Mind Matters Natural and Artificial Intelligence News and Analysis

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a-young-woman-holding-the-hand-of-an-old-woman-in-a-hospital-bed-black-and-white-stockpack-adobe-stock
A young woman holding the hand of an old woman in a hospital bed, black and white

Did Gavin Newsom Witness His Mother’s Murder?

A memoir reveals the governor’s most personal account yet: his mother’s decision to end her life.

Despite the obvious emotional pain caused in witnessing his mother’s killing, Newsom says that he strongly supports legalizing assisted suicide.

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abstract illustration of the cosmos on the theme of the origin of life in the universe with stars, comets and nebulae

2010: The Year We Make Contact Review Part 1

When explaining the mystery becomes the real mistake

For the fans of 2001, the mystery is the point, and for those more devoted to secular causes, the concept of aliens as divine beings is the point.

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Glass lightbulb with golden gears inside, set against a backdrop of mathematical equations, symbolizing innovation, problem-solving, and the mechanics of ideas

Toward a True — and Also Scientific — Picture of the Human Mind

Alexander Batthyány offers a personal anecdote about Nobel Prize-winning neuroscientist Sir John Eccles that might help point the way

Batthyány also expressed concern that a non-material/spiritual understanding of topics like terminal lucidity risks being taken over today by New Age nonsense.

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Stained glass church windows illuminate floor

The Thin Spaces of Our Lives Where Strange Things Do Happen

In the discussion with Batthyány, Egnor suggested that people who inexplicably become more lucid near death are drawing closer to the light of God.

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Movie premiere concept with clapperboard, popcorn on yellow background top view space for text

Can AI Save Theaters?

A YouTuber’s micro‑budget thriller just went the distance against Disney’s latest heavyweight.

The A-list actor has become a thing of the past. Hollywood decided to focus on adapting franchises rather than promoting their actors, and because of this, most of the few A-list actors who remain have been grandfathered in. They are survivors of an old era.

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Businessman looking at a magnifying glass over a network of small people.

Consciousness… a Computer or a Magnifying Glass?

At ID the Future, Egnor and Batthyány offer some further thoughts on the ongoing mystery: How does the human mind clear at the point of death?

Neither shortage of oxygen nor the presence of relatives account for the sudden release from confusion or dementia.

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Busy surgeons over the operating table

Woman Euthanized and Her Face Transplanted in Spain

Do you see what happened? There were apparently no efforts at suicide prevention to keep the patient in life

From what the story discloses, the primary focus of the medical team became the 3-D planning and preparation for the surgery after the killing.

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Female hands with newspapers on color background

Washington Post Fires Hundreds of Journalists

The Post has struggled in recent years and even saw a major dip in subscriptions back in 2024

Owner Jeff Bezos has not yet succeeded in making the company financially viable in a time when so much media and journalism is now being independently created.

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Cornell University

An Evening With Michael Egnor at Cornell

The linked talk alone was worth coming to hear, but the Q&A truly did not disappoint

Egnor continued to reference the scientific research at the foundation of his talk and repeatedly challenged his questioners.

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A close-up shot of a clear crystal ball with a rainbow spectrum inside casting a shadow

How Sudden Lucidity at Death Became a Science Topic

Psychologist Alexander Batthyány and neurosurgeon Michael Egnor discuss the implications of clear consciousness despite deadly illness

Serious research on terminal lucidity will immensely damage the sort of materialism that Harvard psychologist Steven Pinker champions.

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professional health care researchers working in life of medical science laboratory, technology of medicine chemistry lap experiment for hospital

Animal Research Points to Potential Pancreatic Cancer Cure

Balancing compassion with the scientific realities behind lifesaving medical progress

I am eager for the number of animals used in experiments to be reduced as much as possible — but only to an extent consistent with assuring scientific progress.

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Wolf Spider

Do Spiders Dream of Arachnology Professors?

How did the spider know that the mirror on my car would attract its prey during daytime hours?

But webs aside, consider the other strange, sometimes ingenious, tiny creatures/organisms, like a colony of termites, that produce astonishing land structures.

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Woman teaching art to a robot

McDiarmid: The Critical Flaw in Thinking AI Can Do Just Anything

At the Chicago Tribune, he asks readers to recognize what is missing from the mix

Russian philosopher Nikolai Berdyaev long ago argued that human creativity springs from freedom — just what machines do not have.

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Law and Justice in United States of America
Law and Justice in United States of America

‘Detransitioner’ Wins $2 Million Medical-Malpractice Lawsuit

Case raises new scrutiny over medical oversight in irreversible procedures for minors.

The case did not challenge the general propriety of such “care” of minors with gender dysphoria, but alleged it was not appropriate in Fox’s particular case.

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Two brown and white cows

Proposed Oregon Initiative Would Outlaw Animal Agriculture and Hunting

Behind the cruelty‑free branding lies a campaign to dismantle farming and hunting

We believe everyone should be equally protected under the law, and that all animals deserve equal consideration, regardless of whether or not we consider them our companions. All animals deserve a life free from cruelty.

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Woman reading book at evening at home close up

The Decline of K-12 Literacy and What Might Help

An emphasis on storytelling might at least partially serve as a solution in K-12.

High school students struggle in places afflicted with poverty, family breakdown, and other social woes. However, it doesn’t necessarily follow that students from wealthier regions are demonstrating academic excellence.

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