Star Wars: The Force Awakens Review Part 12
It’s a philosophical position to assume that a story’s goal should be to portray events as realisticThe fact is genres carry a philosophical worldview; they can’t help it
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Mind Matters
Natural and Artificial Intelligence News and Analysis
Latest Articles
Anti-Beauty Objects Are an Assault on Our Minds
Whatever happened to beautiful architecture, paintings or all things artistic?
Unexpected: Plants Undermine Materialist Consciousness Theory?
Plant scientist Calvo’s critique of neuron-based theories appears not to be hippie panpsychism; he is asking hard science questions
Data Centers Challenge Our Usual Politics — Will They Change It?
True, they use a lot of energy. But much of the controversy seems to suggest a shift in the political landscape
What Exactly Was AI’s Breakthrough in Hard Math?
Claude translated an already proven theorem into a detailed computer-related derivation, which is much more difficult than, say, translating it into Cantonese
Who Owns Your Mind’s Creative Work? Who Owned Dolly Parton’s?
The unsettling logic driving the movement to abolish copyright — and the counterargument rooted in the mind itself
Monday Microsofty 95: I Told You Her Name But …
You weren't listening. Getting to the core of a problem doesn’t need to involve math. Here’s one that doesn’t
Former Atheist: Materialism Cannot Explain Consciousness
"Emergence," the claim that consciousness somehow emerged from matter, faces serious obstacles, he says
Not This Again?! The Lizard Brain Is Back? Wait. It’s NOT Back…
A useful item from Georgia Tech examines the claim that an ancient lizard brain controls our emotions
Star Wars – The Force Awakens: Review Part 11
Maz is basically saying that the light and the darkness are always rising up in different forms
Meta to Pay Billions to Several States
People like Jonathan Haidt have been warning the public of social media's dangerous algorithmic power over young people for years
Trends: Eminent Journal Nature Gets Community-Noted (!) at X
The critics of its Jason Arday editorial are the very people who would once have gone to bat for Nature and similar journals
What Can We Learn From the Chinese Housing Bubble?
Anyone can use our theory, which has been confirmed by events in foreign real estate markets, when determining whether to buy a home
Data Centers: Is a Chinese Bot Farm Feeding You Your Opinions?
Maybe bots are not influencing you — but you can be sure they are trying
Top Science Journal: All Scientists Should Register With the State
The editors think that government control would prevent “misinformation” from filtering down to us
What’s Unique About AI? Every Bubble is Different
An AI bubble revolves around a small number of companies
When Language is Corrupted and Weaponised
A corrupted commentary or concept can lead people astray and cause them fear
Monday Microsofty 94: A Tree Planting Dilemma
This week's puzzle sounds simple but it involves thinking in terms other than squares
The Mind–Body “Interaction Problem” Is Desperately Overhyped
Why would our mental states NOT be "causally relevant" to the way we behave?
Star Wars: The Force Awakens Review Part 10
Flying a ship and fixing a ship are two different skills
Might Now Be a Good Time to Buy a House?
I asked ChatGPT, Gemini, and Claude and they confidently spewed bucketloads of well-written but barely relevant prose. There is a better way to find out
Briefs
Which students think shouting down a speaker is okay?
Discussion with Michael Egnor elicits wide interest among Spanish speakers
Why AI companies need to destroy rare books in particular
Upcoming webinar on the new Catholic encyclical on AI
Ancient bacteria have communications structures like human ones
Researchers: Cave paintings are much better seen by torchlight
Social media is not an apocalypse; it’s a printing press cubed
Changing world: Associated Press accepts cash from interest groups
For evolution, math prof says, the burden of proof is on materialists
No, we aren’t really creating life in a test tube yet
Videos
Douthat Exits New York Times, Final Podcast Hosts Biohacker Bryan Johnson
Science Uprising 10: Asking the Impolite Questions About AI
Is It Really the End for Silicon Valley or Just a Reboot?
