Category: Zeitgeist

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 →

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? →

Iraq and the fallacy of sunk costs

I'm watching the Sunday morning news shows, and of course, the Iraq crisis is a major source of conversation.  One thing I'm hearing over and over again is hand wringing about how much blood and treasure we (the US) have already spent in Iraq.  The reasoning appears to be that all that suffering and sacrifice shouldn't be … Continue reading Iraq and the fallacy of sunk costs →

Neil deGrasse Tyson Turns Down Pluto Debate Challenge

And speaking of the outer solar system, it seems that Neil deGrasse Tyson isn't interested in debating whether or not Pluto is a planet. If you were looking forward to seeing astrophysicist and "Cosmos" host Neil deGrasse Tyson debate how Pluto should be classified, don't hold your breath. Tyson says he's done debating. The planetary scientist in charge of … Continue reading Neil deGrasse Tyson Turns Down Pluto Debate Challenge →

Life on the Billionth Rock From the Sun | Seth Shostak

Seth Shostak has an article at HuffPost on asteroids.  Not the usual we-need-to-prepare-for-incoming, but discussing something I've noted before that the space age needs: an economic incentive.  As some of us have discussed, mining asteroids looks like it might be an excellent candidate. These rocks are a resource. The fact that they're in small chunks makes … Continue reading Life on the Billionth Rock From the Sun | Seth Shostak →