Brains Are Overrated

Researchers recently showed how one brainless animal's behavior can be described entirely in the language of physics and dynamical systems.

Math and Science News from Quanta Magazine View this email in your browser BIOPHYSICS | ALL TOPICS   This Animal's Behavior Is Mechanically Programmed By JORDANA CEPELEWICZ Biomechanical interactions, rather than neurons, control the movements of one of the simplest animals. The discovery offers a glimpse into how animal behavior could have worked before neurons evolved. Read the article | Watch the video ASTROPHYSICS   Tiny Galaxies Reveal Secrets of Supermassive Black Holes By CHARLIE WOOD Dwarf galaxies weren't supposed to have big black holes. Their surprise discovery has revealed clues about how the universe's biggest black holes could have formed. Read the article ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE   Machine Learning Reimagines the Building Blocks of Computing By NICK THIEME The "lossy compression" inherent to many algorithms can result in false positives. Algorithms strengthened with machine learning can avoid these mistakes. Read the blog PODCAST TRAILER: THE JOY OF WHY   Deep Curiosity Inspires The Joy of Why Podcast By STEVEN STROGATZ The noted mathematician and author Steven Strogatz explains how the conversations with experts in his new Quanta Magazine podcast address his lifelong fascination with timeless mysteries. Read the column | Listen to the trailer ATOMIC PHYSICS   Icy Antimatter Experiment Surprises Physicists By CHARLIE WOOD Atoms in our chaotic world ricochet like billiard balls, making it difficult for physicists to gauge their properties. Researchers recently found a way to stabilize the movement of certain atoms. Read the blog QUANTA SCIENCE PODCAST   Evolution 'Landscapes' Predict What's Next for COVID Virus Podcast hosted by SUSAN VALOT; Story by CARRIE ARNOLD Studies that map the adaptive value of viral mutations hint at how the COVID-19 pandemic might progress next. Listen to the podcast Read the article Around the Web The Nine Lives of Schrödinger's Cat Quantum theory's predictions are clear, but its physical interpretation is not. IAI News invited nine physicists and philosophers to explain their interpretation of the Schrödinger's cat thought experiment. One interpretation of quantum mechanics called "QBism" focuses on the beliefs of the observer rather than the physical reality of the object being observed. Amanda Gefter interviewed the founder of QBism, Christopher Fuchs, for Quanta in 2015. Good News for the Scatterbrained Studying the entropy produced during various brain activities could lead to insights about how the mind works. Morten Kringelbach and Gustavo Deco write for Aeon about their thermodynamic theory of the mind. The neuroscientist Anil Seth also sees a connection between thermodynamics and the brain: He believes the brain actively fights against the 2nd law of thermodynamics by using predictive models to keep tight control over its processes. Follow Quanta Simons Foundation 160 5th Avenue, 7th Floor New York, NY 10010 Unsubscribe | About Quanta Privacy Policy | Terms | Contact Us   Copyright © 2022 Quanta Magazine, an editorially independent division of the Simons Foundation