Krugman's Keynesian Crocodile Tears

Under the ominous heading of "That 30s Feeling" Krugman opines that austerity in response to the woes of the Eurozone is wrong :

How bad will it be? Will it really be 1937 all over again? I don’t know. What I do know is that economic policy around the world has taken a major wrong turn, and that the odds of a prolonged slump are rising by the day.

But just last month he wrote:

Consider what Greece would get if it simply stopped paying any interest or principal on its debt. All it would have to do then is run a zero primary deficit — taking in as much in taxes as it spends on things other than interest on its debt. But here’s the thing: Greece is currently running a huge primary deficit — 8.5 percent of GDP in 2009. So even a complete debt default wouldn’t save Greece from the necessity of savage fiscal austerity.

 I reply: Note your use of the word necessity here, Paul. Why is this necessary? Why not put the failed global derivatives bucket shop monstrosity through bankruptcy reorganization and return to a Bretton Woods fixed currency model based upon long term investments in infrastucture and rapid development of advanced technology to sustain the world's population? Oh, I forgot. You are a monetarist at heart and believe in the magic of...money. That is sad.

Riemann's Foresight on the Mind Brain Problem

Experience shapes the brain's circuitry throughout adulthood

June 15, 2010

The adult brain, long considered to be fixed in its wiring, is in fact remarkably dynamic. Neuroscientists once thought that the brain's wiring was fixed early in life, during a critical period beyond which changes were impossible. Recent discoveries have challenged that view, and now, research by scientists at Rockefeller University suggests that circuits in the adult brain are continually modified by experience.

Bernhard Riemann wrote in his philosophical papers in the mid to late 1800's of what he called "thought masses." That is, that all thoughts had a correlative formation of mass in the brain. In this sort of thinking he was a student of Fechner, who he quotes in these same remnants. Riemann revolutionized mathematical physics leading directly to Einstein's breakthroughs. It seems, he was equally prescient in his outlook on the mind brain problem. His model of space a determined by the evolving curvature of an N+1 dimensional manifold certainly applies most profoundly to this arena.

More from Lilliputia

"Republicans Jubilant About Gulf Coast Coverage" blares the Huffington Post headline today. 
My take: Well, I guess if Obama gets up off his ass and actually does something to stop BP from pillaging the nation then the Republicans wouldn't have anything to be jubilant about. Then again, it wouldn't be like Obama to bite the hand that feeds him, would it?

A Single Neuron in the Brain of an Insect Is Smarter Than an Artificial Intelligence Theorist

Here's some heartening news: (highlighting for emphasis is mine)

Tiny insect brains capable of huge feats

A male hoverfly, Eristalis, attempting to woo a female (feeding from the flower) with his impressively controlled hovering flight. The flies use visual motion to stabilise and control their flight and to maintain their distance from nearby objects. Photo by Doekele Stavenga. Full Image (71.48K)

Friday, 11 June 2010

Insects may have tiny brains the size of a pinhead, but the latest research from the University of Adelaide shows just how clever they really are.

For the first time, researchers from the University's Discipline of Physiology have worked out how insects judge the speed of moving objects.

It appears that insect brain cells have additional mechanisms which can calculate how to make a controlled landing on a flower or reach a food source. This ability only works in a natural setting.

In a paper published in the international journal Current Biology, lead author David O'Carroll says insects have well identified brain cells dedicated to analysing visual motion, which are very similar to humans.

"It was previously not understood how a tiny insect brain could use multiple brain pathways to judge motion," Associate Professor O'Carroll says.

"We have known for many years that they can estimate the direction of moving objects but until now we have not known how they judge speed like other animals, including humans.

"It appears they take into account different light patterns in nature, such as a foggy morning or a sunny day, and their brain cells adapt accordingly.

"This mechanism in their brain enables them to distinguish moving objects in a wide variety of natural settings. It also highlights the fact that single neurons can exhibit extremely complex behaviour."

SYMPATHY FROM THE DEVIL

This just in:
In an exclusive interview with an inside source from the blazing inferno, Satan is letting it be known that he is in solidarity with the beleaguered executives of BP. He believes that the job that they are doing under the extreme duress of the crisis is in fact in his words "admirable."
More on this will be forthcoming in further interviews.

BP, Obama, Cap and Trade: A Riddle

Well let us see what we shall see, shall we? Obama co-founded the Cap and Trade Exchange system in Chicago. Tony Podesta, Chicago native, headed Obama's transition team. The Podesta Group has BP as a client. BP was Obama's largest corporate funder. BP supports Cap and Trade. Obama is Mr Cap and Trade.

Obama says he's going to do exactly what to their asses?