Mind Matters | Natural and Artificial Intelligence News and Analysis

Latest Articles

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Jeffrey Funk
Date
September 14, 2026

Categorized
Technology

Tagged
AI, Doomsday talk, IPOs, Nvidia, Revenue growth, Token prices}

“AI Doomsday” Talk Distracts Us From Lack of Revenue Growth

_{Will the bubble pop soon?} _{Jeffrey Funk
September 14, 2026

5

Technology}

Money inside shimmering bubbles floating in an uncertain financial market Large space for text in center Stock Photo with copy space

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News
Date
September 12, 2026

Categorized
Arts & Culture, Paleontology, Science Fiction

Tagged
Bethel McGrew, Carl Sagan (1934–1996), End of Oak Street (2026)}

Dinosaurs, Meet Carl Sagan at the End of Oak Street

_{The film was marketed as a stupid dinosaur movie. In reality, it’s a movie about marriage, cleverly disguised as a stupid dinosaur movie.} _{News
September 12, 2026

6

Arts & Culture, Paleontology, Science Fiction}

dinosaurs running through the water in front of tropical jungle.

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post

Gary Varner
Date
September 12, 2026

Categorized
Philosophy

Tagged
Audience, Philosophy, relationships, Rom-coms, Star Wars}

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 realistic} _{Gary Varner
September 12, 2026

8

Philosophy}

Statue of the ancient Greek philosopher Socrates in Athens, Greece.

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post

Denyse O'Leary
Date
September 11, 2026

Categorized
Arts & Culture, Ethics

Tagged
Demon Core, Geoffrey Simmons, Nuclear attacks, Oppenheimer’s Demon (book 2026)}

Those Demons at the Core – a Novel

_{Dr. Geoffrey Simmons’s taut new thriller, Oppenheimer’s Demon, envisions a nuclear threat aimed at the city} _{Denyse O'Leary
September 11, 2026

5

Arts & Culture, Ethics}

Artwork of a City Hit by Meteorites Chicago disintegrates as a nuclear explosion erupts in the middle of the city Artwork of a nuclear attack, Generative AI

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post

News
Date
September 11, 2026

Categorized
Artificial Intelligence, Politics, Psychology

Tagged
AI panic, Anderson Cooper, Atomic Doomsday Clock, Bill Gates, Gary Marcus, Jay Richards, Jennifer Mattson, Ro Khanna, Will Knight}

AI Could Kill Us All? Yes, So Could Old Age. Take a Deep Breath…

_{Assessing the current AI hysteria includes asking “Who do all these apocalyptic claims benefit?”} _{News
September 11, 2026

5

Artificial Intelligence, Politics, Psychology}

^{Type
post

Kenneth Francis
Date
September 11, 2026

Categorized
Arts & Culture

Tagged
art, Beauty and ugly, Buildings, Installations, Materialism}

Anti-Beauty Objects Are an Assault on Our Minds

_{Whatever happened to beautiful architecture, paintings or all things artistic?} _{Kenneth Francis
September 11, 2026

8

Arts & Culture}

EU Office buildings in Brussels, Belgium

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post

Denyse O'Leary
Date
September 10, 2026

Categorized
Philosophy of Mind, Plant Mind

Tagged
4E cognitive science, Amanda Gefter, Minimal Intelligence Lab, Paco Calvo}

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} _{Denyse O'Leary
September 10, 2026

6

Philosophy of Mind, Plant Mind}

Three pitchers of the green pitcher plant (Sarracenia oreophila) in natural habitat, Alabama, USA

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post

Denyse O'Leary
Date
September 9, 2026

Categorized
Artificial Intelligence, Business and Finance, Environment, Politics

Tagged
Agence-Presse France, Amanda Marcotte, Data centers, Joel Kotkin, Judge Glock, Politicial realignment}

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} _{Denyse O'Leary
September 9, 2026

5

Artificial Intelligence, Business and Finance, Environment, Politics}

Protesters holding yellow angry face signs.

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post

Robert J. Marks
Date
September 9, 2026

Categorized
Artificial Intelligence, Mathematics

Tagged
Andrew Wiles, Anthropic Claude, Featured, Fermat’s Last Theorem, Levent Alpöge, Navier–Stokes problem, Tristan Buckmaster}

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} _{Robert J. Marks
September 9, 2026

5

Artificial Intelligence, Mathematics}

Close-up of computer screen displaying code at night.

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post

Richard W. Stevens
Date
September 7, 2026

Categorized
Arts & Culture, Creativity, Law

Tagged
Copyright, Copyright abolition, Featured, Lysander Spooner, Neural Basis of Creative Thought (2026), Stephan Kinsella}

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} _{Richard W. Stevens
September 7, 2026

7

Arts & Culture, Creativity, Law}

Composer's Block: A musician sits dejected amidst a chaotic symphony of instruments and sheet music, grappling with creative burnout.

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post

Robert J. Marks
Date
September 7, 2026

Categorized
Language, Logic

Tagged
Featured, Monday Microsofties}

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} _{Robert J. Marks
September 7, 2026

5

Language, Logic}

compassionate female doctor in her mid-forties, adorned in a pristine white lab coat, holding a sleek digital tablet with a caring smile gracing her lips

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post

News
Date
September 6, 2026

Categorized
Philosophy of Mind

Tagged
Alex O’Connor, Emergence concept, Robert Lawrence Kuhn}

Former Atheist: Materialism Cannot Explain Consciousness

_{"Emergence," the claim that consciousness somehow emerged from matter, faces serious obstacles, he says} _{News
September 6, 2026

4

Philosophy of Mind}

Mind layers human consciousness and identity concept

^{Type
post

Denyse O'Leary
Date
September 5, 2026

Categorized
Evolution, Neuroscience

Tagged
Nabil Imam et al. (2026), Reptilian brain}

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} _{Denyse O'Leary
September 5, 2026

3

Evolution, Neuroscience}

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post

Gary Varner
Date
September 5, 2026

Categorized
Science Fiction

Tagged
Abrams, Light and dark, Maz, Star Wars, The Force}

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} _{Gary Varner
September 5, 2026

7

Science Fiction}

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post

Peter Biles
Date
September 4, 2026

Categorized
Law, Social Media

Tagged
Andrew Garfield, Featured, Jesse Eisenberg, Jonathan Haidt, Mary Cunningham, Meta settlement (2026), Social Network (film 2010), Social Reckoning (film 2026)}

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} _{Peter Biles
September 4, 2026

2

Law, Social Media}

Teenager using a smartphone lying in bed late at night, playing games, watching videos online, and scrolling the screen. Children's screen addiction. Screen Addiction in Youth

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post

Denyse O'Leary
Date
September 3, 2026

Categorized
Peer Review, Science

Tagged
Featured, Jason Arday, Jerry Coyne, Michael Shermer, Nature (journal), Plagiarism, Steven Pinker, Wesley J. Smith, X Community Notes}

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} _{Denyse O'Leary
September 3, 2026

5

Peer Review, Science}

^{Type
post

Gary Smith
Date
September 2, 2026

Categorized
Business and Finance, Education

Tagged
China housing bubble, Featured, Housing bubbles, Housing prices, Japan housing bubble, US housing bubble, Wesley Chiang}

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} _{Gary Smith
September 2, 2026

9

Business and Finance, Education}

Concrete blocks of modern hi raising residential apartments in China, property market and overpopulation concept

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post

News
Date
September 1, 2026

Categorized
Artificial Intelligence, Politics, Psychology, Social Factors

Tagged
China (competitiveness in AI), Data centers, Joel Kotkin, Peter Pinedo, Sam Altman, Social media bots, Tech oligarchs, X Global Government Affairs}

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} _{News
September 1, 2026

5

Artificial Intelligence, Politics, Psychology, Social Factors}

AI enhances social media engagement using intelligent icons, influencer tracking tools, and smart communication platforms for modern digital interaction. Artificial intelligence spline

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post

Wesley J. Smith
Date
September 1, 2026

Categorized
Censorship, Politics, Science

Tagged
Nature (journal), Scientists and government, South Africa}

Top Science Journal: All Scientists Should Register With the State

_{The editors think that government control would prevent “misinformation” from filtering down to us} _{Wesley J. Smith
September 1, 2026

4

Censorship, Politics, Science}

Artificial General Intelligence? No, We’re Not There Yet

Economics: It’s All About the Human Mind

Monday Microsofty 96: The Queens Problem

Latest Articles

“AI Doomsday” Talk Distracts Us From Lack of Revenue Growth

Dinosaurs, Meet Carl Sagan at the End of Oak Street

Star Wars: The Force Awakens Review Part 12

Those Demons at the Core – a Novel

AI Could Kill Us All? Yes, So Could Old Age. Take a Deep Breath…

Anti-Beauty Objects Are an Assault on Our Minds

Unexpected: Plants Undermine Materialist Consciousness Theory?

Data Centers Challenge Our Usual Politics — Will They Change It?

What Exactly Was AI’s Breakthrough in Hard Math?

Who Owns Your Mind’s Creative Work? Who Owned Dolly Parton’s?

Monday Microsofty 95: I Told You Her Name But …

Former Atheist: Materialism Cannot Explain Consciousness

Not This Again?! The Lizard Brain Is Back? Wait. It’s NOT Back…

Star Wars – The Force Awakens: Review Part 11

Trends: Eminent Journal Nature Gets Community-Noted (!) at X

What Can We Learn From the Chinese Housing Bubble?

Top Science Journal: All Scientists Should Register With the State

Podcast

Angus Menuge: Powers of the Soul That Are Beyond AI

Briefs

Fallout from the Cambridge Jason Arday debacle — was anything learned?

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

Changing world: Associated Press accepts cash from interest groups

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?

COSM 2021: Kai-Fu Lee Tries His Hand at Future Casting