est condition d'efficacité

English translation: is key to effectiveness

GLOSSARY ENTRY (DERIVED FROM QUESTION BELOW)

French term or phrase:	est condition d'efficacité
English translation:	is key to effectiveness
Entered by:	GuillaumeT (X)

10:39 Nov 14, 2013

French to English translations [PRO]
Science - Science (general)

French term or phrase: est condition d'efficacité

I came across this term in a document about neuroscience and learning, but it's not actually a scientific term since it seems to exist in economic and political texts as well. I have a vague idea of what it means from other uses I've found, but have no idea how to render it in this context:

"Le cerveau, au niveau du cortex, fonctionne constamment en mêlant les deux modes – « analogique et binaire » – par allers & retours permanents entre le flou et le net, entre le non nommé et le nommé, entre l’imprécis et le précis …

Seule la 6° couche du cortex fonctionne exclusivement en mode binaire. Accéder à la 6° couche nécessite de ‘nommer’ les éléments issus du traitement de l’information : être le plus « précis » possible, pour que le cerveau puisse utiliser pleinement cette information.
Ce passage de l’analogique au binaire **est condition d’efficacité** – intégration, vecteur de changement, évolution comportementale, passage à l’acte..."

The best I've come up with is "the passage from analog to binary processing is a condition for efficacy", but since I'm not sure I fully understand the original term I'm not sure that's right, and it doesn't sound very good - but before playing around with the wording I'd like to have a better sense of the meaning...

Any ideas?

Thanks in advance,

Diana

Diana Huet de Guerville KudoZ activity Questions: 92 (7 open) (3 without valid answers) (10 closed without grading) Answers: 12 France
Local time: 01:09

is key to effectiveness / is key to effective brain function

Explanation:
While Diana's suggestion captures the meaning of the source, the sentence would flow better by swapping "key" for "a condition".

Depending on what comes after the excerpt provided, adding the "brain function" element could also work.

I would use "effectiveness" instead of "efficacy" as the former is less specific.

Selected response from:

GuillaumeT (X)
Ireland
Local time: 00:09

Grading comment

4 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer

Summary of answers provided

3 +4

is key to effectiveness / is key to effective brain function

GuillaumeT (X)

arises from a need for efficiency

nweatherdon

depends on [brain processing] efficiency/factors affecting efficiency

liz askew

Summary of reference entries provided

comments only

liz askew

Answers

45 mins confidence:

depends on [brain processing] efficiency/factors affecting efficiency

Explanation:
Based on general reading around the subject for the lat 15 minutes.

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Note added at 49 mins (2013-11-14 11:29:19 GMT)
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nice site here:

http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=uyDv6XbYlVoC&pg=PA9&lpg=P...

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Note added at 58 mins (2013-11-14 11:38:24 GMT)
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p.s.
I bet this translation is proving to be somewhat tricky!

liz askew
United Kingdom
Local time: 00:09
Works in field
Native speaker of:

English
PRO pts in category: 20

Notes to answerer

Asker: Tricky indeed, and the whole document is like this!

1 hr confidence:

arises from a need for efficiency

Explanation:
While, without having seen the evidence, I am inclined to disagree that there are many "binary" things going on, there must be threshold to drive responses. If they want to call this binary then so be it.

At the biomolecular level, a sufficient level of a given type of stimulus could lead to a sufficiently high concentration of,, say, Na+ in some part of a brain cell to trigger a reaction without thinking (e.g., it's hot, now move finger). I still question the interpretation of "binary", but OK.

Does that explain my take on things?

nweatherdon
Canada
Specializes in field
Native speaker of: English

Notes to answerer

Asker: Sortof... It's definitely not a topic I can claim to know much about! But thanks for the explanation.

1 hr confidence:

peer agreement (net): +4

is key to effectiveness / is key to effective brain function

GuillaumeT (X)
Ireland
Local time: 00:09
Native speaker of:

French
PRO pts in category: 4

Notes to answerer

Asker: I ended up going for a variation of your suggestion, and using transition instead of passage. The next sentence goes on to another topic, so not at all helpful for this one! Thanks!

Reference comments

35 mins

Reference: comments only

Reference information:
Comment only
I am unable to find much with “binary”, but I have found analog-digital

I am commenting on your use of “passage” too

Shouldn’t this be conversion/transformation?

Pierre Levy : Interfaces - Multimedialab
www.multimedialab.be/doc/.../pierre_levy_interfaces....‎
•
•
Translate this page
C'est l'opératrice du passage. ... transforme les signaux binaires des ordinateurs en signaux analogiques aptes à voya- ..... code à l'autre, de l'analogique au numérique, du mécanique à l'humain. ... Le cerveau: un extraordinaire réseau de.
Neuronal analog-digital information transformation at the gamma ...
nct.brain.riken.jp/publications/200105_Fukai_Neurocomputing.pdf‎
•
by T Fukai - ‎Related articles
Neurocomputing 38}40 (2001) 615}619. Neuronal analog-digital information transformation at the gamma frequency. Tomoki Fukai *. Department of ...
1. Analogique ? Numérique ? - Comment Ça Marche
www.commentcamarche.net/.../affich-334040-analogi...‎
o
o
Translate this page
27 Jun 2003 - Numérique = Digital = Binaire à opposer à Analogique. Exemple de supportdigital: Disque dur. CD DVD Exemple de support analogique:

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Note added at 36 mins (2013-11-14 11:16:10 GMT)
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Brain Communicates In Analog And Digital Modes Simultaneously
www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/04/060412223937.htm‎
13 Apr 2006 - ****Contrary to popular belief, brain cells use a mix of analog and digital coding**** ... 14, 2012) — To make information transmission to the brain reliable, the ... 29, 2011) — In the cerebral cortex, the balance between excitation and ..

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Note added at 37 mins (2013-11-14 11:16:38 GMT)
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passage could also = transmission

liz askew
United Kingdom
Works in field
Native speaker of:

English
PRO pts in category: 20

Note to reference poster

Asker: Thanks for the last link especially, since I didn't want to read to much in electronic contexts and hadn't found many on the brain!

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est condition d'efficacité

English translation: is key to effectiveness

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