Discuss whether the division between virtual and real is becoming more Essay

Discuss whether the division between virtual and real is becoming more blurred through the use of augmented reality - Essay Example It is a part of common sense that we rarely can view it. It is an idea according to which each individual has a mind. The constituents of the mind include faiths, apprehensions, anticipations, motivations, yearnings, etc. The continuity of our minds is the source of our personality and identity as individuals. In the past couple of centuries we have also become convinced that this common-sense psychology is rooted in the brain. These mental conditions and occurrences are somehow going on in the neurophysiological systems of the brain. So this leaves us with two stages at which we can illustrate and elaborate human beings: a level of common-sense psychology, which seems to operate well enough in practice although not scientific; and a level of neurophysiology, which is definitely scientific. However, the most modern specialists know very little about the level of neurophysiology (Searle, 2007, p. 1). What we call minds are merely very complicated digital computer programs. Mental states are only computer states and mental procedures are computational systems. Any process whatever that had the correct program, with the correct input and output, would have to have mental conditions and systems in the same literal sense that we do. The programs in question are "self-modifying" or "self-structuring" "systems of representations" (Searle, 2007, p. 2; Calvin, 1987). The fast progress of computers may indicate the possibility of these machines replacing human brain and emulate human intelligence. It is apparent that at least some human mental capabilities are algorithmic. It follows that a person could not find out that the brain or anything else was inherently a digital computer. A person can allocate a computational interpretation to it. Some physical arrangements make possible the computational application much better than others. That is why we put

Biochemistry - How BSE Occurs at a Molecular Level Coursework

Biochemistry - How BSE Occurs at a Molecular Level - Coursework Example Toxicity: Large amounts of phenylalanine taken in the form of nutritional supplements elevate blood pressure. Symptoms such as headaches, heartburn and nausea may be experienced. In addition, the nervous system is usually affected by the toxicity of phenylalanine. Reactivity: Phenylalanine is a hydrophobic amino acid with an aromatic side chain. Therefore, it is fairly unreactive and mostly takes place in substitution reactions where it is interchanged with amino acids of a similar nature. Consequently, it plays a key role in substrate recognition rather than in protein function. Hydrogen bonds: Hydrogen atoms from the amine groups are pulled towards the electronegative carboxyl groups leading to sharing of electrons. The repetitive nature of such attractions within the protein structure confers stability. Van der Waals forces: Interactions among induced dipoles that form from the changes in charge density that occur in adjacent atoms that do not necessarily form a bond constitute attractive van der Waals forces. Repulsive forces, on the other hand, entail interactions between atoms that come close to each other but do not form dipoles. The huge numbers of such forces within the structure of proteins affect the stability of proteins. When certain proteins fail to fold in the required way, they begin to cluster and form aggregates. These aggregates contain certain polymeric structures such as beta sheets. In BSE, these aggregates are in the form of prions, which get into the brain and cause disease. Prions are proteinaceous infectious particles that comprise aggregates of misfolded proteins. Prions alter the structure of the brain by stimulating the formation of ‘holes’ in the brain, which ultimately give the brain a spongy architecture. Consequently, the nervous system is affected making the cow behave abnormally.  Ingestion of prions present in contaminated food causes them to be taken up into the body.  Ã‚