Related to the post last week on quantum mechanics, here is a talk that got mentioned in the discussion thread. Warning: Carroll is a passionate advocate for the Many Worlds Interpretation, so don't expect a fair and balanced discussion. The video is about an hour long. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iXRLDatmbgA A couple of points. Carroll notes that we … Continue reading Sean Carroll on the Many Worlds Interpretation of quantum mechanics
Month: December 2018
The difficulty of going to Mars
There's been a lot of celebration this holiday season of the fiftieth anniversary of the Apollo 8 mission, the first time humans went into (relatively) deep space and orbited another body, the moon. I'm glad to see Apollo 8 getting some recognition. It's usually overshadowed by Apollo 11, the first mission to actually land on … Continue reading The difficulty of going to Mars
Merry Christmas
As some of you know, the last year was a tough one for me. My blogging frequency crashed to virtual nonexistence in late 2017 and early 2018, a result of switching to a new job and dealing with the fallout from my father's death. During that period, although I keenly missed our conversations, I had … Continue reading Merry Christmas
Do all quantum trails inevitably lead to Everett?
I've been thinking lately about quantum physics, a topic that seems to attract all sorts of crazy speculation and intense controversy, which seems inevitable. Quantum mechanics challenges our deepest held most cherished beliefs about how reality works. If you study the quantum world and you don't come away deeply unsettled, then you simply haven't properly … Continue reading Do all quantum trails inevitably lead to Everett?
Dogs have metacognition, maybe
Last year in a post on panpsychism, I introduced a hierarchy I use to conceptualize the capabilities of systems that we intuitively see as conscious. This isn't a new theory of consciousness or anything, just my own way of making sense of what is an enormously complicated subject. That hierarchy of consciousness was as follows: … Continue reading Dogs have metacognition, maybe
SelfAwarePatterns 