Preece

837 reputation

210

bio	website
	location	Davis, CA
	age
visits	member for	1 year, 4 months
	seen	Feb 25 at 12:10
stats	profile views	13

	837 reputation	bio	website		visits	member for	1 year, 4 months
210 badges		location	Davis, CA		seen	Feb 25 at 12:10

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Feb 16	awarded	Yearling
Sep 27	answered	Why do neurones have only one axon?
Sep 18	comment	How and where, in the human brain, are memories stored? @KonradRudolph there is more to looking at the Biology then trying to model the nervous system. Neural structures are implementations of algorithms. I think analyzing these algorithms is at the heart of AI research. You don't need to model neurons to model neural algorithms. Trying to get AI without looking into them will (has) provided many interesting things, but the potential of the field is barely tapped.
Sep 18	comment	How and where, in the human brain, are memories stored? @KonradRudolph They simply don't approach the complexity of an actual neuronal network. Even the computational neuroscientists, who are explicitly trying to model neurons, fall short. It's an unfortunate adaptation of terms because now "neural network" no longer refers to a network of neurons. It refers to a crude simulacrum of a neural network. The degree to which computer scientists have neglected the biology is disturbing and has stunted the field of AI.
Jul 26	comment	Why does this illusion work? Very nice answer.
Jul 18	awarded	Enlightened
Jul 18	awarded	Nice Answer
Jun 27	comment	Why do only only two sexes exist for animals? His question is actually a big one in biology. Why is there sex at all? It seems obvious but it goes a lot deeper than you would think.
Jun 4	comment	Why do men have nipples? @Shep And yet it misses the most crucial piece of information, while simply restating other things that have been said. In fact, his second point is almost an exact restatement of something I said. The female body plan is the default one, and that fact is the heart of a real answer.
May 12	awarded	Nice Answer
May 7	comment	Why do men have nipples? It has no scientific basis. It's just random conjecture.
May 7	comment	The genetic and physiological origins of laughter? @LanceLafontaine The road from genes, to proteins, to neurons, to neural systems, to behavior is a very long one. It has not been parsed out yet so what you're asking for can not yet be delivered. Keep in mind that laughter (like all behavior) is an extremely complicated emergent property of many underlying systems. It's never as simple as "having some genes for X". Basically, the question your asking is too vast.
May 7	comment	Why do men have nipples? This kind of trainwreck can only result from someone who only has a very tenuous grasp on evolution. It is just broad stroke evolutionary anecdotes pulled from pure imagination.
May 7	comment	Why do men have nipples? @Anixx Did you even read the article? Those with complete AIS clearly develop as a normal woman.
May 6	answered	Are there any structures in mammals that are used only by males?
May 6	comment	Why do men have nipples? Consider this. If a boy is born without the receptors for androgens, they will develop physically as a female. Check it out: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Androgen_insensitivity_syndrome
May 4	comment	How did the human brain evolve? You're imagining that the human brain is unique in some way. It really isn't, we have the exact same structures as almost every mammal, from rodents to apes to dogs and cats. The main difference is that out neocortex is larger. Asking why the neocortex has only evolved in humans is like asking why white fur has only evolved in polar bears. Every mammal has hair, it's not "rare", it's just slightly different in different species. Also, consider that it's possible that intellectual gains are exponential to linear increases in cortical size.
May 4	awarded	Commentator
May 4	comment	How To Avoid Macro-Evolution Confusion? @KonradRudolph I know they have meaning, but that doesn't mean they're used still. Our advancing understanding of evolution has made them irrelevant.
May 4	comment	Is there an evolutionary advantage to crying when sad? @nico You're right, it's not a very satisfying hypothesis. I don't have the answers to your questions, but they are good questions.