Tag: Science

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 →

How our brains store recent memories, cell by single cell — ScienceDaily

An interesting study providing more evidence for the computational theory of mind. Confirming what neurocomputational theorists have long suspected, researchers report that the human brain locks down episodic memories in the hippocampus, committing each recollection to a distinct, distributed fraction of individual cells. via How our brains store recent memories, cell by single cell -- … Continue reading How our brains store recent memories, cell by single cell — ScienceDaily →

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 →

Intelligent Crows Flunk Causality Test But Babies Pass

You drop a block onto a box, and a toy pops out. If a baby was watching you, she could deduce that your action caused the happy arrival of the toy, because she understands cause and effect. She’d also realise that she could trigger the same event by placing a block on the box herself, … Continue reading Intelligent Crows Flunk Causality Test But Babies Pass →

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? →

Sam Harris, the fact-value distinction, and the problem with a science of morality

A few years ago, Sam Harris published a book, 'The Moral Landscape', which argued that science could determine moral values.  To say that it received substantial criticism, from scientists, philosophers, and others, would be an understatement. Late last year, Harris issued a challenge for people to submit 1000 word essays challenging the thesis of his book.  He … Continue reading Sam Harris, the fact-value distinction, and the problem with a science of morality →

I Was Promised Flying Cars – NYTimes.com

AS an astronomy-obsessed kid in the 1970s, I subsisted on a steady diet of science fiction. It promised a future filled with technological wonders: talking computers, bionic limbs, flying cars. Forty years later, though much of that future has arrived, it’s still missing what I consider its most important ingredient. Sure, we’ve got the iPhone’s … Continue reading I Was Promised Flying Cars – NYTimes.com →

NASA – The Tyranny of the Rocket Equation

This NASA document has been around for a while, but it remains relevant.  If you're going to engage in space travel, you have some unyielding scientific and engineering realities to contend with.  This article is a bit dry, but it's a pretty good introduction into the realities of spaceflight. Tyranny is a human trait that … Continue reading NASA – The Tyranny of the Rocket Equation →

Why philosophical conclusions are not reliable knowledge

Following Neil deGrasse Tyson's wholesale dismissal of philosophy, there has been a lot of discussion on the value of philosophy.  As I've said repeatedly, I think philosophy has a great deal of value, but some of its defenders are tending to overstate what it can do. I've already written a post on what I see as the … Continue reading Why philosophical conclusions are not reliable knowledge →