Got a big burst of wind in my sails, recently. One of the world's foremost universities asked me to write about my work for them. What's up with that?
You can't step outside these days without hearing about AI. My stuff is related, but fundamentally different. I call it artificial sentience or machine consciousness. Think of HAL, but without the homicidal tendencies.
I was among the first who made a scientific argument for the idea that mind meets matter at the quantum level. I used color vision as an exemplar of the more general case.
That approach builds on the efforts of dozens of the greatest physicists, mathematicians, neuroscientists and philosophers of all time.
I'd love to make a series or a stand-along feature about the whole deal. My favorite nature programs are those featuring David Attenborough, and I generally aim for the same audience.
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https://brianjflanagan.substack.com/
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That's a really fascinating take Brian, it's no wonder the University asked for you to write about your work. You might find one of our community members interesting. Her name is Deobrah Lurie and she is a film & TV composer who has a rare condition called synesthesia, which allows her to identify every note by seeing a specific, corresponding color in her mind’s eye https://www.last.fm/music/Deborah+Lurie/+wiki.
Thanks for your kind note, Amanda. Synesthesia is an intriguing phenomenon, hmm? Nabokov writes about his experience with it (below). My best guess is that the nerves from one sense organ get directed to brain regions which typically handles another input stream. This view is supported by others in the field.
https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/human-neuroscience/articles/10.3389...
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"The long "a" of the English alphabet has for me the tint of weathered wood, but a French "a" evokes polished ebony. This black group also includes hard "g" (vulcanized rubber) and "r" (a sooty rag being ripped). Oatmeal "n", noodle-limp "l", and the ivory-backed hand mirror of an "o" take care of the whites. I am puzzled by my French "on" which I see as the brimming tension-surface of alcohol in a small glass."
https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/49442/vladimir-nabokov-talks-synesth...