Posted by Adam on June 2, 2000, at 9:52:04
In reply to Esoteric: Defined, posted by Todd on June 1, 2000, at 18:38:31
Actually, I meant the title to be somewhat tongue-in-cheek, and I think the label is often placed on intellectual or philosophical discussions, even though such discussions might or should have a wider audience and "participancy".
In the case of brain modeling, I was wondering what, if any, real progress was being made in the area, and my hope for such models is that they would make study of the brain LESS esoteric. Often researchers, when they dream up experiments, or pose hypotheses, have to do a great deal of reading and sifting to make reasonable predictions about what the outcome of an experiment might be. Only by doing so can they hope to design rational experiments, or interpret their results, whether or not the results are what one would expect. It seems to me that one could spend their life studying one walnut-sized chunk of the brain, with all the information that is now available in the literature. If such information could be compiled into a reasonably accurate model, it might streamline the research and design process. It could be nothing more than a kind of interactive database.
> Hey y'all. I just looked up the word "esoteric" in the dictionary, just to be sure of the meaning. It is defined as "designed for or understood by the specially initiated alone," or "limited to a small circle." Is that the kind of approach to mental health you would like to see taken? How about a model that we can ALL understand, at least on a basic level?
>
> Just wondering...
poster:Adam
thread:35445
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20000526/msgs/35653.html