Ponderings of science, philosophy, history, society, and many other topics
This is the fourth in a series of posts inspired by Todd Feinberg and Jon Mallatt's new book, 'The Ancient Origins of Consciousness: How the Brain Created Experience'. The first three were: What counts as consciousness? Predators and rise of sensory consciousness Types of sensory consciousness So, at this point in the series, we've talked about what … Continue reading The neural mechanics of sensory consciousness
This is the third in a series of posts inspired by Todd Feinberg and Jon Mallatt's new book, 'The Ancient Origins of Consciousness: How the Brain Created Experience'. The first two were: What counts as consciousness? Predators and rise of sensory consciousness With this post, we're going to get into the different types of sensory … Continue reading Types of sensory consciousness
This is the second post in a series inspired by Todd Feinberg and Jon Mallatt's new book, 'The Ancient Origins of Consciousness: How the Brain Created Experience'. The first post in the series was: What counts as consciousness? Life appears to have gotten started fairly early in Earth's history. The oldest known fossils are now … Continue reading Predators and the rise of sensory consciousness
One of the things I get reminded of every few years, is that difficult determinations often look clearer when you consider them in a wider scope. Years ago, when I was trying to figure out whether conservative or progressive political policies were better, I discovered that widening my investigation to history helped immensely, and widening even further … Continue reading What counts as consciousness?
The other day, I came across this Big Think explanation by historian Sean Wilentz on why the US always seems to gravitate to a two party system. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wnju7zOH_Zs Unfortunately, while I think Wilentz touches on the main points, his explanation doesn't seem as clear as it could be. To start off, he refers to the … Continue reading Why the US two party system is so entrenched
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vCGtkDzELAI For a while, I'd considered myself done debating free will, having expressed everything about it I had to say. However, with this Crash Course video, and in light of the discussion on physicality we had earlier this summer, I realized I do have some additional thoughts on it. Just a quick reminder: I'm a compatibilist. I'm convinced … Continue reading Libertarian free will is incoherent, and that’s good for responsibility
It was a forecast that was all too common for south Louisiana. We would have several days of rain. It would start Thursday evening and continue through the weekend. There was a possibility of flooding. The people in flood zones, who lived near rivers and bayous, should prepare. I don't live in a flood zone … Continue reading The relentless rain
I've mentioned before that my views have changed dramatically over the years. But thinking about that the other day, it occurred to me that most of that change happened in a fairly narrow period. At the beginning of 2004, I was still a nominal Catholic, often voted Republican, was suspicious of gays and other non-traditional groups, and … Continue reading Don’t trust your emotions. They will betray you.
One of the problems with following election news here in the US, is that the various media outlets often try to convey a sense of drama in the outcome, even when it's not really there. For this reason, I try not too pay much attention to most of the prognosticators out there. Their track record been … Continue reading Sites for tracking the US election
Michael Graziano has an article at the Atlantic looking at the plausibility of mind copying. He doesn't beat around the bush, going all in with the title: Why You Should Believe in the Digital Afterlife, although the actual text of the article is more nuanced, and echoes what I hear from most neuroscientists. As a neuroscientist, … Continue reading The challenges of copying a mind
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