Mind Matters Natural and Artificial Intelligence News and Analysis

CategoryPolitics

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Consensus word made of square letter block on green square mat background.

Nature Editorial Attacks Trump for Ignoring “Scientific Consensus”

Mistrust of the state, which the editorialists fear, doesn’t weaken democracy. It is essential to its proper functioning. Hence the Constitution and Bill of Rights
Nature, a British publication, should stay out of American politics; otherwise, it breeds the very mistrust of the science sector that it decries. Read More ›
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flags of Palestine and Israel painted on cracked wall

Top Journal Nature Promotes Views of Anti-Israel Demonstrator

What any of this has to do with promoting science is beyond me. It’s politics and ideology, pure and simple. Perhaps that’s why the interview is not behind a paywall
The editors of Nature are destroying a once venerable and important science journal. That’s bad for science, which is bad for the world. Shame. Read More ›
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Kids feed elephant in zoo. Family at animal park.

Will Colorado Allow Elephants to Sue?

The Nonhuman Rights Project wants to become the guardian of five elephants at the Colorado Springs zoo and take control of their care
The zoo, where the elephants have lived for years, has a sterling reputation but the advocates believe that they know better what elephants would want. Read More ›
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Businessman forecasting a crystal ball

P-Hacking: The Perils of Presidential Election Models

History professor Alan Lichtman’s model uses 13 true/false questions reflecting likely voter interests. But some of them seem rather subjective
Lichtman’s Thirteen Keys to the White House prediction model for the presidency shows some evidence of p-hacking, as does Helmut Norpoth’s Primary Model. Read More ›
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High-tech American election coverage in a futuristic studio

Presidential Pundits—a P-Hacking Parable

In politics, as elsewhere, too many studies flop when other researchers attempt to replicate them with fresh data
Some prediction models were developed by well-intentioned researchers before the perils of p-hacking were clearly understood, hence the failures. Read More ›
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Close-up of a green plant with sunlight illuminating the leaves on the right side of the image

Three Recent Books Argue for Consciousness in Plants

The award-winning environment journalist who reviews the books tackles the question, “If so, is it right to eat even plants?”
The idea that plants can "feel" things, based on their complex reactions, may stem from a misunderstanding of categories of consciousness. Read More ›
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Exceptionally zoomed macro images of neural cells in the human brain

Scandal! Science Journal Busts Allegedly Bogus Neurological Science

If these leading dementia studies’ images are indeed falsified, many years of follow-up research by others may have been wasted
Dementia is not politically sensitive. But if the topic were, say, gender dysphoria, would honesty be likewise demanded? No wonder so many doubt science now. Read More ›
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After Dawkins Is Canceled, What Comes Next? Not Better Science!

As the National Academies of Science try to blend traditional lore into science findings, the concept of truth that atheists and theists clash over is irrelevant
For many today, truth is whatever benefits Woke causes. Claims for truth that offer them no political benefit are seen as a threat, meriting a hostile response. Read More ›
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The confrontation of a heatwave and a melting glacier, symbolizing the collision of rising temperatures and shrinking ice masses. Concept of climate change impact on glaciers. Generative Ai.

New Atheism Is Shrinking and It’s Not Entirely Clear Why

Now, there is an eerie unfashionable silence that fashionable media are beginning to notice. For one thing, it is affecting Richard Dawkins
The Woke, it turns out, are no more tolerant of atheists than they are of anyone else with divergent views. That may be what finally fells new atheism. Read More ›
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Small orange flags places in grass in memory of the thousands of Indigenous children that died in Canada's residential school system. Wide view.

Canada’s Residential Schools: A Saga of Journalistic Wrongdoing

Even as the story is collapsing for lack of evidence, there is a move afoot to criminalize doubt about what happened (denialism).
Could it happen in the United States? Of course. It can happen anywhere where people are willing to ignore the demands of evidence in favor of private truth. Read More ›
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Politician during election campaign

Science Writer Tells Top Science Mag: Quit Endorsing Politicians!

Scientific American's display of political partisanship comes at an awkward time. Trust in science is in steady, ongoing decline
When scientists engage in political partisanship, they abandon accuracy, regarding their choice a form of righteousness as long as the Good party wins. Read More ›
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A political rally with protest signs

The Science Establishment Continues to Politicize “Science”

And that ain’t good for science
Increasingly, those who claim to be science’s greatest defenders do the sector wrong by becoming highly ideological and progressively partisan. Read More ›
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View of the surface of the moon.Elements of this image furnished by NASA

Is NASA a Spent Force in Space Exploration?

A government report implies it is, as private groups are moving into the space business and China is catching up quickly
What if a private craft is the first to discover extraterrestrial life? What laws apply? Read More ›
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a group of sheep on a pasture stand next to each other and look into the camera

Engineer Explains Why AI Bots Always Lean Left

ChatGPT kept insisting on scientific consensus as the most important factor in what to believe regarding global warming and similar issues
If AI systems such as ChatGPT cannot engage in conceptual thought, then they can only promote consensus, which is what we see. Read More ›
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Laboratory technician checking CDC specimen submitting form, laboratory testing for SARS-CoV-2 COVID-19 Coronavirus disease infection,global pandemic crisis,swab collection patient specimen procedure

COVID: A Lab Leak — the Most Likely Cause — Is Not Discussible

Although COVID killed approximately 28 million people, the Chinese government makes discussion of its origin very difficult, says Matt Ridley
The science world has come to depend on China a great deal — for money, among other things — and dare not risk giving offense by unwanted discussion. Read More ›
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The execution by injection concept is visualized with a judge's gavel and a syringe on a wooden table, highlighting capital punishment

Get Ready for ‘Public Health’ Authoritarianism

The medical establishment is laying the groundwork for imposing left-wing political policies from the top down and disguising them as health-related
Lately, columns in professional journals have argued repeatedly that our most contentious political controversies be redefined into issues of public health. Read More ›
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Close-up check mark on cube wooden toy block stack with cross symbol for true or false changing mindset or way of adapting to change leader and transform quiz answer and poll concept.

Polling Season: Time To Be Manipulated!

The fact that polls can be analyzed numerically is one of their limitations for prediction
If we obsess about polling data, all we will hear is the distorted echo of our own voices. We need to focus on issues and policies instead. Read More ›
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the new president of united states of america is a cyborg robot android illustrative generative ai

Harris vs. Trump? Why Not an AI for President Instead?

A writer at the business magazine Forbes seriously considers that option. But look before you leap…
It would be a disastrous idea because sometimes creative decision-making is critical, but AI is and will remain clueless about that. Read More ›
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Sorry

Does Mark Zuckerberg Really Regret All the Censorship?

He says he does. But is it too late to roll back government interference in news dissemination?
His letter to the House Committee, strategically or otherwise, doesn’t say whether Meta would have made the same decisions without government pressure. Read More ›
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Y chromosome on dark background. Blue color. 3d illustration.

Biologist Kicked Out of National Institutes of Health Event

Colin Wright and Tomas Bogardus, also ejected, deny being disruptive but both think that humans are sex binary. That may have been enough
In a world of private truth that owes nothing to either faith or science, dissenting opinion is an invasion from an alien universe. Stay safe by not hearing. Read More ›