We might find extraterrestrial life soon, but intelligent life?

Forbes has an article up noting that many scientists, including Seth Shostak, are now saying that we could find intelligent extraterrestrial life in the next twenty years.  I definitely think we might find extraterrestrial life in that time frame, but I'm pretty skeptical that it will be intelligent. I've written about this before, but the … Continue reading We might find extraterrestrial life soon, but intelligent life? →

Americans may be more scientifically literate than evolution questions show

Dan Kahan has an interesting post showing that when Americans are asked the, "Did humans develop from earlier species?" question, it matters how it is asked.  As it's usually asked, when people answer, they are often asserting a religious cultural identity.  But if it is asked with the qualifying "according to the theory of evolution", … Continue reading Americans may be more scientifically literate than evolution questions show →

Self Deception | Conscious Entities

Peter Hankins at Conscious Entities does a book review of 'Kidding Ourselves' by Joseph T Hallinan. Joseph T Hallinan’s new book Kidding Ourselves says that not only is self deception more common and more powerful than we suppose, it’s actually helpful: deluded egoists beat realists every time. Philosophically, of course, self-deception is impossible. To deceive … Continue reading Self Deception | Conscious Entities →

Ants, the brain, cancer, and the internet

Deborah Gordon gave an interesting TED talk on ants.  Regular readers have seen posts from me before on ants.  An ant colony seems to operate as a type of superorganism.  I used to wonder if colonies were conscious.  (Although I now doubt it since I see consciousness requiring a model of an system's attention, and that … Continue reading Ants, the brain, cancer, and the internet →

The theoretical preference for a timeless and eternal reality

Ethan Siegel has an excellent post up contemplating the various models of the timeline of the universe. It’s only human to ask the most fundamental of all questions: where did all this come from? And we like to think we know the answer; it all came from the beginning. But if you think about it … Continue reading The theoretical preference for a timeless and eternal reality →

My philosophy, so far — part II | Scientia Salon

Massimo Pigliucci is doing an interesting series of posts on his philosophical positions. In the first part [19] of this ambitious (and inevitably, insufficient) essay I sought to write down and briefly defend a number of fundamental positions that characterize my “philosophy,” i.e., my take on important questions concerning philosophy, science and the nature of … Continue reading My philosophy, so far — part II | Scientia Salon →

GMO food labels: Would label laws in Vermont, Maine, Connecticut increase food costs?

A piece in Slate serves to remind us that conservatives don't have a monopoly on anti-scientific notions.  The GMO anxiety seems mostly driven from the left.  (I say this as a liberal). Those who see the GMO label leading to higher food prices begin (as they should) by highlighting the sham science that’s been used to … Continue reading GMO food labels: Would label laws in Vermont, Maine, Connecticut increase food costs? →