Mind Matters Natural and Artificial Intelligence News and Analysis

TagLawrence Krauss

view-of-universe-with-stars-and-amazing-colorful-and-deep-blue-dark-stockpack-adobe-stock
View of universe with stars and amazing colorful and deep blue dark
Type
post
Author
Andrew McDiarmid
Date
September 21, 2023
Categorized
Physics
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The Universe and its Mathematical Structure

Do humans project mathematics upon nature or vice versa?
Andrew McDiarmid
September 21, 2023
2
Physics

This past June, we published an article featuring a conversation between physicist Lawrence Krauss and novelist Cormac McCarthy, where they discussed whether mathematics was “discovered or invented.” Robert J. Marks went on to write his own thoughts on the question shortly thereafter. If you’re further interested in mathematics and whether there is an actual correspondence between math and the natural world, consider watching new podcast episode featuring Dr. Melissa Cain Travis. Do humans project mathematical order onto nature? Or was it there all along? On a new episode of ID the Future, I conclude a three-part conversation with Dr. Melissa Cain Travis about her recent book Thinking God’s Thoughts: Johannes Kepler and the Miracle of Cosmic Comprehensibility.  In Part 3, we look Read More ›

milky-way-over-cordillera-huayhuash-stockpack-adobe-stock
Milky Way over Cordillera Huayhuash
Type
post
Author
Peter Biles
Date
June 25, 2023
Categorized
Mathematics, Science
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Is Mathematics an Illusion? Lawrence Krauss and Cormac McCarthy Discuss

McCarthy asked, "Would mathematics be here if we weren't?"
Peter Biles
June 25, 2023
3
Mathematics, Science

In December, physicist and author Lawrence Krauss interviewed the late American novelist Cormac McCarthy, who died on June 13th at the age of 89 in Santa Fe, N.M. McCarthy is famous for his remarkable fictional works like The Road and Blood Meridian, but he was also deeply fascinated with mathematics and science. Apparently, he enjoyed reading science more than he did fiction! He moved to Santa Fe from El Paso to be closer to the Santa Fe Institute, a science think tank where McCarthy would spend time speaking with various physicists, scientists, and mathematicians. His latest two novels, The Passenger and Stella Maris, are about a brother and sister who are both brilliant mathematicians. Towards the beginning of the interview, Read More ›

billboard-for-the-abandoned-town-of-nothing-arizona-stockpack-adobe-stock
Billboard for the abandoned town of Nothing, Arizona.
Type
post
Author
News
Date
December 12, 2021
Categorized
Philosophy, Science
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How Can the Universe Have Arisen From Nothing?

We are asked to examine the problem logically
News
December 12, 2021
5
Philosophy, Science

Science writer Prudence Louise offers some realism on the topic: The question of cosmic origins is a perennially popular question, but most theists think the answer has been known for thousands of years. God is the ultimate cause of the cosmos. While there’s room to disagree with that theistic conclusion, there are rational limits on the valid ways to reject it. None of the outcomes of rejecting God are appealing. They’re the sort of explanatory gaps we reluctantly accept in the wider context of our philosophical commitments. Prudence Louise, “Universes from Nothing?: Scientific euphemisms and equivocations” at Medium (November 21, 2021) (November 21, 2021) She runs through a number of ideas that sound popular in the lunchroom but don’t stand Read More ›

The universe within. Silhouette of a man inside the universe, physical and mathematical formulas.. The concept on scientific and philosophical topics. Elements of this image furnished by NASA.
Type
post
Author
Denyse O'Leary
Date
June 26, 2019
Categorized
Philosophy of Mind
Tagged
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Believing in a Purposeful World Is Good Mental Health!

Perhaps fine-tuning of the universe should be taught in school as a mental health initiative
Denyse O'Leary
June 26, 2019
4
Philosophy of Mind

The massive evidence for design in our universe raises a question: Why isn’t the fine-tuning of the universe taught in school, not as a support for any specific religion but rather as a connection with reality, as support for mental health?

Read More ›