Virginia Hughes has an article at National Geographic talking about the possibility of using electrical shocks to erase memories. The shocks depend on upon the fact that every time we recall a memory, we essentially rewrite it. Due to this constant rewriting, I'm not even sure it's accurate to say we have long term memories, … Continue reading Memories of memories of memories…
Tag: Science
Big Gods: An interesting read
A while back, I read Ara Norenzayan's book, 'Big Gods: How Religion Transformed Cooperation and Conflict'. I'm posting this review somewhat from memory, but I've had a couple of conversations about it lately and I think it might be good to move the discussion here. In the book, Norenzayan asks an interesting question. How did … Continue reading Big Gods: An interesting read
Quantum Theory Won’t Save The Soul – Neuroskeptic | DiscoverMagazine.com
Could quantum mechanics save the soul? In the light of 20th century physics, is free will plausible? Such as been the hope of some philosophers, scientists (and pretenders to those titles) – but neuroscientist Peter Clarke argues that it’s just not happening, in an interesting new paper: Neuroscience, quantum indeterminism and the Cartesian soul via … Continue reading Quantum Theory Won’t Save The Soul – Neuroskeptic | DiscoverMagazine.com
BBC News – Neanderthals could speak like modern humans, study suggests
An analysis of a Neanderthal\'s fossilised hyoid bone - a horseshoe-shaped structure in the neck - suggests the species had the ability to speak. This has been suspected since the 1989 discovery of a Neanderthal hyoid that looks just like a modern human\'s. But now computer modelling of how it works has shown this bone … Continue reading BBC News – Neanderthals could speak like modern humans, study suggests
RealClearScience – 5 Easy Tips for Denying Scientific Consensus
Faced with unfortunate facts or inconvenient truths? Tired of closing your eyes, sticking your fingers in your ears, and screaming \"LA LA LA LA LA LA?\" Well, simply read RealClearScience\'s handy guide for denying scientific consensus. It\'s 100% proven to work against a variety of well-substantiated topics, such as: Drinking Water Fluoridation Global Climate Change … Continue reading RealClearScience – 5 Easy Tips for Denying Scientific Consensus
BBC – Future – Science & Environment – Infographic: Absolute zero to ‘absolute hot’
BBC - Future - Science & Environment - Infographic: Absolute zero to ‘absolute hot’. The infographic at this link is worth checking out. A few observations: The temperatures are all in Celsius. Calling the Boomerang nebula the "coldest place in the universe" has always seemed a bit presumptuous to me. Still, the nebula is colder … Continue reading BBC – Future – Science & Environment – Infographic: Absolute zero to ‘absolute hot’
Virtual afterlives will transform humanity – Michael Graziano – Aeon
Imagine a future in which your mind never dies. When your body begins to fail, a machine scans your brain in enough detail to capture its unique wiring. A computer system uses that data to simulate your brain. It won’t need to replicate every last detail. Like the phonograph, it will strip away the irrelevant … Continue reading Virtual afterlives will transform humanity – Michael Graziano – Aeon
Attempts To Terraform Mars Could Fail – With No Chance To Try Again
Most science fiction and news stories describe Mars terraforming as a long term but simple process. You warm up the planet first, with greenhouse gases, giant mirrors, impacting comets or some such. You land humans on the surface right away and they introduce lifeforms designed to live on Mars. Over a period of a thousand … Continue reading Attempts To Terraform Mars Could Fail – With No Chance To Try Again
BBC – Future – Technology – Artificial intelligence: The machines with alien minds
Why should our biological manner of thinking determine our approach to silicone-based circuits and electronic logic? Our machine creations are more profoundly divided from us than anything else in nature. They do not need to think like us to serve us, work with us, or even understand us – as our own relationships with nature … Continue reading BBC – Future – Technology – Artificial intelligence: The machines with alien minds
Neanderthals and the Dead – NYTimes.com
Early in the 20th century, two brothers discovered a nearly complete Neanderthal skeleton in a pit inside a cave at La Chapelle-aux-Saints, in southwestern France. The discovery raised the possibility that these evolutionary relatives of ours intentionally buried their dead — at least 50,000 years ago, before the arrival of anatomically modern humans in Europe. … Continue reading Neanderthals and the Dead – NYTimes.com
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