We know it when we see it : what the neurobiology of vision tells us about how we think

We know it when we see it What the neurobiology of vision tells us about how we think

Richard H. Masland

Book - 2020

"Spotting a face in a crowd is easy. We can do it from almost any angle, up close or far away, in person or in a picture. We do it so often that we take it for granted. But object recognition, the neural process that enables us to find that face, is hard. Your brain is small and slow. It has neither the time nor the capacity to store and recall whole images of everything you see from every possible angle. Rather, brains work by figuring out what is important to see and what isn't. And they must be able to figure this out on their own, without guidance from anything else. So in order to understand how you recognize your friend at a party, your suitcase on a luggage carousel, or person waiting in the shadows, you first must understa...nd how your brain teaches itself to see. The answer to that question can explain how the brain learns nearly anything. It will revolutionize our understanding of both human and artificial intelligence. In We Know It When We See It, pioneering neuroscientist Richard Masland unravels these mysteries by exploring the strange and mind-bending processes of human vision. The key insight is that learning is shaped by need. Our brains have evolved basic ways of processing information regulated by evolution. By applying these genetically determined rules to the basic mechanism of brain cells-a long-ignored but visionary concept known as the Hebb synapse-our brains have enough innate guidance to begin making sense of the world around them without any help, and to learn new things. Covering everything from what happens when photons hit your retina, to the neuroplasticity of real nerve nets, to what a computer algorithm must be able to do before it can be called truly "intelligent," to why some people have neurons that only fire in response to Jennifer Aniston's face, We Know It When We See It is a deep and thoughtful examination of how our brains make sense of the world." --

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Subjects
Vision.
Visual pathways.
Neurobiology.
Published
New York : Basic Books 2020.
Language
English
Main Author
Richard H. Masland (author)
Edition
First edition
Physical Description
vi, 262 pages : illustrations ; 22 cm
Bibliography
Includes bibliographical references (pages 233-250) and index.
ISBN
9781541618503
  • Introduction
  • Part I. The First Steps Toward Vision
  • 1. The Wonder of Perception
  • 2. Neurons That Sing to the Brain
  • 3. A Microprocessor in the Eye
  • 4. Ghost Neurons
  • 5. What the Eye Tells the Brain
  • Part II. Into the Wild
  • 6. Sensory Messages Enter the Brain
  • 7. What Happens Next: Not One Cortex but Many
  • 8. The Malleable Senses
  • 9. Inventing the Nerve Net: Neurons That Fire Together Wire Together
  • 10. Machine Learning, Brains, and Seeing Computers
  • 11. Vision of Vision
  • Part III. To the Horizon
  • 12. Why Evolution Loved Nerve Nets
  • 13. Some Mysteries, Some Progress
  • 14. In the Distance
  • Glossary
  • Acknowledgments
  • Figure Credits
  • Notes
  • Bibliography
  • Index
Review by Choice Review

Neuroscientist Masland (Harvard Medical School) traces in detail our current understanding of the visual system, from the photoreceptors in the retina to the "grandmother cells" in the brain, skillfully weaving anecdotes and biographical details into his telling of how our current understanding of vision came about. He doesn't merely describe the important experiments, which would be worthwhile in itself, but notably portrays the scientists who carried them out, offering readers a unique insight into a world most lay readers never see. As Masland illustrates, the key players in vision research over the years each brought a unique blend of personality traits, if not idiosyncrasies, to their work. Masland has been involved either directly or indirectly in much of his story, adding an authenticity and immediacy to his writing, as when he describes a "day in the life" of a neuroscientist--himself. This highly accessible book would be valuable to anyone interested in either vision per se or neuroscience in general. As the subtitle suggests, understanding how eyesight works tells us a great deal about how the brain functions overall--that is, how it thinks. Going beyond the technicalities of vision itself, Masland even suggests how they shed light on the processes supporting evolution, and provides models for sophisticated computation. Summing Up: Highly recommended. Lower- and upper-division undergraduates; two-year technical students; faculty; professionals. General readers. --Clark Allen Lindgren, Grinnell College

Copyright American Library Association, used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review

Masland, a Harvard Medical School neuroscience professor, misses the mark in this attempt to explain vision's neurobiological basis to a general audience. He does a very good job of explaining how perception broadly, including vision, works, and even those without any grounding in the fundamentals of biology will be able to gain an appreciation of how the nervous system interacts with the outside world and conveys information to the brain. What works less well is the complexity that intrudes as Masland moves beyond the basics ("If the axons of the retinal ganglion cells synapse upon the neurons of the lateral geniculate nucleus..."), making it unlikely that his target audience will stay with him. His forays into comparing the ways brains process visual stimuli with the ways in which artificial intelligence attempts to accomplish the same task are intriguing but abbreviated, as is his almost fleeting discussion of the nature of consciousness, in which he concludes, "In the end I fear that consciousness is unknowable." Those looking for a scientific explanation of vision will find a useful primer, but those searching for answers to larger questions, such as the one posed by Masland's subtitle, are likely to be disappointed. (Mar.)

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Review by Library Journal Review

Masland (neuroscience, Harvard Medical Sch.) here asks, "How do our brains perform object recognition?" In order to answer that question, one has to understand how vision works and also how the brain makes sense of the outside world. To that end, Masland explains in depth a great number of concepts, from the basic function of neurons and retinal ganglion cells to the theory of nerve nets within the brain. Masland's enthusiasm and love for the field of neuroscience are apparent throughout the text. Included are a plethora of interesting anecdotes gathered over a lifetime of scientific work. However, it does require stamina for the layperson to wade through the dense scientific explanations provided. While the question is simple--how do we know it when we see it?--it turns out the answer is complex. VERDICT Recommended only for those with a strong science background or the patience to unpack the richly detailed scientific explanations. For those readers, Masland provides a well-researched exploration of a fascinating question.--Ragan O'Malley, Saint Ann's Sch., Brooklyn

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