Category: Science | Page 18

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News
Date
July 26, 2021

Categorized
Information Theory, Philosophy, Science

Tagged
Featured, Idealism, Informational realism, Materialism, William Dembski}

How Informational Realism Subverts Materialism

_{Within informational realism, what defines things is their capacity for communicating or exchanging information with other things} _{News
July 26, 2021

3

Information Theory, Philosophy, Science}

Here are some brief excerpts from design theorist William Dembski’s chapter in a forthcoming book on informational realism: To see how informational realism dissolves the mind-body problem, we need first to be clear on what informational realism is and why it is credible. Informational realism is not simply the view that information is real. We live in an information age, so who doesn’t think that information is real? Rather, informational realism asserts that the ability to exchange information is the defining feature of reality, of what it means, at the most fundamental level, for any entity to be real. William A. Dembski, “Informational Realism Dissolves the Mind–Body Problem,” a chapter of the forthcoming Mind and Matter: Modern Dualism, Idealism and Read More ›

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Eric Holloway
Date
July 26, 2021

Categorized
Philosophy, Science

Tagged
G. K. Chesterton, immortality, Materialism, Technology}

Our Scientific Salvation Will Be The Death Of Us

_{Will we trust "the science" (meaning the scientists) to the point of madness?} _{Eric Holloway
July 26, 2021

4

Philosophy, Science}

Originally published at Patheos “The truly insane man is the perfectly rational man.” So says G.K. Chesterton. This saying is very counter intuitive today. The perfectly rational man is the ideal scientist, the man who knows reality in precise quantitative terms, the best kind of knowledge we have. Such scientific knowledge promises the secret of immortality. If we can understand the fundamentals of our physical existence, we can shape our existence in whatever way we wish. The rational man is the messiah of our scientific age. So, why did Chesterton warn us about the rational man? The problem is that rationality only deals with the known knowns and the known unknowns. Rationality does not deal with the unknown unknowns. The Read More ›

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News
Date
July 26, 2021

Categorized
Philosophy of Mind, Religion, Science

Tagged
Arjuna Das, Big Bang, Black hole, Causal closure, Featured, Materialism, Michael Egnor, Quantum Entanglement, Singularity, Theology Unleashed}

Why Neurosurgeon Mike Egnor Stopped Being a Materialist Atheist

_{He found that materialism is just not working out in science} _{News
July 26, 2021

11

Philosophy of Mind, Religion, Science}

Neurosurgeon Michael Egnor did another podcast with Arjuna Das at Theology Unleashed, “where Eastern theology meets Western skepticism.” Among other things, Egnor talked about why he ceased to be an atheist as he learned more about science and its dependence on mathematics, which is not a material thing. A partial transcript follows, taking us down to 15 minutes, with notes (more in a further installment): Arjuna Das: (00:01:49) Today, I’ve got Michael Egnor on. I’m very delighted to have him on for a second time. He’s a neurosurgeon, a Christian, and he’s quite good at arguing philosophy too… W So we’ll start out with him telling a little bit of a story, how he changed his metaphysical views through things Read More ›

Close encounters of the third kind. Unidentified objects coming from space. Contact with extraterrestrials UFO.

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News
Date
July 24, 2021

Categorized
Science

Tagged
Biosignatures, Extraterrestrials (ET), NASA}

NASA Seeks Standards for ET Life Claims

_{The agency wants to develop a credibility scale so we know what to pay attention to} _{News
July 24, 2021

2

Science}

What with everything from Oumuamua to phosphine on Venus claiming our attention, NASA thinks it’s time to develop some standards for what constitutes a credible claim about extraterrestrial life: “The discovery of a potential biosignature in [a planet’s] atmosphere is important, but it’s just the start,” said Green in an interview. “You have to examine potential false positives, whether there are [non-biological] ways to form the chemical, whether the measurement is an artifact of your instrument, whether the environment on the planet is conducive or hostile to life, whether water is present.” Applying such a chain of reasoning could result in a kind of credibility scale for the general public to turn to when they read about new results in Read More ›

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News
Date
July 24, 2021

Categorized
Philosophy, Science

Tagged
Ethan Siegel, Fine-tuning, Roger Penrose, Universe, William Lane Craig}

Some Say That the Universe Is a Donut. Others Say It’s a Hole.

_{Actually, as astrophysicist Ethan Siegel points out, there’s only one universe — which makes theorizing about it a problem.} _{News
July 24, 2021

2

Philosophy, Science}

At Forbes, theoretical astrophysicist Ethan Siegel comments: The true problem with the Universe is that there’s only one to observe, or at least, only one that we’re capable of observing. We don’t have a large sample of Universes to compare between, and we don’t have a large set of data points available to us within our Universe. It’s like rolling five dice, together, once. Your odds of getting all sixes is small: about 1-in-7800. Yet if you rolled five dice at once and saw that it came up all sixes, you wouldn’t necessarily conclude that it was anything more than random chance. Sometimes, nature just doesn’t give you the most likely outcome. It’s possible that the leftover photons from the Read More ›

Time and space travel concept abstract background

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post

News
Date
July 24, 2021

Categorized
Arts & Culture, Science

Tagged
metaphysics}

What If Only Part of You Could Be Teleported? — Sci-Fi Saturday

_{A rooftop smoke break reveals a dreadful secret} _{News
July 24, 2021

16

Arts & Culture, Science}

“Liminal” at DUST by Collin Davis and Matt Litwiller (July 19, 2021, 6:47 min) From the producers: “Liminal explores big ideas in contained spaces: a character piece with a sci-fi backdrop. Gwen, the lead scientist on a secret experiment to teleport humans, encounters a co-worker on a smoke break. As she grapples with the implications of recent discoveries it’s clear that a dire mistake has been made. Her test subject has lost something along the way. ” Review: “We sent a man to Europa and brought him back in two-thirds of a second … the solar system just got smaller.” This short film benefits from good performances by Anna Campbell (Gwen) and Max Lesser ( Tim), lending authenticity to a Read More ›

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News
Date
July 24, 2021

Categorized
Arts & Culture, Environment, Science}

Would You Become an Animal to Save a Species? — Sci-fi Saturday

_{The animation is good and the question raised is interesting} _{News
July 24, 2021

15

Arts & Culture, Environment, Science}

“Floreana” at DUST by Louis Morton (Jul 23, 2021), 4:13 min, originally at IMDB 2019 “On a remote island in the future, people are training for an important mission. Take a look at the mechanics of this training facility and the creatures within.” Review: Floreana is an animated film which offers a genuine surprise in terms of how humans in the future might propose to deal with the issue of endangered wildlife. It’s a bit unrealistic (how many people would really go along with living inside animals?) but worth thinking about. Just the right length to get across the basic idea. Films reviewed are sorted roughly by length so you can choose films based on how much time you have. Read More ›

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News
Date
July 22, 2021

Categorized
Science, Spirituality}

Claim: “Spirituality” Circuit in the Brain Has Been Identified

_{Really? Is that even possible?} _{News
July 22, 2021

2

Science, Spirituality}

It’s a story like so many others: Researchers have “found” the brain circuits for spirituality: A new study led by investigators at Brigham and Women’s Hospital takes a new approach to mapping spirituality and religiosity and finds that spiritual acceptance can be localized to a specific brain circuit. This brain circuit is centered in the periaqueductal gray (PAG), a brainstem region that has been implicated in numerous functions, including fear conditioning, pain modulation, altruistic behaviors and unconditional love … “Our results suggest that spirituality and religiosity are rooted in fundamental, neurobiological dynamics and deeply woven into our neuro-fabric,” said corresponding author Michael Ferguson, PhD, a principal investigator in the Brigham’s Center for Brain Circuit Therapeutics. “We were astonished to find Read More ›

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News
Date
July 17, 2021

Categorized
Arts & Culture, Ethics, Science}

When Sci-Fi Gets Earnest About Colonization — Sci-fi Saturday

_{Worth seeing but we never get to find out who the characters are fighting or why some treaty could not be arranged} _{News
July 17, 2021

15

Arts & Culture, Ethics, Science}

“Ripple Effect” at DUST by [ Hannah Bang at Dust, July 12, 2021, 7:12 min: “In a not so distant future- a coalition of the old earth’s nations have sought and claimed the discovery of a new planet “Gaia” as the human race’s last hope for survival. However, when the human settlements rolled in, what awaited them was neither discovery nor pioneering but colonization and war against the planet’s original inhabitants. With an increasingly militaristic government that demands the settlers’ sacrifice for the good of all, one family is torn apart when the eldest daughter, Ara, questions who the real bad guys are. At a time where mass think seems to be the safest option, Ripple Effect asks us if Read More ›

Create yourself concept. Good looking young man drawing a picture, sketch of himself

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post

News
Date
July 17, 2021

Categorized
Arts & Culture, Science

Tagged
free will, neo-totalitarianism, Self}

If You Could Change by “Inserting” Knowledge… Should You?

_{An education professor is surprisingly sympathetic to just “inserting” Correct knowledge to produce desirable changes} _{News
July 17, 2021

2

Arts & Culture, Science}

John Tillson, philosopher of education and author of Children, Religion, and the Ethics of Influence, asks if, instead of drills and homework, what about just “learning” a skill via a computer cable plugged into the back of your head, the way Neo learned karate in The Matrix?: Discussing the pros and cons of just acquiring knowledge by mere insertion, Tillson is surprisingly friendly to the idea, especially in terms of reprogramming bad ideas: Even if we dodge the threat of replacement by downloading a modest suite of knowledge at a suitably gentle pace, we might still worry that knowledge insertion would make us become someone we wouldn’t want to be. This isn’t always a problem. Suppose Neo was racist and Read More ›

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post

News
Date
July 17, 2021

Categorized
Arts & Culture, Science}

Human Psychology in a World Without Water — Sci-fi Saturday

_{“Oasis” was filmed as a response to the Capetown Water Crisis of 2018} _{News
July 17, 2021

15

Arts & Culture, Science}

“Oasis” (2020) at DUST by David Wayne Smith (May 12, 2021 at DUST). 8:05 min “In the wake of the 2018 Cape Town water crisis, a handful of filmmakers and I put together a project that tackled environmental issues. In developing a film that focused on the needs of Cape Town, we discovered a global story. OASIS is a Science-Fiction short film that comments on our responsibility in a world that is vulnerable.” Review: The almost entirely wordless film does a good job of portraying a world dying for lack of water. But honestly, the psychological dynamics — and particularly, the fight scene — did not make sense. There is such a thing as taking the “empowered woman” thing too Read More ›

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News
Date
July 17, 2021

Categorized
Science

Tagged
Carl Woese, Extraterrestrials (ET), Ocean planets}

Why the Search for ET Now Focuses on Oceans in the Outer Planets

_{Some researchers are refining their ET life-tracking skills} _{News
July 17, 2021

4

Science}

The moons of the outer planets, research shows, have vast oceans and water is an essential ingredient of life as we know it. Natalie Elliot, a science writer with a specialty in astrobiology, explains, The hottest spots in the search for alien life are a few frigid moons in the outer solar system, each known to harbor a liquid-water ocean beneath its icy exterior. There is Saturn’s moon Titan, which hides a thick layer of briny water beneath a frozen surface dotted with lakes of liquid hydrocarbon. Titan’s sister Saturnian moon Enceladus has revealed its subsurface sea with geyserlike plumes venting from cracks near its south pole. Plumes also emanate from a moon that is one planet closer to the Read More ›

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Michael Egnor
Date
July 11, 2021

Categorized
Philosophy, Religion, Science

Tagged
Casey Luskin, Darwinism, Featured, Marxism}

Remembering a Biologist’s Remarkable Confession of Faith

_{Is it scientific misconduct to make science about materialist atheism?} _{Michael Egnor
July 11, 2021

6

Philosophy, Religion, Science}

My friend and colleague Casey Luskin has penned a poignant essay in memory of Richard Lewontin, a Harvard evolutionary biologist who passed away at 92 recently. Casey is a gentleman and a scholar, and very much disposed to finding the best in people. Indeed it seems there was much that was very good in Lewontin’s persona, and Casey highlighted it beautifully in his encomium. I am not of the opinion, however, that we should speak only good of the dead. The passing of a public figure is a good time to consider his impact, and Lewontin’s impact on American culture and science is something very much worth considering. By all accounts, Lewontin was a gentleman and a good friend and Read More ›

The Earth from space. This image elements furnished by NASA.

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News
Date
July 11, 2021

Categorized
Natural Intelligence, Science

Tagged
Earth, Exoplanets, Extraterrestrials (ET), Pale Blue Dot concept, Privileged Planet hypothesis, Rare Earth hypothesis}

Cornell: Earth Could Be Seen by ET Far More Easily Than Thought

_{Using analytic software, researchers can determine whether Earth would be visible from a given star system} _{News
July 11, 2021

3

Natural Intelligence, Science}

According to Cornell and American Museum of Natural History researchers, “Scientists have identified 2,034 nearby star-systems — within the small cosmic distance of 326 light-years — that could find Earth merely by watching our pale blue dot cross our sun”: Scientists at Cornell University and the American Museum of Natural History have identified 2,034 nearby star-systems — within the small cosmic distance of 326 light-years — that could find Earth merely by watching our pale blue dot cross our sun. That’s 1,715 star-systems that could have spotted Earth since human civilization blossomed about 5,000 years ago, and 319 more star-systems that will be added over the next 5,000 years. Exoplanets around these nearby stars have a cosmic front-row seat to Read More ›

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post

News
Date
July 10, 2021

Categorized
Arts & Culture, Science

Tagged
Extraterrestrials (ET), Extremophiles, Rob Sheldon, Space cows hypothesis, Victor Tangermann, Viruses}

What If the UAP (UFOs) Are Much Simpler Life Forms Than We Think?

_{Why assume, if the unexplained phenomena are ET, that they are more advanced than we are? What if the opposite is true?} _{News
July 10, 2021

5

Arts & Culture, Science}

Readers will recall that on June 25, the Pentagon released a nine-page report on Unidentified Aerial Phenomena (UFOs) which signaled a significant change in attitude from debunking to carefully assessing. That is, we don’t know what’s out there but it’s something and we had better find out. The report references 144 incidents, of which investigators “could not explain”143. First, some reactions from science writers at Futurism: They were generally “disappointed” by the report’s uncertainty, accompanied by tantalizing hints: Reports of strange sightings made by US military pilots emerged after The New York Times published a series of mysterious videos in 2017, captured by military personnel and showing unidentified objects that seemed to defy the laws of physics. The June report, Read More ›

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post

News
Date
July 9, 2021

Categorized
Philosophy, Science

Tagged
David Papineau, Featured, Hugh Everett, John Bell, Michael Egnor, Multiverse, Quantum Mechanics, Quantum Physics}

Quantum Physics: Is Everything Determined? Egnor vs. Papineau

_{Physicalist philosopher David Papineau is clearly unhappy with the implications of quantum mechanics, as neurosurgeon Michael Egnor sets them out} _{News
July 9, 2021

8

Philosophy, Science}

As a physicalist, Papineau is quite sure that the universe is deterministic and he endorses the many-worlds (multiverse) theory. Read More ›

Tree brain with human head cape, idea concept of think hope freedom and mind , surreal artwork, dream art , fantasy landscape, imagination of nature

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post

News
Date
July 8, 2021

Categorized
Philosophy, Philosophy of Mind, Science

Tagged
Aristotle, David Papineau, Featured, Michael Egnor, Quantum Mechanics, Quantum Physics, Werner Heisenberg}

Can Traditional Philosophy Help Us Understand Mind vs. Brain?

_{Michael Egnor asks us to look back to the traditional idea that the soul is the “form” of the body} _{News
July 8, 2021

10

Philosophy, Philosophy of Mind, Science}

Yesterday, we published the fourth portion of the debate between materialist philosopher David Papineau and neurosurgeon Michael Egnor, where the key issue was “Is the mind simply what the brain does?” Today, we look at the portion which starts roughly at 36 min where Papineau and Egnor start to talk about traditional philosophical ways of thinking about the soul and the body (partial transcript): Note: Dr. Papineau is a “physicalist.” On that view, “the mind is a purely physical construct, and will eventually be explained entirely by physical theory, as it continues to evolve.” (Philosophy basics) He is considered to be one of the best defenders of naturalism (nature is all there is), often called “materialism.” Michael Egnor: In the Read More ›

Father And Son Competing In Video Games At Home

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post

News
Date
July 6, 2021

Categorized
Ethics, Mathematics, Peer Review, Science

Tagged
Fraud, Minecraft, Probability, Video games}

Why Did Video Gamers Uncover Fraud More Easily Than Scientists?

_{Video gamers are subject, a psychologist tells us, to much more rigorous constraints than scientists} _{News
July 6, 2021

3

Ethics, Mathematics, Peer Review, Science}

In a recent article at The Atlantic, King’s College psychologist Stuart Ritchie, author of Science Fictions: How Fraud, Bias, Negligence and Hype Undermine the Search for Truth (2020), has noted a curious fact: Video gamers are much quicker to spot fraud than scientists. The video game fraud he focuses on involved a gamer’s claim that he had finished a round of Minecraft in a little over 19 minutes, a feat he attributed, Ritchie tells us, to “an incredible stretch of good luck.” “Incredible” is the right choice of word here. “Dream,” as the player was known, later admitted — in the face of skepticism — that he had “inadvertently” left some software running that improved his game — thus disqualifying Read More ›

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post

News
Date
July 6, 2021

Categorized
Philosophy, Science

Tagged
Big Bang, Black holes, Causal closure, David Papineau, Featured, Michael Egnor}

Round 3: Egnor vs Papineau: The Big Bang Has No Natural Beginning

_{In the debate between theistic neurosurgeon Michael Egnor and naturalist philosopher David Papineau, the question gets round to the origin of the universe itself} _{News
July 6, 2021

6

Philosophy, Science}

Michael Egnor begins this portion of the discussion by asking What caused the Big Bang? What causes the singularities at the core of black holes? (Yesterday, we published materialist philosopher David Papineau’s reply to neurosurgeon Michael Egnor. For Egnor’s opening statement, go here. Starts, roughly, at 21:30 min: David Papineau: I don’t think it’s a coherent question. It’s like asking what causes the number five. I mean, you’re misapplying the notion of cause to the beginning of the material universe. … I’m not following. I said all physical effects have a physical cause, and you’re going to give me a counterexample of a physical effect that doesn’t have a physical cause, so what would that be? Note: The Big Bang, Read More ›

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post

News
Date
July 3, 2021

Categorized
Arts & Culture, Philosophy, Religion, Science

Tagged
Nothingness (as concept), Science fiction}

What Happens If Earth Passes Through a Black Hole—Sci-fi Saturday

_{This story isn’t exactly about passage through a black hole: It is a meditation on nothingness that crashes headfirst into nihilism} _{News
July 3, 2021

14

Arts & Culture, Philosophy, Religion, Science}

“Until There Was Nothing” at DUST by Paul Trillo (August 25, 2020, 5:36 min) “A philosophical video and art exploration of the Earth’s passage through a black hole.” Review: This film is actually a philosophical meditation on nothingness — the concept of non-entity, as every concept of mathematics, physics, natural law, and order vanishes. Gravity reverses itself at odd moments for no particular reason. Terrifying. Whether the filmmakers intended this or not, it is really a meditation on the way the fundamental constants of the universe work. And what would happen if they didn’t. For more, see the Kalam Constant, a philosophical proof of the existence of God. — A note re our new feature below: We sort reviewed films Read More ›