Mindmelding


Book Description

In this important and controversial new book, William Hirstein argues that it is possible for one person to directly experience the conscious states of another, by way of what he calls mindmelding. Drawing on a range of research from neuroscience, psychology, and philosophy, he presents a highly original new account of consciousness.




Mindmelding


Book Description

Can consciousness and the human mind be understood and explained in sheerly physical terms? Materialism is a philosophical/scientific theory, according to which the mind is completely physical. This theory has been around for literally thousands of years, but it was always stymied by its inability to explain how exactly mere matter could do the amazing things the mind can do. Beginning in the 1980s, however, a revolution began quietly boiling away in the neurosciences, yielding increasingly detailed theories about how the brain might accomplish consciousness. Nevertheless, a fundamental obstacle remains. Contemporary research techniques seem to still have the scientific observer of the conscious state locked out of the sort of experience the subjects themselves are having. Science can observe, stimulate, and record events in the brain, but can it ever enter the most sacred citadel, the mind? Can it ever observe the most crucial properties of conscious states, the ones we are aware of? If it can't, this creates a problem. If conscious mental states lack a basic feature possessed by all other known physical states, i.e., the capability to be observed or experienced by many people, this give us reason to believe that they are not entirely physical. In this intriguing book, William Hirstein argues that it is indeed possible for one person to directly experience the conscious states of another, by way of what he calls mindmelding. This would involve making just the right connections in two peoples' brains, which he describes in detail. He then follows up the many other consequences of the possibility that what appeared to be a wall of privacy can actually be breached. Drawing on a range of research from neuroscience and psychology, and looking at executive functioning, mirror neuron work, as well as perceptual phenomena such as blind-sight and filling-in, this book presents a highly original new account of consciousness.




MindMeld


Book Description

In MindMeld, Jon D. Aleckson and Penny Ralston-Berg draw on a great many years of experience in educational technology to describe how the benefits of learning from an accomplished expert (a professor, for instance) can be translated into an online format. Industry professionals know that the online format presents an opportunity for highly interactive pedagogy, a pedagogy by which students synchronize learning with doing, replicating the information-processing habits that come from real-life work in the field. According to Aleckson, the key to creating an ideal eLearning product is to meet the challenge of micro-collaboration. In order to develop sophisticated online learning activities, we must find a way to convey the tacit knowledge of someone with real-life experience using the tools of software design. This requires us to micro-collaborate: individuals with very different backgrounds and very different skills sets have to work in harmony to achieve a common goal. It may sound simple, but anyone who has labored on an eLearning project knows otherwise. In MindMeld, Aleckson and Ralston-Berg take us step by step through the leadership, management, and communication strategies that make effective micro-collaboration possible, using stories of actual projects to illustrate his points. In addition, they provide a collection of documentation tools to assist in keeping an eLearning project on spec, on time, and on budget. This concise, readable volume contextualizes each aspect of eLearning development and highlights the ways in which different team members interact. It will prove invaluable to readers in both the business and academic worlds. As a bonus to readers, the authors have created an exciting set of "tools" for helping conceptualize and implement the process




Mind-Melding Unity and Blender for 3D Game Development


Book Description

Add Blender to your Unity game development projects to unlock new possibilities and decrease your dependency on third-party creators Key FeaturesDiscover how you can enhance your games with BlenderLearn how to implement Blender in real-world scenariosCreate new or modify existing assets in Blender and import them into your Unity gameBook Description Blender is an incredibly powerful, free computer graphics program that provides a world-class, open-source graphics toolset for creating amazing assets in 3D. With Mind-Melding Unity and Blender for 3D Game Development, you'll discover how adding Blender to Unity can help you unlock unlimited new possibilities and reduce your reliance on third parties for creating your game assets. This game development book will broaden your knowledge of Unity and help you to get to grips with Blender's core capabilities for enhancing your games. You'll become familiar with creating new assets and modifying existing assets in Blender as the book shows you how to use the Asset Store and Package Manager to download assets in Unity and then export them to Blender for modification. You'll also learn how to modify existing and create new sci-fi-themed assets for a minigame project. As you advance, the book will guide you through creating 3D model props, scenery, and characters and demonstrate UV mapping and texturing. Additionally, you'll get hands-on with rigging, animation, and C# scripting. By the end of this Unity book, you'll have developed a simple yet exciting mini game with audio and visual effects, and a GUI. More importantly, you'll be ready to apply everything you've learned to your Unity game projects. What you will learnTransform your imagination into 3D scenery, props, and characters using BlenderGet to grips with UV unwrapping and texture models in BlenderUnderstand how to rig and animate models in BlenderAnimate and script models in Unity for top-down, FPS, and other types of gamesFind out how you can roundtrip custom assets from Blender to Unity and backBecome familiar with the basics of ProBuilder, Timeline, and Cinemachine in UnityWho this book is for This book is for game developers looking to add more skills to their arsenal by learning Blender from the ground up. Beginner-level Unity scene and scripting skills are necessary to get started.




Unity of Body and Soul or Mind-Brain-Being?


Book Description

The relationship between our living body and our soul, our mental expressions of life and our physical environment, are both classical topics for discussion and ones which currently present themselves as part of a truly exciting philosophical debate: are we today still able to speak of a “soul”? And what is meant by a (living) body (German: “Leib”)? Does our brain dictate what we will and do? Or do we have free will? Why are we the same people tomorrow that we were yesterday? Given the discoveries of the modern neural sciences, can human beings still be understood in the context of the unity of body and soul? Or should we rather define ourselves as mind-brain beings (German: Gehirn-Geist-Gestalten)? Marcus Knaup explores these questions and discusses the most relevant approaches and arguments concerning the (living) body-soul debate. His own approach to current chal-lenges presented by modern brain research emanates from his bringing together Aristotelian Hylomorphism and phenomenology of the living body (German: “Leibphänomenologie”).




Self-Empowerment and Your Subconscious Mind


Book Description

Guides readers through effective self-empowerment techniques involving dream work, creative visualization, nature, positive inner dialogue and other ways of exploring the subconscious, with the aim of resolving conflicts, enhancing creativity, developing psychic skills and mapping out a happier and healthier life. Original. By the authors of Self-Empowerment Through Self-Hypnosis.




How the Mind Changed


Book Description

The extraordinary story of how the human brain evolved… and is still evolving. We’ve come a long way. The earliest human had a brain as small as a child’s fist; ours are four times bigger, with spectacular abilities and potential we are only just beginning to understand. This is How the Mind Changed, a seven-million-year journey through our own heads, packed with vivid stories, groundbreaking science, and thrilling surprises. Discover how memory has almost nothing to do with the past; meditation rewires our synapses; magic mushroom use might be responsible for our intelligence; climate accounts for linguistic diversity; and how autism teaches us hugely positive lessons about our past and future. Dr. Joseph Jebelli’s In Pursuit of Memory was shortlisted for the Royal Society Science Book Prize and longlisted for the Wellcome. In this, his eagerly awaited second book, he draws on deep insights from neuroscience, evolutionary biology, psychology, and philosophy to guide us through the unexpected changes that shaped our brains. From genetic accidents and environmental forces to historical and cultural advances, he explores how our brain’s evolution turned us into Homo sapiens and beyond. A single mutation is all it takes.




Matter Over Mind


Book Description

Matter Over Mind begins with a thought-provoking journey through the Cosmos to illustrate the startling contrast between nature’s chaotic but rich processes, and the human mind’s organized but under performing habits. This book reveals how humanity could achieve even greater heights if we allow ourselves to rethink how we think. Chaos theory, which is wonderfully explained in this book, is a foundational recipe in nature and large group behavior. Abstract thinking is the opposite force that leads to frustrating inconsistencies in society and even limitations in technology. Viewing the world through both lenses illuminates the deeper dynamics of the world and a better way forward for humanity.




Star Trek: Mind Meld


Book Description

Teska, a Vulcan child raised on Earth, is destined to play a crucial role in the reunification of the Vulcan and Romulan peoples. While Spock escorts his young niece back to Vulcan for her betrothal ceremony, he strives to help her understand both her Vulcan heritage and her growing telepathic abilities. But when an unplanned mind meld reveals the true identity of a deadly assassin to Teska, she and Spock find themselves the target of a Rigelian criminal network. With the EnterpriseTM light-years away, Spock and his niece must go on the run, pursued by a conspiracy determined to end teska's future before it has even begun.




AI Fairytales for the Curious Mind: Stories of Innovation, Invention, and the Future of Humanity


Book Description

In an age where the world is perpetually captivated by the ceaseless march of technological marvels, there remains an enduring enchantment with the fairy tales of old. These ageless narratives, brimming with stories of love, heroism, and profound lessons, have traversed centuries, resonating deeply within the souls of both the young and the seasoned. The inception of "AI Fairytales for the Curious Mind - Stories of Innovation, Invention, and the Future of Humanity" emerges from an insatiable curiosity: a desire to weave the ageless wisdom and magnetic allure of these tales with the expansive horizons of tomorrow. It is an audacious endeavour, spotlighting our cherished narratives from the past and transposing them into the electrifying and occasionally uncharted realms of a future moulded by artificial intelligence. This compendium strives to breathe new life into the heart of classic fairy tales, relocating them to a sphere where AI isn't just a fleeting concept but an intrinsic thread in the tapestry of daily existence. Through these stories, my ambition has been to explore the multifaceted relationship between humanity and artificial intelligence deeply. I have endeavoured to paint a world where this coexistence's challenges, triumphs, and philosophical dilemmas come to the fore. Every tale within these pages propels readers into a future where the known lands of tradition intersect with the unknown, where age-old parables and lessons converge and often conflict with the vast potentialities and predicaments of groundbreaking technological advancements. Penning "AI Fairytales For the Curious Mind" has been a journey. It is a bridge that arches gracefully over the past's nostalgic rivers, leading to the towering skyscrapers of an imagined tomorrow. This collection encapsulates a dream, a vision, and, most importantly, a conversation between epochs. As you immerse yourself in these tales, may they evoke the enchantment of ancient fables while simultaneously stirring contemplation about humanity's evolving narrative in this exhilarating era of machines and digital wonders.