Human Brain

May 14, 1988
Mental illnesses could be treated routinely and successfully. Intelligence could be permanently increased. Creativity could be stimulated. Violent behavior could be moderated. Some of the devastations of old age could be prevented or postponed. The healing potential of the mind could be activated. Neurological processes of thinking could be studied and fostered. All of these marvelous possibilities now seem within the grasp of scientists who are amassing startling new information about the structure and functioning of the human brain with breathtaking speed, using scientific tools unknown even a decade ago. The revolution in neuroscience now underway will make significant changes in education, medicine, psychiatry, genetics and even the justice system, and it will have a profound effect on our ideas of what it means to be human.
By Quynh-Giang Tran. Quynh-Giang Tran is a Tribune staff reporter | August 26, 2001
If computer technology continues to advance at its current rate, David the robotic boy in the science fiction movie "A.I." will become a reality. "In 2030, computers will act like they have an awareness of self. They will have emotional intelligence and personalities with the complexity and subtleties of the human brain. They will appear to have motivations and claim to be conscious," says technology visionary Ray Kurzweil. How can this happen? Consider that German Konrad Zuse built the first programmable digital computer only 60 years ago. Thirty years ago, Intel introduced the first microprocessor, shrinking the sizes of computers.
By Kent Jones | September 4, 1996
Regarding the letter titled "Virtual illiteracy?" (Voice, Aug. 22): Functional illiteracy can't be blamed on the fact that children learn computer skills. The 19 percent illiteracy of the U.S. adult population got that way many years ago. The good old days when everybody learned to read and write properly are simply a dream. The problem is that written English is even more chaotic than the spoken form. The necessity to learn English for professional success imposes a tremendous learning burden on children, which adult educators smugly overlook.
Sharon Begley and Reuters | October 27, 2013
NEW YORK (Reuters) - A technology start-up said on Monday that it had come up with software that works like a human brain in one key way: it can crack CAPTCHAs, the strings of tilted, squiggly letters that websites employ to make users "prove you are human," as Yahoo! and others put it. San Francisco-based Vicarious developed the algorithm not for any nefarious purpose and not even to sell, said co-founder D. Scott Phoenix. Instead, he said in a phone interview, "We wanted to show we could take the first step toward a machine that works like a human brain, and that we are the best place in the world to do artificial intelligence research.
By Isaac Asimov | February 21, 1985
When I first began writing science fiction in the late 1930s, it was already a common plot to picture a future society in which "the Machine" ran everything and human beings decayed into effete dependents who could no longer do anything for themselves. It was so dreadful a nightmare, yet no one seemed to notice that it was already here. Once humanity learned how to use fire, perhaps half a million years ago, they began to spread out of the tropics where they had evolved. They learned to withstand the cold nights of chillier climates and the long winters.
By Reviewed by Ron Grossman, a Tribune writer | January 9, 1991
The Ape That Spoke By John McCrone 288 pages, Morrow, $19.95 One of nature's most fascinating puzzles is the speed with which man became a worry-wart. Until 4 million years ago, our ancestors were not much different from other living forms. Like their chimp and gorilla relatives, these hominids, as anthropologists call our predecessors, had learned a few tricks about using simple tools and could walk on two legs, which gave them a certain perspective on things. Yet the tiny numbers and restricted geographic range, chiefly Africa, of these ape-men gave no hint they would one day prevail over other species.
By Rob Manker, Tribune reporter | June 29, 2010
What day is it? Tuesday's nothing special, but Monday WAS ALL CAPS DAY, MARKING THE FIRST ANNIVERSARY OF BOMBASTIC TV PITCHMAN BILLY MAYS' DEATH. OK, no more yelling. Oh, deer An Iowa couple donned camouflage and took to the trees for their wedding Saturday, a nod to their shared love of bow hunting. Groom Marvin Hunter — yes, that's his name — wore a camo shirt and pants, while bride Kim Silver spoke her vows in a silk camo gown. The camouflaged couple said they'd always joked about marrying in a tree stand, but few others saw it coming.
September 9, 2005
Federal health advisers on Thursday recommended government approval of the first inhaled form of insulin--called Exubera--offering some diabetics an alternative to their daily injections. The recommendation now goes to the Food and Drug Administration for approval. HURRICANE OPHELIA IS BORN: Tropical Storm Ophelia strengthened into a hurricane Thursday as it stalled 70 miles off the coast of northeast Florida. Ophelia had top sustained winds of 75 m.p.h., just over the threshold to be classified as a hurricane.