^Tagscience

Hiker walking in the Australian bushland

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post

Author
Peter Biles
Date
November 23, 2023

Categorized
Natural Intelligence

Tagged
AI, attention, Beauty, gratitude, Intelligent Design, math, Nature, Order, science, wonder}

Beauty is Non-Computable

_{Taking some time to reflect on the beautiful things in the world can lead to genuine thanksgiving.} _{Peter Biles

November 23, 2023

3

Natural Intelligence}

This Thanksgiving, what are you thankful for? Family, friends, a good job? Perhaps having a stable home, a good car, or a rich church community? Those are all wonderful things to reflect on and be thankful for during this season, and throughout the year, but what about the beauty of the natural world? Do we take enough time to pause and marvel at the wonder and intricacy of nature? In addition, who might we have to thank for such beauty? Philip Ryken, president of Wheaton College, wrote a book this year called Beauty is Your Destiny in which he calls readers to attend to creation with eyes of wonder. He also notes that many scientists, far from reducing the natural Read More ›

Divergence of directions. A wide path in the park is divided into two alleys leading in different directions in the rays of sunset.

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post

Author
Michael Egnor
Date
November 9, 2023

Categorized
Free will

Tagged
Choice, denial, free will, Reality, religion, science}

Why Free Will Denial is Self-Refuting

_{If free will deniers are right, their denial of free will is just a biological ink stain.} _{Michael Egnor

November 9, 2023

4

Free will}

Atheist biologist Jerry Coyne has doubled down (it’s more like quadrupled down) on his denial of the reality of free will. There are abundant reasons to affirm free will — e.g., it is the lived experience of every psychologically normal human being throughout history, it is the foundation for most of our religious traditions as well as the foundation for our systems of justice, our systems of government, our conventions of morality, it is the foundation for every aspect of our interpersonal relationships (does your spouse really choose to love you, or is she a meat robot compelled to do so by her molecules?), and there is strong neuroscience evidence for the reality of free will as well. The only Read More ›

Generative AI illustrations of the last step of the spiritual journey. Depths of consciousness, hidden wisdom, and transformative growth open a portal into a new realm of conscious awareness.

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post

Author
Andrew McDiarmid
Date
November 2, 2023

Categorized
Neuroscience

Tagged
After Death, Afterlife, Andrew McDiarmid, Gary Habermas, Near Death Experiences, Neuroscience, science}

The Scientific Evidence for Near-Death-Experiences

_{A conversation with Dr. Gary Habermas on the plausibility and evidence of near-death-experiences.} _{Andrew McDiarmid

November 2, 2023

2

Neuroscience}

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 ›

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post

Author
News
Date
October 26, 2023

Categorized
Technocracy

Tagged
CS Lewis, John West, science, Technocracy, That Hideous Strength, welfare state}

C.S. Lewis and “Technocracy”

_{Science needs its critics as much as any field of human endeavor does.} _{News

October 26, 2023

2

Technocracy}

By David Klinghoffer Science needs its critics as much as any field of human endeavor does. Maybe even more so today, since there is a widespread feeling, hardly upset by our experience with the public health tyranny imposed in the context of Covid, that “the Science” is beyond question. John West edited the book The Magician’s Twin: C. S. Lewis on Science, Scientism, and Society and he talked recently with podcaster Joseph Weigel about the model of science criticism that Lewis provides. It’s a theme that threads through many of Lewis’s writings — including That Hideous Strength (a great novel, and Dr. West’s favorite, he says, though the choice is a tough one), the third chapter of The Abolition of Man, and elsewhere. Lewis’s Prescience on “Technocracy” Read More ›

Group of people with posters protesting against climate change outdoors, closeup

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post

Author
Wesley J. Smith
Date
October 5, 2023

Tagged
Climate change, ideology, lab, National Review, science, Wesley J. Smith}

More Ideological Alarmism in Yet Another Top Journal

_{Ideology continues to harm the scientific endeavor.} _{Wesley J. Smith

October 5, 2023

4}

As trust in our institutions — including science — sinks, the world’s most prestigious professional journals keep churning out ideological tracts that undermine necessary scientific objectivity. Terrified of Climate Change Nature — perhaps the world’s most prestigious science journal — just published a screed in which a scientist urges colleagues to take “direct action” to convince us that radical change must be instituted now to save the planet from climate change. The author, astronomer Bernadette Rogers, is terrified of climate change and left her work in that field to pursue radical political advocacy. From, “The Climate Emergency Demands Scientists Take Action and Here’s How” I left my job as Head of Science Operations at the Gemini South Observatory in 2014, driven to ‘do more’ about Read More ›

Tower of Babel, Abstract Painting. Cubism

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post

Author
News
Date
October 3, 2023

Categorized
Science

Tagged
Acton Institute, Babel, Darwinism, David Berlinksi, Jay Richards, science, Science After Babel (book), Scientism}

A New Review for Berlinksi’s Latest Book

_{Despite the wonders of the scientific enterprise, it is run by humans, and is thus fallible.} _{News

October 3, 2023

5

Science}

By David Klinghoffer By now the authority of science has been thoroughly abused. For that, you can thank scientists themselves, their promoters in government bodies and in university PR departments, and the legions of loyal pilot fish in popular and social media. Something really came undone in the Covid era. Today, the phrase “science says” or “doctors say” prompts a smirk from about half the population, and rightly so. To capture this reality, mathematician David Berlinski in his latest book, Science After Babel, evokes the image of Bruegel’s Tower of Babel — a bloated, vain enterprise, in denial of its own failings. The ancients saw science, and the other arts, as embodied by muses — beautiful young women. We may picture something more Read More ›

illustration of blue water surface with rough wave with glitter glow light, theme of

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post

Author
William A. Dembski
Date
September 27, 2023

Categorized
Artificial Intelligence

Tagged
AI, Artificial Intelligence, ChatGPT, Evolution, Intelligent Design, science, William A. Dembski}

When ChatGPT Talks Science

_{Can AI ever transcend its trained biases?} _{William A. Dembski

September 27, 2023

29

Artificial Intelligence}

The other day I received an email keying off my blog post about “ChatGPT and inference to the best explanation” (or IBE). The author mused about the future of ChatGPT4’s knowledge base as it continually grows subject to human-assisted corrections. He speculated on the possibility of future versions, like ChatGPT4 or 5, inferring intelligent design (ID) as the most plausible explanation for the origin of life. For this to happen, the email writer believes that the AI’s knowledge base would need to incorporate impartial references to ID concepts and their supporting arguments, unless the AI can independently arrive at such a conclusion. He then asks the implications if an AI, designed by humans, determines that a higher intelligence created its human creators. Read More ›

Closeup of woman's hand writing on paper over wooden table

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post

Author
Gary Varner
Date
September 23, 2023

Categorized
Arts & Culture

Tagged
aliens, Extraterrestrial life, Language, Movies and TV, science, Science fiction, Signs, theory of time, Time}

Arrival Review, Part 3

_{Investigating the meaning of time and language} _{Gary Varner

September 23, 2023

6

Arts & Culture}

Last time, we finally got to the big twist. Louise has not been having flashbacks of her deceased daughter, but rather, she’s seeing her daughter who is going to die slowly in the future. After dropping this bombshell on the poor woman, the aliens send her back. Ian and Colonel Weber help her into a van while she’s still being bombarded with visions of future events and explain to her that China is on the move, and the Pentagon has ordered them to evacuate. Louise knows she’s supposed to use these visions to stop China, and she eventually does, but before we get to that, we need to talk about this entire setup. First of all, there’s the idea that Read More ›

Stained glass collage of stores from the Bible

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post

Author
Peter Biles
Date
September 17, 2023

Categorized
Transhumanism

Tagged
AI, Catholicism, Christianity, First Things, Medievalism, science, transhumanism, Vox, Wesley J. Smith}

AI as Refashioned Religion

_{How AI fits into the transhumanist utopian dream, and where that dream might have come from} _{Peter Biles

September 17, 2023

3

Transhumanism}

You can see it in the discourse surrounding artificial intelligence (AI) over the last year: AI is going to change everything. Some think it’s going to do this for the better. Others think it’s a technological handmaiden for world destruction if its programming goes awry — or worse: AI becomes self-determining and sentient. An insightful article at Vox by Sigal Samuel considers this doomsday/salvific kind of rhetoric and points out that AI developers sound a whole lot like religious priests, prophesying doom, promising salvation, warning the populace to heed the coming armageddon. He writes, These technologists propose cheating death by uploading our minds to the cloud, where we can live digitally for all eternity. They talk about AI as a Read More ›

Back view of man looking at alien invasion, UFO flying in the sky, concept of evidence and sighting, retro illustration. Generative AI

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post

Author
Gary Varner
Date
September 9, 2023

Categorized
Arts & Culture

Tagged
aliens, Amy Adams, Arrival, Culture, Extraterrestrial life, Jeremy Renner, Language, Movies and TV, science, The Walking Dead}

Arrival Review, Part 1

_{Nobody behaves like they should for the first ten minutes. They act, dare I say, alien.} _{Gary Varner

September 9, 2023

6

Arts & Culture}

Arrival is an interesting movie. It’s well-shot, well-acted, and well-written. The trouble is the script makes some strange choices in the beginning and I just wasn’t persuaded by the movie’s twist at the end. The story starts out with a montage where Louise is raising her daughter, but the child tragically dies of some unknown illness, presumably cancer. The viewer is led to conclude that this is a flashback, but if one listens to the monologue Louise delivers, she says plainly that she’s explaining when the child’s story begins, if there are beginning at all, which is something she no longer believes. This basically means that the entire movie is a flashback, but the viewer is not supposed to notice Read More ›

injecting injection vaccine vaccination medicine flu woman docto

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post

Author
Wesley J. Smith
Date
September 3, 2023

Categorized
Medicine and Health

Tagged
COVID 19 censorship, Heterodoxy, Medicine, National Review, science, transgenderism, Wesley J. Smith}

We Need to Keep Medicine “Evidence-Based”

_{A new approach seems to be arriving — so-called science-based medicine. What is the difference?} _{Wesley J. Smith

September 3, 2023

7

Medicine and Health}

We supposedly live in an era of “evidence-based medicine,” in which medical decisions are guided by the published data. But that approach is now being criticized because the “best evidence” is often in the eye of the beholder. A new approach seems to be arriving — so-called science-based medicine. What is the difference? It seems more than a mere shift in terminology, in that science-based medicine would allow fewer heterodox approaches than permitted by the evidence-based model. A new advocacy article, “Evidence-Based Medicine Is Broken but Science-Based Medicine Can Fix It,” published by the American Council on Science and Health (which claims to debunk “junk” in medicine), explains (emphasis in the original): The idea of evidence-based medicine has been around since Read More ›

Aerial cityscape view of San Francisco and the Bay Bridge at Night

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post

Author
Peter Biles
Date
August 27, 2023

Categorized
Technology

Tagged
AI, Artificial Intelligence, Athens, Faith, god, Jerusalem, Luke Birgis, reason, religion, science, Silicon Valley, soul, Wired}

Silicon Valley is All About Use, Not Truth

_{Of Athens, Jerusalem, and the "third city"} _{Peter Biles

August 27, 2023

3

Technology}

A new article from Wired by Luke Birgis discusses the mentality and culture of Silicon Valley, and puts the technological vision of life up alongside the classic dichotomy between “Athens” and “Jerusalem.” Athens was symbolic of reason, while Jerusalem indicated the spiritual life of the soul. Figuring out a way of connecting (or disconnecting) these two mythic kingdoms has long been the task of philosophers and theologians. Need religion be separated from reason? Are science and faith naturally incompatible? These are worthy questions in their own right. Birgis, however, identifies another burgeoning kingdom that is arguably reducing both Athens and Jerusalem to hypothetical rubble: Silicon Valley. The Valley’s core philosophy is neither reason or beauty, but value, or usefulness. Birgis Read More ›

Science and research of the universe, spiral galaxy and physical formulas, concept of knowledge and education

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post

Author
News
Date
August 22, 2023

Categorized
Mathematics

Tagged
faith and religion, god, Intelligent design theory, Mathematics, Numbers, Physics, religion, science, science and faith}

From Physics to Faith?

_{A podcast episode looking at how physics points to more than meets the eye} _{News

August 22, 2023

2

Mathematics}

Do you recognize the number 1/137.035999206? It might seem arbitrary, but if the fine-structure constant were any higher or lower than it is, you might not exist! On this episode of ID the Future, host Brian Miller kicks off an engaging conversation with Rabbi Elie Feder and Rabbi Aaron Zimmer, hosts of the Physics to God podcast. Feder has a PhD in mathematics and has published articles on graph theory. Zimmer has training in physics, and has studied mathematics, philosophy, and psychology. Both men also have extensive rabbinical training. Through their podcast, Feder and Zimmer invite both secular and religious listeners on a journey through modern physics as they offer rational arguments for an intelligent cause of the universe. In Part 1 of Read More ›

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

Tagged
Conspiracy theories, corporation, Covid, credibility, Distrust (book by Gary Smith), Innovation, Moon landing, power, science, Technology}

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.

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post

Author
Jeffrey Funk and Gary Smith
Date
July 21, 2023

Categorized
Technology

Tagged
Carta, Covid, data, Data scraping, Karl Pearson, LinkedIn, Mathematics, Peter Walker, science, Scientific method, startups, Statistics}

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 ›

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post

Author
News
Date
July 21, 2023

Categorized
Science

Tagged
Alan Turing, David Berlinski, Evolution, Evolution News, ID the Future, Intelligent Design, Life, science, Scientific Reductionism, the imitation game, the Turing Test}

The Immaterial, Alan Turing, and the Mystery of Life

_{Mathematician David Berlinski comments on his new book in new podcast} _{News

July 21, 2023

1

Science}

The recently published book Science After Babel is again in the spotlight at the podcast ID the Future, with its author, philosopher and mathematician David Berlinski, and host Andrew McDiarmid considering various elements of the work. In a new podcast, the pair discuss the puzzling relationship between purely immaterial mathematical concepts (the only kind) and the material world; World War II codebreaker and computing pioneer Alan Turing, depicted in the 2014 film The Imitation Game; and the sense that the field of physics, once seemingly on the cusp of a theory of everything, finds itself at an impasse. Then, too, Berlinski writes, there is the mystery of life itself. If scientists thought that its origin and nature would soon yield to scientific reductionism, they have Read More ›

cosmetic laboratory research and development . science bio skincare cream serum product with leaves. natural organic beauty cosmetics concept. cosmetology.

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post

Author
Jeffrey Funk
Date
July 4, 2023

Categorized
Science

Tagged
Carl Sagan, Curiosity, Data Mining, Data torturing, Distrust (book by Gary Smith), education, Gary Smith, Jeffrey Funk, P-values, science, Science education}

Scientists Have Been Recommending Changes to Science Education for Decades

_{The modern education system seems designed to squelch curiosity} _{Jeffrey Funk

July 4, 2023

7

Science}

Gary Smith describes the problems with today’s science in his new book Distrust: Big Data, Data-Torturing, and the Assault on Science. He recounts endless examples of disinformation, data torture, and data mining, much of which we already knew. Taken together, however, and as I described in this review, they are mind-blowing. He argues that many of these problems come from things scientists do such as p-hacking during statistical analysis, too little emphasis on “impact” in statistical analyses, outright data falsification, and the creation of the Internet, which can be a huge disinformation machine in addition to a valuable resource. In the last chapter, he also offers some solutions such as ending the artificial thresholds for p-values such as 0.05, requiring Read More ›

Adorable little girl shopping for toys. Cute female in toy store. Happy young girl selecting toy

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post

Author
Richard W. Stevens
Date
July 3, 2023

Categorized
Natural Intelligence

Tagged
AI, Atheism, Cause and effect, children, Electricity, intelligence, Kids, Mass and energy, Materialism, Matter, science, Theism, Toddlers, Toy Store, Universe}

How a Toddler in a Toy Store Refutes Materialism

_{This everyday observation yields insight into a fundamental truth} _{Richard W. Stevens

July 3, 2023

5

Natural Intelligence}

I’m a magnet for materialists. I often get into discussions with people who tell me that the universe is nothing but matter and energy. These folks believe in materialism. They say I’m nutty and wrong to think there is anything else. Something like: “Silly theist! Gods are for kids!” Let’s follow that thought. A grandparent of 11 humans, I’ve journeyed with their parents through the young ones’ toddlerhood many times. There’s a lot to learn about reality from toddlers’ learning and growing. It leads to understanding Toddler Truth. Take a toddler to a game arcade, a toy store, or another kid’s house to play. There’s one thing you can count on hearing: “I want that!” We parents start tuning out Read More ›

Infinite letters background, original 3d illustration.

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post

Author
Richard W. Stevens
Date
June 26, 2023

Categorized
Language

Tagged
Deconstruction, Interpretation, Jacques Derrida, Language and intention, meaning, Postmodernism, Richard Stevens, science, Texts, Trust the science, truth}

Postmodernism’s Steady Deconstruction of Reality

_{How can we find truth when nothing is reliable?} _{Richard W. Stevens

June 26, 2023

6

Language}

Sometimes, you just have to try using college professors’ ideas in the real world. One such idea is “postmodernism.” Applied to communications, postmodernism teaches that whenever we read a written text, we should not try to discover what the writer intended. Instead of looking for an objective “meaning,” we should experience what the text means to us personally. The idea goes further, urging us to start by disbelieving the text and doubting our interpretations of it, too. People with the postmodern “deconstructionist” view say, “every text deconstructs” itself, and “every text has contradictions.” Deconstruction means “uncovering the question behind the answers already provided in the text.” Standing upon the ideas of the deconstructionist guru, Jacques Derrida, and his followers, one Read More ›

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post

Author
Peter Biles
Date
June 25, 2023

Categorized
Mathematics, Science

Tagged
Charles Darwin, Cormac McCarthy, El Paso, Evolution, fiction, Lawrence Krauss, Materialism, Mathematics, novels, Physics, Santa Fe Institute, science, Stella Maris, The Passenger}

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 ›