Mind Matters Natural and Artificial Intelligence News and Analysis

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hurricane-katrina-heading-towards-new-orleans-louisiana-in-2005-elements-of-this-image-furnished-by-nasa-stockpack-adobe-stock
Hurricane Katrina heading towards New Orleans, Louisiana in 2005 - Elements of this image furnished by NASA
Type
post
Author
News
Date
September 17, 2023
Categorized
Events
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Niall Ferguson on the “Politics of Catastrophe”

How can we better respond when disaster strikes?
News
September 17, 2023
2
Events

In today’s featured video, Discovery Institute Senior Fellow Jay Richards interviews Niall Ferguson, Senior Fellow of Hoover Institution and author of “Doom: The Politics of Catastrophe,” about the history of disasters and how we should think about them. (REGISTER NOW FOR COSM 2023) COSM is an exclusive national summit on the technologies remaking the world as we know it. The mission of the conference is to stimulate debate and deliberation amongst industry leaders, illuminating the synergy between Seattle and the world and providing a scene of civilized conversation and exchange. (REGISTER NOW FOR COSM 2023) We’ve been sharing a number of lectures from past COSM conferences. This video is just one of many you can find at the Bradley Center’s YouTube page. Read More ›

nuclear-war-concept-explosion-of-nuclear-bomb-creative-artwork-decoration-in-dark-stockpack-adobe-stock
Nuclear war concept. Explosion of nuclear bomb. Creative artwork decoration in dark.
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post
Author
Wesley J. Smith
Date
August 25, 2023
Categorized
Arts & Culture
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What Oppenheimer Teaches Us About Today’s Cultural Moment

Let us hope we have the wisdom to take heed of the messages the movie communicates.
Wesley J. Smith
August 25, 2023
6
Arts & Culture

Oppenheimer is the best film Hollywood has produced since The Godfather. The movie brilliantly recounts how the theoretical physicist and genius J. Robert Oppenheimer led the urgent U.S. effort to develop the atomic bomb during World War II that culminated in the obliteration of Hiroshima and Nagasaki and inducted the world into the Atomic Age. The movie is gripping in the (mostly) true story it tells, with acting tours de force by its stars and supporting players, brilliant writing, and terrific cinematography. But, like all great art, it evokes reactions in the viewer beyond what the filmmaker might have intended. For me, even though the story takes place between the 1920s and 1950s, the film highlights two cautionary lessons acutely relevant to Read More ›

conceptual superconductivity
Conceptual drawing of room temperature superconductivity, 3D rendering of suspended iron cubes
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post
Author
Gary Smith and Jeffrey Funk
Date
August 10, 2023
Categorized
Science
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The LK-99 BS Further Undermines the Credibility of Science

The rejection or distortion of genuine science can have tragic consequences
Gary Smith and Jeffrey Funk
August 10, 2023
5
Science

Social media is afire with reports that South Korean researchers have synthesized a room-temperature and room-pressure superconductor they call K-99. This is the biggest scientific news this year — yes, ChatGPT is now so last year. A representative Wow! from experts has been: “If LK-99 is the real deal, it could be a game-changer for everything from quantum computing and medical imaging to energy and transportation.”  Long pursued by physicists and engineers, room-temperature, room-pressure superconductivity would revolutionize electronics and engineering by allowing current to move through wires without any energy loss. Everything will be cheaper and more efficient. Trains will levitate!  Alas, the likelihood that this is BS research is very close to 100 percent. In the 110-year history of Read More ›

group-of-asian-creative-team-programing-designers-participate-in-all-phases-of-the-ux-design-stockpack-adobe-stock
Group of asian creative team programing designers participate in all phases of the UX design.
Type
post
Author
Jeffrey Funk and Gary Smith
Date
July 21, 2023
Categorized
Technology
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Using Data Like a Drunk Uses a Lamppost

Startup companies can be tempted to use statistics for support instead of real illumination
Jeffrey Funk and Gary Smith
July 21, 2023
6
Technology

Karl Pearson, the great English mathematician and statistician, wrote, “Statistics is the grammar of science.” At its finest, it is. Statistical data and methods are the backbone of the scientific method that underlies the astonishing scientific advances that humans have made. Unfortunately, statistics can also be used to provide misleading support for false claims. The examples are numerous and so are the laments: There are three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies, and statistics.—Benjamin Disraeli There are two kinds of statistics, the kind you look up and the kind you make up.—Rex Stout Definition of Statistics: The science of producing unreliable facts from reliable figures. —Evan Esar If you torture the data long enough, they will confess.—Ronald Coase We couldn’t Read More ›