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Neurotic Neurons: An Interactive Explanation [video]

40 points by brad0 11y ago

beloch 11y ago
Warning: Auto-starting video with sound. (Seriously, why do people do this? One perfect way to make me close your story and never look at it is to startle me with sound before I specifically asked for it.)
- untothebreach 11y ago
  I would urge you to give it another try. The whole point of it is that is it an "Interactive video," and IMO is a really, really cool way to present information.
fpgaminer 11y ago
This is an incredible display of technology and a beautifully crafted presentation. The interactive bits aren't just for show; they reinforce what the author is trying to convey. It's easy to do this incorrectly. For example, see most video games where the gameplay exists merely to be fun rather than existing as a storytelling tool. For an example of games done right see The Stanley Parable. There the gameplay is used to convey the story directly; it's a mechanic of the message the author is trying to convey, rather than something to keep the player busy while they trudge through the story. I would, however, complain about the usage of the mythological Hebbian learning. We know very little about the mammalian brain. In particular, we really have no clue how neurons function nor how they learn. There are also a wide range of neurons, each with different behaviours. The concept of Hebbian learning is really more of a higher level behaviour of mammalian brains. At a conceptual level, yes we associate ideas that occur together, so Hebbian learning is a useful theory in terms of psychology. Psychology is primarily what this presentation is about. But the author presents things in terms of neurons, where Hebbian learning likely isn't the learning function, and even if it was we have no definitive model and research to back that up. Honestly, that's a nitpick. The meat of the video is about psychology, not neurons, and the oversimplification is helpful in creating those interactions that help communicate the author's message to the viewer. They work really well in that regard. I'm just personally bothered by the reinforcement of the myth that we understand how neurons work, and that some simple model like Hebbian learning bares any resemblance to the real mechanics.
- joeyo 11y ago
  I have to disagree with your nitpick. The presentation basically depicts spike timing dependent plasticity (STDP). STDP has been shown to occur in many brain regions and species, including mammals. It may not be the only learning rule that the brain uses, it's clearly an important and widely used one. http://www.scholarpedia.org/article/Spike-timing_dependent_plasticity http://www.scholarpedia.org/article/Spike-timing_dependent_p...
dieg0 11y ago
awesome, but is it over after the connection is totally killed? doesn't go anywhere from there, would really like to see where this goes next, cheers
mariopt 11y ago
One of the best videos I've ever watch, I wish the educational system was this simple.

40 points by brad0 11y ago

Warning: Auto-starting video with sound. (Seriously, why do people do this? One perfect way to make me close your story and never look at it is to startle me with sound before I specifically asked for it.)

untothebreach 11y ago
I would urge you to give it another try. The whole point of it is that is it an "Interactive video," and IMO is a really, really cool way to present information.

fpgaminer 11y ago

This is an incredible display of technology and a beautifully crafted presentation. The interactive bits aren't just for show; they reinforce what the author is trying to convey. It's easy to do this incorrectly. For example, see most video games where the gameplay exists merely to be fun rather than existing as a storytelling tool. For an example of games done right see The Stanley Parable. There the gameplay is used to convey the story directly; it's a mechanic of the message the author is trying to convey, rather than something to keep the player busy while they trudge through the story. I would, however, complain about the usage of the mythological Hebbian learning. We know very little about the mammalian brain. In particular, we really have no clue how neurons function nor how they learn. There are also a wide range of neurons, each with different behaviours. The concept of Hebbian learning is really more of a higher level behaviour of mammalian brains. At a conceptual level, yes we associate ideas that occur together, so Hebbian learning is a useful theory in terms of psychology. Psychology is primarily what this presentation is about. But the author presents things in terms of neurons, where Hebbian learning likely isn't the learning function, and even if it was we have no definitive model and research to back that up. Honestly, that's a nitpick. The meat of the video is about psychology, not neurons, and the oversimplification is helpful in creating those interactions that help communicate the author's message to the viewer. They work really well in that regard. I'm just personally bothered by the reinforcement of the myth that we understand how neurons work, and that some simple model like Hebbian learning bares any resemblance to the real mechanics.

joeyo 11y ago
I have to disagree with your nitpick. The presentation basically depicts spike timing dependent plasticity (STDP). STDP has been shown to occur in many brain regions and species, including mammals. It may not be the only learning rule that the brain uses, it's clearly an important and widely used one. http://www.scholarpedia.org/article/Spike-timing_dependent_plasticity http://www.scholarpedia.org/article/Spike-timing_dependent_p...

dieg0 11y ago

awesome, but is it over after the connection is totally killed? doesn't go anywhere from there, would really like to see where this goes next, cheers

mariopt 11y ago

One of the best videos I've ever watch, I wish the educational system was this simple.