Category Archives: Science
I don’t know
Image by † David Gunter via Flickr
Does the universe have an end, is there a literal and physical end to the universe? Or is the universe persistent and infinite? If finite, what lies beyond the boundaries of this universe?
I don’t know.
Not only do I not know, the sources I regularly depend on to keep [...]
Consciousness-Edge
There’s an interesting write-up and video at Edge on the nature of consciousness. From the introduction:
On October 17, Edge organized a Reality Club meeting at The Hotel Ritz in Paris to allow neuroscientist Stanislas Dehaene to present his new theory on how consciousness arises in the brain to a group of Parisian scientists and thinkers. [...]
The End of Humanity-No gods or guns required
If you only listen to politicians or prophets, the end of the world will come about dramatically, and according to many, soon. We are told to expect either wars in the heavens with gods battling gods over the fate of humanity or wars between nations involving nuclear weapons and mad men pushing the button.
Humans love [...]
Trying to make science respectable again
Forty years ago Americans were fascinated by science.
Science gave us Moon landings, microwave ovens and airbags. Science promised to end the drudgery in our lives, feed the hungry, extend our lifespans and cure our illnesses. Science was our great hope for the future.
In the last ten years or so we’ve seen our fascination with science [...]
Are you a Seekaholic?
The following Salon article raises interesting questions regarding our brain’s insatiable need for stimulation. Are we hard-wired to seek?
In 1954, psychologist James Olds and his team were working in a laboratory at McGill University, studying how rats learned. They would stick an electrode in a rat’s brain and, whenever the rat went to a particular [...]
“I just can’t believe in evolution”
Scientific conclusions are not believed in in the same way gods are believed in.
We do not consider scientific conclusions to be absolute truth, we do not worship scientists or credit them with fantastic superpowers. Unfortunately there are no holidays in science. In a totally pragmatic society we’d have to find some other criteria for [...]
Was Einstein Wrong?: A Quantum Threat to Special Relativity
Image by pittigliani2005 via Flickr
The human mind makes certain assumptions about reality every moment whether we’re aware of it or not. As often as not those assumptions are reliable as far as physical, macro-level phenomena go (e.g. gravity will prevent me from floating off into space) yet we are often grossly ignorant of how it [...]
“Evolution is just a theory”
Image by Colin Purrington via Flickr
Every time I encounter that sentiment, and that happens all too frequently, I cringe.
Theory as used by science means something quite different than our common, every day usage. It pains me when someone tries to denounce something without having bothered to learn something about the topic. I don’t ignorantly attempt [...]
Athesim and Science
Image by Colin Purrington via Flickr
There appears to be, in the minds of many theists, a determination to wed atheism and science, though
unnecessary and not supported.
An atheist is any non-believer in gods. There are atheists who think
crystals hold some sort of magical properties, those who see auras,
Mystics, Buddhists, all kinds of folks who only [...]
Our world may be a giant hologram
For the past seven years, this German set-up has been looking for gravitational waves – ripples in space-time thrown off by super-dense astronomical objects such as neutron stars and black holes. GEO600 has not detected any gravitational waves so far, but it might inadvertently have made the most important discovery in physics for half a [...]
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