Ponderings of science, philosophy, history, society, and many other topics
A new paper is been getting some attention. It makes the case for biological computation. (This is a link to a summary, but there's a link to the actual paper at the bottom of that article.) Characterizing the debate between computational functionalism and biological naturalism as camps that are hopelessly dug in, the authors propose … Continue reading Biological computation and the nature of software
The SEP article on scientific reductionism notes that the etymology of the word "reduction" is "to bring back" something to something else. So in a methodological sense, reduction is bringing one theory or ontology back to a simpler or more fundamental theory or ontology. The Wikipedia entry on reductionism identifies different kinds: ontological, methodological, and … Continue reading Why I’m a reductionist
Happy Winter Solstice Season! The celebrations around the time that the sun's path in the sky starts getting higher again, and the days longer, seems to stretch back into prehistory. It's no accident that we observe many of our most cherished religious holidays and celebrate a new year around this time. It's kind of a … Continue reading Merry Christmas
In the last post, I discussed Amanda Gefter's critique of Vlatko Vedral's view that observers have no special role in reality. Conveniently, Vedral published an article at IAI discussing his view: Everything in the universe is a quantum wave. (Warning: possible paywall.) Vedral puts his view forward as a radical new interpretation of quantum mechanics. … Continue reading Everything is a quantum wave?
Amanda Gefter has an article at Nautilus a couple of you have asked me about: Reality Exists Without Observers? Boooo! The title is an accurate summary of her thesis. Gefter is responding to a book by Vlatko Vedral, where he reportedly argues for a reality that doesn't require observers. In terms of quantum mechanics, Vedral … Continue reading Does reality require observers?
SelfAwarePatterns 