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Susan Blackmore – TAM 2013
Cubelets: robotic blocks for children (… and grown-ups?)
Sunset
Sunset sky, at the hills of Assisi.
I like this photo (I did a decent job, I think) – but I loved being there!
Open for comments!
I see that a number of older posts are trending, so I’ve reopened all comments on old posts. If you like something, please let me know. It’s nice to have some feedback from readers – other than through the contact form (which is still there, of course.)
Mind mapping? Use XMind!
I first learned about mind mapping many years ago. My brother was writing his thesis, and he needed a tool to help him organize his research. I don’t know how he was introduced to mind mapping, but the tool he used, and was happy with, is Mindjet’s MindManager.
I have been using mind maps (what a silly name!) for various purposes – but mostly when I am tackling a new subject matter and I need to do some research and keep track of my activities and loose ends. And the tool I’ve been using is, you may have guessed it, MindManager. It is a great tool, I guess, but it never really felt right to me. It is full of features that I would never use, and the functionality I used mostly fell short of what I wanted. I’m not saying it’s a bad tool – it isn’t. And, if you are in the market for a mind mapping tool you should definitely give it a try.
The reason I’m writing all this is because now I have, finally, found a mind mapping tool that works for me. It’s simple, it’s fast, and there’s a free version too. It is called XMind, and you can find it here.
I’m not going to do a feature-by-feature review or anything. I don’t really care that much. But I am really happy with XMind and since I didn’t pay anything for it, I figure it’s worth at least a mention :-)
Yes We Scan
If you don’t know what this is for, then I suppose this is your first time on the internet (welcome!) and you don’t have anything to be angry (or worried) about.
It’s just so f***ing disappointing when the conspiracy-nuts are proved right.
Here’s the link to the german guy who designed this poster:
Intuition Pumps and Other Tools for Thinking
Dennett’s done it again! His newest book is called “Intuition Pumps and Other Tools for Thinking”, and that’s what the book delivers. This is yet another masterpiece by Dennett and, like most of his work, it is a very accessible book.
Here’s the blurb:
Over a storied career, Daniel C. Dennett has engaged questions about science and the workings of the mind. His answers have combined rigorous argument with strong empirical grounding. And a lot of fun. Intuition Pumps and Other Tools for Thinking offers seventy-seven of Dennett’s most successful “imagination-extenders and focus-holders” meant to guide you through some of life’s most treacherous subject matter: evolution, meaning, mind, and free will. With patience and wit, Dennett deftly deploys his thinking tools to gain traction on these thorny issues while offering readers insight into how and why each tool was built. Alongside well-known favorites like Occam’s Razor and reductio ad absurdum lie thrilling descriptions of Dennett’s own creations: Trapped in the Robot Control Room, Beware of the Prime Mammal, and The Wandering Two-Bitser. Ranging across disciplines as diverse as psychology, biology, computer science, and physics, Dennett’s tools embrace in equal measure light-heartedness and accessibility as they welcome uninitiated and seasoned readers alike. As always, his goal remains to teach you how to “think reliably and even gracefully about really hard questions.” A sweeping work of intellectual seriousness that’s also studded with impish delights, Intuition Pumps offers intrepid thinkers–in all walks of life–delicious opportunities to explore their pet ideas with new powers.
If you enjoy thinking, and you’d like to learn by a professional, then buy this book!
You can hear the professor talk about it at a recent “AtGoogleTalks” lecture:
