2 Books By Andy Clark

Supersizing The Mind, PSU BD418.3.C532 2008 Oxford University Press

Way too much "Scholar X says" for easy reading, but some good ideas from those scholars, which Clark amplifies.

Clark argues that if an external physical object performs a function that could conceivably be implemented as brain matter, it is effectively part of the EXTENDED mind. If Anne has a fully functioning memory, and Otto has a defective brain memory but a diary/book that he uses the same way, then his external and her internal memories are can be considered components of their respective minds.

Brainfarts: Politics and extended cognition. Individuals who control their immediate environment have better control of their cognition, minimizing sabotage by others. They control their own cogs, rather than be manipulated into cogs in a corporate or state machine. Downside: is littering a lazy way to mark the environment and leave a cognitive trail?

Penn Jilette is a magician, and exploits change blindness. He is also a libertarian, a political anti-magician.

Personal bicycles are tuned to the rider. Portland/Nike's orange "shared" bikes have some interesting technology, but are "one size fits all"; while that means that they all feel the same, they are not as optimal as a personal bike. So there a political statement here: "you are an interchangable cog", and those who don't fit the bikes are disadvantaged.

Music - Does the beat of tapping toes and other rhythmic body movements exploit mechanical resonances? Are musician preferences for particular piano actions because their skills require them? Can the piano-actions be precisely electromechanically mimicked? Can the adaptive piano-actions be used to train musicians, or make a great musician out of a merely adequate one?

epistemic artifacts

... Cyborg ... MoreLater