After considerable trial and tribulation, the introductory entry to my Neuroscience section, “The Simple Response Machine” is ready for publication and can be accessed by clicking the link below:
The Simple Response Machine
It describes how neurons work and how they might be linked together to make a simple machine able to discriminate red light from green light. The intended implication of this exercise is that the principles on which this simple machine operates are the same as those employed by a much more complex machine, the human brain. While this article is certainly intended as an introduction to the complicated science behind neural function, it is just as much (maybe more) meant to be an introduction to two important philosophical issues, issues that are outlined in the article’s conclusion. Indeed, it is no accident that this article is being published simultaneously with my short story, “The Ladies Club” as it gives background crucial to complete understanding of the story. I suggest that readers peruse “The Simple Response Machine” prior to reading “The Ladies Club,” especially if their knowledge of neuroscience is limited.
That short story and this article typify the types of issues that this site will address (especially, the relationships between science and philosophy and the use of literature to explore philosophical subject matter). Thus, they constitute the first real pieces of content published on this site.
I began this project in November 2017. It’s taken 8 months to publish it because of the animations it contains. To make the animations, I had to learn to program with p5.js; it was a challenge, to say the least. The animations are two-dimensional and somewhat crude. Some of the animations are not as accurate as I would have liked simply because programing the necessary details was a hassle. (These inaccuracies are pointed out in the description of the animations, where appropriate.) In retrospect, my time may have been better spent learning a higher-level graphics program. However, learning to program with p5.js was an interesting and instructive adventure, and I feel that the animations, as they are, convey the basic concepts well enough.
The links to animations are designed to open in separate tabs. The best way to view them is to set your browser for new pages to open in a new window, then resize the windows and place them side-by-side such that you can look at the animation and read its description (always depicted in red) simultaneously. Setting your browser to open links in a new window isn’t always easy. However, an easy way to get this done is to allow the link to open in a new tab, then drag the tab off the browser, onto the desktop. References also are set to open in new tabs.
A final word about references before closing this post. First, I chose only references that can be accessed online, for free. I did this because I hope readers will check them out and I know that there’s no chance of this happening if they’d have to buy a textbook, go to the library for textbooks or journals or paying in the range of $35 for access to a reference online. Second, most of the references are reviews of subjects rather than original work, in keeping with the introductory nature of my article. Finally, references range in difficulty from general to quite technical. However, readers can often glean some information, even from the more technical references, often because they contain useful diagrams. I believe, also, that it’s important to show them, because they provide more precise and detailed information in instances where my animations and descriptions fall short.
I hope that you find my article to be of interest.
