Did the Covid Rules Play Games with People’s Minds?
The hive mind is hard-wired for many behavioursCovid rules: In Ireland when entering a pub or restaurant, one had to wear a mask while standing up, but could take it off sitting down.
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Whatever Happened to Dawkins’s Famous Darwinian “Memes”?
His materialist theory of information transmission was wildly popular but, after a couple of decades, it has disappeared, almost without a traceThe main problem with the concept of the “meme” was that it did not explain anything that actually needed explaining.
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When the AI Headlines Cry Wolf…
Alarming recent news warns us of possible AI catastrophes. How seriously should we take them?Dealing with AI-related problems does not require assuming that AI will go off the rails on its own, become conscious, or develop a desire to take over the world.
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No, Mark Zuckerberg, AI ‘Friends’ Are Not Good for Mental Health
Think you could use a few more friends? Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg says AI will do the trickMeta has made billions of dollars monetizing our attention. Why not monetize our loneliness, too?
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AI Could Kill Us All? Yes, So Could Old Age. Take a Deep Breath…
Assessing the current AI hysteria includes asking “Who do all these apocalyptic claims benefit?”Without ignoring the threat, we need to see that insiders’ panic is often wrapped up in their personal stake in the problems and possible solutions.
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Data Centers: Is a Chinese Bot Farm Feeding You Your Opinions?
Maybe bots are not influencing you — but you can be sure they are tryingOne really interesting feature of the opposition to data centers is that it pits the political left against the tech titans who have generously funded it.
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How Movies Can Shape Your Mind
One wonders, regarding the Arts, are we better off living in a fallen world?Even in the world of theatre, from the ancient Greeks to contemporary drama, tragedy plays a profound role in defining Western civilization, while evoking sadness and joy resulting in catharsis in audiences.
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Prebunking: “Pay No Attention to the Man Behind the Curtain”
We know we are living in a changing world, when Europe is striving to be ChinaAt the Brussels Signal, tech analyst Norman Lewis has been discussing a form of indoctrination that is becoming increasingly popular in the European Union, and doubtless elsewhere: prebunking — “a preventative measure that aims to prepare audiences to recognize and resist information risks.” (UNHCR) Prebunking is beloved of bureaucrats and you will hear a great deal about what a good thing it is from many sources — sources that should, under the circumstances, give pause for thought: ● “What Is Prebunking? It’s better to inoculate against disinformation than to debunk later.” (Psychology Today, 2021) ● “False information is everywhere. ‘Pre-bunking’ tries to head it off early” (NPR, 2022) ● “What is Pre-Bunking: The Power of Framing Before the Facts” (Simply Read More ›
UFOs and Crop Circles: Believe It — or Don’t
Alleged evidence of extraterrestrial visits often evolves from local news headlines into a game, an art, and an industryEven when the pranksters who create the often elaborate crop circles are identified, “croppies” insist that only ET could have done it.
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The New Friend Necklace: Isn’t This Really *Anti*-Social Media?
Americans are talking to each other less as technologies consume more and more personal time. This is the latest in the barrageAndrew McDiarmid has become a prophetic voice warning against developments like this from the tech world.
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How Our Tech-Obsessed Age Responds to Grief: Grieftech
Just when we thought that the chatbot craze couldn’t get crazier — departed loved ones get uploaded as chatbotsGrieftech poses genuine problems when avatars seem to keep the deceased unchanged in a changing world — or change just when we want them to.
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Eyewitness Memory: Fallible Doesn’t Mean Worthless
It’s not about poor memories – it’s about asking neutral questions early and getting details known only to witnesses on siteThe trend against eyewitness reliability seems part of the ideology that undermines finding objective truth.
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Human Reactions and the Masks We Wear
From Gen-Zs' video reactions, to flipping personas when talking to other peopleSometimes you wonder which version of yourself is the “real” you, and whether all this shifting makes you somehow inauthentic or fake.
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Human Evolution Needs Subhumans, and Needs Them Badly
Archeologists are quietly revising the human origins story in a way that does not follow a Darwinian pattern but they don’t quite come out and say itWithout a subhuman, the human mind has no history. That is a serious blow to any Darwinian materialist project.
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Who, Exactly, Is the Subject of Evolutionary Psychology?
Neurosurgeon Michael Egnor and science writer Denyse O’Leary offer some thoughts about why the discipline does not make senseThe whole Darwinian paradigm of natural selection falls apart when you’re dealing with the human mind. It’s a very different thing.
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What Makes an Ostensibly Normal Person Evil
How is it possible for these monsters to live ordinary lives in public view?No person who is not demonically possessed could seriously harm/torture another human being without waking up in the middle of the night screaming.
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Are AI Developers As Smart As They Are Made Out To Be?
My confidence in the intelligence of AI developers was shaken by two recent eventsMany commentators seem to have forgotten Goodhart’s Law: When a measure becomes a target, it ceases to be a good measure.
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How Sudden Lucidity at Death Became a Science Topic
Psychologist Alexander Batthyány and neurosurgeon Michael Egnor discuss the implications of clear consciousness despite deadly illnessSerious research on terminal lucidity will immensely damage the sort of materialism that Harvard psychologist Steven Pinker champions.
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Micro Softy 63: A Beggar’s Tale
A street‑corner encounter that tests your ability to read between the linesA shabbily dressed man with an unkept beard held up a cardboard sign saying, “Can you help? Please!”
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Heavens! Are You an AI Denialist?
Accusations of “AI denialism” smear thoughtful critics as mentally disorderedRosenberg purports to cite pundits saying chatbot outputs are “AI slop,” that “the era of rapid AI advancement is ending,” that “AI scaling has hit the wall,” and the AI boom is just another “tech bubble.” No human is cited for these remarks.
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