TagRobert J. Marks
Neuroscience and Philosophy of Mind: Bridging the Gap
Computational neuroscientist Joseph Green tackles the gap in the current Mind Matters podcast
A Neuroscientist on the Limits of the “Cutting Edge” of His Field
As Dr. Joseph Green tells his podcast hosts, although scientists can observe all 302 nematode worm neurons, they cannot fully explain how the worm moves or finds food
Podcast: The Challenge of Proving Creativity in AI
AI researcher Mappouras discusses the limitations of the Lovelace test for AI creativity with host Robert Marks
COSM 2025 Panel to Tackle the Hard Problem: Consciousness
Michael Egnor sees the failure to find a “material center of consciousness” in the brain as a science success, not failure. It points to an important truth about us
Personhood: What it really means to be human
Are we more like detachable Lego bricks or like parts of a body? A Mind Matters News podcast with Eric Jones explores this
Podcast: A New Test to Measure Understanding in AI Models
The Turing Test 2.0 is based on the view that intelligence is the ability to extract new knowledge from existing information and apply it consistently across time and context
Hal Philipp: From Touchscreens to Tough Love on Wellness
In a podcast with computer science professor Robert Marks, the gifted inventor makes a case for a simpler, stronger life via nutritional awareness
Entrepreneur Hal Philipp: Perils of Success for Solo Inventors
He warns, when it comes to patents, “size matters.” Big companies command respect and are harder to cheat than lone inventorsHal Philipp’s inventions underpin automatic faucets, door sensors, and the capacitive touchscreens that made the smartphone era possible. In this podcast, he offers a candid field guide to turning ideas into impact. The discussion ranges from startup structure and venture capital to patent warfare, corporate brinkmanship, and the social aftershocks of the iPhone. Philipp is interviewed by Robert J. Marks and Bradley Norris. Engineering education Marks opens with a challenge to engineering education. Universities excel at training graduates for Boeing or Motorola, but seldom spotlight entrepreneurship as a viable path. Philipp agrees and then complicates the picture. If he could rewind, he says, he would “get a little more assistance,” likely allying with a larger organization to gain leverage. In Read More ›
Defending a Patent: Lessons from Tech Entrepreneur Hal Philipp
In Part 2 of a 3-part interview, Philipp — inventor of the modern touchscreen — tells Robert J. Marks and Bradley Norris about his struggles with AppleWhen we swipe a phone or tap a touchscreen, few of us realize how much engineering — and legal grit — underlies that simple gesture. In an interview with Mind Matters podcasting, inventor Hal Philipp traces the path from lone tinkerer to successful founder, and finally to weary veteran of patent warfare. Philipp, a key inventor behind modern capacitive sensing and touchscreens, delivers a sober message for innovators: invention is only half the battle; defending your invention can define your company’s fate. From Single-Point Touch to a Full Touchscreen Philipp’s early work focused on single-channel capacitive sensors — one-button touch or proximity detection. The breakthrough came when he generalized the idea into linear touch sliders and then into a circular Read More ›
Cold Calls to Touchscreens: Hal Philipp’s Entrepreneurial Journey
Philipp’s remarkable story illustrates seven core entrepreneurial principles
Chatbots Flunk at Resolving Medical Ethics Dilemmas
Surprisingly, despite evident limitations, they are being used in ethics tutorials in medical schools
Methodological Naturalism: Helpful Rule or Hindering Dogma?
If the observable data points to outcomes that natural causes cannot adequately explain, then ruling out supernatural causes from the outset is not scientific humility — it’s dogma
A Neurosurgeon on Near-Death Experiences: Evidence for the Soul?
Michael Egnor sees striking parallels between NDEs and experiences described by mystics when ordinary thought is silenced, deeper reality breaks through
Podcast: Free Will, Determinism, and the Immortal Soul
Michael Egnor explains, to claim, “There is no free will,” is to make a rational argument while denying the very capacity that makes rational argument possibleIn an intellectually rich discussion on Mind Matters News, neurosurgeon Dr. Michael Egnor and host Dr. Robert J. Marks explore the scientific, philosophical, and theological dimensions of free will, determinism, and the immaterial nature of the soul. The conversation centers around contents of the new book The Immortal Mind by Egnor and Denyse O’Leary. What emerges is a compelling case not only for the reality of free will, but also for the immortality of the human soul, grounded in reason and neuroscience. The self-refuting nature of free will denial The conversation begins with an analogy: If a spilled bottle of ink coincidentally formed the words “It’s going to snow,” no one would believe that message had real meaning. Similarly, Egnor Read More ›
Michael Egnor on Faith, Reason, and the Architecture of Reality
In this week’s podcast, discussion with Robert J. Marks, he talks about the relationship between arguments from philosophical reasoning and faith
AI Blackmail & Clickbait: Give Us Dirty Laundry
Despite all the hype about AI threatening blackmail, here’s what really happened…
The Mind Beyond the Brain: Insights from a Neurosurgeon
Dr. Michael Egnor argues, “There’s something about the relationship between the mind and the brain that’s not in the textbooks.”
Why the Human Mind Is Not and Cannot Be a Meat Computer
On this week’s podcast, Robert J. Marks and Eric Holloway explain why that claim — sometimes called computationalism — is not even mathematically possible