There's a video on the evidence for evolution going around, but turns out the artist that made that video has made a number of them, including this one on the scientific understanding of a gene. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5MQdXjRPHmQ via Videos / What Exactly is a Gene? - Stated Clearly. What's interesting about this, is that the definition of … Continue reading Video on what exactly a gene is
Category: Zeitgeist
The conquest of the Americas
This morning, I came across an essay by Howard Zinn, the famous historian and activist (now deceased), on the real historical Christopher Columbus. I suspect Zinn's portrayal of events was a bit one sided (I doubt the Native Americans were quite the lambs that he portrayed), but he probably overcompensated to some extent for the version we … Continue reading The conquest of the Americas
Mars One and done?
Mars One, a non-governmental plan to send colonists on way trips to Mars starting in 2025, has been in the news a lot over the last year. While I'd love to see us establish a human presence on Mars, the Mars One project has always struck me as a flawed plan, with far too many optimistic assumptions. It … Continue reading Mars One and done?
The myth of the eight-hour sleep
For much of my adult life, I've had trouble sleeping throughout the night, often waking up in the early morning hours, unable to go back to sleep. On weekends or on vacation, I've simply gotten up, drank and/or ate something, maybe read a little bit, and then eventually gone back to sleep, knowing that I had … Continue reading The myth of the eight-hour sleep
Comet Siding Spring: A Close Encounter with Mars
In case you haven't heard yet, there's a comet headed for Mars. It will pass pretty close, close enough for the various orbiters we have in there to get pictures, and for them to be in a little bit of peril. But apparently there is a plan. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oq8lEKAY_fI Comet C/2013 A1 Siding Spring will make … Continue reading Comet Siding Spring: A Close Encounter with Mars
The simulation hypothesis. Is life an illusion?
Seth Shostak takes a look at the simulation hypothesis, the idea that we are in a computer simulated reality: Is Life an Illusion? | Seth Shostak. ...a future historian (or curious teenager) wielding programming skills and access to a honking big computer could construct SimEarth on steroids. They could, for example, run a simulation of 15th century European society to … Continue reading The simulation hypothesis. Is life an illusion?
Good News Most People Don’t Believe
Saying that mind uploading will never be possible is unwarranted
This question came up on Quora: 3 What percent chance is there that whole brain emulation or mind uploading to a neural prosthetic will be feasible by 2048? - Quora. After seeing a number of skeptical responses, many claiming that mind uploading was inherently impossible or even incoherent, I posted the following reply: I think mind … Continue reading Saying that mind uploading will never be possible is unwarranted
Chaos theory and doubts about determinism
I've mentioned a few times before that I'm not a convinced determinist, at least not of the strict or hard variety. I have three broad reasons for this. The first is that I'm not sure how meaningful it is to say something is deterministic in principle if it has no hope of ever being deterministic … Continue reading Chaos theory and doubts about determinism
xkcd: Marriage
This is interesting. I'm not entirely sure what to conclude from it, but it is interesting. via xkcd: Marriage.
SelfAwarePatterns 