The Weber-Fechner Law - Overlooked Key to Understanding How Our Receptors Work?

The Weber-Fechner law is a simple yet intriguing finding that may have far more implications for understanding physiological and biophysical phenomena that produce our receptor responses to stimuli such as light, taste, sound, touch and smell.

The following six paragraphs are from -http://embryology.med.unsw.edu.au/History/page5c.htm
They provide a view about the Weber-Fechner law that suggests a reluctance to fully embrace its finding because it invades the sacred territory of mind.

FECHNER EXPOUNDS WEBER'S LAW

The chief purport of this classical book of the German psycho-physiologist was the elaboration and explication of experiments based on a method introduced more than twenty years earlier by his countryman E. H. Weber, but which hitherto had failed to attract the attention it deserved. The method consisted of the measurement and analysis of the definite relation existing between external stimuli of varying degrees of intensity (various sounds, for example) and the mental states they induce. Weber's experiments grew out of the familiar observation that the nicety of our discriminations of various sounds, weights, or visual images depends upon the magnitude of each particular cause of a sensation in its relation with other similar causes. Thus, for example, we cannot see the stars in the daytime, though they shine as brightly then as at night. Again, we seldom notice the ticking of a clock in the daytime, though it may become almost painfully audible in the silence of the night. Yet again, the difference between an ounce weight and a two-ounce weight is clearly enough appreciable when we lift the two, but one cannot discriminate in the same way between a five-pound weight and a weight of one ounce over five pounds.

This last example, and similar ones for the other senses, gave Weber the clew to his novel experiments. Reflection upon every-day experiences made it clear to him that whenever we consider two visual sensations, or two auditory sensations, or two sensations of weight, in comparison one with another, there is always a limit to the keenness of our discrimination, and that this degree of keenness varies, as in the case of the weights just cited, with the magnitude of the exciting cause.

Weber determined to see whether these common experiences could be brought within the pale of a general law. His method consisted of making long series of experiments aimed at the determination, in each case, of what came to be spoken of as the least observable difference between the stimuli. Thus if one holds an ounce weight in each hand, and has tiny weights added to one of them, grain by grain, one does not at first perceive a difference; but presently, on the addition of a certain grain, he does become aware of the difference. Noting now how many grains have been added to produce this effect, we have the weight which represents the least appreciable difference when the standard is one ounce.

Now repeat the experiment, but let the weights be each of five pounds. Clearly in this case we shall be obliged to add not grains, but drachms, before a difference between the two heavy weights is perceived. But whatever the exact amount added, that amount represents the stimulus producing a just-perceivable sensation of difference when the standard is five pounds. And so on for indefinite series of weights of varying magnitudes. Now came Weber's curious discovery. Not only did he find that in repeated experiments with the same pair of weights the measure of just-{p}erceivable difference remained approximately fixed, but he found, further, that a remarkable fixed relation exists between the stimuli of different magnitude. If, for example, he had found it necessary, in the case of the ounce weights, to add one-fiftieth of an ounce to the one before a difference was detected, he found also, in the case of the five-pound weights, that one-fiftieth of five pounds must be added before producing the same result. And so of all other weights; the amount added to produce the stimulus of least-appreciable difference always bore the same mathematical relation to the magnitude of the weight used, be that magnitude great or small.

Weber found that the same thing holds good for the stimuli of the sensations of sight and of hearing, the differential stimulus bearing always a fixed ratio to the total magnitude of the stimuli. Here, then, was the law he had sought.

Weber's results were definite enough and striking enough, yet they failed to attract any considerable measure of attention until they were revived and extended by Fechner and brought before the world in the famous work on psycho-physics. Then they precipitated a veritable melee. Fechner had not alone verified the earlier results (with certain limitations not essential to the present consideration), but had invented new methods of making similar tests, and had reduced the whole question to mathematical treatment. He pronounced Weber's discovery the fundamental law of psycho-physics. In honor of the discoverer, he christened it Weber's Law. He clothed the law in words and in mathematical formulae, and, so to say, launched it full tilt at the heads of the psychological world. It made a fine commotion, be assured, for it was the first widely heralded bulletin of the new psychology in its march upon the strongholds of the time-honored metaphysics. The accomplishments of the microscopists and the nerve physiologists had been but preliminary--mere border skirmishes of uncertain import. But here was proof that the iconoclastic movement meant to invade the very heart of the sacred territory of mind--a territory from which tangible objective fact had been supposed to be forever barred.

I've discovered that there is a fundamental equation of equilibrium that can be simply derived from an analysis of unequal weights on a two-pan balance http://www.bio-balance.com/Simple_Balance_PartII.pdf. These simple physical experiments demonstrate something very profound about a two-pan balance that to my knowledge hasn't been adequately explored before now. This fundamental equation may revolutionize how scientists view everything from cellular receptor activation to complex, nonlinear systems (see - Weber's law or http://www.bio-balance.com/Weber's_Law.pdf and Graphics and http://www.bio-balance.com/A_Question_of_Balance.htm). Digesting this requires some time, but only a basic understanding of algebra. Those who try will be rewarded by the elegant simplicity of the fundamental equation of equilibrium that may hold the key to several complex problems today.

Weber's Law Modeled by the Mathematical Description of a Beam Balance, Mathematical Biosciences 122: 89-94 (1994) - Link: http://www.bio-balance.com/Weber%27s_Law.pdf

Weber–Fechner law http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Weber%27s_law

http://ombamltine.blogspot.com/2008/05/welcome.html

http://ombamltine.blogspot.com/search?q=Weber%27s+law

Cyborgian webnets of the future?

One thing I do know is that things will change one hundred years from now. In one thousand years, we may not recognize our world of nations. After one hundred thousand years, we may not recognize ourselves as human beings. Until those times, things will change at relatively rapid rates.

In the future, when parents will have to extract their children from the web-link where they grew to young adulthood, we will be confronted with an ever increasing sense of what are we and what are we becoming. Our future selves may have many advantages that our present selves lack. Rapid biological repair, brain and memory enhancement, directed world-wide and personal communications, virtual instant travel, virtual training and education are a few of the possible future advantages that we may have. However, there will also be many others who don’t have these enhancements due to mass movements because of disease outbreaks, superstitious practices, climate change, wars and economic upheavals.

Until these interesting times, I’m blessed with an interesting network of connections, which I will list in no particular order here:


http://tinyurl.com/ceolc3

http://tinyurl.com/c9byvm

http://www.pioneerpiano.com/

http://www.artisticveil.com/

http://www.pacificwesternwoodproducts.com/index.php/about-us/

http://tinyurl.com/c5l8jl

http://tinyurl.com/c9fopy

http://tinyurl.com/d7276j

http://www.prod4ever.com/

http://www.bio-balance.com/COMPANY.htm

http://www.changelingstudio.com/

http://www.dreamhomesbynancy.com/

http://www.bio-balance.com/

http://twitter.com/rlanzara

http://www.bio-balance.com/Ref.htm

http://tinyurl.com/d7vx8r

http://tinyurl.com/dd9emf

http://cogprints.org/4093/

http://cogprints.org/4095/

http://cogprints.org/4094/

http://scialert.net/abstract/?doi=ijp.2005.122.131

http://www.freepatentsonline.com/5597699.html


http://www.freepatentsonline.com/6593094.html

http://www.freepatentsonline.com/6673558.html

http://www.helium.com/users/413070

http://tinyurl.com/csc7k7

http://www.bio-balance.com/Pict02.htm

http://www.bio-balance.com/Pict4.htm

http://www.bio-balance.com/Receptor.htm

This is but a sampling of interesting links that will eventually go extinct, but until that time -enjoy!

Are Lobbyists and Members of Congress Receiving Bailout Money?

Of the three plus trillion dollars that’s been committed to jump start our economy, there are few reports detailing where all that money goes. Since many of the large firms that have received these funds had active lobbying groups, it seems logical to question whether any of the bailout money has gone to such groups. This would certainly be as inappropriate an expense as the AIG bonuses at a time when many are being forced out of their homes.

The news media seems to be behind the curve on this one. Perhaps it raises too many other troubling questions such as did members of congress also receive, directly or indirectly, bailout money? I don’t mind spending the money to jump start the economy, but to line the pockets of the rich and powerful may create a terrible outcry if the public knew.

List of social media examples

List of social media examples compiled by Peter Kim, which lists Slice Media

read more | digg story

Tooting My Dad’s Horn - “The Secret Life Of Jesus And Mary Magdalene by Richard J. Lanzara”

Since retiring as a lawyer, my Dad has taken up writing as his new career. This is his third book, The Secret Life Of Jesus And Mary Magdalene by Richard J. Lanzara, (http://search.barnesandnoble.com/The-Secret-Life-Of-Jesus-And-Mary-Magdalene/Richard-J-Lanzara/e/9781607034162). Beyond Jesus’ and Mary Magdalene’s personal relationship, he has also done a great deal of research to understand the spiritual lives of Jesus and Mary. This work represents a completely new and previously unchartered realm from a mystical perspective that no one has previously written. This makes it a particularly exciting book to read, because it tries to address many of the mysteries surrounding Jesus’ life.

The book gives a unique status to Mary as one of Jesus’ most important disciples. Jesus taught her secret spiritual mysteries that he didn’t teach to his other disciples. The nature of these mysteries are revealed in this book for the first time. Of course this is from the perspective of my Dad, but I know that he has explored these mysteries for many decades and has now shared them here in this book. This work represents many years of Dad’s scholarly readings of many mystical writings and therefore also represents a synopsis that no one could hope to get anywhere else.

For those who search for an understanding into these mysterious realms, I highly recommend this book. Those who approach these mysteries with the mind of an inquiring child will be rewarded with a deeper and richer understanding of these spiritual secrets.

Should Worldwide Stock Markets Stop Electronic Trading Using Algorithms?

We’ve entered the age of the Algorithm, which is the age when computer programs run and make decisions that affect our lives. These Algorithms have already become quite good at beating most experts at games such as chess, poker and checkers, but there are others that can also beat the common investor in stocks. Currently we’re witnessing the Darwinian battle of the remaining Algorithms in the trading of stocks. These successful Algorithms have made a great deal of money for their investors, so there is a reluctance to abandon them, but we are in unique and unprecedented times that require us to think about the higher order effects on the overall equilibrium and stability of the global markets.

Many successful Hedge funds have used stock trading algorithms to make billions of dollars. Now that many investors have learned that the way to make a small fortune in the stock markets is to start with a larger one, these trading algorithms are left and pitted against one another. However, there are flaws with regulators allowing these scenarios to be played out. One flaw is that the overly successful algorithms will extract billions of dollars in wealth out of the markets. Any market strategy that wins repeatedly will eventually ruin the markets for everyone else. This has to be recognized by the market regulators and eventually corrected in order to maintain orderly markets.

Previously, some market rules and regulations may have functioned as brakes on the rapid electronic trading using these algorithms. Unintended consequences that may have made algorithmic trading more difficult may have resulted from the suspension of these rules such as the uptick rule. These have to be carefully considered by market regulators as necessary brakes on these powerful funds.

An interesting evolutionary perspective from these epic Darwinian struggles suggests that it isn’t necessarily for the best to eliminate all competition in evolving systems. Of course this raises many questions, such as: “What is the best?” and “What is the purpose of evolving systems?”, that can’t be answered here in terse and nonphilosophical words. Even the purpose of competition, itself, becomes a philosophical conundrum in this context, so I should stop here.

Credit Default Swaps and the Financial Crisis

A couple months ago, most of us never heard about credit default swaps (CDS), but now we learn that they may be at the heart of the financial crisis. This is primarily because many banks and financial institutions have credit default swaps on their books and no one knows how to value them or how much these financial institutions may owe.

According to Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Credit_default_swap):

A credit default swap (CDS) is a swap contract in which a buyer makes a series of payments to a seller, and in exchange receives the right to a payoff if a credit instrument goes into default or on the occurrence of a specified credit event, for example bankruptcy or restructuring. The associated instrument does not need to be associated with the buyer or the seller of this contract.

Estimates of the credit default swap market has grown to the tens of trillions, (yes, that’s trillions), of dollars. It is now estimated to be larger than the world’s GDP. This has caused many institutions to hoard cash and not lend to others for fear that many have these “toxic debts” on their books.

Why don’t we make credit default swaps illegal? They will always remain as a source of doubt about financial institutions. Those who’ve engaged in these unregulated practices will just have to eat their loses, which they appear to be doing now. Just look at the recent auction of Lehman Brother’s credit default swaps, which yielded about 8 cents on the dollar. Wouldn’t we be better off legislating them all away and starting again from zero?