Mind Matters Natural and Artificial Intelligence News and Analysis

CategoryScience

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A depiction of electrons orbiting an atomic nucleus, illustrating the fundamental concept of quantum mechanics. Generative Ai.

Our Universe Works, Yet Doesn’t Make Sense … And So?

How can so much uncertainty lie placidly at the basis of our universe but disrupt nothing in particular? We even build better computers because of it
The most reasonable theory of how the universe can be both uncertain at its base and yet reliable in everyday life is the least popular one: deism or theism. Read More ›
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Science, teamwork and scientist with tablet in laboratory for communication, pharmaceutical review or planning. Employees, collaboration and technology for research, discussion and digital analysis

It’s Not “Myths” That Cause Distrust in Science But Sad Truths

An astrophysicist, hoping to shore up public trust, means well but gets the problems all wrong
Ethan Siegel offers a fantasy representation of the science world. It may comfort him but it might provoke knowledgeable people to trust science even less. Read More ›
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Female empowerment in science: Arabic woman scientist with a veil working with a microscope in a high-tech laboratory

Religious Scientists Balance Work and Faith — on a Knife Edge

A recent article in Nature both sums up — and typifies — the problems they face, weaving around the presumption of atheism
What benefits does the presumption of atheism provide? So many disciplines reel under peer review scandals while trust in science has diminished over the years. Read More ›
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Stars nebula in space. Elements of this image furnished by NASA

The Conviction That ET Is Out There Survives Every Setback

Because it is only natural to resist the idea that we are alone, the hope of finding extraterrestrials twists science thinking in strange ways
It’s telling that the obvious evidence for the fine-tuning of the universe, implying design, is — in sharp contrast — evaluated in a hypercritical way. Read More ›
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Happy business woman giving excellent rating for online satisfaction survey

Science Writer: Maybe We Need Fewer Scientists, Science Journals

Cameron English sees a rise in partisan advocacy as part of the problem of increasing retractions in science journals
English argues that science research, which is already mostly paid for by taxpayers, should be open access so more of us can see what's happening. Read More ›
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Red Pill Blue Pill concept. The right choice the concept of the movie matrix. The choice of tablets

What Drives the Belief That We Live in a Computer Sim Universe?

The lack of evidence for the sim is admitted — but then we are challenged to prove that it ISN’T true…
If we grasp the psychological role that the belief that we live in a sim universe plays, it’s easier to see why it persists in the absence of evidence. Read More ›
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surreal portrait of nature's essence. woman's face blending with lush trees and life, symbolizing environmental connection and growth

Panpsychism Going Mainstream in Popular Media?

Significantly, Hawkins does not try to privilege conventional “consciousness is an illusion” over panpsychism (“everything is conscious”). He treats the two views equally
Panpsychism is very much a materialist theory. It avoids absurdity by admitting that human consciousness is real — but then tries to make it part of nature. Read More ›
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Caution warning sign indicates a potential error danger in the digital technology system. Symbol exclamation, system failure or trouble. Notice important website maintenance and available on internet

Can AI Help Stem the Tide of Fake Science Papers?

One problem is that science journals don’t do a very good job of establishing author identities. Chatbots are bound to make things worse
AI can help detect fake papers but it is not going to save researchers from a partly AI-driven dystopia. Read More ›
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Scientist preparing a DNA sample for testing.

Dual-Use Technology and Research Ethics: Interview with Yves Moreau

A conversation on the responsibility and ethical limits of tech companies
Our conversation about the ethics of collecting and using genetic data brought out two important themes that are often addressed here at Mind Matters News. Read More ›
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blue sky ocean

Are Near-Death Experiences Just Another Branch of Research Now?

We should hope so because there are a number of interesting allied research areas that would be better studied without preexisting prejudice against NDEs
In a discussion at Psychology Today, a philosopher notes that her dissertation supporting the reality of near-death experiences was received without hostility. Read More ›
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transparent invisible person on the city street. ai generated

Invisibility Isn’t Science Fiction; It’s Interesting Engineering

Things are visible only when light strikes them but light can sometimes be manipulated so as not to strike them, with remarkable results.

Invisibility is one of those interesting concepts that started out as imagination: What if I were invisible? Or— in the hands of a storyteller — what if my character were invisible? Tolkien famously made it a power granted by the Ring in The Lord of the Rings. The concept is used in science fiction too, for example, in the form of the cloaking device: However, as science fiction writer Douglas Adams (1952–2001) noted satirically in Life, the Universe, and Everything, in everyday life, “The Somebody Else’s Problem field is much simpler and more effective, and what’s more can be run for over a hundred years on a single torch battery. This is because it relies on people’s natural disposition not Read More ›

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Physics or mathematical equations on a universe decorative LED background give the impression of interstellar space travel.

Fine-Tuning of Universe Makes a Top Neuroscientist “Very Hopeful”

Allen Institute’s Christof Koch talks about the assumptions underlying his consciousness theory — which led many other neuroscientists to try to Cancel him
When one of the world’s most prominent research neuroscientists goes off the classic materialist script — and gets away with it — things are changing. Read More ›
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Nuclear power plant.

Is Our World, Post-1950, Really a Geological Epoch?

Some earth scientists lobby for calling the past 75 years the Anthropocene epoch, giving it equal importance with the 16-million-year Upper Jurassic
Whether it’s good science terminology, the Anthropocene concept broadcasts so much cultural vibe that it may not just go away after a No vote. Read More ›
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Healthy retina, illustration

Grappling Honestly With Science’s Blind Spot

An astrophysicist, a theoretical physicist, and a philosopher all walk into a bar and say, “At the heart of science lies something we do not see that makes science possible” Um… yes!
In their essay, Blind Spot authors Frank, Gleiser, and Thompson seem to sense that dredging up pat materialist answers that don’t really work won’t help much. Read More ›
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Doctor and robotics research diagnose Human brains scan generative ai

If AI Speeds Up Science, Does It Risk Squashing Some Parts?

A Yale anthropologist and a Princeton psychologist warn of the dangers of overreliance on AI in science
Researchers could end up being constrained by the limits of what AI can do, cut off from what it can’t do, and possibly unaware of the embedded viewpoint. Read More ›
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Businessman keeping the growth in economy

Is There a Solution to Low Quality Research in Science?

Molecular biologist Henry Miller and statistician Stanley Young explain why statistical techniques like meta-analysis won’t solve the basic problem
It doesn’t sound as though any solution that doesn’t tackle the basic honesty problem is likely to work. Meanwhile, the public should not be blamed for doubt. Read More ›
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Businessman holding tablet and showing holographic graphs and stock market statistics gain profits. Concept of growth planning and business strategy. Display of good economy form digital screen.

Retracted Paper Is a Compelling Case for Reform

The credibility of science is being undermined by misuse of the tools created by scientists. Here's an example from an economics paper I was asked to comment on
In my book Distrust (Oxford 2023), I recommend that journals not publish data-driven research without public access to nonconfidential data and methods used. Read More ›
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Magazines

How Data Can Appear in Science Papers — Out of Thin Air!

At Retraction Watch, Gary Smith explains how one author team apparently copy pasted missing data about green innovation in various countries

Recently, Retraction Watch, a site that helps keeps science honest, noted some statistical peculiarities about a paper last September in the Journal of Clean Energy, “Green innovations and patents in OECD countries.” The site was tipped off by a PhD student in economics that “For several countries, observations for some of the variables the study tracked were completely absent.” But that wasn’t the big surprise. The big surprise was when the student wrote to one of the authors: In email correspondence seen by Retraction Watch and a follow-up Zoom call, [Almas] Heshmati told the student he had used Excel’s autofill function to mend the data. He had marked anywhere from two to four observations before or after the missing values Read More ›

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mysterious bigfoot sighting in the deep forest, generative AI illustration

Bigfoot and Trust in Science: A Cautionary Tale

Of three men searching for Bigfoot in 1969 — a hunting guide, an enthusiast, and a physical anthropologist, which seemed surest that the monster was real?
Fruitful science depends in part upon character as well as intelligence and training. A dose of humility seldom goes unrewarded. Read More ›
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Silhouette of human with universe and physical, mathematical formulas

Why Is Theology the Most Important Empirical Science?

Arguing pro or con about the existence of God has resulted in many successful and/or widely accepted theories in science
If generating testable theories in empirical science is the standard of success, theology has certainly succeeded, as the record will show. Read More ›