Three weeks into the Semester

I’ve been preparing a set of slides for a talk I’m giving on Monday about my vision for my second term as institute director. The process got me thinking about “institutes for advanced studies” in general and the one in Princeton in particular. The Krasnow Institute for Advanced Study is someone different from the platonic model in that it’s an integral part of a university. But in other aspects, the model is appropriate, I think.

I also gave a guest lecture yesterday for a grad class on the “state of American science”. It’s something I know a bit about–I’m afraid I was a bit too pessimistic for the cohort of first year students–funding for American science is getting squeezed by non-discretionary funding in the Federal Budget, and that’s a structural problem.

Most enjoyable, I got to sit down with my co-author, Lee Zwanziger, on the neuroethics book project that we’re hatching. I think it’s got great potential and we came up with a structure that I think is going to work.

Jim

Alex the Parrot, RIP

From the NY Times on-line:

But last week Alex, an African Grey parrot, died, apparently of natural causes, said Dr. Irene Pepperberg, a comparative psychologist at Brandeis University and Harvard who studied and worked with the parrot for most of its life and published reports of his progress in scientific journals. The parrot was 31.

We send our condolences to Irene, Alex was a remarkable animal.

Jim

New $1M Prize in Neuroscience

Mr. Kavli says:

“I decided to support science in three fields – astroscience, nanoscience and neuroscience – from the biggest, to the smallest, to the most complex,” he told reporters.

Sounds good to me.

Jim

Schools of Engineering: the Cal Berkeley approach

This is a really interesting article about new trends in Engineering Schools.

Money quote:

A major thrust of that effort will be mixing courses from the oft-derided “soft sciences” like sociology and economics, as well as law and design, into engineering students’ academic load.

Sounds a lot like Krasnow’s Center for Social Complexity.

Jim

Free will as visualized by fMRI

Mark Hallet’s money quote:

This paper has theoretical importance since it identifies a brain region possibly responsible for “free won’t”, the process that Benjamin Libet proposed to allow there to be “free will” even though the brain prepares to make movement prior to a person’s being aware that this is happening.

Live from the Singularity Summit: Machines must be moral

Cnet covers it all (click the link).

Krasnow has covered this waterfront before. Advisory Board member Bill Nitze sponsored a conference on the ethics and strong AI several years ago.

But, are we close to strong AI? I think I’m a bit skeptical of that.

Jim

Opportunities in Business Intelligence

I’ll be joining Ron Brachman (VP-Worldwide Research operations at Yahoo) and Ernst Volgenau (Chairman SRA International) to talk about the current applications, latest trends and business opportunities in business intelligence for marketing, risk management, fraud prevention and homeland security at Maggiano’s in Tysons Corner on September 12 from 7:30 to 9:45 a.m.

You can register here.

Jim

Networked Science

Diana Rhoten’s very perceptive piece in today’s Chronicle of Higher Education (on-line) really has it spot on about changes in the way science is being done here.

Money quote:

But Networked Science takes that idea a step further, using cyberinfrastructure to create a virtual hallway in which the doorways — wide enough to accommodate all the scientists who want to pass through — lead to labs and offices containing every discipline under the sun. By providing that space, unachievable in the physical world, being virtual can actually surpass being there.

Jim

Craig Venter’s genome

From PLoS via today’s Financial Times: Craig Venter’s genome revealed.

Money quote:

The study, carried out at his J. Craig Venter Institute in Maryland, shows that Dr Venter carries genes that may predispose him to Alzheimer’s and heart disease, novelty seeking behaviour and a preference for evening rather than morning activity. Never before has anyone revealed so much personal information in a scientific paper.

Natural beauty

A reader from Washington State read my entry regarding Orcas at Lime Kiln Park on San Juan Island and reminded me of how amazing the Pacific Northwest really is. I was reminded by the reader, that the Hoh rainforest (another place I’ve visited) is another piece of the natural jig saw puzzle that makes that part of North America both unique and very much worth protecting.

Which brings up the notion of human brains acting in a stewardship role with regards to the rest of the natural biosphere while at the same time being an integral part. Sounds pretty difficult to me–and that may be at the nub of our current environmental challenges.

As I look out from my mountain top, north up the vast Shenandoah Valley, watching the bald eagles fly by, I keep coming back to the question of how an intelligent brain that has, over the course of time, developed the means to effect vast changes on the planet’s complex and dynamical systems, might get “too smart” for its own good. It’s worrisome, especially for a scientist, where the basic idea is to acquire new knowledge about nature.

Jim