| Monday, January 17, 2005 |  |
| Scientists decide to look for ET visitors |
 According to space.com, a group of scientists have realized that it is more likely than not that there are plenty of advanced extraterrestrial civilizations around, and that maybe they ought to start investigating some of the many well-documented reports of their visits, rather than just sitting listening for radio signals from them.
Duh, is that so hard to figure out? Yes, it apparently it is, as it traditionally have been very unpopular amongst serious scientists to pay any attention to UFO reports. Or, stronger than that, it would be a blemish on their careers and reputations if they even were caught considering that anybody might be visiting us. So, instead they've been stuck on the somewhat questionable theory that billion year advanced civilizations would be sending radio shows in our direction, which we might catch on the dial. Anyway, this new thinking doesn't seem so much a result of being impressed with the considerable body of existing evidence, as it is a result of the growing realization that science might actually support some models for how one might get around in space. So, you know, only start looking once you have a theory that says there might be something there. Don't look just because there's something there. Given billion-year advanced physics, might not buzzing around the galaxy be possible? Of course you might still find scientific types who hold on to the 100 year old idea that nobody can get anywhere faster than the speed of light, so it is all impossible nonsense that anobody would be visiting anybody. But the winds are changing. [ Science | 2005-01-17 16:16 | 4 comments | PermaLink ] More > |
| Neuroeconomics |
 What is "neuroeconomics"? See the Neuroeconomics BlogNeuroeconomics is an interdisciplinary research program with the goal of building a biological model of decision making in economic environments. Neuroeconomists ask, how does the embodied brain enable the mind (or groups of minds) to make economic decisions? By combining techniques from cognitive neuroscience and experimental economics we can now watch neural activity in real time, observe how this activity depends on the economic environment, and test hypotheses about how the emergent mind makes economic decisions. Neuroeconomics allows us to better understand both the wide range of heterogeneity in human behavior, and the role of institutions as ordered extensions of our minds. Hm, I suppose that is interesting. Does the brain make economic decisions? To a large degree, I guess. You get stimulated in various ways, your inhibitions get lowered, and you buy. But that's probably where we'll find a lot of the somewhat irrational reasons for economic activity, in neurological patterns. Probably won't turn up that rational agent that free market capitalist theory pre-supposes. Anyway, we can of course imagine going all the way with this. Your brain is constantly wired and our signals are networked. Our electronic agents will negotiate transactions based on how neurologically motivated you are by the objects in question. So, if you really, really want it, you pay more. And pretty soon your bank account will automatically be debited when you walk by a billboard advertising swim suits. If you like it, that is. If you train yourself to have no reaction to anything, by taking lots of prozac and depriving yourself of sleep, or whatever, you can save a lot of money, as you'd always get it for the cheapest possible price. [ Science | 2005-01-17 16:46 | 1 comment | PermaLink ] More > |