Since I started this blog last November, I've occasionally done book reviews. Some of them have been fictional books, but many have been non-fiction. I find book reviews difficult to write. I have this urge to make sure they're done right, to be fair to the author, and to give a useful comprehensive summary of what's in the book, … Continue reading I’m not doing book reviews anymore.
The mind / body dualism of ‘Edge of Tomorrow’
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vw61gCe2oqI This weekend, I watched the movie, 'Edge of Tomorrow', also known as 'Live. Die. Repeat.' It's the latest in a common motif in science fiction and fantasy, the time loop story, where the hero repeats the same events over and over until they find a way to break out. It's a concept that's been … Continue reading The mind / body dualism of ‘Edge of Tomorrow’
Identity, a neurobiological perspective
Reaching the stars will require serious out-of-the-box thinking
Sten Odenwald, an astronomer with the National Institute of Aerospace, has an article up at HuffPost that many will find disheartening: The Dismal Future of Interstellar Travel | Dr. Sten Odenwald. I have been an avid science fiction reader all my life, but as an astronomer for over half my life, the essential paradox of my fantasy world can … Continue reading Reaching the stars will require serious out-of-the-box thinking
Maybe we’ve found Neanderthals, and they are us.
The intermixing of modern humans and Neanderthals is back in the news: BBC News - DNA yields secrets of human pioneer. DNA analysis of a 45,000-year-old human has helped scientists pinpoint when our ancestors interbred with Neanderthals. The genome sequence from a thigh bone found in Siberia shows the first episode of mixing occurred between 50,000 … Continue reading Maybe we’ve found Neanderthals, and they are us.
Massimo Pigliucci’s pessimistic view of mind uploading
Massimo Pigliucci wrote a paper on his skepticism of the possibility of mind uploading, the idea that our minds are information which it might be possible someday to copy into a computer virtual reality system or some other type of technology. His paper appears to be one chapter in a broader book, 'Intelligence Unbound: The Future … Continue reading Massimo Pigliucci’s pessimistic view of mind uploading
Philosophy Tech Support
(Click through for the rest, and for a caption explaining the philosophy referenced.) via Philosophy Tech Support - Existential Comics. Does philosophy have a responsibility to be relevant to real world problems? This is a question often asked of science. I think the answer is complicated, because we never know where a real world solution might … Continue reading Philosophy Tech Support
Charlie Stross discusses life lessons at 50
Charlie Stross just turned 50 and put up a post discussing his major life lessons, things he wished he could tell his 15 year old self, which briefly are: Don't die. (Try not to fail at this one as long as you can.) Idiots abound. (And recognize that correcting them is usually not your problem.) … Continue reading Charlie Stross discusses life lessons at 50
A Layperson’s guide to basic brain structure!
Multiverse theories: “meta-cosmology”?
Marianne Freiberger reports on a discussion she had with Bernard Carr on whether or not multiverse theories are science. He has a suggestion for how we should classify these theories. With the possibility for indirect evidence in the future, maybe we shouldn't dismiss the multiverse as mere speculation, especially since it has many features that are … Continue reading Multiverse theories: “meta-cosmology”?
SelfAwarePatterns 