Talk:Brain Building Kit
From Lettvin
Notes on the top page:
There are some overall conclusions that are starting to percolate and I thought I'd let you see where my mind has been drifting and have you set me straight if need be.
I have started to wonder if the complexity of the decision-making apparatus of the cell can be extrapolated into the concept of local processing of information, since the bundles of fibers that are not in use (the unmyelinated ones ... is that right?) would seem to have no purpose, but is you consider that these may be outlying processing units providing faster filtering and response times ... well ... I am so easily lead by fantasy.
JDL: All axons carry pulses. 95%+ of vertebrate neurons have unmyelinated axons. No-one but our father and his students have recorded from them. All neurons have equal processing powers. They are all in use.
The next idea is a little less visionary.
I am wondering if the basic idea here is that since, If the signal were actually propagating down the membrane, it would be measurable at the membrane, so instead we have to look at the axon as an insulated wire with the signal being passed down a "conductor" internally and that is part of the subtext about having to scrap or damage the fibers in order to record a signal.
JDL: Take out the word wire and use multiple asynchronous parallel pulse propagating medium.
I find myself desperately hoping that you mean this as a joke.
