I finally watched the movie, Transcendence. I had commented a while back, when the trailer came out, the problems I had with what appeared to be the central premise of the film. Since then, there's been a lot of harsh reviews of the film. I did find a lot of silliness in it, but overall … Continue reading Transcendence
Traveling
Hi fellow patterns. I'm going to be traveling for the next week or so, with unpredictable access to wifi, so blogging may be limited or nonexistent. I do expect to be able to at least periodically check the comment threads from my phone, so feel free to comment on any of the recent posts. In the meantime, also … Continue reading Traveling
David Chalmers: How do you explain consciousness?
In this TED talk, David Chalmers gives a summary of the problem whose name he coined, the hard problem of consciousness. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uhRhtFFhNzQ via David Chalmers: How do you explain consciousness? - YouTube. It seems like people who've contemplated consciousness fall into two groups, those who are bothered by the hard problem, and those who are not. … Continue reading David Chalmers: How do you explain consciousness?
Science is about both ideas and data gathering.
Stan asked for my thoughts on this article: Science is becoming a cult of hi-tech instruments – Philip Ball – Aeon. The tools of science are so specialised that we accept them as a kind of occult machinery for producing knowledge. We figure that they must know how it all works. Likewise, histories of science focus on ideas rather than … Continue reading Science is about both ideas and data gathering.
How to divide up the wealth
Click through to see the full sized version, and a popup bubble comment from the author. via Buried Treasure - Existential Comics. If you don't know much about these guys, Marx wants to divide up in the communist manner, Rawls wants you to evaluate societal rules as if you don't know what your role in society … Continue reading How to divide up the wealth
The natural, the supernatural, and the nature of science
I think Braterman makes an important point here. Acting like naturalism is a principle of science, instead of just a result of it, is both wrong and dangerous since it gives science the appearance of being just as dogmatic as any ideology.
The Lowest Difficulty Setting in Action
The size of the observable universe is complicated.
The radius of the observable universe is often stated to be 46 billion light years. From a certain point of view, this is true, but I think it's a bit of a misleading statement. Occasionally you also see people say that the observable universe is 13.8 billion light years in radius, which is also true, from … Continue reading The size of the observable universe is complicated.
Are you alone? (In the universe)
This a cool video on what we are and where we came from. We are, each of us, a temporary intersection of matter and energy that is part of the overall whole of the universe, patterns of elementary particles that have, at least for a while, achieved self awareness. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PKMQzkIiB0Y via Are You Alone? In The … Continue reading Are you alone? (In the universe)
Nick Lucid on mass and energy
I'm a bit busy today, but thought I'd leave you with this Science Asylum video on the difference between mass and energy. (Hint: there isn't any.) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2jKHM92wbl4
