fact, depend on three factors: X, Y, Z. Here, symbol X stands for the number of neurons, Y stands for something that we can guess about (like the number of synapses per neuron, etc.), and Z stands for something that we still cannot even guess about. For example, we do not know what is the actual role of each of these factors.
To the point, Neanderthals' cranial capacity was bigger than that of modern human. And what to do with the fact that Ivan Turgenev's brain weighted 2012 grams while Anatole France's brain weighted just 1017 grams? Does it mean that they had different number of neurons while having comparable cognitive abilities (they both were prominent writers)?
Dec 23 2013: Hi Serge,
Now you are correct in saying that "the fact that some physical signals has been processed does not follow that the new information will be necessary acquired yet". Yes, I understand that it is very difficult for the brain to acquire new information. There is a lot that has to go on before that happens and the brain typically looks toward old solutions to new problems. As for your example about a photo being informative to me but not to you, I can't speculate as to why there would be a difference. It could be a combination of factors ranging from the environment that we were brought up in to the complexity of our brains but this would not negate the fact that we are seeing the same photo.
As for your second paragraph I agree with you once again but I must address that I have never stated that our brain is like a computer and I have acknowledge that there is much more that goes on than cranial capacity and the number of neurons that reside in our brains. What I mentioned is that our experiences are linked to the functionality of our brain (all parts). We just don't know exactly how that happens or if there is one part of our brain that is responsible for certain experiences.
As for the your last paragraph, you really misunderstood my point so I'll go into more detail and for your sake here is a quote by Dean Falk who is a paleoneurolgist at Florida State University:
"if you look at the correlates with the archaeological record, there does seem to be an association between brain size and technology or intellectual productivity". His team is doing research on the correlations between cranial capacity and our cognitive abilities in relation to innovation.
As I stated earlier brain size is only one factor: UC San Diego physical anthropoligist Katrina Semendeferi and her colleagues found that the Brodman area 10 in our prefrontal cortex "nearly doubled in volume after chimpanzees and bonobos branched off from our human lineage"
to be continued.
Dec 24 2013: Orlando: "As for your example about a photo being informative to me but not to you, I can't speculate as to why there would be a difference."
I mean a photo of your hometown or your family. Yes, the same photo reflects the same kind/amount of e/m signals, but, after processing these physical signals each of us will receive different information. It means that information is a purely subjective construct. What is recorded on CD-disc is not information but just physical signals. For a physical signal to become information, there must be a consciousness-possessing subject in the first place.
Orlando: " "if you look at the correlates with the archaeological record, there does seem to be an association between brain size and technology or intellectual productivity"."
It is not good when the archeologists and neurophysiologists encroach on the field of consciousness studies. For them, it would be not bad first to provide a definition of "intellectual productivity".Dec 23 2013: Orlando: "From my understanding we are our neurons but we are also more than our neurons. The issue is that we do not experience anything that goes on in our brains. We don't experience the voltage changes and chemical interactions."
There is a difference between studying brain and studying consciousness. The method of decomposition (used by Physics and Neurophysiology) is good when studying of how the wall clock works by decomposing it into gears and springs and applying the laws of Physics. To study consciousness we have to apply the methods that would make it possible for us to formalize an organism as a whole self-organizing complex system.
Orlando: "How is it possible that our brain states (or cognitive states) relate to our experiences? From my understanding there is no way to know for sure."
First, brain states and cognitive states are not the same things. Second. There definitely is a way "to know for sure". However, to do this, the extremely complex explanatory framework has been constructed. This framework makes it possible for us not to decompose the Whole into parts, but to dissociate it into other wholes with formation of a chain, whose elements obey some fundamental law of development. To the point, this new framework can be used to approach not only consciousness-related phenomena, but also such problems as transmutation of elementary particles, and the problem of nonlocal entanglement.
Dec 23 2013: Finishing the rest of the quote from the first post:
"the horizontal spaces between neurons in this subarea widened nearly 50%, creating more room for axons and dendrites". the implications of this "means that you can have more complicated connections and ones that go farther away, so you can get more complex and more synthetic communications between neurons".
So I can't account for the two writers that you mentioned but this was where I was coming from in relation to cranial capacity and its relationships to our neurons.
You mentioned Neanderthals. Yes they had huge heads and they also had a bit of innovation. But from my understanding Neanderthals are extinct. You don't seem to acknowledge the hard work that it takes for our brains to be the way it is now: developing sophisticated civilizations and technology. It took a very long time for that to happen and I'm sure if Neanderthals were around today, then who knows, they may contribute to the betterment of the world or they would be a step above chimps. I'm not a scientist so I can't really say.
Personally I don't there is much difference between studying the brain and studying consciousness but that is because I believe that consciousness have naturalistic properties. Your are correct that the approach may be a bit different but every neuroscience book that I've read or any book relating to the science of the mind has mentioned the issue of consciousness or the mind-body problem so to me they are not mutually exclusive.
I disagree with your last paragraph on two counts: "brain states and cognitive states are not the same things":
This may be true but I would argue that it is more likely that we do not know how brain states become cognitive states or how physicality turns into abstract phenomena.
I can't say anything about the framework you mentioned. I'd like to know more but I'm not sure how "we can know for sure" so enlighten me on your next post.
Dec 24 2013: Orlando: "You don't seem to acknowledge the hard work that it takes for our brains to be the way it is now: developing sophisticated civilizations and technology."
It is because I make a difference between "cognitive abilities" on one side, and the "amount of knowledge" and "skills" on the other side.
Orlando: "I disagree with your last paragraph on two counts: "brain states and cognitive states are not the same things".
This follows from my explanatory framework. Your task consists not in agreeing or disagreeing with my ideas, but in constructing your own explanatory framework and demonstrating that in case a theory sees no difference between brain states and mental states it will have better predictive and explanatory power.
To the point, the difference between studying brain and studying consciousness consists in the fact, that in the first case we can apply third-person approach (we are here, while our object of study is out there), while when studying consciousness, we have to apply first-person approach. I mean that we have to use our exemplar of consciousness simultaneously as an object of study and as a tool of studying.
You have your own exemplar of consciousness. Then, try to explain for its mechanisms being based on the data of perception of your unique consciousness-related phenomena. If you will have anything ready, then you are welcome to submit your results to my discussion forum http://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/general_theoryDec 19 2013: What is the standard scale to measure cognitive abilities between species? I mean, is there a science that can measure a relative cognitive coefficient for each species? The more complex the biological/social needs of an organism, the more number of neurons and the more complex it's brain will need to be, I guess. So how correct it will be to say a monkey is dumber compared to human? The cognitive need of monkeys and humans are vastly different.
I understand that it takes a human being (of a given cognitive ability) to make a cathedral, but it sure takes a dog to identify a person by smell, or it takes a bat to fly blind.
Are we seeing a a problem of scaling consciousness here?
Dec 19 2013: What we're seeing is a problem with the scientific validity of a TED Talk... It's misleading and, dare I say, pseudoscience.
Dec 20 2013: This is a reply to your question to me below. I did follow the links from Serge's blog and did find his publication in the Journal of Conscientiology: "The Journal of Conscientiology (JofC) publishes research papers and articles related to the study of the consciousness, with the aim of deepening our understanding of consciousness. The science of conscientiology analyzes the consciousness by examining its physical and its non-physical attributes (including energies, non-physical bodies, multiple existences (lives) and multidimensional communications and manifestations). As a logical extension of this, analyses in conscientiology typically incorporate parapsychic and paranormal capacities as instruments for conducting research. The lucid out-of-body experience stands out among them as an invaluable tool for advancing research into the nature of consciousness as multi-dimensional. The JofC is committed to providing a forum for the unbiased publication of research and exchange of ideas associated with these concepts."
I saw no work in Nature.
Here is the link FYI for the International Academy of Consciousness to which you refered: http://www.iacworld.us/ From that link, here is the description of the orientation of that group: This site offers an overview of IAC's
activities and the sciences of Projectiology
and Conscientiology, which study consciousness
beyond the brain, investigating psychic awareness and
paranormal phenomena as tools to understand the multi-dimensional
nature of humanity."
I do understand that Suzannah and Serge have different professional associations.
I found reporting of Suzannah's work by googling her. You can too.Dec 19 2013: Pabitra, I would appreciate your looking at the talk yourself, as a scientist, to form an independent conclusion. I would be interested in reading your point of view, as I believe you have training in biological science.
I wish Christophe, who has graduate training in neuroscience, would come around as well.
Dec 19 2013: As requested, I went through the talk a second time and read the transcript lest I I should miss something important.
I shall give credit to Suzana for demystifying the specialty of a human brain as she concluded it is just the right kind of brain of a primate at its evolutionary stage.
I shall however not be persuaded by her talk that the mental development of humans has scientifically established relationship with thermal cooking. In my opinion. What she has done is, at best, educated speculation. Aided metabolism of foods ( thermal cooking as in this case) is nothing unique in animal kingdom. There are known species of birds who eat small pebbles (metabolism aids) to digest their food (grains). This does not appear to have resulted in maintaining a more complex brain by reducing energy demand.
I am not a neuro-scientist but know for a fact that human brain's information processing capability is nothing of the sort of a super computer. On account of energy constraint human brains constantly compromise input data and use neuronic short cuts to achieve what we think is a feat. For example when you are reading this text your brain is scanning only the first alphabet of each word and the next significant consonant and conjuring up the word from memory.
I have a fundamentally different idea of cognition and consciousness where brain does not figure in a central way as in Suzana's talk. The sea squirts of the tunicate family at the young larvae stage eat their own nervous system (notocord) and the rudimentary brain (cerebral ganglion) as food when their purpose of movement for the rest of their lives is over.
However, I shall give her benefit of doubt against pseudo-science.
Dec 19 2013: Thank you, Pabitra. I don't have the background for analysis in this field, but I do note that Nature and the National Academy of Sciences also have vetted this work and considered it significant. Those organizations use peer review by scientists with a record of peer-reviewed publications in scholarly journals.
Often hypotheses are derived from small samples that are later tested on different and broader samples. So I can respect first, exploratory steps.
Thank you for reviewing the talk.Dec 20 2013: Fritzie,
Could you please provide the sources for Nature and the National Academy of Sciences as I'm really interested in reading what they have to say about this.
And I'd also like to point out that Serge has great credibility in this field. He's has a background as a physicist, is founder and director of the Institute for Theoretical Problems of Interdisciplinary Investigations. Has had numerous papers published in nature. And is a member of the International Academy of Consciousness.
You can find this out by Googleing him.Dec 19 2013: As I have indicated many times when commenting on this talk, it is a rude and impermissible methodological blunder to compare the cognitive abilities of the representatives of different species. We can only compare a human with a human, a cow with a cow, a monkey with a monkey, and so on. Even within the same species, say, humans, we have Chess Tournaments for men and separately for women. Rats, bats, apes (as well as all other species) need not become as intelligent as we are -- they already are expediently intelligent. Moreover, no proof exists that prehistoric man was duller than we are now.
Suzana remains deaf to the expressed arguments, and, as I think, for a good reason. The case is that in her talk she states not her personal views, but just re-states all that pile of misconceptions the modern science has accumulated for the last two centuries concerning the consciousness-related and evolutionary problematic. Let us recollect that yet at the beginning of 20-th century the African pigmies were not treated by Darwinists as cognitively able as other humans.
To the point, Pabitra, yours are cool glasses. They must be for underwater swimming? :-)Dec 18 2013: Gerald O'brian: "You still don't explain how your definition of consciousness is any different from simple computing. And you're excluding organisms with no brains, aren't you?"
"Simple computing" presumes only processing of the physical signals by transforming/transducing them from physical signals of one kind into physical signals of another kind. To the point, by "physical signal" I mean the change of the state of any material system with time. It can be a change of the temperature of a material body, a change of the number of atoms constituting the given material body, a flow of electrons, electromagnetic radiation coming from a distant star or other sources, etc.
As to consciousness, it is not only processing, but also conceptualization, or meaning assignment. And this is what computers lack.
Second. I hold that it is an organism as a whole self-organizing complex system that possesses consciousness, but not its organs, like a brain, spinal cord, etc. Therefore, for there to be consciousness, a brain is not required in the first place.Dec 16 2013: Are we what we eat?? LOL Well Serge, I think people should come to the conclusion that we are not what we eat, even though it certainly influences our (mental) health. So does what we drink.
Personally I believe our brain is the receiver of our body. It connect our body to our mind, or spirit. It is our spirit that thinks, loves and sees. Our sense organs don't see or smell but pass that on, thus only providing the input.
There is actually a reason for the way we can reflect, reason and decide, in freedom, what to love.
Dec 16 2013: I hold that it is not a brain (or sense organs) that possesses consciousness, but the organism as a whole self-organizing complex system. It is definitely not the eye that "sees", but our mind. There is a difference between "looking at something" and "seeing something as". The first phrase means that the physical signal of certain frequency and amplitude reaches sensory receptors in the eye and is energetic enough to excite them. Then, the receptors generate the physical sensory signal -- the electric impulse which starts traveling along neuronal channels to the brain.
The second phrase means that after processing the physical sensory signal we may or may not conceptualize it as a certain new element of our subjective experience, for example, "letter A". Therefore, a situation can be that we may be looking at something, but seeing nothing.
Dec 16 2013: Thanks Serge,
--"Therefore, a situation can be that we may be looking at something, but seeing nothing."--
And this happens more often than we may realize. Often we do indeed not see what we" looking at because there is no reference point.
Most obvious the problem is with a picture, and that is the reason we may put a dime or a pencil in the picture as a reference..
I see our mind as a spiritual level 'above' the brain. Our brain can, as a receiver show us which part of it is used for certain emotions or moods or reasonimgs. But the brain itself cannot change itself to compensate damage or sickness. That is the power and use of the mind. If it could, then why not stop a cancer?
I do not believe there is any organ in the body that can change, regrow or alter itself. For one thing, because without the spirit, the body is dead. A NDE does not kill us, unless we do not come back and then our body dies.Dec 30 2013: @Serge............I stand corrected. Thank you.Dec 29 2013: This is such an interesting question. Indeed it may be that number of neurons are important to think outside the box. What say you ?
Dec 30 2013: The ability to think "outside the box" does not mean that the humans think "outside the box" for the all day long, whereas the rest of animals may just enjoy an ordinary thinking. No, whatever organism we take, for it, the normal thinking is an ordinary thinking, whereas intuitive thinking (or thinking "outside the box") takes place sporadically, or as an exception. That is why I state that there are as geniuses so blockheads among the representatives of all species.
At any rate, when the brilliant (intuitive) idea suddenly strikes our head, it does not mean that it was preceded by rapid and sharp increase of the number of our neurons. It does not either mean that when we feel dull in our mind for the whole morning, the number of our neurons decreased when we were sleeping. Therefore, there is no reason to believe that intuitive thinking is dependent on the number of neurons. It is rather dependent on the connections between the neurons.Dec 28 2013: The human brain consumes about 20 to 25 percent of our base metabolism, versus 3 to 8 percent for most other mammals. Cognition takes energy which goes way beyond a simple neuron count. It gets into higher level neural networks layered upon a myriad of lower level neural networks. Higher level cognition and "executive functions" make up only a small part of our brain. The main driving force in this structure is natural limits to processing power, including cost as a percent of base metabolism and actual physical processing speed. Processing power limits lead to the distribution of "sensing" to lower level neural networks which communicate upwards on an exception basis. Processing power limits also lead to the building and retention of a "map of the environment" which speeds action without requiring a lot of higher level brain processing. These maps are for the most part maintained during our almost mandatory "sleep cycle".
Dec 29 2013: Thanks, Tom, for sharing your views. Must admit that I were expressing very similar arguments earlier, but judging from different angle.
First. I assume that consciousness-possessing organism, apart from being able to process the physical (sensory) signals, can also conceptualize them, or assign a meaning to that signals, thereby transforming them into new elements of own subjective experience (or, which is the same, into new information for him/her-self, or into new knowledge). In this, an organism differs from a computing machine.
Next. The consciousness-possessing organism processes not only the physical (sensory) signals, but also the already available (or formerly memorized) elements of own subjective experience. This is a case when we create new knowledge just by pondering over the knowledge already available for us, and without processing the new physical (sensory) signals.
Now then, the energy (elicited from food) is being mostly spent on the acts of processing of the new physical (sensory) signals, whereas much less energy is spent on the acts of conceptualization. Also, almost no energy is being spent while we construct new knowledge due to processing of the already available (memorized) elements of our knowledge.
From the above follows that there is no direct link between the amount (quantity) of the processed physical (sensory) signals (and, hence, the amount of energy receiving due to food consumption) with the amount (quantity&quality) of the new knowledge constructed.
However, I'm not quite certain whether I understand correctly what you mean by "natural limits to processing power". What are these limits? Maybe, you mean the natural limits of our sense organs?
Dec 29 2013: Serge's explanation will make sense better if you have ever experienced a sense of frustration while visiting a place of your childhood romance. The information content in the memory is same but consciousness creates new information about the long unvisited place (conjuring basically) and when that is reconciled at the point of revisit, frustration grows.
We have this notion of ascribing superiority to the consciousness of higher order animals (placing humans at top) just on the basis of the information processing content. From a purely biological point of view, it is a questionable preference.
I think Tom is indicating the biological limit of power quota in an organism from its total biological power needed to live. Humans, I think consume more or less 100 watts to live and the human brain has a quota of 10 watts (I may be wrong about the exact figures).
Tom's point is interesting. On account of the power quota, human brain has learnt to 'conjure' bypassing full execution of an algorithm. Experts who know how brains conjure can trick us easily.
You have to see Derren Brown at work to believe me.Dec 29 2013: Everything stated above makes sense to me but I think we do have some nuances that could be talked about.
To the degree our brains have multitudes of layers of neural networks, lower level networks are "sensory" to higher level cognitive networks irrespective of outside physical stimuli. That is one level's output cognition becomes a higher level's sensory input. Because processing power is limited, this multi level "distributed" exception based processing architecture along with stored maps are required for total cognition to reach high levels.
The percent of base metabolism processing limit is an aggregate total limit, which as your discussion infers required our distant ancestors to eat cooked meat to provide more energy.
The other natural limit is not an aggregate limit, but more of a speed limit such as computer chips are limited by circuit distance and heat generated - i.e. neural networks have the same issue especially when speed is required for a given brain function.
Dec 30 2013: Indeed, there are some nuances that have to be taken into account. First, I think that when talking about consciousness (or cognitive abilities), we must talk about it in its own terms. The brain's terms are not appropriate here. Moreover, instead of physical models we have to use informational models. I mean that unlike neurons, we cannot weight or measure the thoughts, or to count their exact number.
Second. Computer processing presumes performing bit-by-bit operations, where every bit corresponds to a certain physical signal, for example, presence (1) or absence (0) of magnetic field in the given spot of material structure like HDD's disc. When considering consciousness, its act of processing, and especially re-processing of the already memorized elements of subjective experience, presumes performing not bit-by-bit operations, but system-by-system operations, where every element of subjective experience is formalized as a whole complex system.
That is why the idea of the limits of the processing power of a computing machine cannot be applied when talking about consciousness. Moreover, because of the system-by-system processing, the speed of consciousness is much higher than the speed of work of the most powerful nowadays computers.
Comment deleted
Dec 23 2013: This implies that thermal cooking has, in all likelihood, nothing to do with cognitive abilities. Suzana states that to get more energy out of the same food (as I understand, to have more neurons for becoming cognitively able to make inventions as such) our forebears had to invent cooking. This is clearly a case of hen-egg dilemma: to become more cognitively able our forebears had to consume cooked food, but to be able to consume cooked food they had to be already sufficiently cognitively able. The case is that thermal cooking presumes there to be harnessing of fire, manufacturing of clay pottery, collecting the required raw ingredients, etc.
And one remark: Darwinian hypothesis is about biological evolution of species, but not about the evolution of cognitive abilities.
Comment deleted
Dec 22 2013: As follows from my approach, all the people are equally cognitively able (please, do not confuse cognitive abilities with amount of knowledge or skills). The people of New Guinea tribe Moruaka eat nothing but a clay, and, in so doing, they stay healthy and mentally sound (sorry, but I have only sources of this info in Russian; I would be much obliged if somebody will find something about that tribe in English online resources; it was a study conducted by anthropologist Orlando Delgari).Dec 19 2013: Serge, I think it would be really helpful if you sent an email to firstname.lastname@example.com explaining your concerns about this Talk...
I just did this.
Dec 20 2013: Suzana's talk has to be assessed on whether the ideas she presents therein indeed worth spreading. There would be no problems if she stated: "As my long-term investigations show, and what is replicated in other research laboratories too, the cognitive abilities are directly dependent on the number of neurons, and on nothing else. Moreover, as it is very well proven and is now commonly accepted, an ape has better cognitive abilities than a cow."
But, instead of this, she just spreads misconceptions. Misconceptions are not what is worth to be spreading.
Dec 20 2013: Yes, I agree.Dec 17 2013: Cognitive abilities are related to number of neurons, there is no denying that. I think the point of Herculano-Souzel's talk is to show the link between energy cost and number of neurons.
Nowhere does she say cooked food makes you smart. Instead, she says that cooked food provide the energy for a costly brain.
It's a wonderful talk, I really don't understand all this reluctance.
Dec 17 2013: Read the comments on the Talk Page by Serge, he's made very many and good comments there regarding your questions.
And cognitive abilities are not related to the number of neurons, there's no real proof that they are, she shows a lot of "facts" and plays a game of connect-the-dots that can be refuted at every step, she's drawing unsubstantiated conclusions and presenting them as fact... Cognitive abilities are related to the structure of the brain and not the number of neurons.
Dec 17 2013: I've read the comments on the talk page. I replied to some of them, but will continue on this page since the conversation has been started.
"cognitive abilities are not related to the number of neurons" WHy do you insist on that? Obviously, they are. At the very least, you'll agree that there is a difference in cognitive ability between a 12 neuron brain and a 14 billion one, at least in potential, right??
The "structure" argument cannot make number irrelevant because of the presuposition that the number is already there.
I agree that rocks don't make cathedrals, structure does. But structure implies a number of available rocks.
What are the facts in her talk that you can refute at every step? Please answer me and explain why you think the talk is unscientific.
Dec 17 2013: I'm actually going to refer to Serge since he's already explained my thoughts better then I could have. (in his most recent comment on this thread)Dec 17 2013: I would say so: Suzana's talk is not "unscientific". It, for two thirds, does not pertain to science at all. These two thirds of her talk is, rather, playing to the gallery. Unfortunately, my very first commentary was deleted on TED, but it still is on YouTube.
One may ask why I am so critical on this talk. The case is that for many years I am deeply involved in the problem of constructing the comprehensive scientific theory of consciousness. To approach consciousness scientifically, we must first to construct an appropriate explanatory framework. And a version of the required explanatory framework is already constructed (you can find it here http://serge7patlavskiy.wordpress.com/).
I state that only those who have appropriate methods can talk about studying consciousness. But what we have in actual practice? Neurophysiology claims to be studying consciousness, but the methods it uses are good only for studying brain. Philosophy also claims it is studying consciousness. As result, the field of consciousness studies stays without research funds.
Therefore, we are currently at war both with Neurophysiology and Philosophy. We are fighting for our place under the Sun. We aim to transform Consciousness Studies (as part of Interdisciplinary Investigations) into all-sufficient scientific discipline that would be treated by scientific community on par with Physics, Biology, Neurophysiology, and other natural disciplines.Dec 17 2013: As far as I can tell, the big flaw is that the primates in the equation are mostly vegetarians. Baboons don't eat 8 hours a day, they eat like lions, a couple hours a day. Her argument on the limit of the dangerous 9 hours spent eating is irrelevant.
Our ancestors were carnivores so, just like baboons, we don't fit on her correlation table.
I'm doing your job, here.Dec 17 2013: But I still think it was a fascinating talk, for linking cognitive power and energy consumption. And what I've said above doesn't cancel out her argument about cooked food being advantageous.
Dec 18 2013: A big problem is that Suzana equates computational abilities with cognitive abilities, thereby making no difference between a consciousness-possessing organism and a computing machine. Here is another video with human-friendly tempo of presentation http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ekKBDadvMrUDec 18 2013: You should know Gerald that nothing that she said except the part about counting neurons by dissolving them is her work.
Cognitive power and energy consumption 1981 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/7282965
Cooking http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cooking#HistoryDec 17 2013: If gorillas ate meat, they would need to eat two raw chickens everyday.Dec 18 2013: Alright well, I have to acknoledge that the talk is crappier than I first thought.
I still disagree with or can't understand a lot of the arguments made against her, but the crappiness is undoubtedly there and I appreciate this mind-opening discussion.
Dec 19 2013: I appreciate your acknowledgement.
The problem that I and Serge are pointing to are that she's speculating, without any or correct scientific research to support it.
Here's a direct download link (sorry for the really long url) to the work that they did.
(You'll get a pop-up window when clicking this to download the work.)
The problem is that their initial assumption about the brain is wrong, making all other "supporting evidence" also wrong. As stated many times, this is BAD SCIENCE.
And it's a big problem when hundreds of thousands of people get misinformed by a source that they think holds the highest credibility... Scientifically minded people are going to have to spend years refuting claims like "did you know that if rats had our brain it would be big as a house"...Dec 17 2013: Thanks, Gerald, for your thoughts. You write: "Cognitive abilities are related to number of neurons, there is no denying that."
There is a difference between "being related to/with", and "being causally/directly dependent on". Suzana presumes there to be a direct dependence, which is not the case. When we talk about cognitive abilities, we should consider not only the gross amount of physical signals processed per day, but also the quality of intellectual products constructed. The quality of cognitive activity is directly dependent not on the number of neurons, but on the connections between the neurons (and on other factors too). A statement that the bigger the number of neurons, the better the links between them would be just an unfounded speculation.
To the point, since Suzana refuses to tell us what she means by cognitive abilities and how she is going to calculate the "richness of inner mental life", then, maybe, we will hear your own definition.
You wrote: "Herculano-Souzel's talk is to show the link between energy cost and number of neurons."
To talk about this link we must have enough big amounts of research data. In principle, it would be a good scientific talk if it were exclusively on the new method of calculating the number of neurons. However, Suzana permits herself to encroach on the field that does not pertain to Neurophysiology. As result, her comparison of cognitive abilities between the species has nothing to do with scientific approach.
By the way, how is she going to prove that prehistoric man was duller than we are now? See her last diagram. Darwinian hypothesis is about biological evolution, but not about the evolution of cognitive abilities. To the point, recent trends in the field of consciousness studies are toward considering cognitive abilities of all species as equally potent. All living organisms must possess equally expediently potent exemplars of consciousness, otherwise they would not be able to stay alive.
Dec 17 2013: "The quality of cognitive activity is directly dependent not on the number of neurons, but on the connections between the neurons (and on other factors too)."
I agree with this, and I expect Suzana does too. As I understand this, our brains require more energy than that of other primates and number of neurons is the reason why. In the economy of evolution, you can't afford to waste energy, so there must be some kind of advantage to fuel a brain with a lot more neurons. I'm suggesting that the advantage, the pay-off, could be superior computational power (since I don't know what else brains could be used for, but perhaps someone can educate me).
This isn't neurology, it's just economy. No-free-lunch theory.
I would define "cognitive ability" as the ability to process information. Is this controversial?
"how is she going to prove that prehistoric man was duller than we are now?"
It's very unlikely that our ancestors were a lot smarter with smaller brains, or evolution wouldn't have opted for the most costly and dumber ones. I'm not saying that evolution favours intellect. But in regards to our evolution it does, because this is what mostly mattered. I don't attribute the exponencial growth of our brains in the last million years to food, like she does, but to culture in general. I think cultural selection, and sexual selection within culture, is responsable. But food is indeed part of the means.
"All living organisms must possess equally expediently potent exemplars of consciousness, otherwise they would not be able to stay alive."
Please rephrase or explain this point, I don't understand.
Dec 17 2013: "I would define "cognitive ability" as the ability to process information. Is this controversial?"
For my definition see, for example, my today's Facebook post: https://www.facebook.com/groups/consciousness.studies/310700269062547/?comment_id=386368114829095¬if_t=like#
No, it is not information that is being processed. Information (or better say, the increment of information) -- it is what we have (or may have) in result of processing the physical (sensory) signals and/or the already available elements of our subjective experience. Information does not exist objectively out-there. A book does not contain information, but black-n-white dots only. The photo of your hometown is informative for you, but it is not informative for me. For the physical signals recorded on your CD to become information, there must be you as consciousness-possessing agent who would transform these physical (computer modified) signals into information for yourself.
"Please rephrase or explain this point, I don't understand."
All the organisms are as equally consciousness-possessing, as they are equally alive. The anti-scientific doctrine of anthropocentrism (a view that only human is endowed with reason) has to be expelled from science as soon as possible. Moreover, every living organism has to be considered as an apex of evolution, if only because of the fact that it is alive.Dec 17 2013: I don't believe information exists "out there" either. I don't believe our senses record information. They don't. What I call information is what you call information : theories built to deal with out-there signal input. Once you have ideas about what the signal could mean, you have information, which you then process. What's 5 + 8 ?
I still don't grasp what you're saying. Correct me if I'm wrong, but are you saying anything with five neurons is as much endowed with reason as humans?
And what's being alive got to do with being conscious? Where does that principle come from?
Is consciousness something you define as having nothing to do with having a mind?
Dec 18 2013: "... are you saying anything with five neurons is as much endowed with reason as humans?"
I hold that it is a rude and impermissible methodological blunder to compare the cognitive abilities of the representatives of different species. As to cognitive abilities, we can only compare a human with a human, a cow with a cow, a monkey with a monkey, and so on. To the point, there are geniuses and blockheads amongst the representatives of all species.
I also hold that life and consciousness are closely interconnected, and I even talk about "life-consciousness" as the physicists talk about "space-time". The idea is that all the living organisms are equally alive. A human cannot be more alive than a cow or a prokaryote. But, for there to be an exemplar of life, there must be an exemplar of consciousness of the same equal power.Dec 17 2013: Reading your consciousness page.
The first bit about Life Ater Birth is disturbing me. What is obvious is that what gives credit to the believer is the fact that we are living after birth ourselves. Nothing else seems to justify his belief, so he might equally believe that there is whatever he wants there to be after birth.
The other disturbing point is that the non-believer's argument is that he's never seen the mother, therefore it doesn't exist. Everyone knows that being rational implies that one does NOT trust his own observation or experience. What's missing in the metaphorical discussion is the scientific investigation that a non-believer would advocate ("sure I haven't seen her, but let's see if it makes sense anyway.")
If I take your parable and use it to defend Satan asking to the believer that he rapes his grandmother, it still works. Though I agree that it wouldn't appeal to the sweet motherly-love nerve.
But about consciousness, I can't access your writing because I don't have the same definition for consciousness. Would you please share what it is?
Dec 18 2013: There is another page on my blog
By consciousness I mean a natural ability of any organism to process the physical (sensory) signals (and/or the already available elements of knowledge) and, through conceptualization (or assigning a meaning), transforming them into new elements of its knowledge.Dec 18 2013: You still don't explain how your definition of consciousness is any different from simple computing. And you're excluding organisms with no brains, aren't you?Dec 16 2013: It's not the number of neurons that count, it's the structuring of them and their pathways, and that is something we don't understand completely yet.
But the "Human Connectome Project" http://www.humanconnectomeproject.org/ has made some great progress on this recently.
Oh and there are 88 Talks on the topic brain http://www.ted.com/topics/brain
Dec 16 2013: The problem with this talk is that it creates misrepresentation of what is a mainstream science. Let us see what we have here. We have four brains of the people of unknown age, gender, race, marital and social status, education. We do not know whether these people where equally healthy either. In other words, there is nothing that we can call "making the other things equal". This amount of data is not sufficient for making any definite conclusions yet. Suzana talks about whales and elephants, but, in fact, the number of their neurons is not calculated yet.
As to Suzana's speculations concerning the direct link between the number of neurons and cognitive abilities, they have nothing to do with mainstream science at all. As I have mentioned in my comments, Neurophysiology does not study consciousness (intellect, or cognitive abilities). It studies the physiology of higher neuronal activity. It studies brain. Indeed, to talk about cognitive abilities, we have to consider not the number of neurons, but the quality of their interconnections.
Dec 16 2013: Oh S!#%¤!
I just re-watched the Talk...
I can believe I didn't see this the first time, it's completely unscientific!
I think my mind drifted away after the part of dissolving brains to count neurons, which is the only noteworthy accomplishment and fact that she presents.
I would vote to have the Talk taken off TED.com since it is exactly as you say.
Dec 17 2013: What is unscientific about this talk?Dec 15 2013: Then why not to use these 14 min only for covering the problem of counting the number of neurons?Dec 15 2013: In essence, its an over simplification of how the brain works. There is a fair amount of truth to it, combined with a great deal of inaccuracy, mostly due to other factors not being discussed.
Which is really the best you can hope for in a 14 minute video. Anything short of a few solid years learning biology on an academic level probably won't cut it, to be honest.


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