On this bingecast archive episode of Mind Matters News, guest host Pat Flynn welcomes Dr. Winston Ewert to the show to discuss Ewert’s chapter in the volume Minding the Brain.
In his contribution, titled “The Human Mind’s Sophisticated Algorithm and Its Implications,” Dr. Ewert argues that the human mind’s problem-solving cognition can be modeled as a sophisticated algorithm. Ewert explains that any cognitive task can be expressed as a version of the halting problem from computer science, where an algorithm either halts or continues infinitely. He suggests that humans are able to solve a large and sophisticated subset of these problems, but are limited in the same way that no algorithm can solve all halting problems. Ewert contends that this algorithmic view of human cognition has implications that challenge reductive materialist and neo-Darwinian views, despite resistance from some thinkers who believe human abilities transcend any algorithm.
On this episode of the Mind Matters News podcast, guest host Pat Flynn welcomes Dr. Robert Marks and Dr. Michael Egnor to the show to critique Integrated Information Theory (IIT), a popular mathematical model that attempts to explain consciousness through computational complexity.
The mid-/late-1960s was a watershed in Sci-Fi movies, with Stanley Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey being released two years after The Fantastic Voyage.
In a Godless universe, love, self-sacrifice, friendship, relationships, pro-creation, art and literature are nothing more than relatively subjective illusions to pass the time and avoid boredom with no ultimate purpose or objective meaning.
Matthew Loftus has a new book coming out on this topic later in 2026 called Resisting Therapy Culture: The Dangers of Pop Psychology and How the Church Can Respond.
Is it possible to personally alter the physical structure of your brain? On today’s Mind Matters News, host Dr. Michael Egnor sits down with fellow neurosurgeon and author Dr. Lee Warren to discuss his book The Life-Changing Art of Self-Brain Surgery. Dr. Warren shares how his medical training and Christian faith collided after the tragic loss of his son. The experience helped him realize that the mind is more than just brain activity. Dr. Warren unpacks the main thrust of his book, describing self-brain surgery as the intentional practice of choosing different thoughts to physically change the brain’s structure and improve overall health. Dr. Warren has observed the effects of such self-driven change in real-time brain scans, which deliver positive results like reducing the body’s stress response and promoting healing. Learn how you can alter your brain and bring about lasting positive change in your life.
On this bingecast episode of Mind Matters News, host Dr. Robert J. Marks welcomes to the podcast Dr. Mihretu Guta to discuss one of his chapters in the volume Minding the Brain titled “Mirror Neurons, Consciousness, and the Bearer Question.” Dr. Guta discusses the concept of “mirror neurons” – a type of brain cell that fires when a person observes an action being performed, as well as when the person performs the same action themselves. The properties of these neurons suggest they may play a role in empathy and understanding others’ actions. Dr. Guta explores the implications of mirror neurons to the mind-brain debate and how further study could illuminate these fascinating neural components.
Boredom can also be a proxy for other risk factors, leading to self-destructive behaviours such as drug/alcohol abuse, hardcore pornography addiction, unbridled promiscuity, crime, and, in the worst-case scenario, suicide.
A retired psychotherapist from Arizona who spent some 40 years working in hospitals and prisons with schizophrenic patients, was quite disturbed when his analysis of some patients pointed to the supernatural.
On this archive “bingecast” episode of Mind Matters News, hosts Robert J. Marks and Angus Menuge welcome Dr. Mihretu Guta to discuss his contribution to the book Minding the Brain. The discussion covers a number of relevant topics, highlighting the profound and puzzling nature of consciousness and the importance of philosophical inquiry in grappling with this fundamental aspect of human experience.
But webs aside, consider the other strange, sometimes ingenious, tiny creatures/organisms, like a colony of termites, that produce astonishing land structures.
Debate continues on the nature of the mind. Are our minds purely material and comprised only of our physical brains? Does idealism ring true with its views of physical experiences arising solely from a non-physical mind? Or is a dualist position with aspects of both an accurate view? Joining us today to talk about this and his contribution to the Read More ›
