Invariant Representation of Physical Stability in the Human Brain

Explore the concept of physical stability representation in the human brain through this 50-minute lecture by Pramod R.T. from MIT. Delve into how the brain predicts and interprets physical stability in everyday situations, from a precariously placed wineglass to assessing the structural integrity of a chair. Examine the research on whether judgments of physical stability rely on visual object recognition or mental simulations. Learn about intuitive physics in infants and human behavior, its applications in robotics, and how physics is computed in the brain. Investigate evidence for simulation in block towers, unstable physical objects, and people. Analyze stability discrimination using CNNs and stability information in various brain regions. Conclude with a discussion on evidence for forward simulation and open questions in the field.