Rebecca Brown has an article at Aeon on how philosophy can make the previously unthinkable thinkable. She starts with a discussion of the Overton window: In the mid-1990s, Joseph Overton, a researcher at the US think tank the Mackinac Center for Public Policy, proposed the idea of a ‘window’ of socially acceptable policies within any … Continue reading What positions do you hold that are not popular?
The implications of embodied cognition
Sean Carroll on his podcast interviewed Lisa Aziz-Zadeh on embodied cognition: Brains are important things; they’re where thinking happens. Or are they? The theory of “embodied cognition” posits that it’s better to think of thinking as something that takes place in the body as a whole, not just in the cells of the brain. In … Continue reading The implications of embodied cognition
Dark energy and repulsive gravity
Over the weekend, Sean Carroll put up a blog post to address common misconceptions about cosmology. I understood most of his points, but was confused when I saw this one: Dark energy is not a new force; it’s a new substance. The force causing the universe to accelerate is gravity. Carroll was referring to the accelerating … Continue reading Dark energy and repulsive gravity
China will have the world’s largest economy in 2020
At least, according to a report by Standard Charter Bank as reported by Big Think: The Standard Chartered Bank, a British multinational banking and financial services company, recently issued a report to clients outlining projections about the world economy up until 2030. The report predicts Asian economies will grow significantly in the next decade, taking … Continue reading China will have the world’s largest economy in 2020
A qualified recommendation: Consciousness Demystified
A couple of years ago I did a series of posts inspired by Todd Feinberg and Jon Mallatt's excellent The Ancient Origins of Consciousness, a book on the evolution of animal consciousness. Somewhat building on what I had read in Antonio Damasio's Self Comes to Mind, it was a pivotal point in my exploration of … Continue reading A qualified recommendation: Consciousness Demystified
Is consciousness a thing or a process? Yes.
I came across this tweet by Amanda Gefter: https://twitter.com/AmandaGefter/status/1083749205531942913 William James, the founder of American psychology was an illusionist? I only read the opening portions of the essay, but it appears so. However, even in 1904, illusionism, the belief that consciousness isn't what it seems, was a very nuanced thing: To deny plumply that 'consciousness' … Continue reading Is consciousness a thing or a process? Yes.
Higher order theories of consciousness and metacognition
Some of you know, from various conversations, that over the last year or so I've flirted with the idea that consciousness is metacognition, although I've gradually backed away from it. In humans, we typically define mental activity that we can introspect to be conscious and anything else to be unconscious. But I'm swayed by the … Continue reading Higher order theories of consciousness and metacognition
Changing what makes us happy
from Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal (click through for the hovertext and red button caption) Greg Egan in his novel Incandescence posits an alien civilization whose ancestors, in order to survive, establish a series of space habitats. In order to ensure their descendants will be happy, they bioengineer those descendants to feel satisfaction and bliss working within … Continue reading Changing what makes us happy
Is the singularity right around the corner?
You've probably heard the narrative before. At some point, we will invent an artificial intelligence that is more intelligent than we are. The superhuman intelligence will then have the capability to either build an improved version of itself, or engineer upgrades that improve its own intelligence. This will set off a process where the system … Continue reading Is the singularity right around the corner?
How do we establish causation?
Ross Pomeroy at Real Clear Science discusses five logical fallacies that often get misidentified and abused in arguments. Identified by Steven Novella in his book The Skeptic's Guide to the Universe, one of these is the old Correlation and Causation fallacy: 2. Correlation and Causation. Correlation does not prove causation. To say that it does is a logical fallacy. … Continue reading How do we establish causation?
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