The BICEP2 team have officially published their results. They had announced to much fanfare back in March, that they had detected primordial gravitational waves, and hence cosmic inflation. But the results have increasingly been met with doubt, primarily centered on the possibility of interstellar dust causing the observed results. From a New Scientist article on the published paper: It … Continue reading BICEP2 team publishes results, backpedals on certainty
Month: June 2014
Yog’s Law and Self-Publishing
Michael Dowd on the personification of reality
Michael Dowd is one of the few people with the title of "Reverend" whose views on reality I find interesting. His motto is, "reality is my God, evidence is my scripture." http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1QeTWVw9Fm4 The other day, I did a post asking what religion is, and wondering whether science wasn't itself a religion. It's hard to listen to … Continue reading Michael Dowd on the personification of reality
Sir Isaac Newton vs Bill Nye, with some Tyson thrown in
This video is just wrong on so many levels. If you haven't seen it yet, you must watch it immediately! (Unless you're at work or something, then almost immediately.) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8yis7GzlXNM
How our brains store recent memories, cell by single cell — ScienceDaily
An interesting study providing more evidence for the computational theory of mind. Confirming what neurocomputational theorists have long suspected, researchers report that the human brain locks down episodic memories in the hippocampus, committing each recollection to a distinct, distributed fraction of individual cells. via How our brains store recent memories, cell by single cell -- … Continue reading How our brains store recent memories, cell by single cell — ScienceDaily
Transforming ourselves takes a lot less energy than terraforming Mars
Popular Science has a brief article laying out the three steps to terraform Mars. The recipe for creating a habitable planet turns out to be surprisingly simple: Just add water—and atmospheric gases. Mars has both, relics from four billion years ago when the planet was warm and wet. “When it comes to Mars, and only … Continue reading Transforming ourselves takes a lot less energy than terraforming Mars
The Fermi Paradox – Wait But Why
The "Wait But Why" blog takes an in depth look at something some of us were discussing on another thread: the Fermi Paradox. Everyone feels something when they’re in a really good starry place on a really good starry night and they look up and see this: Some people stick with the traditional, feeling struck … Continue reading The Fermi Paradox – Wait But Why
Kwame Anthony Appiah: Is religion good or bad? (This is a trick question)
The other day, I did a post asking what religion is. This TED talk by Kwame Anthony Appiah seems to be in much the same theme, pointing out that making accurate generalizations about religion is difficult since there is no one definition of it. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X2et2KO8gcY I do think that perhaps Appiah may be hiding behind exceptions … Continue reading Kwame Anthony Appiah: Is religion good or bad? (This is a trick question)
Two Brothers – Existential Comics
Existential comics explores a common truth about life. Click through for the full version. via Two Brothers - Existential Comics. It took me a long time to recognize the truth this comic explores. Whatever path in life we choose, we'll always wonder what could have been. And we'll always feel some regret for missing out on that … Continue reading Two Brothers – Existential Comics
A limited color vision philosophical zombie?
This article at IO9 reminded me of the recent discussion some of us had on philosophical zombies. Ever heard of the philosophical zombie? It's a philosophical concept that rarely translates into physiology - until now. A case of false color-blindness makes us wonder: What's the difference between seeing something and knowing that you're seeing something? … Continue reading A limited color vision philosophical zombie?
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