Tag: Science

A machine in the likeness of a human mind

In the fictional far future of the classic science fiction novel, 'Dune', computers are taboo across all human cultures, the result of an ancient jihad which resulted in the religious commandment: "Thou shalt not make a machine in the likeness of a human mind."  The result of this commandment, is that computers, robots, or artificial intelligence … Continue reading A machine in the likeness of a human mind →

How An Epilepsy Treatment Shaped Our Understanding of Consciousness

I've written before about split brain patients, and what they mean for consciousness. Emily Esfahani Smith has a pretty good write up on the experiments and what they showed: How An Epilepsy Treatment Shaped Our Understanding of Consciousness - The Atlantic. The patients were there because they all struggled with violent and uncontrollable seizures. The procedure … Continue reading How An Epilepsy Treatment Shaped Our Understanding of Consciousness →

SMBC: What if the universe is made of math?

I loved this SMBC.  It echoes something I've observed before, that some physicists have disdain for philosophy, while often engaging in it themselves. Hovertext: "Philosophy is dumb, unless it comes out of the mouth of a physicist." Click through for full sized version and red button caption. via Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal. I've discussed the question before … Continue reading SMBC: What if the universe is made of math? →

First Peoples and Neanderthals

This weekend, I finished off the last of the 'First Peoples' PBS miniseries on prehistoric humans.  If  you've watched other documentaries on human prehistory and found them interesting, then you'll want to watch this one to get the latest findings.  It was fascinating.  (A lot of people have mentioned 'Becoming Human' to me, which I've … Continue reading First Peoples and Neanderthals →

First Peoples documentary series to air on PBS starting Wednesday

I've posted before on prehistorical societies, and the fact that, for virtually all of human history, including the history of our particular sub-species: Homo sapiens, we lived in nomadic hunter gatherer tribes.  The evidence points to anatomically modern humans first appearing in Africa over 200,000 years ago, and that much of what we consider normal human society: … Continue reading First Peoples documentary series to air on PBS starting Wednesday →

How about a presidential candidate science debate?

Can't say I'm too optimistic that this will actually take place, but any pressure on the presidential candidates can't hurt: How About a Science Debate? : Political Wire. ScienceDebate is ramping up efforts to host a live presidential debate on science policy in 2016. Their goal is to get candidates on the record on issues such as … Continue reading How about a presidential candidate science debate? →

Robot masters new skills through trial and error

Related to our various AI discussions, I noticed this news: Robot masters new skills through trial and error -- ScienceDaily. Researchers at the University of California, Berkeley, have developed algorithms that enable robots to learn motor tasks through trial and error using a process that more closely approximates the way humans learn, marking a major milestone in … Continue reading Robot masters new skills through trial and error →

NASA has never accidentally sent a probe into the Sun.

Last week, I was having lunch with some friends, which included a number of programmers.  One of them mentioned an old urban myth, that I hadn't heard in several years, which claims that, due to a programming bug (involving a misplaced semicolon), NASA once accidentally sent a probe into the Sun.  I pointed out to my friend how implausible this was. … Continue reading NASA has never accidentally sent a probe into the Sun. →