The computational magic of the ventral stream

Abstract

This is version 2 of a report first published online on July 20, 2011 (npre.2011.6117.1) and it is still preliminary. I expect there will be more versions in the near future because the work is promising and ongoing. This version does not yet contain all the appendices because some of them are just project ideas for students in my group. They will appear in due time. I marked some of the statements that suggest a research project depending on whether it is a safe, sig- nificant project or a more blue-sky, risky project. I do not expect that this paper will ever be published in the usual journals. “Success” for a paper published in this way would consist, I believe, of making an impact – measured in terms of citations for instance – and perhaps of being eventually “reviewed” in sites such as Wired or Slashdot or Facebook or even in a News and Views-type article in traditional journals like Science or Nature.