All three episodes featured this week were different from one another but a great introduction to how the concepts of cognitive science can applied in a science fiction show, from a cartoon to action and drama.
In Altered Carbon, the main character’s “stack”, which is essentially their brain is put into a “sleeve,” or another body when a person is dies. We learn that this is a process that some can’t afford when someone’s stack is put into an old, subjectively unattractive sleeve. In this show, cognition is embedded. The person, Kovacs, was a lethal weapon before being resleeved, and he began an aggressive fight once they opened up the package the sleeves are kept in. It could also be said that while all of the characters in this show have a disk, Kovacs has something more in that his mind is like a computer, like cybernetics.
The next episode I watched was Futurama’s, “The Day the Earth Stood Stupid”. In this episode, “the brain spawn” are attacking, turning everyone stupid except Fry (comedically because he may already be too stupid). When Fry and Leela confront the Big Brain, he transports them into different classic books, Moby Dick, Tom Sawyer, and Pride and Prejudice. Fry is able to defeat the Big Brain when he gets out of his grasp and writes his story that the brain and Leela are in. This scene is an example of enacted cognition, since they were outwardly affected by the control the brains had over their own minds but also how they were affected within the books. Even the brain was painting with Tom Sawyer.
I’m not going to lie, I wasn’t looking forward to watching Star Trek, I’ve never been into anything to do with space (because space terrifies me) but after viewing the episode, I can understand why it’s a cult classic. Kirk is taken over by Sargon, a mind without a body, places in a sphere. Sargon takes over for only a short time, but he is elated to be in a body again when it happens first. Fast forward to when they all decide to let the minds within the spheres take over their bodies, Sargon and Thalassa are able to embrace for the first time in years. This shows the importance of body to the mind for maximum experience.
I love the creativity applied to the cognitive science theories portrayed in these different shows. I didn’t realize the depth of real science that contributes to science fiction, since my exposure thus far has been so limited. I will definitely continue to watch Altered Carbon, which I found the most fascinating of all three television shows. I have to wonder if Altered Carbon was inspired by this Star Trek episode with the concept of “sleeve” bodies and the body that is waiting for Thalassa. Hmmm….
3 thoughts on “Opening My Mind to Cog Sci”
Hi Meghan,
First off, got to say that I really love the very punny title of your post. Very clever—and an excellent hook. I am also very glad that you enjoyed the episodes, and that they felt like a good introduction to think about scifi and cogsci.
I think you are absolutely right to discuss the technology we are seeing in Altered Carbon in terms of cybernetics. The conceit of the show is that the mind can be downloaded into a stack and then uploaded into another body. This suggests, though, that mind can exist independent of a body—which is actually contrary to what we are talking about in terms of 4-E cognition. When we talk about the mind being embedded, what we mean is that cognition cannot occur except within specific cultural and physical environments. If we attempt to abstract the mind from those environments and contexts, then we don’t have a mind—at least not one that is recognizably human. The same thing is true of the Futurama episode, where we see brains completely disembodied (though, of course, they are alien, not human brains).
Good observation about the role of the body in the Star Trek episode (and glad that you enjoyed your introduction to the series). Though that episode abstracts the mind from the body, it also suggests that living as a human body is a more complete experience than, say living in a mechanical one.
Jessica Hautsch
Hi Meghan, great analysis. When it comes to Altered Carbon, I do agree with you with the statement of Kovacs being a living weapon before being resleeved. With the concept of this show, your life, personality, and memories stay with you in the chip, no matter what sleeve it’s in. From what I have seen, the physical body is just a carrier. It is so interesting when you stop and think how people in this show have just been given immortality, swapping from one body to another, as long as the chip is still intact and not damaged. I also agree that in “The Day the Earth Stood Stupid”, they are creative with enacted cognition. It’s also important to know that without one’s body, the brain can only think with logic and without creativity, much like how Fry used both his mind and body to big the big brain. Awesome job.
hbaalbaki
Hi Meghan,
Brilliant analysis. I agree with what you observed about “out of the past.” As mentioned in Voicethread, the mind is the idea of a computer. The core of Altered Carbon is that the human mind is like data that can be downloaded into a stack and uploaded into another body. A mind is software, just like the operating system is the way the body works, and the body is the hardware, which is the connection between the mind and the body. But this view contradicts embedded cognition. Embedded cognition living in the body emphasizes that we are a body and that this body is part of how we think. Embedding cognition focuses on or highlights that our awareness always occurs in a context; consciousness is central to physical, cultural, and social interactions. I love your analysis of Star Trek. As you said, Sargon and his wife can hug each other is confirmation of the 4e cognition that is inseparable from the world that takes place with the body and cognition. I think the Futurama episode mentions that the brain is a separate entity, entirely unconnected with the body, which is inconsistent with the 4e cognitive theory. But it embodies Cartesian dualism, the split between mind and body, so it’s alien.
yichen8