Ponderings of science, philosophy, history, society, and many other topics
Yesterday Daniel Dennett died. He was 82, about the same age as my father when he died a few years ago. I think I've mentioned before that the first writer I read on consciousness was Susan Blackmore. But I know Dennett wasn't far behind, likely based on Blackmore's positive discussions of his work, but also … Continue reading Some thoughts on Daniel Dennett’s ideas
SMBC on how to get access to the secrets of reality. Click through for source and red button caption: https://www.smbc-comics.com/comic/secrets-2 I guess this is philosophical comic sharing week for me. Somewhat related, I've been slowly working my way through Sean Carroll's The Biggest Ideas in the Universe: space, time, and motion. I know a lot … Continue reading How to study reality
What is the difference between magic and science? It's been a while since I shared an Existential Comic. This one gets at a question we've discussed before, although it's been several years. What exactly is the distinction between the physical and non-physical, in this case between science and magic? Credit: https://existentialcomics.com/comic/537 Corey Mohler, the author, has a … Continue reading Existential Comics: the philosophy of magic
It seems like theories that are causally complete are better than ones with gaps. In thinking about this, I'm reminded of a Psyche article I shared a few years ago on fostering an open mind. One of their pieces of advice resonates with an outlook I've had for some time. If embarking on a full-on explanation … Continue reading Causal completeness
Cosmic voids may cause dark energy, or at least provide an explanation for the Hubble tension. A team of Iranian scientists have proposed that dark energy may not be something inherent to space itself, but the result of cosmic voids, vast regions of the universe between galactic superclusters and filaments with relatively little matter. Paul … Continue reading Cosmic voids and dark energy
The Everett theory of quantum mechanics is testable in ways most people don't realize. Before getting into how or why, I think it's important to deal with a long standing issue. Everettian theory is more commonly known as the "many worlds interpretation", a name I use myself all the time. But what's often lost in the discussion … Continue reading Testing Everettian quantum mechanics
Are quantum states and the overall wave function real? Or merely a useful prediction tool? The mystery of quantum mechanics is that quantum objects, like electrons and photons, seem to move like waves, until they're measured, then appear as localized particles. This is known as the measurement problem. The wave function is a mathematical tool for modeling, … Continue reading Those inconvenient quantum interference patterns
Scientific breakthroughs often begin with someone saying, "Don't panic. This crazy sounding assumption is just to make the math work." Nicholaus Copernicus, when he developed his theory of heliocentrism (the earth orbits the sun), was operating from a scientific realist view. In other words, he thought his system reflected actual reality, or at least reflected it … Continue reading Is it just the math?
AI consciousness seems like an easier thing to ponder when you approach it from a functionalist viewpoint. Sunday I watched the movie The Creator. The premise is a few decades in the future, we've managed to create sentient robots. At first, all seems well, with them being a boon for humanity. Then a nuclear bomb goes off in … Continue reading Is AI consciousness an urgent issue?
A new approach for reconciling general relativity and quantum mechanics proposes adding some randomness in general relativity, making it less deterministic on small scales. For several decades, physicists have been trying to reconcile general relativity and quantum mechanics. These theories, despite each having been empirically validated to several decimal places, contradict each other. The problem … Continue reading What would randomness in general relativity mean?
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