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SUMMARY:Reading Group on Principles of Neural Design - Chapters 1-3 - Simo
 n Laughlin (Zoology\, University of Cambridge)
DTSTART:20161006T080000Z
DTEND:20161006T090000Z
UID:TALK67949@talks.cam.ac.uk
CONTACT:Tomas Van Pottelbergh
DESCRIPTION:Peter Sterling and I set out to establish Principles of Neural
  Design that will help neuroscientists convert mountains of data into an u
 nderstanding of how brains generate behaviour. Three attachment\, the Intr
 oduction\, 10 Principles and Summary and Conclusions “stolen” from our
  book\, will help you decide if this Discussion group is for you. As laid 
 out in the Introduction\, our approach is to relate structure and mechanis
 m to purpose. By considering a range of neural systems we demonstrate how 
 10 Principles of Neural Design increase the efficiency with brains use spa
 ce\, materials and energy to process meaningful information. Reading the S
 ummary and Conclusions\, you will see that these principles operate at all
  levels of organization\, from molecules to brain anatomy\, in brains of a
 ll sizes.\n\nWe wrote our book for a wide scientific audience. For neurosc
 ientists of most persuasions we minimised the number of equations. For phy
 sicists\, chemists\, mathematicians and engineers we minimized the number 
 of names and invoked basic constraints and measures of performance. I will
  be interested to learn from our discussions how well we appealed to you\,
  and how we could do better.\n\nBut what do you want to gain from discussi
 ng our book with me? That is largely up to you. To start the ball rolling 
 I have devised a format for the first session. This is a prototype. Like d
 esigners we can adapt as we proceed\, by tweaking and by restructuring.\n\
 nPlan for Session 1\n--------------------\nPrepare by reading Chapters 1 t
 o 3\; What Engineers Know\, Why an Animal Needs a Brain? Why a Bigger Brai
 n? (55 small pages)\n\nOn the day\, I introduce the material for 15’ by 
 summarising our line of argument\, and noting the points that struck me as
  particular interesting or insightful. Then you discuss with me\, first th
 ese three chapters\, then for the last five minutes the format of our next
  session. Our discussions should be as frank and fearless as the heated di
 scussions that shaped the book.\n\nLink to e-book: http://ebookcentral.pro
 quest.com/lib/cam/detail.action?docID=3433781
LOCATION:James Dyson Building Seminar Room - Department of Engineering
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