Mind Matters Natural and Artificial Intelligence News and Analysis

Monthly Archive September 2022

trail-through-a-mysterious-dark-forest-in-fog-autumn-morning-in-himalaya-nepal-magical-atmosphere-fairytale-stockpack-adobe-stock
Trail through a mysterious dark forest in fog. Autumn morning in Himalaya, Nepal. Magical atmosphere. Fairytale
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post
Author
Peter Biles
Date
September 10, 2022
Categorized
Arts & Culture
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Amazon’s Rings of Power: Some Warning Signs But Still Hope

The screenwriters had to create dialogue from Tolkien’s notes about the world in which Lord of the Rings is set
Peter Biles
September 10, 2022
5
Arts & Culture

The first two episodes of the long-anticipated series The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power were released on September 2nd on Amazon Prime. With a budget of over $1 billion, Rings of Power is the costliest TV show ever produced. It makes sense, then, that fans expected a lot from the premiere. Peter Jackson’s The Lord of the Rings trilogy is widely considered a cinematic masterpiece, and millions of avid Tolkien readers are watching vigilantly for violations against the “canon.” The show stars a young Galadriel (Morfydd Clarke) as a stubborn, resilient warrior. For years, she has been tasked with eradicating any trace of evil after the apparent fall of Sauron, the rogue servant of the evil Morgoth. Read More ›

the-butterfly-effect-big-blue-butterfly-appearing-to-create-ripples-in-pink-green-water-surface-with-plenty-of-copy-space-below-stockpack-adobe-stock
The Butterfly Effect - Big Blue Butterfly appearing to create ripples in pink green water surface with plenty of copy space below
Type
post
Author
Gary Varner
Date
September 10, 2022
Categorized
Arts & Culture, Science Fiction
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Science Fiction: Time Travel Can Work — If Clear Rules Are Chosen

I despise the Butterfly Effect in time travel stories because there is simply no way to establish what is at stake
Gary Varner
September 10, 2022
9
Arts & Culture, Science Fiction

Time travel is such a familiar story element (trope) in science fiction that it has a name, the Time Travel Trope. It annoys me — though much less than others — is the Time Travel trope. These story elements can drive classics such as The Terminator (1984) and utter garbage like A Sound of Thunder. (2005). Establishing the rules for time travel The main reason is that there are many different types of Time Travel stories as well as a variety of rules to go with them. The rules depend on which approach to time travel the writer chooses to take. The writer can chooses to go with the idea that the present and future are fixed, and regardless of Read More ›

edinburgh-scotland-bobby-a-skye-terrier-monument-stockpack-adobe-stock
EDINBURGH, SCOTLAND Bobby a Skye Terrier monument
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post
Author
News
Date
September 9, 2022
Categorized
Archeology, Arts & Culture, Natural Intelligence
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Can Myths About Dogs Give Us a Clue re Their Origins?

A French historian studies the relationship between ancient stories told about dogs and information from genetics and archeology
News
September 9, 2022
7
Archeology, Arts & Culture, Natural Intelligence

Just how and when dogs originated has been the subject of much research. In one account, “Dogs originated from wolves domesticated in Europe, 19,000-32,000 years ago,” based on DNA studies (2013). But other research points to many other possibilities: “Central Asia, the Middle East, South Asia or Southeast Asia” some time between 10,000 and 38,000 years ago. Some think they were tamed twice. Historian Julien d’Huy of the College of France in Paris suggests another approach, looking at stories about dogs: “With mythology, we can have explanations of archaeology, we can have reasons for domestication, we can test hypotheses,” he says. D’Huy found three core storylines for the earliest myths related to dogs: The first links dogs with the afterlife, Read More ›

modern-way-of-exchange-bitcoin-is-convenient-payment-in-global-economy-market-virtual-digital-currency-and-financial-investment-trade-concept-abstract-cryptocurrency-with-gold-bitcoin-background-stockpack-adobe-stock
Modern way of exchange. Bitcoin is convenient payment in global economy market. Virtual digital currency and financial investment trade concept. Abstract cryptocurrency with gold bitcoin background..
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post
Author
News
Date
September 9, 2022
Categorized
Business and Finance, Cryptocurrency
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The futurist finance world of flash loans and hypernodes

In the cryptocurrency world, you could float a loan for ten seconds and make good money — but you and your computer must be very fast indeed
News
September 9, 2022
11
Business and Finance, Cryptocurrency

In the first part of Episode 4, “What Is Decentralized Finance?” (September 1, 2022), computer engineer Adam Goad discussed with Walter Bradley Center director (and computer engineering prof) Robert J. Marks how blockchain would decentralize finance by establishing trust and security without government regulations. Now they look at how some of the remarkable new financial instruments work. https://mindmatters.ai/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/08/Mind-Matters-202-Adam-Goad-Austin-Egbert.mp3 A partial transcript, notes, and Additional Resources follow. Robert J. Marks: Before we started this recording, you mentioned something which blew my mind — flash loans. Adam Goad: A flash loan is a loan that you take out for a very short amount of time, usually a few seconds. But it can be for a very large amounts, like millions of dollars. Read More ›

cpu electronic parts
Spare electronic parts isolated on gray background. 3D illustration
Type
post
Author
News
Date
September 9, 2022
Categorized
Artificial Intelligence, Global Technology
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How Federico Faggin Put the Computer’s Brain on a Chip

In the Marvel Universe, a story like this would, of course, start with a portentous meeting of top AI brains in a secret mountain stronghold, holding the world’s future in their hands…
News
September 9, 2022
4
Artificial Intelligence, Global Technology

Federico Faggin, one of the inventors of the microprocessor, will be speaking at COSM 2022 (November 9–11 in Seattle). He was leader of the team that developed the Intel 4004, the world’s first commercial microprocessor — essentially, the brains of the affordable modern computer. A few key microchips have replaced the complex, room-size computers of the mid-twentieth century. In a sense, he is one reason why so many people worldwide can afford electronics today. Go here to get the Early Adopter rate before September 15. In the Marvel Universe, a story like this would, of course, start with a portentous meeting of top AI brains in a secret mountain stronghold, holding the world’s future in their hands… This isn’t the Read More ›

field-of-red-flowers-stockpack-adobe-stock
field of red flowers
Type
post
Author
Denyse O'Leary
Date
September 8, 2022
Categorized
Philosophy of Mind, Physics, Science
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Philosophy: Can Red Have “Redness” If No Self Perceives It?

As Closer to Truth’s Robert Kuhn interviews philosopher Julian Baggini, they now tackle the question of “qualia” — part of the nature of conscious experiences
Denyse O'Leary
September 8, 2022
9
Philosophy of Mind, Physics, Science

Yesterday, we looked at philosopher Julian Baggini’s argument that the unified self is an illusion. He spoke about this in the context of a discussion with Closer to Truth’s Robert Lawrence Kuhn. Kuhn, nearly midway through, steers the conversation toward qualia, that is, the inner experience we have of things. Red, an often-used example, is a color in the spectrum but it is also, for many, an experience. Serious and influential books have been written (2005 and 2017) about the history of the color and the experiences it evokes. Questions are interspersed between exchanges in the transcribed dialogue: Robert Lawrence Kuhn: (3:23) Let’s distinguish two factors that are flying around here. One is the concept of self — what it Read More ›

COSM 2021
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post
Author
News
Date
September 8, 2022
Categorized
Artificial Intelligence, Relationships, Social Media
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Software Pioneer David Gelernter to Speak at COSM 2022, November

Gelernter, a Yale computer prof, is known for thinking through problems from a non-Silicon Valley-elite perspective
News
September 8, 2022
4
Artificial Intelligence, Relationships, Social Media

David Gelernter has been derided as a “fiercely anti-intellectual computer scientist” by influencers whose computer systems may well depend in part on his software (though they probably don’t know that and couldn’t tell us how). From his page at Yale University: The “tuple spaces” introduced in Carriero and Gelernter’s Linda system (1983) are the basis of many computer-communication and distributed programming systems worldwide. “Mirror Worlds” (1991) “foresaw” the World Wide Web (Reuters, 3/20/01) and was “one of the inspirations for Java”; the “lifestreams” system (first implemented by Eric Freeman at Yale) is the basis for Mirror Worlds Technologies’ software. “Breaking out of the box” (NY Times magazine, ‘97) forecast and described the advent of less-ugly computers (Apple’s iMac arrived in Read More ›

robotic arm painting
Robotic Arm Painting with Brush Closeup 3d illustration
Type
post
Author
Robert J. Marks
Date
September 8, 2022
Categorized
Artificial Intelligence, Arts & Culture, Creativity
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When Should AI Art Be Protected by Copyright?

Headlines read that AI has recently won an art contest. But what is art?
Robert J. Marks
September 8, 2022
4
Artificial Intelligence, Arts & Culture, Creativity

Damien Hirst cut a cow and calf each lengthwise into two halves and displayed them in four separate baths of formaldehyde in clear display tanks. The title of the creation, “Mother and Child Divided,” is a pun. The cow and calf were cut in two and were displayed physically separated. “Mother and Child Divided” in two ways. Get it? Hee hee. Is this art? Apparently so. The macabre bifurcated bovine creation won top place in the 1995 Turner Prize art competition. This simple example reveals that, like judging the palatability of raw oysters, ranking the quality of art is highly subjective. Jason Allen entered a piece entitled “Théâtre D’opéra Spatial” and took home the first-place prize at Colorado State Fair’s Read More ›

block-chain-concept-chain-of-network-connections-3d-rendering-stockpack-adobe-stock
Block chain concept - Chain of network connections . 3d rendering
Type
post
Author
News
Date
September 7, 2022
Categorized
Cryptocurrency
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What Would a Financial System Based on Blockchain Look Like?

Adam Goad talks about key differences between banks and blockchains in what creates trust and privacy
News
September 7, 2022
15
Cryptocurrency

Could blockchain could decentralize finance by establishing trust and security without government regulations? In “What Is Decentralized Finance?” (September 1, 2022), computer engineers Adam Goad and Austin Egbert are back with Walter Bradley Center director (and computer engineering prof) Robert J. Marks to discuss how such a system might work. Or maybe not. It didn’t work with decentralized autonomous organizations… But then again, this might be simpler. A partial transcript, notes, and Additional Resources for the first half follow. What difference would decentralized banking make to the average customer? Robert J. Marks: When you pay Uber for a ride, you use a bank or a third party like PayPal, or Visa, or MasterCard, or something. Decentralized banking, hopefully, will let Read More ›

split self glasses
Multiple personality disorder concept
Type
post
Author
Denyse O'Leary
Date
September 7, 2022
Categorized
Neuroscience, Philosophy of Mind
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Another Philosopher Argues That the Unified Self Is an Illusion

At Closer to Truth, Lawrence Kuhn interviews Julian Baggini, who claims, in terms reminiscent of Thomas Metzinger, that a unified self is an illusion
Denyse O'Leary
September 7, 2022
7
Neuroscience, Philosophy of Mind

University of Kent philosopher Julian Baggini, author of The Great Guide: What David Hume can teach us about being human and living well (2021), was interviewed recently by Robert Lawrence Kuhn at Closer to Truth (September 1, 2022). In the interview, Dr. Baggini asserted that, while consciousness is not an illusion, a unified self that persists through time is: Here is a partial transcript, interspersed with questions that arise from the discussion: Robert Lawrence Kuhn: Julian, my own internal feeling of awareness my consciousness seems like the most obvious fundamental thing in the world. You tell me it’s an illusion Why? Julian Baggini: (0:11) To be honest, consciousness isn’t an illusion. I mean clearly there’s awareness of the world. I Read More ›

ultrasound-examination-of-the-head-examination-of-a-month-old-baby-stockpack-adobe-stock
Ultrasound examination of the head. Examination of a month old baby
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post
Author
News
Date
September 7, 2022
Categorized
Medicine and Health, Neuroscience, Philosophy of Mind
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Woman Missing Her Brain’s Language Lobe Pens New York Times Piece

Helen Santoro’s parents were told she would “never speak and would need to be institutionalized.” She became a science writer instead
News
September 7, 2022
4
Medicine and Health, Neuroscience, Philosophy of Mind

Children who suffer perinatal strokes may be left with large holes or lesions where brain regions should be. Many are severely disabled. But some are not disabled at all. One woman, Helen Santoro, was so little affected by the lack of a left temporal lobe that she got dropped from a research study of the aftermath. Now a science writer, she published an article last week in the New York Times about her efforts to understand and unravel the mystery. Perinatal stroke is often discovered, as in her case, when the newborn child has trouble with breathing or sucking reflexes. A brain scan showed “a huge hole’ where her left temporal lobe should have been, just above the ear. Because Read More ›

futuristic-workspace-with-sparkling-particles-floating-out-of-glowing-screen-digital-art-style-illustration-painting-stockpack-adobe-stock
futuristic workspace with sparkling particles floating out of glowing screen, digital art style, illustration painting
Type
post
Author
News
Date
September 6, 2022
Categorized
Artificial Intelligence, Arts & Culture, Creativity
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AI Wins a Prize at an Art Show. So Are Human Artists Finished?

A painting generated by a carefully crafted AI prompt won at Colorado’s State Fair digital art competition. Some artists wonder if they still have a job
News
September 6, 2022
6
Artificial Intelligence, Arts & Culture, Creativity

This painting, generated by artificial intelligence, “using a carefully crafted prompt,” won first prize at the Colorado State Fair’s fine art competition for digital arts: The award, which includes a $300 cash prize, was won by Jason Allen. While other candidates for the award used software like Photoshop and Illustrator to create original digital art by hand or alter photographs, Allen used an AI called Midjourney which can generate artworks or just about any kind of synthetic image from a mere line of text. The AI-generated artwork, which Allen calls “Théâtre D’opéra Spatial,” depicts a bizarre but intriguing scene from the distant future or some other world in which human figures are in awe as they stare into a huge Read More ›

china-taiwan-and-usa-flag-print-screen-to-microchip-on-electronic-board-for-symbol-of-military-conflict-war-and-economic-business-partnership-concept-stockpack-adobe-stock
China Taiwan and USA flag print screen to microchip on electronic board for symbol of military conflict war and economic business partnership concept.
Type
post
Author
Heather Zeiger
Date
September 6, 2022
Categorized
China, Economics, Global Technology, Politics
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Taiwan Has Bet Its Uncertain Future on Advanced Microchips

An increasingly belligerent China has long claimed to own Taiwan, which manufactures 90% of the world’s *advanced* microchips
Heather Zeiger
September 6, 2022
8
China, Economics, Global Technology, Politics

Taiwan is the world’s largest manufacturer of microchips*, and not just by a small margin. Taiwan manufactures 65% of the microchips used in everything from smartphones to missiles. This compares to the U.S. at 10% and China at 5%. South Korea and Japan produce the rest. More important, Taiwan manufactures 90% of the world’s advanced microchips. In other words, without Taiwan, the world’s supply of microchips would come to a standstill, something that has been keenly felt since 2021 when chip shortages affected the auto industry. So far, the world’s dependence on Taiwan’s chips has protected the self-governing island nation from a potential invasion or ruinous trade sanctions from China. Earlier, we looked at U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit Read More ›

religion-conflicts-global-issue-stockpack-adobe-stock
Religion conflicts global issue
Type
post
Author
Denyse O'Leary
Date
September 5, 2022
Categorized
Panpsychism, Religion, Spirituality
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Can Religion Without Belief “Make Perfect Sense”?

Philosopher Philip Goff, a prominent voice in panpsychism, also defends the idea of finding meaning in a religion we don’t really believe
Denyse O'Leary
September 5, 2022
5
Panpsychism, Religion, Spirituality

Durham University philosopher Philip Goff, co-editor of Is Consciousness Everywhere? Essays on Panpsychism (November 1, 2022), has an interesting take on religion. While it’s common to assume that religious people are “believers,” he thinks that people can meaningfully be part of a religion without actually believing in it: But there is more to a religion than a cold set of doctrines. Religions involve spiritual practices, traditions that bind a community together across space and time, and rituals that mark the seasons and the big moments of life: birth, coming of age, marriage, death. This is not to deny that there are specific metaphysical views associated with each religion, nor that there is a place for assessing how plausible those views Read More ›

abstract-ornate-illustration-stockpack-adobe-stock
abstract ornate illustration
Type
post
Author
Jonathan Bartlett
Date
September 5, 2022
Categorized
Education, Mathematics
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The Vector Algebra Wars: A Word in Defense of Clifford Algebra

A well-recognized, deep problem with using complex numbers as vectors is that they only really work with two dimensions
Jonathan Bartlett
September 5, 2022
5
Education, Mathematics

Vector algebra is the manipulation of directional quantities. Vector algebra is extremely important in physics because so many of the quantities involved are directional. If two cars hit each other at an angle, the resulting direction of the cars is based not only on the speed they were traveling, but also on the specific angle they were moving at. Even if you’ve never formally taken a course in vector algebra, you probably have some experience with the easiest form of vector algebra — complex numbers (i.e., numbers that include the imaginary number i). In a complex number, you no longer have a number line, but, instead, you have a number plane. The image below shows the relationship between the real Read More ›

set-of-red-glass-dice-isolated-on-black-background-3d-rendering-illustration-stockpack-adobe-stock
Set of red glass dice isolated on black background. 3d rendering - illustration.
Type
post
Author
Gary Smith
Date
September 5, 2022
Categorized
Business and Finance, Economics, Mathematics
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Don’t Worship Math: Numbers Don’t Equal Insight

The unwarranted assumption that investing in stocks is like rolling dice has led to some erroneous conclusions and extraordinarily conservative advice
Gary Smith
September 5, 2022
7
Business and Finance, Economics, Mathematics

My mentor, James Tobin, considered studying mathematics or law as a Harvard undergraduate but later explained that I studied economics and made it my career for two reasons. The subject was and is intellectually fascinating and challenging, particularly to someone with taste and talent for theoretical reasoning and quantitative analysis. At the same time it offered the hope, as it still does, that improved understanding could better the lot of mankind. I was an undergraduate math major (at Harvey Mudd, not Harvard) and chose economics for the much the same reasons. Mathematical theories and empirical data can be used to help us understand and improve the world. For example, during the Great Depression in the 1930s, governments everywhere had so Read More ›

man-atheist-throws-all-religions-in-the-trash-stockpack-adobe-stock
Man atheist throws all religions in the trash
Type
post
Author
Denyse O'Leary
Date
September 4, 2022
Categorized
Philosophy, Religion, Spirituality
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Analysis: Can “Communitarian Atheism” Really Work?

Ex-Muslim journalist Zeeshan Aleem, fearing that we are caught between theocracy and social breakdown, sees it as a possible answer
Denyse O'Leary
September 4, 2022
6
Philosophy, Religion, Spirituality

Zeeshan Aleem, an American journalist raised as a Muslim — but now an atheist — views his country as caught between “the twin crises of creeping theocracy and the death of conventional religion.” He seeks a new kind of atheism — communitarian atheism — as part of a solution: A rapidly increasing share of Americans are detaching from religious communities that provide purpose and forums for moral contemplation, and not necessarily finding anything in their stead. They’re dropping out of church and survey data suggests they’re disproportionately like to be checked out from civic life. Their trajectory tracks with a broader decades-long trend of secular life defined by plunging social trust, faith in institutions, and participation in civil society. My Read More ›

close-up-flying-small-lesser-horseshoe-bat-rhinolophus-hipposideros-hunting-night-moths-insect-pest-catching-in-darkness-via-ultrasound-echolocation-dark-background-detail-wildlife-animal-portrait-stockpack-adobe-stock
Close up flying small lesser horseshoe bat (Rhinolophus hipposideros) hunting night moths insect pest catching in darkness via ultrasound echolocation. Dark background detail wildlife animal portrait.
Type
post
Author
News
Date
September 3, 2022
Categorized
Human exceptionalism, Medicine and Health, Neuroscience
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There Really Is a “Batman” and He Isn’t in the Comics

Daniel Kish lost both eyes to cancer as a baby. With nothing to lose, he discovered human echolocation
News
September 3, 2022
4
Human exceptionalism, Medicine and Health, Neuroscience

Perhaps one should not really say that Daniel Kish “discovered” human echolocation. Yet, having no other options as a blind infant cancer survivor, he discovered early on — and began to publicize — a sense that few sighted persons would even think of: He calls his method FlashSonar or SonarVision. He elaborated for the BBC: Do people need to be blind to do it? Not necessarily: In 2021, a small study led by researchers at Durham University showed that blind and sighted people alike could learn to effectively use flash sonar in just 10 weeks, amounting to something like 40 to 60 hours of total training. By the end of it, some of them were even better at specific tests Read More ›

james-webb-space-telescope-in-space-elements-of-this-image-furnished-by-nasa-stockpack-adobe-stock
James Webb Space Telescope in Space
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post
Author
News
Date
September 3, 2022
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News From the Search for Extraterrestrial Life 3

The Webb gets a good closer look at an exoplanet
News
September 3, 2022
8

Exoplanets are hard to spot but the James Webb Space Telescope got an image of one (HIP 65426b), reported September 1: The planet is more than 10,000 times fainter than its host star and about 100 times farther from it than Earth is from the Sun (~93 million miles), so it easily could be spotted when the telescope’s coronagraphs removed the starlight. The exoplanet is between six and 12 times the mass of Jupiter—a range that could be narrowed once the data in these images is analyzed. The planet is only 15 million to 20 million years old, making it very young compared to our 4.5-billion-year-old Earth. Isaac Schultz, “See Webb Telescope’s First Images of an Exoplanet” at Gizmodo (September Read More ›

the-rainbow-colorful-multiverse-art-background-stockpack-adobe-stock
the rainbow colorful multiverse art background
Type
post
Author
Gary Varner
Date
September 3, 2022
Categorized
Arts & Culture, Science Fiction
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Madness: Why Sci-Fi Multiverse Stories Often Feel Boring

In a multiverse, every plot development, however implausible, is permitted because we know it won’t affect our return to the expected climax
Gary Varner
September 3, 2022
9
Arts & Culture, Science Fiction

Filmmakers communicate with audiences using common and accepted story devices (tropes) that viewers identify with — maybe the “average person takes the crown” or “love triangle.” Some tropes are overused or used in ways that undermine the story. In discussing what I think went wrong with Dr. Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (2022) and some similar films, I’ll use the word trope to refer to any story element that is used to push the plot. I find four tropes particularly annoying: the Multiverse, Time Travel, the Liar Revealed, and the MacGuffin Chase. Because I’ve just finished reviewing Multiverse of Madness, let’s start with the Multiverse trope. Before reviewing the Dr. Strange sequel, I’d written an essay, “Dr. Strange: Can Read More ›