Tag: Science

Belief in immortality hard-wired? Study examines development of children’s ‘prelife’ reasoning — ScienceDaily

By examining children's ideas about "prelife," the time before conception, researchers found results which suggest that our bias toward immortality is a part of human intuition that naturally emerges early in life. And the part of us that is eternal, we believe, is not our skills or ability to reason, but rather our hopes, desires … Continue reading Belief in immortality hard-wired? Study examines development of children’s ‘prelife’ reasoning — ScienceDaily →

Psychologists document the age our earliest memories fade — ScienceDaily

Although infants use their memories to learn new information, few adults can remember events in their lives that happened prior to the age of three. Psychologists have now documented that age seven is when these earliest memories tend to fade into oblivion, a phenomenon known as "childhood amnesia." The study is the first empirical demonstration … Continue reading Psychologists document the age our earliest memories fade — ScienceDaily →

Rationally Speaking: Is information physical? And what does that mean?

I’ve been reading for a while now Jim Baggott’s Farewell to Reality: How Modern Physics Has Betrayed the Search for Scientific Truth, a fascinating tour through cutting edge theoretical physics, led by someone with a physics background and a healthy (I think) dose of skepticism about the latest declarations from string theorists and the like. … Continue reading Rationally Speaking: Is information physical? And what does that mean? →

How far away is the closest extraterrestrial civilization?

First, let me be clear on what I'm talking about: intelligent aliens with an advanced civilization.  This is a different question than extraterrestrial life in general.  For life in general, particularly simple life, I'd be surprised if we'd have to look more than a hundred light years from Earth.  (We may know the answer to … Continue reading How far away is the closest extraterrestrial civilization? →

The physics of the multiverse

Fellow blogger agrudzinsky shared this video in a comment, but I thought it was good enough to warrant a full post. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ywn2Lz5zmYg I like the fact that he repeatedly states that these ideas have not been experimentally confirmed, and the wrap-up where he points out that physics is not philosophy (or at least it's not supposed to … Continue reading The physics of the multiverse →

Seven things about evolution – john hawks weblog

What is evolution? In its original sense, evolution meant "unrolling", as if a papyrus scroll were being unrolled to reveal its contents. We may talk about the "evolution" of many things, from an individual's lifetime to the evolution of the universe. In the most general sense, evolution means "change". Biologists are very specific about the … Continue reading Seven things about evolution – john hawks weblog →

Why is the solar system flat?

Machines Like Us and others linked to this cool video explaining why the solar system is flat. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tmNXKqeUtJM I'm not entirely sure the four dimensional stuff was necessary, although it was interesting.  One thing to realize though, is that while the solar system is flat, it's not flat in the same orientation as other solar systems, … Continue reading Why is the solar system flat? →

Is this life real or a simulation? – Matthew R Francis – Aeon

Our species is not going to last forever. One way or another, humanity will vanish from the Universe, but before it does, it might summon together sufficient computing power to emulate human experience, in all of its rich detail. Some philosophers and physicists have begun to wonder if we’re already there. Maybe we are in … Continue reading Is this life real or a simulation? – Matthew R Francis – Aeon →