Skip to main content

Posts

Electromagnetic Field Theories of Consciousness

Lately I've been captivated by an idea:   electromagnetic theories of consciousness , which hypothesise that conscious experiences are identical with certain electromagnetic (EM) patterns generated by the brain ( Pockett, 2012 ). The central claim of these theories is that spatiotemporally integrated information in an electromagnetic field  feels like something. Dr Mostyn W. Jones , a philosopher of mind at University of Manchester, provides a good summary and comparison of EM theories of consciousness ( 2013 ), which come in a range of flavors: computationalist, reductionist, dualist, realist, interactionist, epiphenomenalist, globalist, or localist.   What's the physical basis? Each neuron when firing generates an electric dipole field, and the overlap of these fields from the firing of many neurons across the brain produces an ever-changing and unified brain-wide electromagnetic field of extraordinary complexity. That much is known. EM field theories of consciousness take th
Recent posts

Pandemic Fermentations

Taken me a while to get into it, but I've started a fermentation hobby with the latest lock-downs. With the latest round of lockdowns I've finally gotten into home fermentation.  Not beer, sadly. Kombucha:  My wife started it off by ordering a Kombucha kit for us from allaboutkombucha.ie .  That was fun to set up with the brewing tea with the sugar and watching it ferment over days. We've made about 10 liters so far. Here is my kombucha recipe on copymethat .  Sourdough : Next I ordered a sourdough starter from kefirgrains.ie , and have been making small boules and pizzas. First attempts had issues of course, but I like the sense progress as each bake gets better. Still nowhere near YouTube quality though.  Here is my sourdough recipe on copymethat . Yogurt : Then I figured, why not yogurt? I always run out before the next delivery. I started by extending a Glenisk live yogurt (S. thermophilus + L. casei), and have been trying various ways to maintain temperature without a

How to spring-clean your blog

Here are ways I found to clean up a Blogger blog. I've found and fixed many things with content, images, navigation, theme, descriptions, and analytics. [4 minutes]

How to extend the life of your clothes

Here are some tips on preserving your clothes! Ways to make the wash easier on the clothes, and increase the number of wears one can get between washes. [3 minutes]

The keys to doing long-form Narrative Improv

Here are some key ingredients for full-length improvised plays known as Narrative Improv. Providing tips on story structure, normalcy, the protagonist, consequences and clarity. [4 minutes]

Declutter your home with the Outbox Method

Here are some easy ways to reduce the clutter at home by means of an "Outbox". It's a box for things that you think you might not need, that you then periodically empty. [4 minutes]

The Blue Zones book summary: lessons for living longer

My review and summary of the The Blue Zones: Lessons for living longer from the people who've lived the longest. The best advice is having strong relationships and purpose in life. [5 minutes]

A summary of Time Management for System Administrators

My summary of the book Time Management for System Administrators . Good advice for people who otherwise get interrupted a lot to make time for project work. Works for SRE and DevOps too. [5 minutes]

A comparison of file synchronisation software

Presenting a comparison a wide range of free software for local file synchronization. In my case, for synchronization between a PC and an external hard drive. [5 minutes]

Optimize Wordpress for tiny free tier VMs

In which I show how to optimize Wordpress on Apache to handle a reasonable continuous load on a tiny free tier virtual machines, with only standard Ubuntu packages. [6 minutes]