Denyse O'Leary

Courthouse with judge's gavel and sign NO. concept of censorship and the production of restrictions and laws on restriction. Anti-popular laws, usurpation of power, conservative views. Lack of justice

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Author
Denyse O'Leary
Date
February 11, 2021

Categorized
Media, Social Media, Technocracy

Tagged
America Alone (book), Canada, Disinformation, Free speech wars, Hate speech laws, Joan Donovan, Kevin Roose, Maclean's Magazine, Mark Steyn, Reality czar, Section 13 (Canada)}

“Disinformation”: Do We Really Need a “Reality Czar”?

_{Canada dodged a bullet in 2014. The United States will not be so lucky if it adopts Big Tech's new proposals against “disinformation” online} _{Denyse O'Leary

February 11, 2021

6

Media, Social Media, Technocracy}

Recently, a New York Times technology columnist, back from a consult with Big Tech in Silicon Valley, urged U.S. President to appoint a “reality czar” to go after people who provide “disinformation” online. He concedes, “It sounds a little dystopian, I’ll grant.” Well yes, rather. And the czar would probably soon find himself in conflict with the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. But Kevin Roose (pictured), who says he has spent several years tackling “our national reality crisis”, begs us to hear the czar’s supporters out: This task force could also meet regularly with tech platforms, and push for structural changes that could help those companies tackle their own extremism and misinformation problems. (For example, it could formulate “safe Read More ›

Female reporter or TV journalist at press event. Journalism concept.

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Author
Denyse O'Leary
Date
February 9, 2021

Categorized
Media

Tagged
Decca Aitkenhead, Douglas Murray, George Eaton, Glenn Greenwald, Hit pieces, Jordan Peterson, journalism, Marc Andreessen, Mikhaila Peterson, New Statesman, Roger Scruton, Taylor Lorenz}

In Big Tech world: The Journalist as Censor, Hit Man, and Snitch

_{Glenn Greenwald looks at a disturbing trend in media toward misrepresentation as well as censorship} _{Denyse O'Leary

February 9, 2021

7

Media}

At Substack, one of an increasing number of independent news and opinion sites, lawyer and civil rights activist Glenn Greenwald looks at a disturbing trend in journalism today. The rise of the journalist as tattletale and censor, rather than investigative reporter: A new and rapidly growing journalistic “beat” has arisen over the last several years that can best be described as an unholy mix of junior high hall-monitor tattling and Stasi-like citizen surveillance. It is half adolescent and half malevolent. Its primary objectives are control, censorship, and the destruction of reputations for fun and power. Though its epicenter is the largest corporate media outlets, it is the very antithesis of journalism. Glenn Greenwald, “The Journalistic Tattletale and Censorship Industry Suffers Read More ›

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Author
Denyse O'Leary
Date
February 6, 2021

Categorized
Arts & Culture

Tagged
Kinetic (short film), Science fiction, Supernatural fiction}

Sci-fi Saturday: A Girl With Kinetic Powers Faces a Choice

_{Should she help relatives with activities she knows to be wrong?} _{Denyse O'Leary

February 6, 2021

6

Arts & Culture}

“Kinetic” at DUST by Kylie Eaton (February 4, 2021, 05:05 min) “When Aunt Drea solicits her help with criminal activities, young Jess’s emotions spin out of control, releasing powers she’d rather keep hidden.” This “short” short film is well executed. The rural ambience is quite realistic. But “Kinetic” breaks a fundamental rule of sci-fi. For sci-fi to be a classification in art or literature, the key requirement is that the powers or circumstances must have a basis in science. None is offered here except the assertion that the girl inherited the powers from her mother and grandmother. That’s a viable idea in tales of the supernatural but not in science fiction. We have not established how the kinetic powers came Read More ›

Grownup daughter soothe aged mother holds her hand feeling empathy

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Author
Denyse O'Leary
Date
January 23, 2021

Categorized
Arts & Culture

Tagged
Bygone, Memories, Science fiction}

Sci-fi Saturday: What If an Old Man Could See His Mother Again?

_{It is a hard film to watch if you lost a loved one, but worthwhile} _{Denyse O'Leary

January 23, 2021

4

Arts & Culture}

A bit sad but worth seeing. (4:01 min from Nick Naum & Csaba Nagy) An old man, with a receding memory, pays to view synthetic recreations of his mother and childhood. I had a hard time watching this film because I would so like to see my parents (who died in their nineties) again, especially when they were young. But I can tell you this: My father once got a call from the country for old men. In case you ever wondered, yes, it’s real. It’s too bad if some people are scamming about it. Other reviews from the “We are but DUST” files: Sci Fi Saturday: A fight for the winning ticket In a 2040 superstorm, engulfing the planet, Read More ›

colonnade in medieval spanish monastery of Santo Estevo

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Author
Denyse O'Leary
Date
January 12, 2021

Categorized
Medicine and Health, Religion

Tagged
Aging, Forgiveness, mental health, Substance abuse}

Can Religion Improve a Person’s Mental Health?

_{That’s a big claim but there is considerable evidence for it. The question is, what does the evidence mean?} _{Denyse O'Leary

January 12, 2021

3

Medicine and Health, Religion}

In 2020, a year when Americans’ perception of their own mental health dropped significantly, we are told that Gallup reported: The only demographic subgroup who didn’t report a decline were those who attend religious services weekly. That group showed an increase of 4 percent compared to 2019. Joe Carter, “New Study: Frequent Churchgoers Have Better Mental Health” at Gospel Coalition Carter cites several sources arguing for the benefits of religion but, in truth, it’s not really a new idea. Religion gives people something to believe in, provides a sense of structure and typically offers a group of people to connect with over similar beliefs. These facets can have a large positive impact on mental health—research suggests that religiosity reduces suicide Read More ›

Close up portrait of a common raven (corvus corax)

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Author
Denyse O'Leary
Date
December 25, 2020

Categorized
Natural Intelligence

Tagged
Pallium, Ravens}

At Scientific American: Ravens Are As Smart As Chimpanzees

_{Birds have a different brain structure from mammals but that doesn’t appear to limit natural intelligence} _{Denyse O'Leary

December 25, 2020

4

Natural Intelligence}

We wrote about this earlier but now Scientific American has weighed in. Researchers were trying to address the deficiency in studies of raven intelligence that focused only on whether the bird knew that the researcher was hiding something: A new study that that tries to address that deficit provides some of the best proof yet that ravens, including young birds of just four months of age, have certain types of smarts that are on par with those of adult great apes. The brainy birds performed just as well as chimpanzees and orangutans across a broad array of tasks designed to measure intelligence. “We now have very strong evidence to say that, at least in the tasks we used, ravens are Read More ›

3D Illustration Emotionen als Freisteller

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Author
Denyse O'Leary
Date
December 13, 2020

Categorized
Artificial Intelligence, Natural Intelligence, Philosophy of Mind, Religion

Tagged
Affective Computing (book), emotions, Rosalind Picard}

Can We Teach a Computer to Feel Things? A Dialogue…

_{Okay, There’s the computer’s side… and then there’s the dog’s side. Listen to both} _{Denyse O'Leary

December 13, 2020

6

Artificial Intelligence, Natural Intelligence, Philosophy of Mind, Religion}

The dialogue got started because of a gifted computer nerd, Rosalind Picard, also a playwright (pictured), who decided to become an evangelical Christian in midlife (approx 2019). As she tells it, “a flat, black-and-white existence suddenly turned full-color and three-dimensional.” The director of MIT’s Media Lab, she had also written a book in 2000 called Affective Computing which seems to suggest that one could somehow give emotions to machines. I asked Eric Holloway to help me figure that one out: O’Leary: Emotions are based on actual well-being or suffering. How can something that is not alive have actual emotions? Don’t think of people here!; think of dogs. Dogs have emotions. When my computer is giving trouble, I certainly hope it’s Read More ›

Futuristic high speed travel through tube. could illustrate data travel

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Author
Denyse O'Leary
Date
December 12, 2020

Categorized
Arts & Culture, Science

Tagged
Adam Stern, Faster than light concept, Hyperlight (film), Science fiction}

Faster Than Light? How About Faster Than Thought?—a Film Review

_{A free sort DUST sci-fi film looks at the plight of an astronaut testing the concept} _{Denyse O'Leary

December 12, 2020

2

Arts & Culture, Science}

Science fiction can teach us useful science concepts so it is hardly a waste of time. For example, what about “faster than light”? Albert Einstein thought nothing in this universe would travel faster than light (FTL). He might be right or wrong but if we can’t beat the speed of light light, we won’t ever see a lot of possibly interesting things in the universe. It’s just too vast. So science fiction has been trying to beat the speed of light since forever. Anyhow, here’s a short film about it, “Hyperlight” by Adam Stern: “FTL”: “A lone astronaut testing the first faster-than-light spacecraft travels farther than he imagined possible,” attempting to establish communications with a colony on Mars: My favorite Read More ›

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Author
Denyse O'Leary
Date
December 12, 2020

Categorized
Arts & Culture

Tagged
Final Offer (film), Science fiction}

Sci Fi: An Offer You Better Think About Carefully…

_{But the civil alien leaves a very nice business card. Do see that.} _{Denyse O'Leary

December 12, 2020

1

Arts & Culture}

From DUST at YouTube: Henry, an apparently conventional exec somewhere has been selected to represent his species in what is supposed to be the “biggest trade agreement in the history of the planet.” Hint that we hope isn’t a spoiler: The aliens want our oceans. But the civil alien leaves a very nice business card. Do see that. Yer News editor gives this one 4 out of 5. Mainly because the sound was bad. The studio needs to fix that. Otherwise, it is an excellent look at corporate negotiation in Lizard Land.

Bangkok, Thailand 25 AUG 2020. Men hand using digital tablet for search information on Google. Wireless Smartphone technology with intelligence search engine.

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Author
Denyse O'Leary
Date
December 8, 2020

Categorized
Artificial Intelligence, Ethics, Work

Tagged
Conscious computers, Culture, Emily M. Bender, fake news, Google, Google whistleblowers, Jeff Dean, Karen Hao, large language models, Timnit Gebru, Whistleblowers}

Google’s Leading AI Ethics Researcher Fired, Amid Controversy

_{Her research team targeted Google’s “cash cow”: advertising} _{Denyse O'Leary

December 8, 2020

6

Artificial Intelligence, Ethics, Work}

Timnit Gebru, a leading AI ethics researcher, was fired from Google early this month under circumstances that have raised suspicions across the industry: On December 2, the AI research community was shocked to learn that Timnit Gebru had been fired from her post at Google. Gebru, one of the leading voices in responsible AI research, is known among other things for coauthoring groundbreaking work that revealed the discriminatory nature of facial recognition, cofounding the Black in AI affinity group, and relentlessly advocating for diversity in the tech industry. But on Wednesday evening, she announced on Twitter that she had been terminated from her position as Google’s ethical AI co-lead. “Apparently my manager’s manager sent an email [to] my direct reports Read More ›

Cat looking to little gerbil mouse on the table. Concept of prey, food, pest.

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Author
Denyse O'Leary
Date
November 20, 2020

Categorized
Information Theory, Neuroscience, Science

Tagged
Agency, Animals, Erwin Schrödinger, hard problem of consciousness, Information, mind, Philip Ball, Plants, Purpose, Susan Still}

Can We Find Purpose in a Universe With No Underlying Purpose?

_{That’s the ambitious goal of a prominent science writer} _{Denyse O'Leary

November 20, 2020

8

Information Theory, Neuroscience, Science}

British science writer Philip Ball offers us a guide to a very interesting project: an attempt to “naturalize” the idea of agency, that is, make the desire to do things—the mouse’s desire to escape the cat— explainable from a fully materialist perspective. That’s much harder than it seems. Rocks don’t desire anything. So we can’t just start from the bottom. It’s also not enough to say that the mouse wants to avoid getting killed. That’s true but it doesn’t really explain anything. For example, a person looks both ways before crossing the street to avoid getting run over. But, by itself, that doesn’t explain why she tries to avoid getting run over. One must factor in her memory, background knowledge, Read More ›

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Author
Denyse O'Leary
Date
November 15, 2020

Categorized
Medicine and Health, Philosophy of Mind

Tagged
Anders Breivik, C.S. Lewis, Humility, Mario Beauregard, Metabolism, Mindfulness, Mindfulness health benefits, Rick Warren, Spiritual Brain (book), Tibetan monks}

Is Mindfulness Losing Its “Shine” These Days?

_{Maybe, but that’s because it has often been misused. Rightly understood, it’s a blessing} _{Denyse O'Leary

November 15, 2020

7

Medicine and Health, Philosophy of Mind}

In a recent news release from the University of Buffalo, we learn that mindfulness (meditation and similar practices) were not found to be helpful in managing stress at the time it is happening: Where earlier work in this area suggests how mindfulness may help people manage active stressors, the current paper finds evidence for an opposite response. In the midst of stress, mindful participants demonstrated cardiovascular responses consistent with greater care and engagement. Put another way, they actually were “sweating the small stuff.” Bert Gambini, “Be mindful: Study shows mindfulness might not work as you expect” at University of Buffalo However, the study, which measured the cardiovascular stress response of 1001 volunteers also found, Even more curiously, although the study’s Read More ›

Dog with ball in mouth runs from kid playing chase game at summer lawn

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Author
Denyse O'Leary
Date
November 8, 2020

Categorized
Natural Intelligence, Philosophy of Mind

Tagged
Chimpanzees, Dogs, Hayden Kee, Pointing behavior}

Is It Empathy, Not Intellect, That Makes Humans Unique?

_{Could empathy create intellect, and not the other way around?} _{Denyse O'Leary

November 8, 2020

5

Natural Intelligence, Philosophy of Mind}

A Canadian philosopher of mind and language offers a refreshingly thoughtful approach to the uniqueness of human ways of thinking: He reflects on the difference between what is happening when his dog Mackenzie and his eighteen-month-old nephew William bring him an object to play with: For Mackenzie, there is only one game in town. We have been playing it for years, and it never gets old. Sure, I mix things up a bit from time to time. A little sleight of hand can send Mackenzie left while I toss right. Or I fake a throw then hide the ball behind my back, after which I mirror Mackenzie’s stupefied, slightly annoyed look with my own incredulous one. (‘Where did it go?’) Read More ›

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Author
Denyse O'Leary
Date
October 25, 2020

Categorized
Philosophy of Mind, Science

Tagged
Boethius, Consolation of Philosophy (book), Igor Grossman, Jesus, Naturalism, Odin, Toronto Wisdom Task Force, Wisdom, Wisdom and Culture Lab}

Why Wisdom Is Not and Cannot Be a “Science”

_{Some have tried to make the pursuit of wisdom a “scientific” endeavour. That is not going well.} _{Denyse O'Leary

October 25, 2020

8

Philosophy of Mind, Science}

A curiosity of our age is the effort to “naturalize” traditional values, to treat them as an outcome of evolution. Evolution we are told, took us in a slightly different direction from that of the apes but it did not put us in contact with a wisdom beyond this world. There is no such thing. That conflicts with traditional accounts of wisdom. Wisdom has been seen as different from “knowledge,” “intelligence” or “street smarts.” They are all very useful, of course. But wisdom is a view of the world from a great distance, which enables clarity about the big issues. For example, from Boethius, about 1500 years ago: Indeed, the condition of human nature is just this; man towers above Read More ›

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Author
Denyse O'Leary
Date
October 4, 2020

Categorized
Philosophy of Mind

Tagged
Anxiety, Depression (mental health), Edward H. Hagen, Evolutionary anthropology, Grief, Kristen Syme}

Why Does “Evolution Theory” Trivialize Everything It Touches?

_{A pair of evolutionary anthropologists try their hand at dealing with existential grief, anxiety, and depression} _{Denyse O'Leary

October 4, 2020

8

Philosophy of Mind}

A couple of evolutionary anthropologists tried their hand recently at illuminating the depths of human anxiety. They started by getting one thing clear right away: Researchers in our field are trained to think about humans in the same way that we think about chimpanzees, macaques and any other animal on the planet. We recognise that humans, like all other species, evolved in environments that posed many challenges, such as predation, starvation and disease. As such, human psychology is well-adapted to meet these challenges. Kristen Syme and Edward H. Hagen, “Most anguish isn’t an illness but an evolved response to adversity” at Psyche (September 29, 2020) So humans are just like other animals. Syme and Hagen oppose treating “the common mental Read More ›

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Author
Denyse O'Leary
Date
September 30, 2020

Categorized
Natural Intelligence, Neuroscience

Tagged
Deutsches Primatenzentrum (DPZ), Evolution, Great apes, intelligence, Lemur, Mouse lemur, Primate Cognition Test Battery (PCTB), Primates}

Lemurs with Brains 1/200 the Size of Chimps’ Pass Same IQ Test

_{This new finding about mouse lemurs also makes human exceptionalism more exceptional} _{Denyse O'Leary

September 30, 2020

4

Natural Intelligence, Neuroscience}

Researchers were surprise to discover recently that the mouse lemur, a tiny primate whose brain is 1/200th the size of a chimpanzee’s brain, did as well as great apes on a primate intelligence test. Read More ›

Pair of ravens in courtship. Corvus corax

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Author
Denyse O'Leary
Date
September 29, 2020

Categorized
Natural Intelligence, Neuroscience, Philosophy of Mind

Tagged
Birds, Chimpanzees, Crows, Evolution, Human exceptionalism, intelligence, Language, Mirror test, Mythology, Neocortex, Primates, Ravens, Suzana Herculano-Houzel}

Why Does Science Embrace the “Talking Animals” Myth?

_{Many birds are quite smart but why do some researchers imply that they think like people?} _{Denyse O'Leary

September 29, 2020

8

Natural Intelligence, Neuroscience, Philosophy of Mind}

In recent years, studies have confirmed a widespread cultural intuition that some birds, particularly corvids like crows and ravens, are “smart.” They show considerable problem-solving skills. Thus, they loom large in mythology as messengers and tricksters. For example, the Norse king of the gods (pictured) had two ravens as advisors. Oddly enough, science today retains the mythology and makes a curious use of it: New discoveries about the specifics of corvid brain organization and intelligence are framed as demonstrating that humans do not really have as exceptional thinking ability as we suppose: Research unveiled on Thursday in Science finds that crows know what they know and can ponder the content of their own minds, a manifestation of higher intelligence and Read More ›

Neanderthal or Homo Sapiens Family Cooking Animal Meat over Bonfire and then Eating it. Tribe of Prehistoric Hunter-Gatherers Wearing Animal Skins Eating in a Dark Scary Cave at Night

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Author
Denyse O'Leary
Date
September 1, 2020

Categorized
Creativity, Philosophy of Mind

Tagged
Consciousness Explained (book), Creativity, Daniel Dennett, Daniel Dor, Hypothetical thinking, Imagination, Keith Frankish, Language, The Instruction of Imagination (book2015)}

Did the Human Mind Originate in Telling Ourselves Stories?

_{A philosopher and writer tries to account for the jump from animal to human by wholly natural means} _{Denyse O'Leary

September 1, 2020

8

Creativity, Philosophy of Mind}

Philosopher Keith Frankish melds linguist Daniel Dor’s ideas with philosopher Daniel Dennett’s to come up with a revealingly circular theory. Read More ›

Antibiotic resistant bacteria inside a biofilm, 3D illustration. Realistic scientific background

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Author
Denyse O'Leary
Date
August 26, 2020

Categorized
Medicine and Health, Natural Intelligence

Tagged
Bacteria, intelligence, Necrosignals, Thomas Nagel}

Do Bacteria Warn Others While Dying from Antibiotics?

_{Scientists are learning more about the complex ways bacteria overcome efforts to control them} _{Denyse O'Leary

August 26, 2020

3

Medicine and Health, Natural Intelligence}

That’s what we learn from a new open-access paper in Nature titled “Dead cells release a ‘necrosignal’ that activates antibiotic survival pathways in bacterial swarms.” It’s sometimes described as “screams,” but it’s actually a release of chemicals, which amounts to the same thing: a warning to prepare for an onslaught of antibiotics. The scientists also noted another curious factor: The cascade of genes turned on by necrosignals not only protected the surviving swarm from antibiotics, but promoted future resistance to the compounds that killed their comrades. What’s more, the scientists realized that subpopulations of swarm bacteria were genetically variable; some were more susceptible to the antibiotics than others. Swarms of bacteria may collectively cultivate different subpopulations as an evolutionary survival Read More ›