Denyse O'Leary
Once Again: Near-Death Experiences as Possum Tales
In the recent Scientific American article, we learn once again that NDEs evolved as a human way of “playing dead”
Scientific American: Near-Death Experiences Compared To Drug Trip
Now that NDEs are accepted as a clinical fact, more effort is underway to account for them as part of physical nature, like hallucinogenic chemicals
Is Panpsychism Putting Francis Crick’s Pack of Neurons to Flight?
Science writer John Horgan remembers Crick in the ‘90s when reductionism was riding high in neuroscience. What’s happened since?
View: Universities Should Not Speak Up Against Dissenting Profs!
Jay Bhattacharya and Wesley J. Smith respond to an article in a medical journal arguing that universities SHOULD censure dissenters on the faculty
Sleeping Mice Show How the Brain Lays Down Memories
Studies of mice running mazes have shed light on the sharp waves of neurons that assist in forming memories
When Darwinism becomes a fashionable doomsday cult…
Like all cults, it can make otherwise intelligent people begin to sound rather strange, even precarious
Hypothesis: Yes, ET Existed — But Mainly in the Past
A recent paper introduces the idea of cryptoterrestrials, technologically advanced civilizations on Earth, perhaps from earlier geological eras, as the source of the UAPs/UFOs
Will AI Soon Help Animals Talk To Us?
Many animals have a natural tendency to hide their problems for self-protection. AI trained on massive animal datasets might suss them out
Why Panpsychism (Everything Is Conscious) Is Gaining Ground
Many life forms do unexpectedly remarkable things. It is simpler to broaden the circle of consciousness than to keep on trying to prove that human consciousness is just an illusion
Can We Really Study the Minds of Ancient Humans?
The design inference helps sort things out in human paleontology
Neuroscientist: The Mind Is Just the Brain
He cites studies using transcranial magnetic stimulation, which caused subjects to see flashing lights
Evolutionary Biologist Defines Goldenrod Plant as “Intelligent”
The media release for the journal paper, sponsored by Cornell University, illustrates the growing comfort of science with panpsychist (everything is conscious) ideas
What Is Pseudoscience? A Philosopher Tries To Sort It Out
Finding little to go on, Massimo Pigliucci suggests relying on popular skeptic sites and, er, … himself
A Darwinian Biologist Winces at Bees That Have Feelings
The problem Jerry Coyne has with Lars Chittka’s evidence for emotions among bees points to a growing conflict between naturalism and panpsychism in science
Wanted: A Theory of Everything Based Only on Science Findings
The philosopher who expressed that wish is probably still looking… he could not find a naturalist theory that worked that way
Why Does a Brainless Sponge Have a Toolkit for a Nervous System?
A neuroscientist wrestles with the question of where the kit arose? From the one-celled life forms that preceded the sponge?
A Third Big Consciousness Theory: Each Neuron Is a Computer
Dendritic information theory (DIT) may not explain consciousness any better than other theories but it may shed light on how anesthesia produces LOSS of consciousness
Philosopher: Why Brain Science Does Not Eliminate Free Will
Tim Bayne looks at what we can logically deduce from the famous Libet experiments