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Eccentricity-Constrained CNN Training Reveals Adaptive Information Coding Around the Visual Field
Dylan M. Diaz, Margaret M. Henderson
https://arxiv.org/abs/2607.19316 https://arxiv.org/pdf/2607.19316 https://arxiv.org/html/2607.19316
arXiv:2607.19316v1 Announce Type: new
Abstract: In the primate visual system, center-preferring cortical populations have higher spatial resolution and overlap face- and word-selective regions while periphery-preferring populations have lower spatial resolution and overlap scene-selective regions. This "eccentricity bias" may reflect differential task-relevance: central vision may better support fine-grained tasks like face recognition and reading, while peripheral vision may better support scene understanding. To test whether eccentricity-dependent coding can emerge from natural experience, we used egocentric video and eye-tracking data from the Visual Experience Dataset (VEDB). We trained ResNet-18 models using contrastive learning (SimCLR) on frames modified to isolate different eccentricities (gaze-contingent fovea-only crops, periphery-only crops, and periphery-only crops with a NeuroFovea transform applied). We evaluated downstream task performance and model alignment with human fMRI data (Natural Scenes Dataset; encoding models). In-domain VEDB frame classification showed systematic differences between fovea- and periphery-only models across categories, indicating differential informativeness across tasks. On downstream classification, VEDB-pretrained models generalized better to scene categorization (Places365) than face recognition (VGGFace2), with fovea-only models stronger on both. Across visual cortex, VEDB-pretrained models matched neural predictivity of models trained on mid-sized non-egocentric datasets (ImageNet-100), suggesting egocentric data supports emergence of cortically-aligned representations. In scene-selective cortex (PPA, RSC), periphery-only models held a small but consistent advantage in explained variance over fovea-only models, suggesting these regions are aligned with peripheral statistics. Together, these results suggest egocentric experience may adaptively constrain cortical information processing.
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So I just started re-reading a #novel series that I first read over a decade ago and re-read every few years. We all have our comfort reads.
When I quit #smoking 7? years ago I discovered something fascinating - as my sense of taste and smell came back, my culinary tastes changed. Turns out I'm not a fan of …

A formal log(Re)-cost framework for the engineering turbulence problem
Jiaqi Li, Robert F. Kunz, George Huang, Xiang I. A. Yang
https://arxiv.org/abs/2607.20199 https://arxiv.org/pdf/2607.20199 https://arxiv.org/html/2607.20199
arXiv:2607.20199v1 Announce Type: new
Abstract: In fluid engineering, the turbulence problem is the longstanding challenge of obtaining accurate predictions of engineering quantities at affordable computational cost. Viewed through computational complexity, a practical algorithm requires cost growth no worse than $O(N)$, where $N$ denotes problem size. For turbulent flows, the problem size may be approximated by the number of dynamically relevant scales and hence by the Reynolds number $Re$. We propose a multi-fidelity, physics-constrained, data-driven framework designed to meet this criterion under stated assumptions. We augment the Spalart--Allmaras model through field inversion and machine learning using a constrained formulation that preserves the law of the wall. The model is trained at a low Reynolds number, where high-fidelity data are affordable, and deployed at higher Reynolds numbers. For a mean-flow-aligned grid in a wall-bounded flow, fixed spanwise resolution, and steady-solver cost linear in grid-point count, the low-fidelity RANS prediction scales as $O(\log(Re))$. The high-fidelity calculation and learning stage each contribute $O(Re^0)$ relative to the target Reynolds number, giving an overall formal cost of $O(\log(Re))$. In plane channel flow, a model trained at $Re_\tau=1000$ corrects the wake-layer error of the baseline model and retains the improvement at $Re_\tau=5200$. In the periodic hill, a model trained at $Re_b=5600$ is tested at $Re_b=10595$, $19000$, and $37000$. The constrained formulation preserves separation and recovery behavior as Reynolds number increases, yields the lowest root-mean-square error across all tests, and exhibits nearly Reynolds-number-independent error, indicating robust extrapolation.
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It's that time of year when @… Executive Board, Officers, Committees and Journal Editors submit their reports ahead of the AGM at #DH2026. Reading the reports is a reminder of the constant, invisible work that so many good people to do support Digital Humanities interna…

This is the weirdest article... it reads like something from the Onion.
"While driving last week I saw a young adult riding a bicycle. He was probably in his late teens or early twenties. I don't know him or his story, but when I saw him, I felt impressed. I think he reminded me a bit of myself when I wasn't old enough to drive."

There is more to #SolarPunk than solar panels and bikes. What we are talking about is being part of a living world. The hegemonic culture is one of hierarchical domination.
But many of the the cultures that hegemony suppresses bring a vibrancy to life. I don't buy yeast from the store, sealed in a plastic packet, a coffin for a living thing. I feed my sourdough. I am obligated to it, in a relationship with it, as the culture is reliant on me for it's survival. It speaks to me, with smell and color. I must pay attention. I have to learn it's nature, how it grows and eats at different temperatures informed by different times of the year. Mushrooms, yeast, kiefer, plants, independent things, things I can't control, life that is intertwined with my own.
But even my #bicycle speaks to me, which is something I hadn't considered until reading this and thinking about that framing.
It is not simply that "we need a different economic system." What we are talking about is a fundamentally different interpretation and experience of the world, from the hierarchical structure of death to a web of life, where even "inanimate" things become imbued with agency.
https://substack.com/app-link/post?publication_id=2936873&post_id=151655646

Worth #reading this piece - a level-headed take on #China and how its changed.
https://www.chinafile.com/reporting-op…

App Life in China
“It’s really tough doing anything in China right now,” my friend told me. He’s a serial entrepreneur in Shanghai with a locked-in grin. We were waiting for our food in a Taiwanese restaurant in a lovingly-renovated toy factory in Shanghai. China was my home for 20 years, before moving to the U.S. in 2015. This was my first visit since the pandemic. Almost a decade away from the place where I got married, had kids, started a few companies, and sold one. It may be hard to make money in Ch…

Re-reading #RFC 8995, I find that I missed that the BRSKI architecture does support nonceless vouchers, at least in situations where you know precisely (by serial number) what you bought.
If I've ever pitched BRSKI based IoT and left you with a bad taste of "why do I have to run the device once in a connected situation": I'm sorry, I undersold it, it is even cooler than I made i…

What a lovely coincidence: my former boss at Nokia just reached out to give me his latest novel to proof read. I told him that I'm just about to finish William Gibsons "Neuromancer". And said that he had just started reading this 3 days ago. That's serendipity right there

🇺🇦 Auf radioeins läuft...
Quannum:
🎵 I Changed My Mind
#NowPlaying #Quannum
https://open.spotify.com/track/2Fj81XOWDMAgsWbp5CUkSL