Month: January 2021

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News
Date
January 31, 2021

Categorized
Philosophy, Science

Tagged
Fine-tuning, Rob Sheldon, Sabine Hossenfelder}

A Physicist Asks, Was the Universe Made For Us? She Says No

_{But the question is more complicated than it appears at first} _{News
January 31, 2021

3

Philosophy, Science}

Sabine Hossenfelder thinks there is no way to determine an answer to the question of whether the universe was made for us because we have access to only one universe for data: There is no way to ever quantify this probability because we will never measure a constant of nature that has a value other than the one it does have. If you want to quantify a probability you have to collect a sample of data. You could do that, for example, if you were throwing dice.Throw them often enough, and you get an empirically supported probability distribution. But we do not have an empirically supported probability distribution for the constants of nature. And why is that. It’s because… they Read More ›

Hand turning off the bulb lamp.Turning off the light.

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Michael Egnor
Date
January 31, 2021

Categorized
Medicine and Health, Philosophy of Mind

Tagged
Coma, Consciousness, Featured, Jerry Fodor, John Locke, Mechanical philosophy, Persistent vegetative state (PVS), Unconsciousness}

Your Soul Has No “Off Switch”

_{A major modern misunderstanding of the human mind is to assume that it is like a machine with an “on” and an “off” switch} _{Michael Egnor
January 31, 2021

9

Medicine and Health, Philosophy of Mind}

I have written, in an earlier post, about the problem of “consciousness:” — that is, the problem inherent to the word itself and to the concept it conveys. I believe that “consciousness” is a mere narrative gloss on the mind — it denotes nothing beyond the mental powers of the soul. This is not just linguistic nitpicking. The concept of “consciousness” is much worse than useless. It leads us to misunderstand the mind in a profound way, as I will explain. The point may seem subtle but I believe that, if you think deeply enough about it, you will see that it is obviously true. First, I am not saying “consciousness” is an illusion. or possibly a delusion. This witless Read More ›

UFO, alien spaceship in orbit of planet Earth, extraterrestrials from outer space in flying saucer

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News
Date
January 30, 2021

Categorized
Arts & Culture, Science

Tagged
Extraterrestrials (ET), Tong-Jie Zhang}

Will China Find Alien Life First? A Chinese Astronomer Says Yes

_{Whether either American or Chinese astronomers find anything, it will certainly be an interesting race} _{News
January 30, 2021

2

Arts & Culture, Science}

One Chinese astronomer, Tong-Jie Zhang, is working on it: In China, Zhang was tirelessly lobbying Chinese authorities to access FAST for his own research. Only recently was he granted the ability to use the telescope through the National Astronomical Observatories’ association. Initially, Zhang and his students had to conduct their observations at FAST while the telescope observed other targets, not allowing him to choose the areas he wanted. But after collaborating with Werthimer and students from the SETI Research Center on a paper published in the Astrophysical Journal, Chinese officials eventually allowed Zhang a window of time with the telescope to shortlist specific solar systems that he and his collaborators believe can most likely harbor intelligent life. Over the next Read More ›

Safety equipment, Life buoy or rescue buoy floating on sea to rescue people from drowning man.

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News
Date
January 30, 2021

Categorized
Arts & Culture

Tagged
Protocole Sandwich (film), Science fiction}

Sci-fi Saturday: Rescuing Lost People

_{Animated, in French, with English subtitles, but don't let that deter you} _{News
January 30, 2021

4

Arts & Culture}

Here’s a very new (January 26, 2021), very short (5:41 min) animated video from Valérie Bousquie, Joséphine Meis, Côme Roy, Antoine Vignon, and Benjamin Warnitz. In a wild an inhabited desert, a team of rangers is in charge of rescuing people who got lost there. The film is in French with English subtitles (and the promo copy could have used an English-speaking editor). It’s not clear why it is science fiction and I found the story a little hard to understand. But the professional relationships sound pretty real and make it worth the watch. Note: Someone reviewed the film at Filmnosis, commenting, “Staged in a desert, a lot of work has been dedicated to environment and character design, polished framing, Read More ›

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Jonathan Bartlett
Date
January 30, 2021

Categorized
Business and Finance, Economics

Tagged
Featured, Gamestop (GME), Investors, stock market, WallStreetBets}

Who Is Allowed in the Smoke-Filled Rooms of Investment?

_{How the stock market is manipulated, using the GameStop episode as an example} _{Jonathan Bartlett
January 30, 2021

6

Business and Finance, Economics}

Full disclosure: I continue to maintain positions in some of the stocks mentioned in this article. But, as you will see, my goal here is neither to promote stock or dissuade from it, but rather to ask a deeper question about who is allowed to do what about a stock. For those who are unaware, the last two weeks in the stock market have gone crazy. GameStop (GME), a company that continues to lose money, skyrocketed from $18/share to, as of the time I’m writing, just about $450 per share. That’s right the stock soared over 20 times in value over the period of a few weeks. Several other stocks have also skyrocketed, including AMC Entertainment (AMC) and Koss Corporation Read More ›

military troops in action urban environment

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News
Date
January 29, 2021

Categorized
Information Theory

Tagged
Featured, Fine-tuning, Firing squad analogy, Michael Egnor, Robert J. Marks}

What If, Condemned, You Had 12 Friends on the Firing Squad?

_{We try to understand why the universe seems fine-tuned for life} _{News
January 29, 2021

4

Information Theory}

Neurosurgeon Michael Egnor, a frequent contributor to Mind Matters News, interviewed our Walter Bradley Center director Robert J. Marks on the nature of information. In this second part of the interview (here’s the first part), the question comes up: How do we know if something is an accident or not? https://episodes.castos.com/mindmatters/Mind-Matters-118-Robert-Marks.mp3 A partial transcript follows. This portion begins at 11:02. Show notes and links follow. Michael Egnor: Aristotle said that in order to understand any process in nature, you really need to know four causes of that process. Note: The causes, according to Simply Philosophy are material, formal, efficient, and final. The material cause of a thing is what it is made of. A cat, for example, is made of Read More ›

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News
Date
January 29, 2021

Categorized
Information Theory

Tagged
Featured, Introduction to Evolutionary Informatics (book), Michael Egnor, No Free Lunch theorems, Robert J. Marks}

Does Information Just Happen? Or Does the Universe Have Meaning?

_{The computer revolution did not show that information could be produced from nothing} _{News
January 29, 2021

6

Information Theory}

Neurosurgeon Michael Egnor, a frequent contributor to Mind Matters News, interviewed our Walter Bradley Center director Robert J. Marks, a computer engineer, on the nature of information. Information makes a huge difference to what happens among human beings. But it is not like matter or energy. It doesn’t weigh anything or generate heat. How can we understand it scientifically? https://episodes.castos.com/mindmatters/Mind-Matters-118-Robert-Marks.mp3 A partial transcript follows. This portion begins at 01:10. Show notes and links follow. Robert J. Marks: Well, my background is not in biology, but it is in computer science and computer engineering. And one of the things we do is do artificial intelligence. And I think maybe your question translated to artificial intelligence is, can anything happen in artificial Read More ›

The red human figure extends its influence to the neighboring figures. Spreading ideas and thoughts, recruiting new members. Infection of other people, zero patient. Leader and leadership, new team.

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News
Date
January 28, 2021

Categorized
Business and Finance, Education

Tagged
Featured, Forbes, Influence, Influence vs power}

To Succeed, Understand Difference Between Influence and Power

_{Do you wonder why some people are listened to and not others, regardless of the value of their ideas? Well, read on…} _{News
January 28, 2021

3

Business and Finance, Education}

At business mag Forbes, some have begun to consider the difference between influence and power: Swarthmore College has been rated the best liberal arts college in the U.S. by Academic Influence, a new college rankings method that uses artificial intelligence technology to search massive databases and measure the impact of work by individuals who’ve been affiliated with colleges and universities throughout the world. Last Monday, Academic Influence released its first-ever ranking of American liberal arts colleges – those four-year institutions that are relatively small in size, focus on bachelor’s level education, emphasize direct engagement with professors, provide an enriched residential experience, and insist on broad grounding in the liberal arts along with focused study in a major. In brief, here’s Read More ›

Crypto currency background with various of shiny silver and golden physical cryptocurrencies symbol coins, Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin, zcash, ripple

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News
Date
January 27, 2021

Categorized
Business and Finance, Economics

Tagged
bitcoin, cryptocurrencies, Currencies}

What If Many People Ditched Government Currencies for Bitcoin?

_{Are cryptocurrencies our best bet for a fair global currency system?} _{News
January 27, 2021

2

Business and Finance, Economics}

Picture a world racked by economic issues like coronavirus, where people begin ditching government (fiat) currencies for Bitcoin. Small changes are are underway: The chief economist did not mention that a growing number of jurisdictions are already embracing bitcoin for tax payments. For example, the canton of Zug in Switzerland announced that it will start accepting bitcoin for tax payments this year. Several other local governments in Switzerland have made a similar announcement, such as Zermatt. Recently, the mayor of Miami said that he is working on allowing payments for city services in bitcoin. Furthermore, a growing number of stores are accepting bitcoin payments. Payments giant Paypal, for example, is planning to allow people to use cryptocurrency to pay for Read More ›

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Michael Egnor
Date
January 27, 2021

Categorized
Medicine and Health, Philosophy of Mind

Tagged
Adrian Owen, Anesthesia, Consciousness, Featured, Glasgow Coma Scale}

Does the Ability To Think Depend on Consciousness?

_{From a medical perspective, “consciousness” adds nothing to the description of mental states} _{Michael Egnor
January 27, 2021

8

Medicine and Health, Philosophy of Mind}

The title question might seem like a strange one but it is vitally important if we are to interpret neuroscience correctly and if we are to understand the mind–brain relationship. In my view, the capacity for thought does not depend on consciousness. The term “consciousness” is at best meaningless and at worst an impediment to understanding the mind. “Consciousness” is a very vague term and, ultimately, I don’t think it has any useful meaning at all, apart from other categories such as sensation, perception, imagination, reason etc. Aristotle had no distinct term for it. Nor do I think did any of the ancient or medieval philosophers. Consciousness is a modern term that seems to subsume all of the sensate powers Read More ›

KI abstraktes Gesicht. Neuronales Netzwerk & maschinelles lernen. Verarbeiten von riesigen Datenmengen. IoT, DeepFake, Virtueller Assistent. 3d Illustration Hintergrund

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News
Date
January 26, 2021

Categorized
Artificial Intelligence, Arts & Culture

Tagged
Actors, Deepfakes, Eric Holloway, Robert J. Marks}

Can Deepfakes Substitute for Actors?

_{Would you care if the actor is a real person or not?} _{News
January 26, 2021

4

Artificial Intelligence, Arts & Culture}

When our Walter Bradley Center director, Robert J. Marks, was discussing with Eric Holloway the events that really made a difference in AI, one very interesting issue that came up was the use of deepfakes to substitute for actors in films. Robert J. Marks: Eric, how is Disney using deep fakes in entertainment? Eric Holloway: Well, Disney is using deep fakes and entertainment as a way to capitalize on not having to hire lots of really expensive actors. So you can have a few expensive actors, they do their thing, and then you copy their body movements and face. And now you can just hire a bunch of cheap actors and stick the expensive actors faces on them. Or you Read More ›

Global virus and disease spread, coronavirus

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Heather Zeiger
Date
January 26, 2021

Categorized
Medicine and Health, Science, Technocracy

Tagged
China, COVID-19, Featured, Freedom of expression, Zhang Youngzhen}

How China Has Tried To Suppress Coronavirus Science

_{So far as investigative journalists have been able to determine, the suppression came directly from the top} _{Heather Zeiger
January 26, 2021

10

Medicine and Health, Science, Technocracy}

An investigation by the Associated Press reveals what everyone has suspected since the beginning of the SARS-CoV-2 (coronavirus) pandemic: The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has been keeping a tight rein on the publication or distribution of any scientific research on the coronavirus conducted within the country. AP recently found out just how extensive the muzzling of scientific findings has been. Its report also confirms that the orders came from the top: The AP investigation was based on dozens of interviews with Chinese and foreign scientists and officials, along with public notices, leaked emails, internal data and the documents from China’s cabinet and the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention. It reveals a pattern of government secrecy and top-down control Read More ›

Convergence Background, Converge Toward Objective

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Gary Smith
Date
January 25, 2021

Categorized
Business and Finance, Economics

Tagged
Harold Hotelling, Horace Secrist, Regression fallacy}

Will Mediocrity Triumph? The Fallacy That Will Not Die

_{Economist claims: It is a fundamental economic truth that businesses converge to mediocrity. Is he right?} _{Gary Smith
January 25, 2021

8

Business and Finance, Economics}

Nearly 100 years ago, a famous economist named Horace Secrist wrote a book with the provocative title, The Triumph of Mediocrity in Business. He had spent ten years collecting and analyzing data on the success of dozens of companies in dozens of industries during the years 1920 to 1930. For each measure of success, he used the 1920 data to divide the companies in each industry into quartiles: the top 25%, second 25%, third 25%, and bottom 25%. He then calculated the average value of the success metric for the 1920 top-quartile companies every year from 1920 to 1930. He did the same for the other three quartiles. In every case, the companies in both the top two quartiles and the bottom two Read More ›

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Michael Egnor
Date
January 25, 2021

Categorized
Ethics, Global Technology, Technocracy

Tagged
Antonio Gramsci, Charles Darwin, Critical theory, Leninism, Marxism, Saul Alinsky}

Why “Critical Theory” Might Shape Your Life Going Forward

_{Critical Theory has begun to rule the public square and we need to understand it} _{Michael Egnor
January 25, 2021

7

Ethics, Global Technology, Technocracy}

2020 was the year that Critical Theory came to dominate culture in America. It ruled academia for a half century but only in the past year has it begun to rule the American public square as well. Perhaps you’re not interested in Critical Theory but Critical Theory is interested in you. It behooves us to understand it better, because it will be a central theme in American culture for the foreseeable future. For readers who are not familiar with it, I provide here a synopsis. There is a connection to Darwinism at the heart of Critical Theory, as we will see. Critical theory is, at its root, cultural Marxism. It emerged from the failure of Leninism to capture the hearts Read More ›

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Eric Holloway
Date
January 25, 2021

Categorized
Social Media

Tagged
Amazon Web Services (AWS), censorship, e-mail, encrypted email, Encryption, Featured, Free speech, Gab, MeWe, Multimedia, Parler}

What We Can Do To Prevent More Online Censorship

_{Encrypted email can be an end-around social media companies' monopoly of free speech} _{Eric Holloway
January 25, 2021

4

Social Media}

With all the concern about major social media companies deplatforming those they disagree with, there is a concern that these companies’ monopoly on social media will eliminate free speech. New social media platforms such as Gab, Parler and MeWe have popped up to offer freer alternatives. Yet even that is not without peril, as deplatforming can happen lower down the technology stack. Parler was recently kicked off AWS (Amazon Web Services). However, in the midst of all the hubbub we’ve forgotten the original social network: email. Email is still here. The distance between email and modern social media may be smaller than it first appears. Lets make a short list of the perceived differences between social media and email, and Read More ›

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Stephen Berger
Date
January 24, 2021

Categorized
Ethics, Programming

Tagged
Artificial Intelligence, Featured, ontology, Policy-based radio, Prioritization, Risk assessment, Risk management, semantic reasoning, spectrum, Wireless}

Why Medical Device Companies Use Priorities Created by Toy Makers

_{The priorities followed by product developers arise from the ontology they use} _{Stephen Berger
January 24, 2021

6

Ethics, Programming}

The priorities of product development teams arise from the ontology, the beliefs about the nature of reality, they follow. One of the greatest values of defining that ontology is to identify blind spots and wrong assumptions. When the source of priorities is clear, improved, more adaptable options become possible. As Clayton Christensen (1952–2020, pictured) has said: To grow profit margins and revenue, he observes, such companies tend to develop products to satisfy the demands of their most sophisticated customers. As successful as this strategy may be, it means that those companies also tend to ignore opportunities to meet the needs of less sophisticated customers — who may eventually form much larger markets. A hierarchy of products starts with the components, Read More ›

Futuristic design of an elevator cabin with mirrors with neon illumination and metal panels. Modern elevator design. Reflection to infinity.

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Richard W. Stevens
Date
January 24, 2021

Categorized
Neuroscience, Philosophy of Mind

Tagged
Daniel Dennett, Infinity Mirror, Infinity mirror experiment, Kenneth R. Miller, Marvin Minsky, Materialism, Thought determinism}

The Infinity Mirror Trap: Part 2: The Thought Determinism Paradox

_{The infinity mirror experience shows that thought determinism cannot explain all human thoughts} _{Richard W. Stevens
January 24, 2021

8

Neuroscience, Philosophy of Mind}

In Part 1 of this series, we saw how the belief that “every human thought is an illusion” proves empty and powerless when trying to account for the infinity mirror experience. Part 2 here puts another view held widely by science-trained people, materialism, to the same mirror test. Materialism is the view that everything we observe results from the interplay of matter and energy. Under materialism, each human’s every thought is produced by electrochemical events in the brain. As Marvin Minsky, an artificial intelligence pioneer, wrote in Society of Mind (1988), “Everything, including that which happens in our brains, depends on these and only on these: A set of fixed, deterministic laws and a purely random set of accidents.” Philosopher Read More ›

Walking difficulties. Aged bearded man leaning on his walking stick while thinking about his helplessness

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News
Date
January 23, 2021

Categorized
Arts & Culture

Tagged
Robots, Science fiction, This Time Away (short film)}

Sci-fi Saturday: A Robot Helps an Old Fellow Rediscover Life

_{The robot is very well done and how he gets a name is charming} _{News
January 23, 2021

4

Arts & Culture}

The short sci-fi film, “This Time Away” (13:23) is by Magali Barbe Nigel is an elderly man living as a recluse, haunted by his past and memory of the family he once had, until an unexpected visitor arrives and disrupts his lonely routine. No spoiler, the visitor is a robot, abandoned by children in his back yard. The relationships seem a bit unrealistic. Lots of people abandon their elderly relatives, of course. But we are being asked to believe that a robot was the big solution. In this case, it feels like magic. Well, watch it and see what you think. The robot is done really nicely. Worth watching. Other reviews from the “We are but DUST” files: Sci-fi Saturday: Read More ›

Mensch und Roboter in der Medizin der Zukunft, Beruf Arzt am Arbeitsplatz

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News
Date
January 23, 2021

Categorized
Programming

Tagged
cobots, robotics, Robots}

Can Robots That Work With People Ever Be Safe?

_{Robot IQ offers five reasons why not} _{News
January 23, 2021

2

Programming}

Cobots are robots designed to be friendly to people. But some doubt that friendship will work: It can be tempting to think of risk as an either/or situation — either your application is safe or it isn’t. In reality, risk is a sliding scale and you can never get rid of all risks completely. You can only know the true risk of a particular task by performing an adequate risk assessment. You need to do this whether the robot is collaborative or not. Truth: cobot safety can be changed to suit task performance The reality is that cobots have always been high-performance robots suitable for a range of industrial applications. Instead of being lesser robots, as some people mistakenly believe, Read More ›

Grownup daughter soothe aged mother holds her hand feeling empathy

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Denyse O'Leary
Date
January 23, 2021

Categorized
Arts & Culture

Tagged
Bygone, Memories, Science fiction}

Sci-fi Saturday: What If an Old Man Could See His Mother Again?

_{It is a hard film to watch if you lost a loved one, but worthwhile} _{Denyse O'Leary
January 23, 2021

4

Arts & Culture}

A bit sad but worth seeing. (4:01 min from Nick Naum & Csaba Nagy) An old man, with a receding memory, pays to view synthetic recreations of his mother and childhood. I had a hard time watching this film because I would so like to see my parents (who died in their nineties) again, especially when they were young. But I can tell you this: My father once got a call from the country for old men. In case you ever wondered, yes, it’s real. It’s too bad if some people are scamming about it. Other reviews from the “We are but DUST” files: Sci Fi Saturday: A fight for the winning ticket In a 2040 superstorm, engulfing the planet, Read More ›