^ArchiveArticles

^{Type
post

Author
News
Date
November 1, 2022

Categorized
Artificial Intelligence, Physics

Tagged
AI and classical mechanics problems, Tom Hartsfield}

AI, It Turns Out, Is Not Currently a Very Good Physicist

_{A physicist takes issue with a research paper’s claims which inspired an IFL headline, “An AI May Have Just Invented ‘Alternative’ Physics”} _{News

November 1, 2022

2

Artificial Intelligence, Physics}

Physicist Tom Hartsfield, commenting on a new paper, takes issue with its claim that “Without any prior knowledge of the underlying physics, our algorithm discovers the intrinsic dimension of the observed dynamics and identifies candidate sets of state variables.” That doesn’t seem to have happened. The problem set for the computer was a classical mechanics one: For a pendulum hanging on another pendulum, compute the number of variables needed for a solution: This problem requires two variables — the angle of each pendulum to the vertical — or four variables if a Cartesian (xy) coordinate system is used. If both pendulum bobs are hung from springs instead of rigid rods, the two variable spring lengths are added to get six Read More ›

A sad young female student sitting at the table, studying.

^{Type
post

Author
News
Date
November 1, 2022

Categorized
Education, Mathematics, Neuroscience

Tagged
Barbara Oakley, Fred Bech, Kumon math, Mathematics education (difficulty learning math), Mathematics education and practice, Neuroplasticity and learning new skills}

Can We Rewire Our Brains To Be More Fluent in Math?

_{An artsy who flunked math — but later became an electrical engineering prof — says yes} _{News

November 1, 2022

5

Education, Mathematics, Neuroscience}

Barbara Oakley, a self-confessed math phobe, nonetheless became a professor of electrical engineering at Oakland University in Michigan, as well as an author. In 2014, she offered some secrets: at Nautilus. Be warned: Her secrets are not “Forget homework!” or “Math is a tool of oppression!” No, this is quite a different message. It’s about neuroplasticity, the ways our brains adapt to our circumstances, to give us the tools we need. But to adapt, the brain needs practice: Japan has become seen as a much-admired and emulated exemplar of these active, “understanding-centered” teaching methods. But what’s often missing from the discussion is the rest of the story: Japan is also home of the Kumon method of teaching mathematics, which emphasizes Read More ›

Left and Right Human Brain Anatomy Illustration. 3D rendering

^{Type
post

Author
News
Date
November 1, 2022

Categorized
Medicine and Health, Neuroscience, Philosophy of Mind

Tagged
Hemispherectomy, Hemispherectomy and cognition test performance, Left brain vs. right brain concept, neuroplasticity, Neuroplasticity in children vs. adults}

Study: Loss of Half the Brain Doesn’t Mean No Word, Face Contact

_{Researchers astounded: Contrary to theory, in a recent study, the single remaining brain hemisphere supported both word and face reading functions} _{News

November 1, 2022

4

Medicine and Health, Neuroscience, Philosophy of Mind}

Some children have half of their brains removed (hemispherectomy) to control massive seizures that would otherwise destroy the child’s whole brain. Specialists were surprised that the children functioned fairly normally — certainly compared to what would have been expected. A recent study of post-hemispherectomy patients has provided dramatic evidence of rewiring: An unprecedented study of brain plasticity and visual perception found that people who, as children, had undergone surgery removing half of their brain correctly recognized differences between pairs of words or faces more than 80% of the time. Considering the volume of removed brain tissue, the surprising accuracy highlights the brain’s capacity — and its limitations — to rewire itself and adapt to dramatic surgery or traumatic injury. The Read More ›

^{Type
post

Author
Denyse O'Leary
Date
October 31, 2022

Categorized
Censorship, Social Media

Tagged
Babylon Bee on Twitter, Blue Checkmark (Twitter), Censorship on Twitter and Musk, Chris Stokel-Walker, Christopher Bouzy, Elon Musk as Chief Twit, Elon Musk as despised by tech press, Parag Agrawal, Paul du Quenoy, Sean Edgett, Twitter (and Elon Musk), Vijaya Gadde}

With Elon Musk as “Chief Twit,” a flurry of changes is expected

_{Musk hopes for a “common digital town square, where a wide range of beliefs can be debated in a healthy manner, without resorting to violence”} _{Denyse O'Leary

October 31, 2022

4

Censorship, Social Media}

Well, Musk, carrying a kitchen sink, has assumed control of Twitter (it became official Thursday night): Entering Twitter HQ – let that sink in! pic.twitter.com/D68z4K2wq7 — Elon Musk (@elonmusk) October 26, 2022 According to some, the world is tumbling over a cliff… Paul du Quenoy, president of the Palm Beach Freedom Institute was in a position to be at Twitter HQ at the time: Sullen employees entering the building during our visit had nothing to share. None made eye contact as they plodded by. Those who presented as female performed determined “take back the night” walks, delicately balancing cold avoidance with an unconvincing pretense of fearlessness. Musk seems to be following a methodical course as he reshapes social media, but Read More ›

Teenage boy doing homework using computer sitting by desk in room alone

^{Type
post

Author
Gary Smith
Date
October 31, 2022

Categorized
Artificial Intelligence, Education

Tagged
AI critical thinking skills tested, Critical thinking skills and AI, Education and online homework, Featured, GPT-3 and school essays, Jeremy Roschelle}

What Does AI in Education Mean for Critical Thinking Skills?

_{Students, as reported at Motherboard, are increasingly using GPT-3 and other text-generator programs to write essays for them} _{Gary Smith

October 31, 2022

5

Artificial Intelligence, Education}

The COVID pandemic pushed a lot of school coursework to the internet, with an increased reliance on true/false and multiple-choice tests that can be taken online and graded quickly and conveniently. Not surprisingly, once questions went online, so did answers, with several companies posting (for a fee) solutions for students who would rather Google answers than watch Zoomed lectures. To fit into a true/false or multiple-choice format, the questions are generally little more than a recitation of definitions, facts, and calculations. Here, for example, are three statistics questions I found at a question/answer site: Question: True or false: A group of subjects selected from the group of all subjects under study is called a sample. Answer: True Question: You are Read More ›

^{Type
post

Author
News
Date
October 30, 2022

Categorized
Artificial Intelligence, Religion, Transhumanism

Tagged
2084 (book), Abolition of Man (book), Bible and transhumanism, C. S. Lewis, Featured, Francis Fukuyama, John Lennox, John Lennox on transhumanism, Juval Noah Harari and transhumanism, Max Tegmark on transhumanism, New Soviet Man, Science Uprising series, That Hideous Strength (book), The End of History, Tower of Babel and transhumanism, Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil}

John Lennox: Transhumanism Versus Traditional Humans

_{In the second part of his bonus feature for Science Uprising, Oxford mathematician Lennox compares transhumanism with traditional claims to transcend humanity} _{News

October 30, 2022

10

Artificial Intelligence, Religion, Transhumanism}

In the second part of Oxford mathematician John Lennox’s bonus interview for the Science Uprising series, “John Lennox on the Transhumanist Claim AI Will Turn Humans into Gods” (October 17, 2022), Lennox talks about claims that we will merge with computers (artificial intelligence) to achieve immortality. How plausible is that? Lennox is the author of 2084:: Artificial Intelligence and the Future of Humanity (2020). A partial transcript and notes for the second half follow (the first half is here): The AI concept of transhumanism? (13:45) John Lennox: The origin of the word “transhumanism,” interestingly enough, is not secular at all. It wasn’t first used by a scientist but it was used in a translation of one of the books of Read More ›

Nebula Milkyway and galaxies in space 3D

^{Type
post

Author
News
Date
October 29, 2022

Tagged
Deinococcus radiodurans, Design inference and extraterrestrials, Exoplanets (life on exoplanets), Extraterrestrial life, Fine-tuning of universe for life, Mars (water), Silicon-based life, Unidentified aerial phenomena (UAPs), Uranus}

News From the Search for Extraterrestrial Life 11

_{One paper says the planets around Trappist-1 may be more habitable than first thought but another says that planets around M-stars may be less so…} _{News

October 29, 2022

9}

Our universe: Three challenging ideas: A challenge to Newton’s laws of gravity: “An international team of astrophysicists has made a puzzling discovery while analyzing certain star clusters. The finding challenges Newton’s laws of gravity, the researchers write in their publication. Instead, the observations are consistent with the predictions of an alternative theory of gravity. However, this is controversial among experts.” – ScienceDaily (October 22, 2022) We know we are getting somewhere when we find out things we didn’t expect. The paper requires a fee or subscription. Is a new anomaly affecting the entire Universe? “The most puzzling, unexplained anomaly in all of cosmology is the Hubble tension: the difference in the measured expansion rate depending on which method is used. Read More ›

^{Type
post

Author
Gary Varner
Date
October 29, 2022

Categorized
Arts & Culture, Relationships, Science Fiction

Tagged
Bortus (character in the Orville series), Ed (character in The Orville), Featured, Gordon Malloy (character in Orville series), Individuality (erasure in science fiction), Kelly Grayson (character in Orville series), Orville Season 3 Episode 3, Talla (character in the Orville series)}

The Orville Crew Sails Into Hallucinations From Deathless Beings

_{The ETs’ Big Message is: Ignore such labels as man, husband, captain, explorer because they are all irrelevant. Embrace loss of individuality and sculpt the cosmos!} _{Gary Varner

October 29, 2022

10

Arts & Culture, Relationships, Science Fiction}

As with Episode 2, Episode 3 of The Orville, Season 3, starts out with a great deal of promise only to completely fall apart at the end. However, I will say that — of all the episodes so far — the beginning of this story felt the most like Star Trek, in the sense that an anomaly shows up on the scanners, followed by a quirky scenario which promises a great deal of mystery to come. The crew detects a civilization on a planet that was previously understood to be desolate. Ed, Kelly, Talla, Bortus, and Gordon all land on the planet to find a lush forest and a high school. They enter the high school and are immediately trapped Read More ›

Portrait of happy black woman working in bookstore and looking at camera.

^{Type
post

Author
Denyse O'Leary
Date
October 28, 2022

Categorized
Censorship, Media

Tagged
Amy Coney Barrett, Amy Coney Barrett and depublishing, Depublishing, Jordan Peterson, Roe v. Wade and Dobbs}

Publishing: The Cancel Mob Targets Amy Coney Barrett’s New Book

_{Does the future of publishing — as an intellectual enterprise — now belong to smaller, less well-known publishers?} _{Denyse O'Leary

October 28, 2022

6

Censorship, Media}

Last year, Mind Matters News covered the new phenomenon of publishing house staff going to war against the publisher’s own books. It’s a far cry from the days when publishers might have to defend their books in a courtroom. Last year the target was, among other authors, best-selling psychologist Jordan Peterson. We were informed by Maclean’s Magazine that “Employees at Penguin Random House Canada speak out on how they’re rethinking their workplaces and why publishing, writ large, should weigh its moral responsibilities” in connection with Peterson’s latest, Beyond Order: 12 More Rules for Life (Penguin 2021). The book did get published, despite them, to five star reviews. But Cancel Culture staff continue to lead the charge for “depublishing” and have Read More ›

types of coffee placed to taste or smell

^{Type
post

Author
Richard W. Stevens
Date
October 28, 2022

Categorized
Neuroscience, Philosophy of Mind

Tagged
Featured, Flavor and other senses, Flavor and smell, Flavor detection and algorithmic design, Human brain's flavor detection, Human flavor sensitivity}

Designed to Dine, Part 2: How, Exactly, We Compute Flavor

_{Once a universally enjoyed but scientifically ignored phenomenon, flavor bursts out as an extraordinary event of a biological computer} _{Richard W. Stevens

October 28, 2022

7

Neuroscience, Philosophy of Mind}

Since Part 1 of this article was served up, have you experienced food and drink with greater awareness of flavor? Part 1 laid out the elements of flavor, including the smell, taste, texture, and mouth feel of foods and drinks. Smell delivers 80% of what we experience as flavor, coming from the thousands of sensory nerves in our noses detecting individual molecules. From the tongue comes taste sensations of sweet, salty, sour, bitter, and umami (savory). Flavor is like a dynamic 3-D hologram, a multi-dimensional composition of sensory inputs fluctuating in real-time, all delivered as data to the brain for final processing. Flavor makes eating fun! The Computation of Yummy The complicated and integrated systems of smell, taste, and other Read More ›

stately Bengal Male Cat with beautiful spots Standing and Looking up on Isolated Black Background, Front view, Gorgerous breed

^{Type
post

Author
Denyse O'Leary
Date
October 28, 2022

Categorized
Natural Intelligence

Tagged
Carly Cassella, Cats, Cats and human voices, Cats and information, Charlotte de Mouzon, Ed Cara}

Researchers: Cats Do Recognize and Respond To Our Voices

_{If you are a cat’s human friend, he cares when you talk to him. Whether he will, or even can, do what you want is a separate question} _{Denyse O'Leary

October 28, 2022

8

Natural Intelligence}

Do cats care whether we talk to them or not? In a recent study, animal cognition experts found that cats may change their behavior when their “humans” are talking in a tone directed to them. But they don’t react the same way to a stranger who is talking that way or when the voice is directed elsewhere. Charlotte de Mouzon and colleagues from Université Paris Nanterre (Nanterre, France) investigated the way 16 cats reacted to “pre-recorded voices from both their owner and that of a stranger when saying phrases in cat-directed and human adult-directed tones.” With adult-directed tones, no “endearing” kitty talk is used. It might not be clear who the intended recipient of the message is, apart from what Read More ›

Excalibur in graduation hat on stone at sunset day. Congratulate the graduates or education congratulation or academic freedom concept. 3D illustration

^{Type
post

Author
Denyse O'Leary
Date
October 27, 2022

Categorized
Censorship, Peer Review, Politics, Science

Tagged
Academic freedom, Academic freedom cnference banning media, Academic Freedom Conference (Stanford 2022), Cancel Culture at universities, Colleen Flaherty, Eric Hedin, Jerry Coyne and academic freedom, Peter Thiel and academic freedom, Science and Cancel Culture}

Stanford’s Academic Freedom Conference Slammed by Academics

_{Opponents are angered by the fact that, although the conference will be live-streamed, it is by invitation only and no media are allowed} _{Denyse O'Leary

October 27, 2022

6

Censorship, Peer Review, Politics, Science}

Stanford Business School’s academic freedom conference, starting next week and headlined by tech entrepreneur Peter Thiel, is coming under fire. The organizers argue, Faculty organizers of the conference, from Stanford and several other institutions, promote it as follows: “Academic freedom, open inquiry, and freedom of speech are under threat as they have not been for decades. Visibly, academics are ‘canceled,’ fired, or subject to lengthy disciplinary proceedings in response to academic writing or public engagement. Less visibly, funding agencies, university bureaucracies, hiring procedures, promotion committees, professional organizations, and journals censor some kinds of research or demand adherence to political causes. Many parts of universities have become politicized or have turned into ideological monocultures, excluding people, ideas, or kinds of work Read More ›

Table filled with snacks and traditional eastern European (Lithuanian) food for a feast celebration.

^{Type
post

Author
Richard W. Stevens
Date
October 27, 2022

Categorized
Neuroscience, Philosophy of Mind

Tagged
Featured, Flavor (how detected), Food and our senses, Senses and food, Smell (how it works), Taste (how it works), Tongue and taste}

Designed to Dine: Humans are Computers of Flavor

_{Food itself has no flavor at all. Flavor is in the sensations — really the brain — of the beholder (and taster)} _{Richard W. Stevens

October 27, 2022

7

Neuroscience, Philosophy of Mind}

Whether you’re a professional gourmet, a self-styled “foodie,” or an everyday North American who likes to eat, you probably look forward to celebration dinners. At any feast on Thanksgiving, Christmas, Easter, or the Passover Seder, the focal feature is the food. It doesn’t occur to us to ask: How do we sense the flavors of the food? After all, the food itself has no flavor at all. Flavor is in the mouth — and the nose, tongue, eyes, inner ears, and really the brain — of the beholder. Venture to learn how human beings enjoy food, and you’ll discover exquisite evidence of intelligent design. Like so many biological systems, detecting flavor involves specialized hardware components and the corresponding software to Read More ›

Military artificial intelligence arms race to produce an AI enabled army with autonomous robot soldiers and weapon systems, conceptual illustration

^{Type
post

Author
Peter Biles
Date
October 27, 2022

Categorized
Artificial Intelligence

Tagged
Artificial Intelligence, Autonomous drones, Culture, military technology, Robots, Technology, warfare}

Robots, Drones, and Modern Warfare

_{Robots might not take over the world like the sci-fi movies depict, but AI in modern warfare threatens much destruction} _{Peter Biles

October 27, 2022

4

Artificial Intelligence}

You might remember the blockbuster movie I, Robot (2004) starring Will Smith, who plays a tough-minded homicide detective named Del Spooner in Chicago in the year 2035. Humanoid robots serve humanity and have become incorporated into society. Still, ever since a robot saved Del at the expense of a little girl, he hates them and thinks they will eventually overrun the world. I, Robot imagines a society in which AI could physically overtake humanity. The technology we’ve created for our own use ends up using us, unto our own destruction. Movies like I, Robot, Terminator, and others envision sentient, human-like robots that threaten to jeopardize the meaning of being human. But is that the real danger of AI, or does Read More ›

industry 4.0 concept: Man is holding product and teaching robot arm the points with control panel ( teach pendant ) on smart factory production line background. Selective Focus.

^{Type
post

Author
Robert J. Marks and Keri Ingraham
Date
October 26, 2022

Categorized
Education

Tagged
Artificial Intelligence, education, Job Displacement, Learning}

Preparing Students to Work in an Artificial Intelligence World

_{Robert J. Marks and Keri Ingraham

October 26, 2022

5

Education}

Technology innovations are rapidly changing the nature of work. Advancements in artificial intelligence are especially transforming the workforce landscape at an accelerating rate. Jobs of tomorrow will not resemble those of decades past, nor even those of today. Read More ›

Giant surveillance camera spies a man. No secrets, no privacy concept. 3D rendering

^{Type
post

Author
News
Date
October 26, 2022

Categorized
Censorship, China, Creativity

Tagged
Bridge Man protests, China protest methods, Free Asia Radio, Hu Jintao, Xi Jinping}

Protest in China: “Don’t Want” and “Old Hen” Take On New Meaning

_{When former President Hu Jintao was escorted out of the Party Congress a couple of days ago, all reference to the matter disappeared from the official web} _{News

October 26, 2022

4

Censorship, China, Creativity}

Recently, we have been following the creative protest methods used in China, in the wake of the Chinese Communist party’s five-year meeting that confirmed Xi Jinping for an unusual third term, while the former president Hu Jintao was escorted out by security. A much harder line on many things, including foreign affairs, is expected to follow. Because China is a very high-tech surveillance state, it is difficult for citizens to use usual online communication methods to discuss, register dissatisfaction with, or express worry over government decisions. The unconventional methods adopted are worth noting. Free Asia Radio reports that two young women were walking down a street in Shanghai, holding a white banner that read “Don’t want, want — Don’t want, Read More ›

^{Type
post

Author
News
Date
October 26, 2022

Categorized
Business and Finance, Censorship, Social Media

Tagged
Alternative news media (Pew study), Billy Perigo, Carlos Slim and New York Times, Elon Musk (and Twitter), J. D. Vance and Rumble, Jeff Bezos and Washington Post, Peter Thiel and Rumble, Rumble stats, Social media (new owners 2022), Twitter employees oppose Musk, Ye West buying Parler}

Control of Social Media: Changes in the Lineup

_{Not just Elon Musk but Ye West, Peter Thiel, and J.D. Vance have their hats in the ring} _{News

October 26, 2022

5

Business and Finance, Censorship, Social Media}

The social media field is seeing a wave of insurgents — not because it is profitable (it largely isn’t, just now) but perhaps because control is important for other purposes. Of course, whether we want to or not, we must begin with Musk and Twitter. Tech entrepreneur Elon Musk must now acquire Twitter by October 28 or the whole thing goes back to trial in a Delaware court, where the judiciary will likely be peeved with him over antics that waste court time. The only people who are really unhappy now are Twitter employees. Musk announced an intention to lay off 75% of them and they have responded with an open letter: The letter demands that Musk commits to preserving Read More ›

^{Type
post

Author
Denyse O'Leary
Date
October 25, 2022

Categorized
Medicine and Health, Philosophy of Mind

Tagged
Angelman syndrome, Angie Voles Askham, Gaboxadol, Ovid Therapeutics, Placebo effect, Placebo effect (how it works), Placebo effect and reality of the mind, Rebecca Burdine, Ted Kaptchuk}

Placebo: The Power of the Human Mind Confounds Medical Research

_{Angelman syndrome, which creates a variety of developmental problems, has proven a challenge for researchers on that account} _{Denyse O'Leary

October 25, 2022

6

Medicine and Health, Philosophy of Mind}

We don’t often hear about researchers crying but when researchers at Ovid Therapeutics heard the test results for their drug, gaboxadol, they couldn’t help it. They were testing the sleep-inducing drug to help with the symptoms of Angelman Syndrome, a rare neurogenetic disorder that appears in infancy. It results in a variety of developmental problems such as walking and balance disorders, inability to speak or sleep properly, gastrointestinal issues, and seizures. It affects people in different ways and to different degrees. Notably, those who cope with Angelman smile and laugh a lot and have a normal lifespan. The OVID team had high hopes for gaboxadol in August of this year because even improving the quality of sleep would help sufferers Read More ›