Category: Zeitgeist

David Eagleman: Can a computer simulate a brain?

The other day, I highlighted the article by neuroscientist Kenneth Miller on the possibility of mind uploading.  Miller saw it as possible, but thought it might be thousands or maybe even millions of years before we could do it.  Here's a take by another neuroscientist, David Eagleman, being a bit more optimistic, and discussing the … Continue reading David Eagleman: Can a computer simulate a brain? →

Don’t forget calories, just don’t focus on them as the only important thing.

James Hamblin has an article in The Atlantic, published last year, advocating that dieters should focus on eating healthy foods, and not worry about counting calories. The proposed new FDA nutrition labels make the calorie number larger. That seems like a mistake. Focusing on calories puts the emphasis in the wrong place. The biochemistry is complex, but the … Continue reading Don’t forget calories, just don’t focus on them as the only important thing. →

Snowden’s answer to the Fermi Paradox and its assumptions

The Fermi Paradox is the question that, if the conditions for life in the galaxy are as ubiquitous as they appear to be, so that there should be hundreds, if not thousands of alien civilizations out there, then where is everyone?  Why have we found no evidence for any for those civilizations?  And why aren't they here? … Continue reading Snowden’s answer to the Fermi Paradox and its assumptions →

How An Epilepsy Treatment Shaped Our Understanding of Consciousness

I've written before about split brain patients, and what they mean for consciousness. Emily Esfahani Smith has a pretty good write up on the experiments and what they showed: How An Epilepsy Treatment Shaped Our Understanding of Consciousness - The Atlantic. The patients were there because they all struggled with violent and uncontrollable seizures. The procedure … Continue reading How An Epilepsy Treatment Shaped Our Understanding of Consciousness →

SMBC: What if the universe is made of math?

I loved this SMBC.  It echoes something I've observed before, that some physicists have disdain for philosophy, while often engaging in it themselves. Hovertext: "Philosophy is dumb, unless it comes out of the mouth of a physicist." Click through for full sized version and red button caption. via Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal. I've discussed the question before … Continue reading SMBC: What if the universe is made of math? →