Probably only amusing if you know something about both philosophy and D&D. Click though for the full version. via Dungeons & Dragons & Philosophers - Existential Comics.
Month: April 2014
The value of history
Tom Chivers has a particularly misguided post up The Telegraph arguing that science is better than history. Given how under siege many in the humanities feel themselves to be today, this post is unnecessarily adversarial. Chivers does claim to recognize that history is a valuable endeavor (albeit limited in his view), but argues that if you … Continue reading The value of history
10 of the Greatest Myths in Psychology – Myth over Mind
RealClearScience has an article on long standing popular psychology myths. The language is a bit loose, implying that professional psychologists might hold these, but I think they're definitely pervasive among the public. Psychology is rife with misinformation and falsehoods. And sadly, the vast majority of them show no signs of vacating popular culture. In 2009, … Continue reading 10 of the Greatest Myths in Psychology – Myth over Mind
What is mathematics about? – James Franklin – Aeon
James Franklin has an interesting piece today at Aeon, asking what exactly mathematics is. He looks at Nominalism and Platonism, but discounts both in favor of Aristotelian Realism, which is something I'd not heard of before but seems equivalent to the idea that mathematics is empirical. What is mathematics about? We know what biology is about; … Continue reading What is mathematics about? – James Franklin – Aeon
Minimum crew size for an interstellar generation ship
John Hawks takes a look at a fascinating article in Popular Mechanics that looks at what the minimum crew size would need to be for an interstellar generation ship, and relates it to what is known about genetics in anthropology. Popular Mechanics asks, "How Many People Does It Take to Colonize Another Star System?". The basic problem … Continue reading Minimum crew size for an interstellar generation ship
xkcd: Cosmologist on a Tire Swing
A few years ago the "it's senseless to ask what came before the big bang because there was no before" meme was hot. I remember Stephen Hawking saying it in his documentary a year or two ago. There now seems to be a good amount of push-back from the rest of the cosmology community to this certitude. … Continue reading xkcd: Cosmologist on a Tire Swing
Global Warming for Beginners — Starts With A Bang! — Medium
Ethan Siegel on global warming. If you are still a skeptic about global warming, please consider taking a few minutes to learn about it. If you had never heard of global warming before, how would you figure out whether it’s happening? “There is no question that climate change is happening; the only arguable point is what … Continue reading Global Warming for Beginners — Starts With A Bang! — Medium
The fine tuning “problem”
An interesting article byJonathan Borwein and David H. Bailey on why science needs philosophy. When renowned scientists now talk seriously about millions of multiverses, the old question “are we alone?” gets a whole new meaning. Our ever-expanding universe is incomprehensibly large – and its rate of growth is apparently accelerating – but if so it’s … Continue reading The fine tuning “problem”
One Plus One Equals Two. ALLEGEDLY. — The Nib — Medium
Somewhat related to some of our recent conversations about mathematics. Click through to see the full comic. via One Plus One Equals Two. ALLEGEDLY. — The Nib — Medium.
How a Medieval Philosopher Dreamed Up the ‘Multiverse’ | Space.com
The idea that our universe may be just one among many out there has intrigued modern cosmologists for some time. But it looks like this "multiverse" concept might actually have appeared, albeit unintentionally, back in the Middle Ages. When scientists analyzed a 13th-century Latin text and applied modern mathematics to it, they found hints that … Continue reading How a Medieval Philosopher Dreamed Up the ‘Multiverse’ | Space.com
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