Rachel Held Evans has a guide to help you determine: Are you being persecuted?.
Do cockroaches have a form of consciousness? – Brandon Keim – Aeon
Do cockroaches have a form of consciousness? – Brandon Keim – Aeon. An interesting essay exploring to what degree roaches, worms, and bees have consciousness . I have to admit that, from the time I first heard about cyborg cockroaches, I've found it a disturbing concept, despite the fact that I usually don't hesitate to … Continue reading Do cockroaches have a form of consciousness? – Brandon Keim – Aeon
Why FTL travel is unlikely, at least in the foreseeable future
I'm a big fan of Star Wars, Star Trek, and the space opera genre. The future I would most hope for the human race would be for us to spread out among the stars and become an interstellar species. Now, assuming we don't drive ourselves extinct, I do think we will eventually become an interstellar … Continue reading Why FTL travel is unlikely, at least in the foreseeable future
Views on End-of-Life Medical Treatments | Pew Research Center’s Religion & Public Life Project
Pew has a number of articles up today showing poll results of Americans' views on end-of-life medical treatments, suicide, and related issues. I have to say that I'm pleasantly surprised to see the enlightened views held by a majority of Americans, most of whom believe it would be acceptable to allow someone in a great deal … Continue reading Views on End-of-Life Medical Treatments | Pew Research Center’s Religion & Public Life Project
A Society Without Marriage? | Psychology Today
Nigel Barber has a post up discussing a society without marriage, at least as we understand it, and its implications for the future of marriage in western societies. Anthropologists are constantly pointing out that the range of human behavior is vast. Whenever people start thinking they've figured out the human condition, it always pays to … Continue reading A Society Without Marriage? | Psychology Today
Consciousness is in the eye of the beholder
Alan Turing was a pioneer in the field of computer science. One of the things he is famous for is the Turing test. At its core, this is a test about whether or not a machine, a computer, can convince a human that the machine is another human. The details of the specific test that … Continue reading Consciousness is in the eye of the beholder
Countering emotion with logic is often not effective
Massimo Pigliucci posted yesterday: Rationally Speaking: Irrationality, a personal study, his personal frustration in a conversation with a relative who, despite being a fairly rational person, had an emotional aversion to gay marriage. Massimo lamented the difficulty in convincing people to approach things rationally. I think trying to counter emotional positions with logic is a tricky … Continue reading Countering emotion with logic is often not effective
Mystics and/or Atheists
James McGrath, a theologically progressive Christian, has a post up discussing the many varied conceptions of God: Mystics and/or Atheists. As I indicated on another post, the word 'God' can be used to refer to so many things, that it is accurate to say that we are all theists and all atheists in relation to some … Continue reading Mystics and/or Atheists
The Varieties Of Scientific Experience
There are currently a lot of books on the market which deal with the question of God. Most of them are either polemical, apologetic, or philosophically dense. One that often gets overlooked is Carl Sagan's book, The Variety of Scientific Experience. This book is a transcript of Sagan's Gifford lectures in the 80s, edited by Sagan's … Continue reading The Varieties Of Scientific Experience
Random Brain Waves Save Free Will? – Neuroskeptic | DiscoverMagazine.com
The Neuroskeptic has a post up about an experiment which seems to contradict the famous Libet experiment: Random Brain Waves Save Free Will? - Neuroskeptic | DiscoverMagazine.com. I've personally never found the Libet experiment particularly compelling when it comes to free will arguments, but many do. Related articles The Hand-Waver's Guide to The Brain (jfnet.wordpress.com) The … Continue reading Random Brain Waves Save Free Will? – Neuroskeptic | DiscoverMagazine.com
