Tag Archives: Science

Dogs have metacognition, maybe

Posted on December 9, 2018 by

Last year in a post on panpsychism, I introduced a hierarchy I use to conceptualize the capabilities of systems that we intuitively see as conscious.  This isn’t a new theory of consciousness or anything, just my own way of making … Continue reading →

Posted in Mind and AI | Tagged , , , , , , , | 49 Comments

Are there things that are knowable but not measurable?

Posted on January 3, 2018 by

It’s a mantra for many scientists, not to mention many business managers, that if you can’t measure it, it’s not real.  On the other hand, I’ve been told by a lot of people, mostly non-scientists, and occasionally humanistic scholars including philosophers, … Continue reading →

Posted in Philosophy | Tagged , , , | 93 Comments

Predicting far future technologies

Posted on May 15, 2017 by

Prediction is very difficult, especially about the future. Niels Bohr If you’re a science fiction writer, one of the things you do is try to predict what future technologies will come along.  If you’re not writing hard science fiction, this … Continue reading →

Posted in Science Fiction | Tagged , , , , | 14 Comments

Are the social sciences “real” science?

Posted on March 18, 2017 by

YouTube channel Crash Course is starting a new series on what is perhaps the most social of social sciences: Sociology. The social sciences, such as sociology, but also psychology, economics, anthropology, and other similar fields get a lot of grief … Continue reading →

Posted in Science | Tagged , , , , | 43 Comments

What do scientific theories actually tell us about the world?

Posted on February 9, 2017 by

One of the things that’s exciting about learning new things, is that often a new understanding in one area sheds light on what might seem like a completely separate topic.  For me, information about how the brain works appears to have shed … Continue reading →

Posted in Philosophy, Science | Tagged , , , , , , , | 75 Comments

The range of conscious systems and the hard problem

Posted on September 21, 2016 by

This is the fifth and final post in a series inspired by Todd Feinberg and Jon Mallatt’s new book, ‘The Ancient Origins of Consciousness: How the Brain Created Experience‘.  The previous posts were: What counts as consciousness? Predators and the … Continue reading →

Posted in Mind and AI | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 40 Comments

The neural mechanics of sensory consciousness

Posted on September 19, 2016 by

This is the fourth in a series of posts inspired by Todd Feinberg and Jon Mallatt’s new book, ‘The Ancient Origins of Consciousness: How the Brain Created Experience‘.  The first three were: What counts as consciousness? Predators and rise of sensory consciousness … Continue reading →

Posted in Mind and AI | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments