Re Coherent Brain Oscillations

[John Shaw <crosley@TCP.CO.UK>]

     Jim Newman has an interesting analogy relevant to my
     posting:

        We are all familiar with the rolling pattern of
        boiling water. But if we trace the activity of a
        single water molecule as it breaks into its
        component pieces, we don't find a rolling pattern;
        we find random motions. If we trace the individual
        activity of many water molecules, we still only
        find lots of individual random patterns. So where
        does the rolling pattern come from? Answer:
        tracing the motion of individual atoms and
        molecules is looking at the wrong level of
        analysis for rolling. One needs to look at the
        cumulative effects of all the water at the same
        time. The only way to do this is to is to look at
        the water at a higher level of description and
        describe the motion at that level. the problem of
        where rolling patterns come from disappears at the
        higher level, for it is just the pattern that
        emerges when water boils. Maybe binding works in
        the same way.

     See web site for the Journal of Consciousness Studies at
     www.zynet.co.uk/imprint; The binding problem; Jim
     Newman: Reticular-Thalamic Activation in the Cortex.

     Of course this does not help Dr. Goldberg's query -
     apologies to him. John Shaw

-------------------------------------
Name: John C Shaw
E-mail: crosley@tcp.co.uk
Date: 03/17/98
Time: 06:31:16

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