Student Resource, physical origins of mind, Dr. Siegel, Allen Institute Brain Science, Tononi, Koch.

I was going to start the year with a review of the 21 Questions and Responses attached to Hoffman’s 2014 Frontiers of Psychology paper.  My intention was a summary, but it turned into a four part dissection peppered with links to authoritative resources that give substance to my assertions and the perspective I’m trying to convey.  While in the process of sorting through resources, I discovered Dr. Dan Siegel.  He inspired me to start the year with something a little more fun, interesting, and constructive. 

Dr. Siegel is a Clinical Professor of Psychiatry at the UCLA School of Medicine and the founding co-director of the Mindful Awareness Research Center at UCLA.  It’s a fun irony, for me, that he’s another* Californian, who at two years younger than Hoffman and myself has lived the same historical footprint.  I find it curious how Hoffman and Siegel were exposed to the same evidence, yet they achieved diametrically opposite conclusions, one confined to the realities we live within, the other a flight of fancy for fun and profit.  

Hoffman’s many references to advertising prowess indicates his affinity with Madison Avenue Ad-man priorities and perspective.  Creating a perfect vision is a serious goal and profits is the metric of success, regardless the negative fallout.  The amazing success of “The Case Against Reality, supports that notion.  

On the other hand, from reading Dr. Siegel's bio and listening to a half dozen recorded talks about his work, he seems to me a humanist focused on helping individuals with their actual lives.  It was refreshing never hearing the usual red flags of ‘disingenuous self-promotion’ and scientific misrepresentation that I’ve come to expect from Hoffman’s performances. 

I feel comfortable saying Siegel possesses “scientific realism”; along with an abiding respect for physical reality; a deep interest in people; a dose of humility; and a realistic perspective on limitations, while constantly pushing at the frontiers of understanding.

For me, Dr. Siegel is an example of “What A Scientist Sounds Like,” and a perfect bracer before re-entering the intellectual mine-field of Hoffman’s Case Against Reality.   

After reviewing Dr. Siegel’s videos I felt a need to add a little more physical reality, the biological meat and potatoes, so have added a few selections featuring Tononi and Koch, Allen Institute for Brain Science, mind-blowing microscopy and more.

The Mind as a Complex Mathematical System with Emergent Properties Daniel Siegel

A Scientific Explanation of the Human Mind | Daniel Siegel

Dan Siegel: The Neurological Basis of Behavior, Mind, Brain and Human Relationships Part 1 to 3 

Allen Institute for Brain Science

Giulio Tononi on Consciousness

Consciousness: here, there and everywhere?  Giulio Tononi and Christof Koch

Video, Giulio Tononi on Consciousness

The Integrated Information Theory of Consciousness, Dr. Christof Koch,

Allen Institute for Brain Science

Allen Brain Observatory: Visualizing the brain in action

Allen Cell Types Database: Understanding the fundamental building blocks of the brain

Allen Institute for Brain Science,  Coding & Vision 101, 12-part undergraduate-level lecture series

Brain Expansion Microscopy, Harvard Medical School,

Lattice light-sheet microscopy

Gut bacteria and mind control: to fix your brain, fix your gut!

New center advances biomedical and brain imaging, University of Delaware,

Stunning Brain Map Reveals Tiny Communication Network

Brain Research: New Discoveries and Breakthroughs at UC Davis

Diego Garcia-Bellido - Animal Dawn - What a scientist sounds like.

Not much to add here, Dr. Garcia-Bellido Senior Researcher of Palaeontology at the South Australian Museum and Associate Professor at the School of Biological Sciences at the University of Adelaide in Australian does a very nice information filled review of what we know regarding the transition from Ediacara Biota to the Cambrian, which set the stage for the further evolutionary revolutions to follow in short order.  Below the fold I post screen shots of key slides to entice and highlight key points.   (If you're wondering why I'm posting these videos see this)

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Animal Dawn - Research Tuesday - Garcia-Bellido  Presentation

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=39vlt1N5o5A

University of Adelaide - Dr. Diego Garcia-Bellido - Animal Dawn - 2016

Liu, Carbone, Brasier, Corfield, Wood - Ediacaran Marine Ecosystem - What scientists sound like.

Here are some more excellent videoed talks discussing the Ediacaran Period before I move onto the Cambrian Period in this Pageant Earth's of Evolution.  

The first is an presentation by Alex Liu, the sound suffers from some unfortunate interference, still the talk is well given and worth hearing out.  The second features Calla Carbone at 2016 Royal Tyrrel Museum speakers series, while she reinforces Liu's message, she also expands with further insights into early ecological community development and the varied environmental niches that appeared.  She's a bit nervous, but considering she was a newly minted Masters at this point, it's an outstanding talk.  This is followed by an audio of a fascinating BBC Our Time Podcast conversation hosted by Melvyn Bragg with guests Martin Brasier, Richard Corfield and Rachel Wood.

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Alex Liu

Ediacaran Biota marine ecosystems evolution

The Ediacaran Biota and the development of modern marine ecosystems

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hh0OKAuphyM

Mary L. Droser - Ediacara Biota - What a scientist sounds like.

There are many excellent videos about the Ediacaran Period in Earth's Pageant of Evolution - each speaker touches on aspects the others don’t.  It's what makes learning about this so fascinating, the endless surprises and aha moments.   

It's a reflection of the new appreciation that the dawn of animal evolution was way more complex and amazing than anyone imagined - that is, before the scientific evidence really started coming in these past decades.  No ID needed.  Makes me think I’ll be sharing a few more lectures focused on the Ediacaran before moving on to the Cambrian Period.  

This time I’m highlighting Professor Mary L. Droser because she does such a nice clear job of describing the variety and complexity that showed up in these oldest of creature communities.  Below the fold you'll find screen shots of key slides outlining her talk.

Mary L. Droser - Catching the second Ediacara wave: 

ecology and biology of the Ediacara Biota as recorded in South Australia

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yJq64EYOgs8

University of Adelaide | July 12, 2016

Prof. Mary L. Droser

University of California, Riverside, USA 

Murray Gingras - 585 MYA animal tracks - What a scientist sounds like

Alrightie than, enough being distracted by chores and laziness - it's time to get this Pageant of Evolution rolling again.  I think I want to have some fun by simply selecting good lectures that follow in chronologic order from the Ediacaran and culminating in the Anthropocene and humanity's uncontrollable impulses that are driving towards an inevitable self-destruction.  If you laugh at that perhaps you need to learn about the progression of "civilization' these past few centuries and then stop to actually think real hard about trends and how they dictate the future.  Being blind to what's happening isn't going to stop it from happening.

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585-million-year-old tracks reveal evidence of the first animals on Earth

Royal Tyrrell Museum of Palaeontology

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SAwZYc2ahCM

Jeff Gee, Joanna Haigh - Earth's Magnetic Force Field - What a scientist sounds like

Apparently Apparel, August 18, 2012 - Discovery Channel

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yEYy_nVC4L0

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This posting is dedicated to conveying a fact based appreciation for our planet’s protective magnetic “force field” with lectures from: 

Geoscientist Jeff Gee - Exploring Extremes of Earth's Magnetic Field

Professor Joanna Haigh - The Sun and Climate

… along with some awesome data driven visualizations, narrative is a bit on the melodramatic side, but hey, that's what folks want:

Earth's Magnetism in HD - Discovery Channel

Magnetism - Defending Our Planet, Defining The Cosmos - NASA Multimedia Science

Origins of the Earth’s magnetic field - CEOAS - Oregon State

Magnetism - Defending Our Planet, Defining The Cosmos

NASA Multimedia Science,  April 3, 2017

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DGzL3dodGC4

David Bercovici - Origin of Plate Tectonics - What a scientist sounds like.

One aspect of this blog is all about my own journey of discovery through knowledge acquired from the global community of scientists over the course of generations.  

I do have strong opinions that are based on how I've processed the information I've accumulated so far.  Within that frame of reference, it always seemed self-evidence that our moon's close proximity to Earth during the first billion years had to have a hand in starting plate tectonics on this planet.  

I could not understand why geoscientists never discussed that aspect when writing about origins of plate tectonics.  It simply didn't make sense to me.

But, recently listening to scientists such as David Bercovici, I've come to appreciate many aspects of that situation I had no clue of.  Not that I've had any particular insights, but I have gained a world of appreciation for why the moon's tidal influence on the start of plate tectonic isn’t near as obvious as I was imagining.

It seems to me a great example of allowing facts to dictate my opinion.  I appreciate I possess a fraction of the knowledge someone like Bercovici has accumulated - thus if his words reveal flaws in my own thinking - it's my duty to understand him, not simply to dismiss him.  

As opposed to the agenda driven character, who is so self-certain that he allows his under-educated mind to conjure (and then believe) all sorts of fantastical under-informed rationalizations in order to dismiss the expert's knowledge.  

See, truth doesn't matter to the self-certain - pushing agenda over substance is their priority.

Whereas in serious science honestly acquiring evidence that helps us gain better understanding IS the goal - while ultimate certainty is unattainable.

Be forewarned the following is a talk given to his peers, so it's a peek into how scientists speak with each other, rather than the crisp public talks I usually like sharing.

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Professor David Bercovici Ph.D.

On the Origin of Plate Tectonics

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BW4vY570qAM

Caroline Beghein - Tectonics to Deep Earth Dynamics - What a scientist sounds like

Here Caroline Beghein Ph.D. gives a very nice general introduction to plate tectonics.

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From Plate Tectonics to Deep Earth Dynamics

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hv0MaYGbbgI

IRIS Earthquake Science

Published on Sep 2, 2016

A Seismological Journey Inside the Earth.

2016 IRIS/SSA Distinguished Lecturer 

Caroline Beghein Ph.D., U.C. Los Angeles

Jason Morgan - history of plate tectonics - What a scientist sounds like

The Changing Landscape of Plate Tectonics

Geophysicist W. Jason Morgan

    

This talk gives a historical account of the developing science of plate tectonics, given by Geophysicist William Jason Morgan.

Although I'll admit I chose to include it as much for the introduction as for the interesting talk that follows.  You see, while most introductions have me pushing fast-forward, once in a while I’m stopped by something that resonates and I’ll pay attention.  The introduction to this video is an example.  Professor Jerry Mitrovica* delivers an enjoyable listen, while beautifully illustrating what a serious scientist is all about.

* Incidentally, he gives a great lecture in his own right: 

Jerry Mitrovica: The Fingerprints of Sea Level Change... the video

   

Jerry Mitrovica exemplifies the ‘scientific way’ - the passionate curiosity driven need to learn about our planet, based on honestly assessing all evidence and facts at hand, while striving to attain better information for yet more accurate understanding, always moving forward.

When listening to Mitrovica please notice his willingness to search out and examine the shortcomings and mistakes in his own, thinking, work and conclusions.  His respect for colleagues, even his “competitors” along with a respect for their substantive work - It’s because honestly learning about our planet as accurately as possible is the cornerstone to their work and careers.  (Why isn’t that aspect being loudly enunciated by writers?)

Paul Hoffman - Snowball Earth explained - What a scientist sounds like.

The second and third paragraphs in my second Pageant of Evolution column seem too discombobulated in hindsight.  It’s a great example of writing before having one's proverbial ducks in a row.  But hey, I was distracted and rushed and we learn from our mistakes.

In any event, that’s why I chose Paul F. Hoffman to feature in this “What a scientist sounds like” - Tectonic and Sedimentary Field Geologist in the Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences at Harvard University, currently he is their Sturgis Hooper Professor Emeritus. 

His honors go back to 1977 and his published work on Snowball Earth goes back to 1998.  He is considered a foremost expert in Snowball Earth research and he gave a wonderful series of lectures for Earth Dynamics Research Group at Curtin University of Technology in 2016.  

Unless you’re a serious student or scientist much of this will be over your head, however much won’t be!  The outlines are easy to follow, and the complexities are fascinating to hear about, even if the nuances are beyond our comprehension.  At least one becomes aware of unimagined complexities, along with unimagined levels of scientific understanding.

I’m starting by embedding a shorter simpler overview that he gave at Mount Royal University, as the 2018 keynote speaker for the Faculty of Science and Technology Research Days.  Then I share links and poster highlights of his more extensive Earth Dynamics Research Group lectures, enjoy.

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Also, check out this treasure trove:

 http://www.snowballearth.org/people.html 

Paul Hoffman | Joe Kirschvink | Lynn Margulis | Douglas Mawson | Mark A. S. McMenamin.

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(click on image for clearer view)

Paul Hoffman

Snowball Earth Lecture 1 - Snowball geology

Curtin University of Technology

Earth Dynamics Research Group, August 3, 2016

Michael Russell - Emergence, serpentinization engine, electron exchange - what a scientist sounds like

If you enjoyed Robert Hazen and Jack Szostak, then you’ll want to add Michael Russell since his talks compliments what Dr. Szostak was explaining.  Of course, what you get out of these lectures is proportional to how well you already know the topic.  That said, any intelligent curious person can still get plenty of fascinating insights and better appreciation for the complexities scientists have come to understand by listening and then doing a little side research for themselves.  It's not like the fundamentals themselves are that difficult, it is the details that get impossibly complex and difficult to grasp.

The key is an honest curiosity to become aware of the world we live in.

With that I present another another couple lectures about the physics of Life’s folds within folds of cumulative harmonic complexity flowing down the cascade of time.  Before getting to my next essay.

Jack Szostak - Origins, geochemistry to biochemistry - What a scientist sounds like.

Whereas Robert Hazen went after the origins problem from a mineralogist's perspective, Professor of chemistry and chemical biology, the 2009 Nobel Prize laureate Jack Szostak goes at it from his expertise, the biologist’s perspective.  

Both have found that they needed to combine their expertise and to reach out to other branches of science in order to constructively tackle the problem of understanding the transition from geochemistry to biochemistry and then to full blown life as we know it.

He is another excellent public speaker so his talks are a joy to listen to.  Here I share a collection of seven informative videos of his talks along with some bio information.

Jack Szostak: The Early Earth and the Origins of Cellular Life

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h1KqvoLEj7c

MoleCluesTV, Published on May 16, 2019  (32:11 min.)

Lecture by Dr Jack Szostak, 2009 Nobel laureate in Physiology or Medicine, at the Molecular Frontiers Symposium "Planet Earth: A Scientific Journey", at Stockholm University May 9-10, 2019.

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The Szostak Lab

https://molbio.mgh.harvard.edu/szostakweb/

Robert Hazen - Origins, mineral evolution - What a scientist sounds like.

In order to get a change of scenery I spent the summer of 2006 working north of Boulder and living in a Teepee.  My transportation was mainly my bike and Longmont was a better destination than crowded Boulder.  It also sported a very nice library with a big non-fiction audio book collection, which was very exciting considering I’d long run out of decent nonfictions at my home town fiction loving library.  Browsing through their rows of “The Great Courses” series, I spied something new "Origins of Life."

Origins of Life

Professor Robert M. Hazen, Ph.D.

George Mason University

The Great Courses.com - course 1515

https://www.thegreatcourses.com/professors/robert-m-hazen/

With a title like that, I couldn’t say no.  It turned out to deliver one astounding surprise after another, along with a few revelations to boot.  I needed to listened a second time before returning, despite its 12 hour length.  Since then I've made a point of listening to pretty near every YouTube lecture featuring him and there are many. 

I also liked that this new understanding also vindicates my own reflexive disgust at having read some serious scientists assume that for the first few billions of years nothing happened on Earth.  It seemed a ridiculous notion to me and so it was.  Just like junk DNA, or wasted brain matter, nonsense - it was simply that we hadn’t learned enough to know what it was doing yet.  Seems that conceit and short sightedness has been a predominate feature in human thinking going way back.

The beauty of science is that truth and honesty and evidence is valued - authoritative facts win in the end.  This is because scientists belong to a community of dedicated, competitive, informed, skeptical individuals who buy into the basic premise that: We Need Each Other To Keep Ourselves Honest.  

Also they work under a set of rules, that puts honest observation at the top of the list, because constructively learning about our planet, along with her ways and means, is the goal.  A place where geophysical facts rule over personal opinion and preferences. 

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According to Neal deGrasse Tyson this is how science operates:

(1) Question authority. No idea is true just because someone says so, including me. 

(2) Think for yourself. Question yourself. Don't believe anything just because you want to. Believing something doesn't make it so. 

(3) Test ideas by the evidence gained from observation and experiment. If a favorite idea fails a well-designed test, it's wrong. Get over it. 

(4) Follow the evidence wherever it leads. If you have no evidence, reserve judgment. 

And perhaps the most important rule of all...

(5) Remember: you could be wrong. Even the best scientists have been wrong about some things. Newton, Einstein, and every other great scientist in history -- they all made mistakes. Of course they did. They were human. 

Science is a way to keep from fooling ourselves, and each other.

{Mistakes are learning opportunities !}

James Sadd, Earth Revealed - video geology course - What a scientist sounds like.

This one goes way back, but its a sentimental favorite and the fundamental geologic information it teaches remains pretty much as accurate today as it was the summer this came out and when, by happenstance, I was able to watch the series 3, and some episodes 4 times.  

It was a wonderful primer for starting my journey towards seriously understanding the amazing Four Corners geology.  Even now watching a few, I still think Professor Sadd presentation is first class and I still like that intro tune.

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James Sadd - Occidental College - Earth Revealed

Earth Revealed: Introductory Geology, originally titled Earth Revealed, is a 26-part video instructional series covering the processes and properties of the physical Earth, with particular attention given to the scientific theories underlying geological principles. 

The telecourse was produced by Intelecom and the Southern California Consortium, was funded by the Annenberg/CPB Project, and first aired on PBS in 1992 with the title Earth Revealed. 

All 26 episodes are hosted by Dr. James L. Sadd, professor of environmental science at Occidental College in Los Angeles, California.

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FREE PHYSICAL GEOLOGY VIDEO LECTURE SERIES:

Earth Revealed, by Dr. James Sadd
https://www.learner.org/resources/series78.html

Nick Zentner's Geology Video Collection - Washington state - What a scientist sounds like.

This is what a scientist sounds like!

Whereas Wayne Ranney’s audience tends to be people partaking in geological classes and tours, he acts as the perfect host in trying to validate everyones right to their personally held beliefs, while gently reminding them that geology does not traffic in belief systems but rather observation and data.  See, he understands that he might have only this one precious moment to fill them with a sense of awe about the transformational nature of geologic thought.  So, the learning is slipped in tactfully and danced around when necessary.

In contrast to that, the impression I get from having watched most all of Professor Nick Zentner’s many videos is that if you attend one of Zentner’s classes or lectures you’d better take it seriously and pay attention if you want to keep up, oh, turn off that phone!

He displays total command of his topic and the audience.  On rare occasions we see him use his velvet hammer against some audience offender, it's incisive, and he doesn't miss a beat as he continues his talk.  A beautiful thing to watch.  I’d love to take a class devoted to studying Nick Zentner’s presentation style and structure.  He makes it look so easy, as he conveys so much.    

My one lament is that he’s in Washington state.  I’m longing for someone like him to start giving recorded talks and short videos of the Colorado Plateau area.   At least, I’ve traveled through Washington occasionally, so I can relate to his lessons and the landscapes from personal memory. 

To be clear, Nick is a fun guy. I hope so, since I can’t resist introducing him with this:

Geology Video Blooper - Columnar Basalt - Nick Zentner

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qJWtgvsm_ms

Tom Foster (http://HUGEfloods.com) and Nick Zentner (Central Washington University)

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Wayne Ranney's Geology Video Collection - Colorado Plateau Evolution - What a scientist sounds like.

This is what a scientist sounds like!

Many years ago my daughter gave me a book, “Ancient Landscapes of the Colorado Plateau” because she knew I liked geology.  What I found was an epiphany.  You see I’ve lived in the southwestern corner of Colorado since 1979 and it seemed like the more I got to know the San Juan Mountains and the Canyon Lands of the Colorado Plateau, and the more I read the geologic info available to the general public, the more overwhelmed and confused I felt.  Bits and pieces made sense, but there was no overarching clarity.  How did it fit together and unfold over time.  My head would spin trying to sort it out.  

Then came Ancient Landscapes, with it’s maps that look like satellite images, sequenced to reveal time unfolding and the landscape evolving.  Its concise internally consistent narrative colored in details.  By the time I was finished with it, the first time, it felt like my satchel full of fascinating but frustrating facts had been woven into a beautiful clarifying tapestry I'll never be able to describe the way they do.  Which is why you should see this for yourself.

Of course, as it goes with epiphanies, time happens, experiences are digested, and we realize whole new realms, along with a new set of questions.  The curiosity never ends, it’s a wonderful life and it’s not the destination, it’s the journey.  Enjoy.

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Ancient Landscapes of the Colorado Plateau with Wayne Ranney  

Geologist Wayne Ranney describes the history of the Colorado Plateau. With illustrations and excerpts from the book he Co-authored, Wayne Ranney explains live on the plateau over the last 500 million years. Presented by Grand Canyon Trust; the University of Utah Environmental Humanities Graduate Program, supported by The Nature Conservancy, SUWA,  Pax Natura Foundation.  (April 13, 2010)