Leadbelly vs. Robots

I guess the John Henry meme was inevitable. Otherwise, having a robot run the Ironman Triathlon is a pure publicity stunt. And if there are ever dance contests for robots, this version would probably work better, too.

IS Group met in New Haven on Sep. 3, 2011

The IS Group met on Saturday, September 3, 2011, in New Haven. The readings including James Gleick, The Information; Leonard Mlodinow, The Drunkard's Walk; Nigel Stepp and Michael T. Turvey, On strong anticipation; and China Miéville, The City & The City. It was a good meeting with an excellent turnout, spirited discussion of the readings, and the addition of some new participants, followed by Hobo With a Shotgun for the hardcore among us (thanks to Simon D. Levy for the suggestion?!).

NEXT MEETING -- TOPIC: Fiction in mind
The readings for the next meeting (date to be determined), include:

Brian Boyd, On the origin of stories: Evolution, cognition, and fiction.
(Thanks to Christina Spiesel for the suggestion!)

Lisa Zunshine, Why we read fiction: Theory of mind and the novel.

Additional reading:

Suzanne Keen, Empathy and the Novel.
(Thanks to Simon D. Levy for the suggestion.)

Future readings may include:

Brian Greene, The hidden reality: Parallel universes and the deep laws of the cosmos.
(Thanks to Gary Kopf for the suggestion!)

Olaf Sporns, Networks of the brain.

Date and location:

To be determined (see below).

Please note that I am having shoulder surgery on Friday, September 9, and may be out of work from between 1 to 6 weeks.

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Philip