Laura Pike Seeley

For researchers interested in the intersection of animal and machine intelligence, moreover, this “supervised learning” might be limited in what it can reveal about biological brains. Animals—including humans—don’t use labeled data sets to learn. For the most part, they explore the environment on their own, and in doing so, they gain a rich and... See more

one of the latest big theories in neuroscience says that humans are fundamentally creatures of prediction, and not only is creativity not at odds with that, but it actually goes hand in hand with improving our predictive power. Life itself, in this view, is one big process of creatively optimizing prediction as a survival strategy in a universe... See more

Umwelt , as I learned from Ed Yong’s book, An Immense World , is the world as it is experienced by a particular organism. How does the organism that is my dad now , not my dad of 5 or 25 or 50 years ago, experience the world? What language assigns itself, or doesn’t, to the surfer and the wave, the son and the daughter? How cold and confused and in... See more

The Enlightenment changed the course of human history, placing reason at the center of culture. Our current project of civilization is failing and needs a new direction. Learning about life in the Universe highlights the uniqueness of our planet and of life here. This knowledge should pave the way to a new Enlightenment, one with the goal of... See more