Michael Shermer has an article up at Scientific American asking if science will ever understand consciousness, free will, or God. I contend that not only consciousness but also free will and God are mysterian problems—not because we are not yet smart enough to solve them but because they can never be solved, not even in … Continue reading The prospects for a scientific understanding of consciousness
Recommendation: Children of Time
The Fermi Paradox is the observation that if intelligent life is pervasive in the universe, it should have arrived on Earth ages ago, but there is no evidence it ever did. The solutions to the paradox include the possibilities that interstellar travel is impossible (or so appallingly difficult that no one bothers), that there is … Continue reading Recommendation: Children of Time
The soul of the Roman Empire
According to tradition, in the early days of ancient Rome, King Numa Pompilius established a religious institution: the Vestal Virgins. The Vestal Virgins were chaste priestesses of Vesta, the goddess of home and hearth. Their duty was to maintain the sacred flame in the temple of Vesta. The Romans believed that as long as the … Continue reading The soul of the Roman Empire
Altered Carbon
Several years ago, I read Richard K. Morgan's Takeshi Kovacs novels about a future where people's minds are recorded in a device (called a "stack") implanted just below the brain stem, essentially providing a form of mind uploading, and allowing people to survive the death of their body. Kovacs, the protagonist of the series, is an … Continue reading Altered Carbon
What is knowledge?
In the discussion on the last post on measurement, the definition of knowledge came up a few times. That's dredged up long standing thoughts I have about knowledge, which I've discussed with some of you before, but that I don't think I've ever actually put in a post. The ancient classic definition of knowledge is … Continue reading What is knowledge?
Are there things that are knowable but not measurable?
It's a mantra for many scientists, not to mention many business managers, that if you can't measure it, it's not real. On the other hand, I've been told by a lot of people, mostly non-scientists, and occasionally humanistic scholars including philosophers, that not everything knowable is measurable. But what exactly is a measurement? My intuitive understanding … Continue reading Are there things that are knowable but not measurable?
Could a neuroscientist understand a microprocessor? Is that a relevant question?
A while back, Julia Galef on Rationally Speaking interviewed Eric Jonas, one of the authors of a study that attempted to use neuroscience techniques on a simple computer processor. The field of neuroscience has been collecting more and more data, and developing increasingly advanced technological tools in its race to understand how the brain works. … Continue reading Could a neuroscientist understand a microprocessor? Is that a relevant question?
Merry Christmas
Still alive. As I mentioned in the previous post back in October, the new job and family issues have been keeping me busy. Hopefully I'll get more time in the new year for blogging. A couple of people have suggested that I consider shorter posts more to generate discussion rather than waiting until I have … Continue reading Merry Christmas
Why I haven’t been posting lately
It's been a while since I've posted. It's probably fair to say that my posting frequency has plummeted to the lowest level since I started this blog in 2013. I feel obliged to offer an explanation. First, we've been undergoing an epic reorganization at work. In the early stages, this endeavor left me very unsettled … Continue reading Why I haven’t been posting lately
Breakthroughs in imagination
When thinking about human history, it's tempting to see some developments as inevitable. Some certainly were, but the sheer amount of time before some of them took place seem to make them remarkable. The human species, narrowly defined as Homo sapiens, is about 200,000 years old. Some argue that it's older, around 300,000 years, others … Continue reading Breakthroughs in imagination
SelfAwarePatterns 