Stan Hummel called my attention to, and asked for my thoughts on this article: Big Bang Theory Challenged --"The Universe Should Not Have Lasted for More than a Second". British cosmologists are puzzled: they predict that the universe should not have lasted for more than a second. This startling conclusion is the result of combining the … Continue reading “The Universe Should Not Have Lasted for More than a Second”: The limitations of scientific theories
Tag: Philosophy
Sean Carroll defends philosophy
Sean Carroll, theoretical physicist, has a post up on his blog telling his fellow physicists to "stop saying silly things about philosophy". The last few years have seen a number of prominent scientists step up to microphones and belittle the value of philosophy. Stephen Hawking, Lawrence Krauss, and Neil deGrasse Tyson are well-known examples. To redress the balance a … Continue reading Sean Carroll defends philosophy
Ruth Chang: How to make hard choices
The TED talk by Ruth Chang gets at some of the points I've made before, namely that reason only carries you so far, and that reason exists to serve intuitive goals. This comes out in hard decisions, when reasoning by itself is often insufficient, and we have to fall back on our innate values, on … Continue reading Ruth Chang: How to make hard choices
A debate on quantum mechanics interpretations
"Anyone who is not shocked by quantum theory has not understood it." --Niels Bohr "If you think you understand quantum mechanics, you don't understand quantum mechanics." --Richard Feynman Quantum mechanics are utterly bizarre. Quantum particles behave like spread out waves, until their position is measured, when they suddenly behave like a particle with definite position. The … Continue reading A debate on quantum mechanics interpretations
Michael Dowd on the personification of reality
Michael Dowd is one of the few people with the title of "Reverend" whose views on reality I find interesting. His motto is, "reality is my God, evidence is my scripture." http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1QeTWVw9Fm4 The other day, I did a post asking what religion is, and wondering whether science wasn't itself a religion. It's hard to listen to … Continue reading Michael Dowd on the personification of reality
Two Brothers – Existential Comics
Existential comics explores a common truth about life. Click through for the full version. via Two Brothers - Existential Comics. It took me a long time to recognize the truth this comic explores. Whatever path in life we choose, we'll always wonder what could have been. And we'll always feel some regret for missing out on that … Continue reading Two Brothers – Existential Comics
A limited color vision philosophical zombie?
This article at IO9 reminded me of the recent discussion some of us had on philosophical zombies. Ever heard of the philosophical zombie? It's a philosophical concept that rarely translates into physiology - until now. A case of false color-blindness makes us wonder: What's the difference between seeing something and knowing that you're seeing something? … Continue reading A limited color vision philosophical zombie?
The ages of communication
I think I've mentioned before that I only recently came the realization that the scientific revolution was more a matter of increased communication than necessarily a breakthrough in method. Along the lines of this realization, I have a few thoughts about communication and its effects on human history. Humans are social animals. Communication between and among … Continue reading The ages of communication
SMBC: We’re constantly dying
via Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal. Of course, while we're alive, new parts of us are constantly coming into being. But for adults, the child we once were died long ago. That is one of the realizations that I find soothe the fear of death.
What does the Turing Test really mean?
The Turing Test is in the news this week, first with a wave of hype about a historical accomplishment, then with a secondary wave of skeptical scrutiny. The Turing Test was originally contemplated by Alan Turing in a 1950 paper. Turing envisaged it as an alternative to trying to determine if a machine could think. … Continue reading What does the Turing Test really mean?
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