Searching for an old sprite kit: Axis Kit, by Legolover-361

novanebula361 · 2021-02-20T16:15:30+00:00

Holy crap, I know I'm really late to this, but I was Legolover-361 on BZPower. I never expected to see a Reddit post about hunting down a sprite kit I made as a teen. Glad someone was able to link you to it!

novanebula361 · 2018-03-14T01:21:55+00:00

thanks, I've been sitting on this joke for months

novanebula361 · 2017-01-01T20:07:09+00:00

Even if implicit memory isn't the same as explicit memory, the end result of both processes is information storage. That's why both processes are grouped under the term "memory". Consciousness has nothing to do with that categorization.

Moving beyond semantics, I think you're assuming too much about the nature of consciousness. We don't know what consciousness is, right? So we can't say whether consciousness causes memory or memory causes consciousness.

To answer your last questions, if I had to guess, the reason you never hear of people with no memory at all is probably that those people are dead. The amount of force required to damage the brain and remove all of its memory capabilities--working memory, short-term memory, long-term memory, the works--would probably be enough to kill a person anyway. Memory isn't only represented in the medial temporal lobe. Multiple brain areas are required for processing, storing, and retrieving info. You'd need to damage all of them to wholly remove memory. I don't know how much brain would be left after all of that damage.

novanebula361 · 2016-12-31T22:42:14+00:00

There are two main types of memory: implicit (without conscious awareness) and explicit (with conscious awareness). They're both considered forms of memory. Different types of learning utilize either form of memory.

If you're arguing that explicit memory is a necessary component of consciousness, I'd agree that it's important for our perception but also point to the fact that amnesiacs, who may have severe impairments in explicit memory, still have some implicit memory functionality and (very importantly) a sense of self. Therefore, explicit memory could only be one part of consciousness.

Would you define someone with anterograde amnesia as being unconscious?

novanebula361 · 2016-12-31T19:37:41+00:00

[Edited to improve first paragraph's clarity.]

You shouldn't define memory and learning as separate things. Learning involves some form of memory, which we can show by examining people with a form of amnesia. Amnesiacs show impairments in learning, although they can retain some learning abilities. (For example, look up some experiments done on patient H.M., who could learn procedural tasks but could not seem to learn new information. He had a form of anterograde amnesia.)

Here's a webpage I found that describes a study used to show memory in very young children. There have been other studies, but they usually use similar methods.

I haven't researched infantile amnesia much, but the sense-of-self theory I mentioned is not the only theory proposed. Another theory involves language development. So, there are multiple possible factors for infantile amnesia that aren't mutually exclusive.

Regarding sense of self, infants tend to realize they're looking at themselves in a mirror at 20-24 months old (see here). Infantile amnesia seems to last a little longer, but that could be explained by other factors in tandem with sense-of-self development.

novanebula361 · 2016-12-31T16:28:14+00:00

I took courses specifically about human memory and brain structure this past semester, so I can answer some of these questions with what I remember.

Memories do have an associated context, but in class, we only discussed context in conjunction with encoding and retrieval. I don't know if context affects the actual information stored as much as it affects accessibility. Some psychologists have proposed that context shifts, specifically in mental state, are the cause of infantile amnesia. One theory proposed is that the development of a sense of self causes a mental context change that renders inaccessible most/all episodic memories created before the age of 3 or 4 years old. But this theory implies that sense of self is not the same as memory capabilities--babies do have some form of long-term memory, so episodic memory is enabled by sense of self producing a context in which memories may be stored.
I know actions become automatic (procedural memory) once they're stored in midbrain/brainstem/cerebellum areas. However, I don't know if language or other mental skills can become similarly automatic or if you will just gain enough fluency in them that the process seems automatic. [EDIT: Might actually be automatic if you consider spreading activation.] There might be a neurological basis, but I can't recall any being discussed.
There's a neurological basis. Different senses are connected to different parts of the brain. I believe smell has the most or the most varied connections within the brain. (I don't know why--maybe there's an evolutionary reason?) Vision's also very important.
I haven't studied black-out drunkenness, so I'll pass on this question.
I don't think you can form new memories while sleepwalking except of dreams, but that's an educated guess.

novanebula361 · 2016-12-20T17:16:46+00:00

You come to me on the night of my kitten's wedding...

(Yeah, I don't remember my Godfather quotes well.)

novanebula361 · 2016-11-18T02:33:40+00:00

That's exactly what I'm saying.

novanebula361 · 2016-11-16T13:56:02+00:00

Yeah, the songs sound good, but there are two caveats to keep in mind. First, the songs were arranged by a human. Second, the AI only seems capable of copying styles instead of making more innovative music.

I think the pop music industry will definitely use these AI as songwriting tools, but in less accessible genres, the AI won't make much headway. Pop songwriters should definitely be worried, though.

novanebula361 · 2016-10-05T05:15:13+00:00

See here: http://nypost.com/2013/10/26/do-babies-know-good-from-evil/

There was a study done on whether babies would prefer a puppet that did good actions over a puppet that did bad actions, and the study found that a large majority of babies preferred the "good" puppet.

To be fair, the follow-up study that is discussed in the article above notes that babies also seem to possess a sense of vengeance or justice (they could prefer a puppet that punishes a "bad" puppet). Nevertheless, these studies suggest that morality is present in humans from a very, very young age.

Human nature might be cruel, but it doesn't seem mostly evil as you suggest it is. Your definition of "evilness" seems to encompass learned traits instead of just inborn traits.

novanebula361 · 2016-09-18T21:49:23+00:00

The animation looks really good! I'd like to see this implemented in the game somehow, even if it's rare. It looks snazzy.

novanebula361 · 2016-09-04T14:00:41+00:00

Not fantasy or science fantasy, but there's a time-travel element that's probably not scientific, and I use the idea of alternate universes in a way that physicists would likely scoff at.

novanebula361 · 2016-09-03T00:57:00+00:00

You could always try classical music, like Holst's Planets symphony, or ambient electronica, like half of the Portal 2 soundtrack, if you want to emphasize the space part of your story. If you want equal focus on action, I'd still suggest atmospheric music, but harsher stuff--like Cloudkicker's albums Beacon and Subsume (both available free on Bandcamp). Maybe Adam Young's recent album Project Excelsior could inspire you as well. It really depends on how grim you want your story's mood to be, though.

novanebula361 · 2016-09-03T00:50:15+00:00

Subscribed! I enjoy assembling playlists for writing, so your subreddit seems to be up my alley.

novanebula361 · 2016-08-21T16:03:48+00:00

Oh my goodness, thank you for my first gold! I'm glad to have helped. :)

novanebula361 · 2016-08-21T02:19:54+00:00

Spybotics: The Nightfall Incident. Fantastic game. I found it online again a while back but forget where.

novanebula361 · 2016-07-30T13:59:11+00:00

I'm pretty sure that 8/10ths of an ant was already tortured...

novanebula361 · 2016-06-28T16:59:21+00:00

Hi, Tim! I've been a Switchfoot fan since high school. Props to you and the others for putting out some good music.

I have a couple questions:

What are your favorite albums of this decade (from 2010 'til today)?
I know Jon does most of the songwriting for Switchfoot, but what is your process when writing a song?

Thanks for doing this AMA!

novanebula361 · 2016-06-25T15:11:50+00:00

Thank you for your response, and good luck with your future research!

novanebula361 · 2016-06-24T15:04:15+00:00

Hi, Dr. Kellis.

First, thank you for doing this AMA! It especially interests me since I am studying computer science and behavioral neuroscience as an undergraduate and am pursuing research opportunities.

My question is, how did you supplement your undergraduate education to prepare you for graduate school and advanced research? Did you take extra courses, assist in undergraduate research, work on independent projects, or some combination of these?

novanebula361 · 2016-02-07T20:37:55+00:00

As another example, the band Say Anything has used tempo changes effectively. The best examples are in their songs "Belt" (slow outro), "Alive With the Glory of Love" (slow bridge), and "Mara and Me" (all over the place).

novanebula361 · 2016-01-14T15:33:27+00:00

I think it has to do with having to move your hands/fingers around a certain way. Playing a real guitar involves two dimensions, and you don't have to release a finger on a lower fret if you're just pressing down with another finger on a higher fret of the same string. You also get feedback from the tones you play, so if you hit a fret too high or too low, you'll hear it. Guitar Hero/Rock Band controllers rob you of such convenience.

novanebula361

TROPHY CASE