TagAndrew McDiarmid
McDiarmid: The Critical Flaw in Thinking AI Can Do Just Anything
At the Chicago Tribune, he asks readers to recognize what is missing from the mix
Why Engineer Walter Bradley (1943-2025) Still Matters
For Bradley, engineering was not about prestige or profit, but about restoring dignity
Neurosurgeon Michael Egnor: Does the Soul Really Exist?
He offers evidence that helps explain why modern medicine tries to understand near-death experiences, not merely explain them away
AI’s Sweet Talk: How Artificial Companions Steal Our Humanity
Andrew McDiarmid and Janet Parshall discuss the sometimes tragic consequences of needy people becoming dependent on AI-fueled fantasy relationships
Can Faith and Neuroscience Align? Yes, Says Science Writer
If both faith and neuroscience are honestly seeking the truth, says Denyse O’Leary, they will find much that is mutually supportive
Do Humans and Chimpanzees Differ by Only 1 Percent?
Of course not, but now that a more likely genetics figure has been published, some researchers are having a surprisingly hard time accepting it
The Immortal Mind: How Neuroscience Points Beyond Materialism
Andrew McDiarmid interviews neurosurgeon Michael Egnor on the ways in which the mind is more than the brain
Guarding Against the Dangers of Relational AI
Is this formidable technology set to solve the crisis of loneliness and mental health facing society today, especially in our youth? Or is it making things worse?
Scientists Spar Over What a Netflix Science Documentary Should Be
Should “Ancient Apocalypse” be relabeled “science fiction” if archeologists don’t think the documentary writer’s claims are valid?
Andrew McDiarmid on Teens and Smartphones
We can mitigate the mental health crisis, but we have to act now.
Gary Habermas on the Scientific Evidence for Near-Death Experiences
Is there strong scientific evidence for near-death experiences? On this episode of Mind Matters, we’re happy to share host Andrew McDiarmid’s recent ID The Future conversation with Dr. Gary Habermas about his chapter evaluating the evidence for near-death experiences in the recent book Minding the Brain. As Dr. Habermas explains, most near-death accounts contain both objective and subjective elements. While personal testimony about other Read More ›
The Scientific Evidence for Near-Death-Experiences
A conversation with Dr. Gary Habermas on the plausibility and evidence of near-death-experiences.Is there strong scientific evidence for near-death experiences, the subject of the new film After Death? On an episode of ID the Future, I spoke with Dr. Gary Habermas about his chapter evaluating the evidence for near-death cases in the recent book Minding the Brain: Models of the Mind, Information, and Empirical Science. As Dr. Habermas explains, most near-death accounts contain both objective and subjective elements. Personal testimony about other realms can’t be independently corroborated, but objective evidence rooted in this world can be confirmed and evaluated. “I can’t verify heavenly discussions or heavenly sites,” says Habermas, “so the kind of NDE data I’m talking about virtually always occur on this earth in normal kinds of situations, like parking lots or in your Read More ›
Materialism Can’t Account for Beauty
Concepts like truth, beauty, and goodness can't be derived from the material world
The Benefits of Ditching Social Media
Tech writer Cal Newport explains why boredom is actually a good thingCal Newport ascended into the limelight upon his viral Ted Talk in which he called people to ditch social media. In this video from last year, Newport rehashes some of the main benefits of not having social media. Boredom is on the list, interestingly; Newport notes that most people no longer have moments of boredom, and as a consequence, don’t have any space in their lives to reflect, think, and work through their emotions. Andrew McDiarmid, a contributor at Mind Matters, has written on this in the past. He notes, Mind wandering, or stream of consciousness thought, gives us several mental gains, including the ability to consider obstacles to future goals, generate novel, creative thoughts, and place our experiences in meaningful Read More ›
John Muir and the Pleasures of Nature
The inventor-turned-naturalist can teach us the benefits of loving the natural worldApril 21 is John Muir’s birthday. Muir is typically remembered as one of America’s foremost naturalists, father of our national parks and a tireless defender of the wilderness. But he might very well have been none of those things. As a young man, Muir was gifted at building machines, and he was set to pursue a career in technology until everything went dark. Literally. Revisiting this little-known chapter of Muir’s life can inspire us to better navigate our own relationship to technology and give us a fresh reason to celebrate his work. In 1849, Muir left his homeland of Scotland and moved with his family to the backwoods of Wisconsin. Farm work, chores, and family Bible studies kept him busy Read More ›
AI Could Take Us Over, But Not In the Way You Might Expect
Revisiting last year's article from tech critic Andrew McDiarmidAs I reported last year, there’s been a lot of talk about a singularity in the last decade. That’s the point when machine intelligence (AI) exceeds human intelligence and begins to rule humanity and eventually the entire universe. It’s a scary proposition to be sure, but we can rest easy on that front, because it’s not going to happen. The futurists assume there’s a bridge between narrow applications of AI and the general intelligence humans possess. But no such bridge exists. As Erik J. Larson explains in his book The Myth of Artificial Intelligence, we’re not even on the right road to such a bridge. You can also take George Gilder’s word for it. One of the most influential thinkers on technology and economics Read More ›
In Defense of Daydreaming
Andrew McDiarmid encourages people to set aside their devices and embrace the discomfort of silenceAt the end of the day, do you ever feel like you’ve ingested so much information but have thought and contemplated so little? When do we take the time to simply be quiet and think? Discovery Institute’s Andrew McDiarmid encourages people to set aside their devices and embrace the discomfort of silence in a piece from The Epoch Times. He writes, A recent study reported in the Journal of Experimental Psychology suggests that the act of “just thinking” can be more rewarding than we might realize. The authors of the paper acknowledge that the ability to engage in internal thoughts without external stimulation is a unique characteristic in humans, yet we regularly underappreciate the benefits of doing so. This constant feed of Read More ›
AI is a Tool, Not a Solution for Everything
Life is complicated and our problems can't always be solved through an engineering approachAI is a tool. In the words of Robert J. Marks from an interview at last year’s COSM conference, it can’t be a “friend or foe,” because it’s not a living entity. It’s something that can be used (or abused). Such a neutral, balanced attitude toward AI is alien to many Big Tech moguls who are pitching AI as the solution to many of the world’s complicated problems. For them, on the flipside of the doomsday alarmists, AI will usher in a new epoch of human progress. They may be partially right about that, but according to this writer at Slate, their hype reflects a commitment to technological “solutionism,” the idea that tech, once adequately suited for the task, can Read More ›
Navigating the Technological Age
Humans have created technology for centuries. But what happens when we stop using tech and tech starts using us? In this episode, Discovery Institute Senior Fellow Andrew McDiarmid sits down with Robert J. Marks to talk about the root meaning of technology, how it has developed, and the ways we can healthily navigate our highly technologized world. Additional Resources