At first, this article seems like a bit of a downer: Search for advanced civilizations beyond Earth finds nothing obvious in 100,000 galaxies -- ScienceDaily. After searching 100,000 galaxies for signs of highly advanced life, a team of scientists has found no evidence of advanced civilizations there. The idea behind the research is that, if … Continue reading Searching for advanced civilizations in other galaxies: 50 possible candidates found?
Dark energy may be less energetic than previously thought
This is interesting. Astronomers discovered dark energy, the energy causing the rate of expansion rate of the universe to speed up, by looking at large numbers of Type 1a supernovae. Type 1a supernovae are white dwarfs (collapsed stars after their fusion has gone out) that explode. What causes a previously stable white dwarf to explode? … Continue reading Dark energy may be less energetic than previously thought
Greg Egan’s Amalgam is close to the most likely interstellar civilization
The other day, I did a post engaging in speculation on, assuming we don't discover a completely new physics, what I thought an interstellar civilization might look like. In summary: Given special relativity, travel faster than the speed of light is impossible. This has been verified by innumerable experiments, and nothing in nature has been observed to … Continue reading Greg Egan’s Amalgam is close to the most likely interstellar civilization
Neil deGrasse Tyson interviews Elon Musk
Neil deGrasse Tyson interviewed Elon Musk on Tyson's podcast, StarTalk. The interview covers a range of topics, and Tyson includes Bill Nye in a running commentary on the interview. (Chuck Nice is also there to add his usual laughs.) I found Nye's take on many things, such as the problems with the idea of colonizing … Continue reading Neil deGrasse Tyson interviews Elon Musk
Should we fear AI? Neil deGrasse Tyson’s answer is the right one.
HuffPost has an article up with quotes from various people on the dangers, or non-dangers of artificial intelligence. They include the usual suspects: Elon Musk, Stephen Hawking, Bill Gates, etc. Most of them express concern about the dangers. But I think Neil deGrasse Tyson's is the only answer from this group worth listening to. There are … Continue reading Should we fear AI? Neil deGrasse Tyson’s answer is the right one.
Honest Trailers does Interstellar
Okay, while I did mostly enjoy the movie Interstellar, I have to admit that this Honest Trailer of it is hilarious. WARNING: They're really not kidding about the spoiler alert at the beginning. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lZMzf-SDWP8 via IO9
Stephen West and Massimo Pigliucci discuss David Hume
Stephen West, on his Philosophize This! podcast, interviews Massimo Pigliucci on David Hume. This was a big win for me. Two of my favorite podcasters discussing one of my favorite historical philosophers! It provides some good insights into Hume's skeptical and empirical philosophy. One of the questions Stephen asks Massimo is what he thinks Hume's … Continue reading Stephen West and Massimo Pigliucci discuss David Hume
xkcd: Squirrel Plan
I have to say that this is along the lines of what I think about when people confidently assert the existence of the multiverse, their favorite interpretation of quantum physics, or any other metaphysical assertion. via xkcd: Squirrel Plan.
Why the Exodus, as commonly understood, probably never happened
At the urging of one of my relatives, I watched Ridley Scott's 'Exodus: Gods and Kings'. This relative, knowing my skeptical nature, thought I might enjoy Scott's naturalistic (mostly) take on the events in the story. I'm sorry to say that I didn't really enjoy the movie, which is unusual for me because I usually do enjoy … Continue reading Why the Exodus, as commonly understood, probably never happened
Interstellar: more accurate than the typical sci-fi movie, but still had issues
This week, I watched the movie Interstellar, the Christopher Nolan film about travel to another galaxy, a black hole, a wormhole, and other exotic environments. I enjoyed it immensely, although I also had some issues with it. In the film, at some point in the future, the Earth is dying due to a global crop blight. … Continue reading Interstellar: more accurate than the typical sci-fi movie, but still had issues