Ponderings of science, philosophy, history, society, and many other topics
Scientific breakthroughs often begin with someone saying, "Don't panic. This crazy sounding assumption is just to make the math work." Nicholaus Copernicus, when he developed his theory of heliocentrism (the earth orbits the sun), was operating from a scientific realist view. In other words, he thought his system reflected actual reality, or at least reflected it … Continue reading Is it just the math?
AI consciousness seems like an easier thing to ponder when you approach it from a functionalist viewpoint. Sunday I watched the movie The Creator. The premise is a few decades in the future, we've managed to create sentient robots. At first, all seems well, with them being a boon for humanity. Then a nuclear bomb goes off in … Continue reading Is AI consciousness an urgent issue?
Another year, another 41 posts and 1600 comments. I reminisced about the blog last month on the tenth anniversary post, so I'll spare you any more of it this time. I just want to thank all of you, my online friends, for the interesting conversations we've had this year. I'm looking forward to the next year's discussions and … Continue reading Merry Christmas
Just some thoughts on Doctor Who, Rebel Moon, and Beacon 23. We had the three Doctor Who specials earlier this month. In general I thought they were alright. The first was serviceable, the second pretty good, and the third a decent bit of canon cleanup. I know a lot of people who were hoping Russell Davies would find … Continue reading Beacon 23 and other TV notes
A new approach for reconciling general relativity and quantum mechanics proposes adding some randomness in general relativity, making it less deterministic on small scales. For several decades, physicists have been trying to reconcile general relativity and quantum mechanics. These theories, despite each having been empirically validated to several decimal places, contradict each other. The problem … Continue reading What would randomness in general relativity mean?
In this video, Matt O'Dowd tackles the issue of probabilities in the many-worlds interpretation of quantum mechanics. A quick reminder. The central mystery of quantum mechanics is that quantum particles move like waves of possible outcomes that interfere with each other, until a measurement happens, when they appear to collapse to one localized outcome, the … Continue reading Many-worlds, probabilities, and world stacks
Comments on some shows I've watched, or tried to watch recently, including Pluto, Loki, For All Mankind, Doctor Who, and Blue Eye Samurai. Pluto is a "reinterpretation" of the classic Astro Boy characters and setting. This is a world that now includes robots, with laws passed to ensure their equal rights. But someone is killing … Continue reading Blue Eye Samurai, Doctor Who, and other TV notes
My first post on this blog was ten years ago this week. I almost missed the anniversary, but WordPress reminded me about it earlier in the week. I originally started the blog in 2013 for two main reasons. First, I did NaNoWriMo in 2012, but a week into November in 2013, it was obvious I … Continue reading The blogging experience at ten years
E. E. "Doc" Smith's Lensman series is classic space opera. As a science fiction nerd, I'm actually a bit embarrassed to admit that I had never read it before. Part of the reason was only discovering it as an adult, and finding the opening of the official first book in the series, Triplanetary, to be … Continue reading The Lensman series
https://philosophyandfiction.com/2023/11/01/pigs-and-truffles-giveaway/?page_id=7569 Tina Lee Foresee, a longtime fellow blogger, has a new book coming out: Truth & Generosity: How Truth Makes Language Possible, by her and her husband, Neal Weiner. From what I understand, it will be on the relationship between language and belief. She's working to promote the book, which is what the pig hunt … Continue reading Tina’s new book on language and belief
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