Mind Matters Natural and Artificial Intelligence News and Analysis

CategoryHistory

team-of-archaeologists-excavating-fossils-stockpack-adobe-st-458117077-stockpack-adobestock
Team of archaeologists excavating fossils
Type
post
Denyse O'Leary
Date
August 20, 2025
Categorized
History, Philosophy of Mind
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New Find: Stone Tools From 1 to 1.5 Million Years Ago

The tools were found on Sulawesi, an island near Flores, where fossils of diminutive humans were found in 2003 — but they were not as old as these tools
Denyse O'Leary
August 20, 2025
5
History, Philosophy of Mind
Human technology definitely has a history but the human mind does not. We see it where we see it, often just a glimpse in these abysses of time. Read More ›
person-uses-laptop-interacting-with-ai-virtual-assistant-ai-1133554305-stockpack-adobestock
Person uses laptop interacting with AI virtual assistant. AI head graphic overlay laptop keyboard. Concept of AI prompt engineering, LLM. Person types on keyboard to communicate with virtual
Type
post
Erik J. Larson
Date
May 24, 2025
Categorized
Artificial general intelligence (AGI), Artificial Intelligence, History
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The Fiction of Generalizable AI: A Tale in Two Parts

Why intelligence isn’t a linear scale — and why true generalization remains unsolved
Erik J. Larson
May 24, 2025
7
Artificial general intelligence (AGI), Artificial Intelligence, History
The big idea behind generative AI (mistakenly) assumes a network can start blank and be transformed into an intelligent agent simply via enough data. Read More ›
cutting-edge-medical-dna-lab-equipment-for-gene-testing-and-761381619-stockpack-adobestock
Cutting edge medical dna lab equipment for gene testing and analysis in biotechnology research
Type
post
Robert J. Marks
Date
May 19, 2025
Categorized
History, Philosophy, Science
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Settled Science Is a Contradiction in Terms

The consensus of science has often turned out to be incorrect and we often get closer to truth when it is challenged
Robert J. Marks
May 19, 2025
8
History, Philosophy, Science
Limiting debate and censoring minority scientific viewpoints can keep “settled science” spinning wheels, stuck in the mud, on the open road to science progress. Read More ›
supernova-galaxy-8k-hype-realistic-spiral-galaxy-in-space-ba-559012559-stockpack-adobestock
Supernova Galaxy 8k hype realistic. spiral galaxy in space background. background of supernova nebula and stars, glowing mysterious universe. Space texture illustration. Generative ai
Type
post
Denyse O'Leary
Date
May 17, 2025
Categorized
History, Philosophy, Physics
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Physicist: “Bad Philosophy” May Spur Search for New Physics

Carlo Rovelli points out that revolutions’ in the history of fundamental physics are more conservative than they are often depicted
Denyse O'Leary
May 17, 2025
5
History, Philosophy, Physics
It may not just be bad philosophy. It may also be a determination to believe in a universe that the evidence does not support. Read More ›
a-digital-collage-with-a-spotlight-shining-down-on-a-citysca-849027399-stockpack-adobe_stock
A digital collage with a spotlight shining down on a cityscape at night. The dynamic composition captures the energy and excitement of urban life
Type
post
News
Date
December 22, 2024
Categorized
Arts & Culture, History
Tagged

The Genius of Paul Johnson: Remembering a Peerless Historian

Johnson offered penetrating critiques of the personalities, currents of thought, and events that shaped life today
News
December 22, 2024
16
Arts & Culture, History
Johnson’s writing often resembles a highwire performance in exactness and anticipation. In the largest sense, he believed history has a destination, a telos. Read More ›
old-books-background-stockpack-adobe-stock-40572208-stockpack-adobe_stock
old books background
Type
post
News
Date
October 27, 2024
Categorized
History, Religion, Science
Tagged
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Rodney Stark: A Historian Finds a History Amid Cultural Myths

As his views matured, Stark found himself more and more opposed to the nineteenth-century positivist founders of social science
News
October 27, 2024
9
History, Religion, Science
Stark, reappraising the role of religion, found that seeing history through a positivist, materialist lens reduces its complexities to caricatures. Read More ›