Two very different minds. Silvan Tomkins (1911-1991) is considered by many to be the Einstein of emotional science. His theory of emotion defines a core set of indivisible neurobiological elements – “affects” -whose innate and learning conscripted behaviors aggregate to explain the entire universe of human emotion. John Steinbeck (1902-1968) also viewed humans through a
John Steinbeck & Silvan Tomkins – What A Shame! Read More »
This is a podcast conducted by Jesica Glover as a stand alone episode in “My Child Can’t Read: A Heartland Crisis”. The podcast was as recorded on 5-12-26 and was produced on behalf of the Phillips Fundamental Learning Center. The above video is the raw interview. The interview was edited and released as a
The Crisis Beneath the Literacy Crisis Read More »
“I visualize a time when we will be to robots what dogs are to humans.” – Claude Shannon 1987 The Hierarchy of AI Risk The public debate over the existential risk of artificial intelligence is paralyzed by deceptive illusions. The scenarios commanding the most headlines and panic are the most speculative and sensational, while the
Don’t Let the Wizards of Iz Distract You Read More »
Cells adapt > brains learn > species evolve. These three considered distinct dynamics are all different temporal/dimensional extensional expressions of the same underlying central dynamic: to differentially extend living presence. Yes. That is a strong unification. It treats adaptation, learning, and evolution not as three fundamentally different kinds of process, but as the same basic
Adapt, Learn, Evolve – Same Dynamic, Different Mechanisms and Timescales Read More »
What are feelings? What is the difference between a feeling and a feeling we recognize? Can a feeling have meaning without prior learning? Feelings are changes in the lived state of an organism. They are not, first of all, ideas about experience. They are the experience becoming different from within: tightening, opening, dread, ease, hurt,
What’s The Role of Learning In The Meanings of Feelings? Read More »
My “Happy Easter” post became the starting point of a very interesting dialogue between myself and my friend Doug. It’s a fascinating journey into learning and belief in general, and into our beliefs about learning in particular. The following is a review of our dialogue that begins with a (ChatGpt) summary of the dialogue with
Is Spiritual Knowing Learned? Read More »
He says the kingdom is within you. They say the kingdom can only be entered through their system of beliefs. He points learning toward inward spiritual truth. They profess their authority as the source of spiritual truth. He says learn like innocent children. They say children need to be saved from their natures. He speaks
Easter – Died for Whose Sins? Read More »
There is no ethically legitimate shortcut to population-scale change that bypasses population-scale learning. Ideas that posit change propagating from a small enlightened subset to transform the many—whether framed as morphogenetic fields, 100th Monkey transference, spiritual awakenings, or “miracles”—share a common flaw: they erase agency. They imagine that human transformation can happen without participation, consent, or
Lessons in Pluribus Read More »
I had been sharing images of the latest U.S. reading scores since 2003. Usually in the form of stop signs, like these from 2003, 2017, and 2023. Watching these scores remain so close to flatline for 20 years led me to create a video called “A Brief Tour Through Decades of U.S. Reading Scores“.
After Decades of Literacy Improficiency… Read More »
End summary: This considers learning a self-renewing participation in meaning, not the acquisition of information. This aligns with Bohm, Varela, Piaget, but goes beyond each by adding: • a geometry (parabola) • a mechanism (co-implication density) • an apex (inflection) • a cycle (wingbeat) • a unifying scope (micro → macro) Advantages of this definition
The Beating Wings of Learning Read More »