Mind Matters Natural and Artificial Intelligence News and Analysis

Denyse O'Leary

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Spaceship flies near the amazing blue planet earth, view from the window. Travel and tourists in space, concept. Beautiful space view of the Earth with cloud formation. Hotel in space

A Challenge to Pale Blue Dot-ology: Earth Is Significant

The “pale blue dot lost in space” view of Earth seems to brand science as an intellectual property of materialist atheism. And evidence isn’t what keeps it going
Perhaps more of us should start calling out these assumptions that arise not from observing nature but from the intellectual commitments of those who make them. Read More ›
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Blue glowing quantum correlation

Has Physics Pounded a New Nail in the Coffin of Materialism?

Cognitive scientist Donald Hoffman says that matter is now known not to be fundamental but that fact is taking a while to catch on
Continued failure to materialize the mind could be the beginning of a serious reckoning with the problems that physicalism and materialism represent. Read More ›
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Bearded neanderthal man sits by fire in cave at night, caveman and bonfire on dark background. Concept of Homo sapiens, prehistoric era, primitive, ancient, Stone Age

Study: Neanderthals invented their own tech, didn’t copy others

The team suggests that their find shows that Neanderthals were able to plan ahead, not only in making the tool, but in the way it was used. Read More ›
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Pathways of the prefrontal cortex controlling decision-making shown in a nervous system diagram.

What Did the Multi-Year Consciousness Study Really Find?

Surprisingly, the joint research teams found that the prefrontal cortex, the “personality center,” may not be as important for consciousness as we think
The demotion of the prefrontal cortex in consciousness is remarkable in the light of other researchers’ view that it is practically what makes us human. Read More ›
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Common two-banded seabream (Diplodus vulgaris)

Fish Can Recognize Individual Humans — But What Does That Imply?

Wild fish told the divers apart by their diving gear when they could gain a food reward for doing so
Now that we better appreciate the clever ways fish find food, we should not lurch into a relentless search for human mental and emotional qualities in them. Read More ›
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journalist, reporter, dedicated storytellers of world, news and information, era of rapid media evolution, well-informed, microphone TV television press communication role online.

Old-fashioned journalists aren’t dead; they’re on Substack

There is no turning back. The historically Democrat-leaning legacy media are losing voters even among young Democrats. Read More ›
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Mushroom growing in a landscape of a strange exoplanet

ET Doesn’t Need to Exist in Order to Do His Real Job

His real job seems to be to support a lame argument about why humans are not exceptional. But the very idea of his existence works just as well
The search for ET itself does the philosophical work of attempting to deflate human “self-importance.” Finding anything is a bonus. Read More ›
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Charles Darwin observing Ape skulls

Salvo: The Facts and Fictions of the Scopes Monkey Trial

Society has changed so much that biologists face trouble not for believing in Darwinism but for believing in the reality of biology
The biologists who would pride themselves on enthroning Darwinism as a public truth a century ago find that what is publicly true no long even matters the way it used to. Read More ›
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Neuron cell close-up 3D rendering illustration with nervous impulses along dendrites, axon, soma and nucleus. Neuronal brain activity, neuroscience, neurology, anatomy, medicine concepts.

Does Our Humanity Really Depend on “Concept Cells”?

A recently discovered type of brain cell, thought to be unique to humans, codes for a variety of types of information around a single concept
It’s a lot to ask of one type of cell, however unique, that it be what makes humans more intelligent than chimpanzees and that it create language. Read More ›
Free-Will-Mikhail-Adobe-Stock-285512869

A Neurosurgeon Makes the Neuroscience Case for Free Will

Michael Egnor is concerned about the serious social implications of denying free will
Insisting that there is no free will amounts to declaring “I’m a meat robot, so take seriously what I’m saying.” That’s self-refuting nonsense, Dr. Egnor says. Read More ›
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A detailed image of a laboratory white mouse on a structure that mimics neural pathways, highlighting the role of DNA sequencing and genetic research in neuroscience 8K , high-resolution, ultra HD,up3

The Nearly Unfathomable Complexity of Even a Mouse’s Brain

Mapping a small part of a mouse's brain required 1.6 petabytes of data, which is equivalent to 22 years of nonstop high-definition video
If it takes a hundred scientists to map a cubic millimetre of a mouse’s brain, even the material world — never mind the immaterial world of the mind — is not likely to have a simple explanation. Read More ›
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Smart Turtle with Glasses: A Hilarious and Adorable Reptile Portrait

Reptilian Renaissance: How Did Reptiles Develop Intelligence?

Scientists used to think reptiles were dumb but then they looked more closely
Maybe if we are looking for general principles underlying the development of intelligence, we would be wise to leave evolution out of it for a bit. Read More ›
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Highly detailed close up portrait of an adult Raven in Yellowstone National Park, species name Corvus corax

At Quanta: High Bird Intelligence Developed on a Different Path

High intelligence developing on different paths is consistent with convergent evolution. It’s also consistent with design in nature
It is ironic that otherwise intelligent people must play the “we’re just another animal” game while demanding attention for ideas that only humans can give. Read More ›
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3d rendered illustration of the human brain anatomy

Did the Enlargement of the Human Brain Depend on Two Genes?

The genes, unique to humans, spurred brain growth when introduced in mice and chimpanzee stem cells
While it is quite true that the human brain is very large by animal standards, there is no simple one-on-one relationship between brain size and intelligence. Read More ›
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Businesswoman interviewed for a podcast

Information Imperialism: The Battle for Free Access Heats Up

Headline incidents are only one part of an international trend toward attempted government control of the news stream
Regardless of who emerges as the victor in the battle between government censors and independent creators, the traditional media landscape is now history. Read More ›
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a sticky note with an angry face drawn on it by a disgruntled employee

Facebook Ends Fact-Checking, Moves to Community Notes Format

Top executive admits that there was "too much political bias" at Facebook, Instagram, Threads…
For the social media user at X, the advantage of a Community Notes approach is that the volunteer contributors address specific claims, not overall worldviews. Read More ›
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Exploring the intricacies of human cognition a dual brain representation in artistic form

Can One Person Really Have Two Different Consciousnesses?

The idea that split-brain surgery can create two separate minds is immortal — in science fiction
Real-world research shows the remarkable resilience of damaged brains housing single minds. Our brains are full of complexities and exceptions to rules. Read More ›