ArchiveArticles
Consciousness Blurs the Line Between Philosophy and Science
In contrast to the New Age emphasis on self-realization as an end in itself, the theistic approach sees self-awareness as a gateway to understanding our dependence on the divine
The Genius of Paul Johnson: Remembering a Peerless Historian
Johnson offered penetrating critiques of the personalities, currents of thought, and events that shaped life today
Basta! Italy’s Bioethics Committee Urges Blocking Puberty Blockers
It's becoming a trend and the United States may well follow suit
Physicists propose to test the finetuning of the universe
Their thesis is based on cosmic inflation theory and on the behavior of dark matter, whose nature remains unknown.
Terminator 3: A Troubled Movie That’s Hard to Find
Here’s an odd little problem I encountered while preparing for this review: Difficulty even finding the movie in order to review it
In Machines We Trust
In an age of AI, who stands up for humans?If you believe the media, AI has made both of us obsolete. We need to resign ourselves to an age of “thinking machines” in which human guidance and creativity are superfluous. This kind of thinking is false — and dangerous. AI will never become conscious. It will never truly be autonomous. It will always require human input and control. But if we treat AI as if it can be autonomous, we will open the door to the kind of manipulation and tyranny warned about by C.S. Lewis in his classic book The Abolition of Man. Unfortunately, there are few voices in the public square right now offering a sane assessment of both the capabilities and limits of AI. As a Read More ›
The Man Behind the First Billion-Dollar AI Business
Robert Hecht-Nielsen (1947‒2019) was a significant figure in the second wave of AI. His company specialized in fraud detection
Is Bluesky Any Better than X? Social Media’s Real Problem Remains
Whatever platform it is, social media will always have toxicity
First Federal Report on Drone Sightings Flunks Credibility Test
Whether reports are human- or AI-generated, they need careful scrutiny
NYT Column: Factory Farms Are Good for People and the Planet
Journalist Michael Grunwald points out that factory farming means fewer natural spaces are cleared for farmland than would otherwise be the case
Australia’s Social Media Ban and Children’s Mental Health
An Australian psychiatrist hopes that his job might become easier in the future due to Australia's coming ban on underage use of social media
The Drones Continue to Hover
Mystery drones have been sighted in New Jersey and other states
What, Exactly, Does Your Brain Do? What Can’t It Do?
A surprising result of pioneering neurosurgery was the discovery that some mental processes could be stimulated in the brain but others could not be
A Thought Experiment on the Mind, the Brain — and AI
In a crowded AI marketplace, a nerd confronts a philosopher on subject of the human mind
Micro Softy 5: The Puzzle of Claude and Chloe’s Two Kids
Also, here’s the answer to the puzzle of how, twelve years earlier, Claude escaped the trap Clifton Clowers set for him, so he could marry Chloe
Why Scientism is A Dead End for Science As Well As Philosophy
Canadian journalist Patrick Keeney’s thoughts on the topic — just as the Notre Dame fire smoldered out — are well worth revisiting
Questionable Study on Assisted Suicide and Suicide Correlation
Bioethicists find a way to make suicides "disappear" from a study
The Surprising Connection Between Oppenheimer and Interstellar
The connection hinges on plutonium, a source of power for spacecraft. It shows how much detail goes into well-done sci-fi films