When parts of the connection process become weak, a process known as synaptic pruning takes place to remove the old connections and strengthen the rest. Experience is the determining factor of which connections will be strengthened and which ones will be \"pruned\" - active connections will remain whereas those which are no longer active or … Continue reading Is There a Limit to One’s Learning Capacity? | Quora
Tag: Science
Perspectives on deep time
The universe is roughly 13.8 billions years old. The universe was 66% of its current age by the time the Sun and Earth formed. Life appears to have begun on Earth when it was around 10% of its current age of around 4.5 billion years. The Earth was 85% of its current age before the … Continue reading Perspectives on deep time
Optical illusion: Shades of grey.
What’s the illusion, you ask? Those two vertical lozenge-shapes are the same shade! Don’t believe me? Good! It’s always best to check things like this out for yourself. One way is to put your finger across the middle, blocking the part where they meet. When you do that, boom! You can see they’re the same … Continue reading Optical illusion: Shades of grey.
Beasts or gods; why a War Of The Worlds is very unlikely
One of the scenarios that is often played out in science fiction is what would happen if we encountered an alien civilization. Often, we are portrayed as defending Earth from an alien invasion or fighting battles with the aliens in a war. Another scenario, commonly found in more culturally introspective fiction, focuses on what our … Continue reading Beasts or gods; why a War Of The Worlds is very unlikely
Why Life Does Not Really Exist | Brainwaves, Scientific American Blog Network
Why is defining life so frustratingly difficult? Why have scientists and philosophers failed for centuries to find a specific physical property or set of properties that clearly separates the living from the inanimate? Because such a property does not exist. Life is a concept that we invented. On the most fundamental level, all matter that … Continue reading Why Life Does Not Really Exist | Brainwaves, Scientific American Blog Network
Science, philosophy, and caution about what we think we know
What is the difference between science and philosophy? While there are enterprises that are clearly in one or the other, the dividing line isn't always a sharp one. Science grew out of philosophy, particularly natural philosophy. Some would say that science is itself a type of philosophy. But what is the difference between what we … Continue reading Science, philosophy, and caution about what we think we know
Why science, philosophy, or religion cannot determine morality
There are some famous thinkers, Sam Harris and Michael Shermer, among others, who are currently attempting to sell the idea that we should have a "science of morality". They assert that moral propositions reduce to matters of fact about the wellbeing of conscious creatures. Many philosophers, such as Massimo Pigliuci, take umbrage at this, seeing … Continue reading Why science, philosophy, or religion cannot determine morality
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