^Tag___longform

Asian woman doctor in personal protective suit or PPE wearing mask and goggles pray for covid-19 outbreak to improve. Medical, coronavirus, covid-19 and healthcare concept.

^{Type
post

Author
News
Date
February 20, 2022

Categorized
Philosophy, Religion, Science

Tagged
___longform, Bruce Hood, Extra-natural causes, Featured, Herman Dooyeweerd, Jerry Coyne (on free will), Joshua Farris (on God and science), Methodological naturalism (as bad science), Michael Egnor (on God and science), Minority Report (film), ontological proof, Prime Mover, Science (defined), Science and extra-natural causes, Self Illusion (book), Singularities, Theism (and science), This Idea Must Die (book), Thomistic philosophy (and science)}

Excluding All Reference to God From Science Is A Form of Theology

_{It’s negative theology, to be sure, Michael Egnor and his guest Joshua Farris agree, but still a theology — and one with implications} _{News

February 20, 2022

21

Philosophy, Religion, Science}

In this third podcast discussion, “Don’t Blame Me, I’m a Meat Robot,” neurosurgeon Michael Egnor and theology professor Joshua Farris discuss how a belief in God is compatible with science. Egnor argues that belief in God is a necessity, to prevent science going off the rails: https://mindmatters.ai/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/02/MInd-Matters-Episode-174-Joshua-Farris-Episode-3-rev1.mp3 A partial transcript, notes, and links follow: Michael Egnor: I wanted to talk just a little bit about philosophy of science and its relation to theology. First question is, is a belief in God compatible with the practice of science? It seems like a silly question, but it’s actually a pretty hot question nowadays… Joshua Farris: There’s this common idea that when we proceed utilizing the method of methodological naturalism — as methodological Read More ›

^{Type
podcast

Author
Michael Egnor
Date
February 10, 2022

Tagged
___longform, berkeley and Idealist views, Body and Soul, cartesianism, Consciousness, Idleaism, Joshua Farris, Michael Egnor, Quantum Mechanics, seizures, Seizures and the brain, Split brain, Split brain research, The body and the Soul, Thomas Cartesianism}

The Body and the Soul

_{Michael Egnor

February 10, 2022

1}

Dr. Michael Egnor and Dr. Joshua Farris continue their conversation about the nature of the body and the soul, starting with whether or not Thomism and Cartesianism can be blended and ending with an exploration of the Aristotelian view of the mind/body relationship. Read More ›

^{Type
post

Author
News
Date
February 6, 2022

Categorized
Philosophy of Mind

Tagged
___longform, Being John Malkovich (film), Berkeleian Idealism, Cartesian dualism, Dualism (various forms), Emergent dualism, Emergentism, hylomorphism, John Foster, Joshua Farris (on dualism), Michael Egnor (on dualism), Michael Egnor (on emergentism), Timothy O’Connor, William Hasker}

A Neurosurgeon and a Philosopher Debate Mind vs. Body

_{Philosopher Joshua Farris defends controversial Cartesian dualism. Neurosurgeon Michael Egnor critiques it but thinks it may account for near-death experiences} _{News

February 6, 2022

17

Philosophy of Mind}

In “Why Cartesian Dualism,” neurosurgeon Michael Egnor interviews theology professor Joshua Farris on dualism, the idea that the human being is both mind and body. That is, the mind is not simply a product of the brain, as many philosophers and scientists believe. What are the arguments for and what is the evidence for the reality of the mind? In this podcast, they talk about a specific type of dualism, Cartesian dualism — developed by French mathematician René Descartes (1596– 1650). https://mindmatters.ai/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/02/Mind-Matters-Episode-172-Joshua-Farris-Episode-1-rev1.mp3 A partial transcript and notes follow: Michael Egnor: The topic today is why Cartesian dualism? In this episode, we’ll discuss the merits of a theory of the mind–body relationship, in contrast to alternative viewpoints, such as materialism, hylomorphism, Read More ›

Abstract virtual binary code illustration on blurry modern office building background. Big data and coding concept. Multiexposure

^{Type
post

Author
News
Date
March 28, 2021

Categorized
Mathematics

Tagged
___longform, Chaitin's number, Elegance (in mathematics), Elegant program, Featured, Gregory Chaitin, Law of non-contradiction, Non-computable (vs. unknowable), Paradox, Robert J. Marks, Self-contradiction}

Why the Unknowable Number Exists But Is Uncomputable

_{Sensing that a computer program is “elegant” requires discernment. Proving mathematically that it is elegant is, Chaitin shows, impossible} _{News

March 28, 2021

17

Mathematics}

In this week’s podcast, “The Chaitin Interview IV: Knowability and Unknowability,” Walter Bradley Center director Robert J. Marks interviewed mathematician Gregory Chaitin on his “unknowable number.” That’s the topic of this series, based on the fourth podcast. Last week, we tried getting to know the unknowable number. Today, let’s look at the question of how we know that the number is unknowable — instead of merely non-computable. Lots of things are non-computable but we do not expect that to be true of numbers. Let’s see what’s happening here, as Chaitin offers a walk through his proof that it really is unknowable: https://episodes.castos.com/mindmatters/Mind-Matters-127-Gregory-Chaitin.mp3 This portion begins at 09:43 min. A partial transcript, Show Notes, and Additional Resources follow. Robert J. Marks: Read More ›

Hands hold a paper sheet with the message your vote matters over a crowded street background. People legal and democratic rights, every voice counts. Election campaign and electoral agitation concept

^{Type
post

Author
News
Date
December 21, 2020

Categorized
Data Privacy

Tagged
___longform, Alan Turing, Alice and Bob, Alonzo Church, Ballots, Cryptography, Cryptosecure Election Protocol (CEP), Electoral fraud prevention, Featured, Proof of identity, Turing Principle, Voting machines}

How Crypto Can Help Secure Fair Elections

_{Here’s what we need for a cryptosecure election protocol (CEP)} _{News

December 21, 2020

39

Data Privacy}

(Recently, we’ve been asking readers to think about Alice and Bob, the famous pair in physics used to demonstrate propositions in a variety of contexts but we began to focus on what happens if Alice and Bob are competing for a political office. Bernard Fickser, whose argument for reform we have been following, offers a look at how a crypto secure election system might work.) We now come to the most interesting part of this article, namely, a cryptographically based protocol for securing elections. If such a protocol can be made to fly, it will do much to secure free and fair elections as well as to boost voter confidence that votes are being accurately counted and not mixed with Read More ›

China flag and praying patriot man with crossed hands. Holding cross, hoping and wishing.

^{Type
post

Author
Heather Zeiger
Date
October 18, 2020

Categorized
Artificial Intelligence, Religion, Social Media, Surveillance, Technocracy

Tagged
___longform, Atheism, Bitter Winter (online magazine), Chinese Communist Party (CCP), COVID-19, Falun Gong, Featured, internet, Online church services, Religion in China, Religious persecution (China), WeChat, Xi Lian}

How China’s Technocracy Uses the Pandemic to Suppress Religion

_{The pandemic provided a pretext to install surveillance equipment in churches and surveil believers online} _{Heather Zeiger

October 18, 2020

9

Artificial Intelligence, Religion, Social Media, Surveillance, Technocracy}

The COVID-19 pandemic has brought out the ways that technology can lead either to greater accessibility or greater oppression. The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) is now using the same technologies that have given many people around the world access to religious materials and church services during the pandemic to forcibly stop religious gatherings and restrict the distribution of religious materials within China. Although the CCP is officially atheist, over 60% of the population adheres to a recognized religion; 30.8% practice Chinese folk religions, 16.6% Buddhism, 7.4% Christianity, 4.2% ethnic religion, and 1.8% Islam. Authentic numbers may be higher, given the risk of punishment for practicing certain religions in China. The Chinese government has persecuted, tortured, and imprisoned Falun Gong members Read More ›

^{Type
post

Author
Heather Zeiger
Date
September 19, 2020

Categorized
Ethics, Global Technology, Technocracy

Tagged
___longform, censorship, China, Chinese Communist Party (CCP), Disney, Featured, Jeannette Ng, Liu Yifei, Max Brooks, Mulan (film), Turpan, Uyghurs, World War Z (film), Ziba Murat}

Mulan: Disney Talks Freedom at Home, Toes the Line in China

_{Films we see get altered in subtle and not-so-subtle ways to conform to the requirements of CCP propaganda} _{Heather Zeiger

September 19, 2020

10

Ethics, Global Technology, Technocracy}

China’s government allows only about thirty-four Hollywood movies to be shown in Chinese theaters. As a result, entertainment companies like Disney go out of their way to make sure a film appeals to both North American crowds and Chinese Communist Party’s censors. Of course, what the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) allows and doesn’t allow in films is vague and subject to change, which keeps foreign film-makers guessing. Mulan, Disney’s latest attempt to please both the North American and the Chinese market, has failed to do either, for a number of reasons. Financially, Disney is already hurting from the COVID-19 pandemic. Theaters in the U.S. either remain closed or permit only limited-capacity seating. In response, Disney released Mulan on its streaming Read More ›

Unique scribe library full of old and valuable manuscripts

^{Type
post

Author
News
Date
September 17, 2020

Categorized
Artificial Intelligence, Arts & Culture

Tagged
___longform, Archeology, Caucasian Albanian, Language, Lost languages, Palimpsests, Parchment, St. Catherine's Monastery (Egypt)}

Surprising Ways AI Can Help Recover Lost Languages

_{Researchers into lost languages hail the new technologies as a golden age for discovery} _{News

September 17, 2020

8

Artificial Intelligence, Arts & Culture}

When an apparently indecipherable manuscript from a lost language turns up, AI can help. But first, how is a language born and how does it die (or get lost)? We really don’t know how human language was born. Theories abound but all we know for sure is that it is unique. In a 2017 paper at BMC Biology, evolutionary biologist Mark Pagel states flatly, “Human language is unique among all forms of animal communication.” In his open-access paper, he cuts short the widely popularized claims for chimpanzee language: Most ape sign language, for example, is concerned with requests for food. The trained chimpanzee Nim Chimpsky’s longest recorded ‘utterance’, when translated from sign language, was ‘give orange me give eat orange Read More ›

^{Type
post

Author
Jonathan Bartlett
Date
September 14, 2020

Categorized
Programming

Tagged
___longform, Container orchestration, Containers (programming), Docker, Featured, Scalability, Stack (in Docker), Swarm (Docker), Volumes (Docker)}

Part 4: Docker—An Introduction to Container Orchestration

_{This tutorial will focus on Docker’s swarm because it comes installed with Docker and uses the same standard Docker files} _{Jonathan Bartlett

September 14, 2020

12

Programming}

In this installment we are going to look at “container orchestration” for Docker. In the previous installment, we just looked at how to run an individual container. However, most applications are a combination of services which are orchestrated together to make an application. While in theory all the pieces of an application could be built into a single container, it is better to split an application into its relevant services and run a separate container for each service. There are several reasons for this, but the biggest one is scalability. Remember, the containers don’t care if they all run on the same physical machine or different machines. By splitting the services into different containers, we can tell them all to Read More ›

Video call. Online zoom conference. Business team gathered for an online meeting in zoom app. On a computer monitor a group of people online

^{Type
post

Author
News
Date
September 11, 2020

Categorized
Business and Finance, Surveillance, Work

Tagged
___longform, Automation, Contractors, COVID-19, Gen Z, Gig economy, Office, Remote work, Security, Workplace, Zoom}

COVID-19: Technology Trends That Are Sneaking Up on Us Faster Now

_{Most of these changes, for better or worse, are probably here to stay} _{News

September 11, 2020

13

Business and Finance, Surveillance, Work}

We knew big changes were coming. And that COVID-19 has ramped them up. But when experts expound grand generalities and wave their hands a lot, it can be hard to clearly see what a change means where we live and work. One writing teacher, for example, learned how to massively adapt all of a sudden: Each spring, I teach Writing about Oneself, a class on first-person reading and writing, to 12 Yale undergraduates chosen from 100 or so… Every year I fill out the registrar’s Pedagogical Needs Request Form, leaving 14 of the 15 “Technological Needs” boxes unchecked. (No, I don’t need a SMART board. No, I don’t need a digital projector. No, I don’t need a Blu-ray player.) The Read More ›

3D Rendered Fantasy Alien Landscape With Abstract Formations - 3D Illustration

^{Type
post

Author
News
Date
September 5, 2020

Categorized
Arts & Culture

Tagged
___longform, Aestivation Hypothesis, Berserker Hypothesis, Enrico Fermi, Extraterrestrials (ET), Great Filter Hypothesis, Hart-Tipler Conjecture, Matt Williams, Planetarium Hypothesis, Prime Directive, Rare Earth hypothesis, Seth Shostak, Zoo Hypothesis}

Seven Reasons (So Far) Why the Aliens Never Show Up

_{Some experts think they became AI and some that they were killed by their AI but others say they never existed. Who's most likely right?} _{News

September 5, 2020

11

Arts & Culture}

Science fiction author Matt Williams is writing a series at Universe Today that offers the leading explanations for why They never write, They never phone… It’s based on an incident in 1950 when Italian physicist Enrico Fermi (1901–1954) asked colleagues at the Los Alamos National Laboratory a question: If space aliens are a sure thing, “Where is everybody?” As Seth Shostak puts it at Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI), The remark came while Fermi was discussing with his mealtime mates the possibility that many sophisticated societies populate the Galaxy. They thought it reasonable to assume that we have a lot of cosmic company. But somewhere between one sentence and the next, Fermi’s supple brain realized that if this was true, Read More ›

^{Type
post

Author
Jonathan Bartlett
Date
September 2, 2020

Categorized
Programming

Tagged
___longform, Docker, Featured, Linux, Unix}

Part 3: Working with Docker: An Interactive Tutorial

_{Docker gives development teams more reliable, repeatable, and testable systems, deployed at massive scale with the click of a button} _{Jonathan Bartlett

September 2, 2020

17

Programming}

As businesses move more and more infrastructure online due to the effects of competition (not to mention COVID-19), finding the best way to manage that infrastructure becomes more and more important. Docker gives development teams more reliable, repeatable, and testable systems that can be deployed at massive scale with the click of a button. In this series (Parts 1 and 2 are linked below), we are looking under the hood at Docker, an infrastructure management tool that has grown rapidly in popularity over the last decade. In this installment, I will walk you through the process of using the Docker command line tools to download, install, and run containers, as well as build your own container. If you’re not a Read More ›

Interior of warehouse storage, Stack of shipment boxes on pallets and hand pallet truck, Warehouse industry delivery shipment goods, logistics and transportation.

^{Type
post

Author
Jonathan Bartlett
Date
August 31, 2020

Categorized
Business and Finance, Programming

Tagged
___longform, Alan Turing, Chroot jails, Cloud computing, Containers (programming), Docker, Emulator, Featured, Filesystem, LXC (Linux Containers), Union filesystem, Virtual memory, Virtualization, VMWare}

Part 2: A Peek Under the Covers at the New Docker Technology

_{Many advances enable Docker to significantly reduce a system’s overhead} _{Jonathan Bartlett

August 31, 2020

9

Business and Finance, Programming}

As businesses move more and more of their infrastructure online due to the effects of competition (not to mention COVID-19), finding the best way to manage that infrastructure becomes more and more important. As we saw in Part 1, Docker enables development teams to have more reliable, repeatable, and testable systems that can be deployed at massive scale with the click of a button. In this installment, we are going to take a look at the technology behind Docker and how it originated. From Emulators to Virtual Machines Docker allows you to run numerous “containers” at the same time on a single computer. Each of these containers acts as if it were a separate computer. It knows nothing about what Read More ›

^{Type
post

Author
News
Date
August 27, 2020

Categorized
Artificial Intelligence, Business and Finance, Creativity, Machine Learning

Tagged
___longform, Alan Turing, Algorithms, Chinese Room, Church–Turing Thesis, Creativity, Dweebs, Featured, George Gilder, Go, Jay Richards, Jeopardy, John Searle, Larry L. Linenschmidt, Lovelace test, Peter Thiel, qualia, Quantum Computing, Robert J. Marks, Satya Nadella, Surprise, Turing Test, Watson}

Six Limitations of Artificial Intelligence As We Know It

_{You’d better hope it doesn’t run your life, as Robert J. Marks explains to Larry Linenschmidt} _{News

August 27, 2020

18

Artificial Intelligence, Business and Finance, Creativity, Machine Learning}

The list is a selection from “Bingecast: Robert J. Marks on the Limitations of Artificial Intelligence,” a discussion between Larry L. Linenschmidt of the Hill Country Institute and Walter Bradley Center director Robert J. Marks. The focus on why we mistakenly attribute understanding and creativity to computers. The interview was originally published by the Hill Country Institute and is reproduced with thanks. https://episodes.castos.com/mindmatters/Mind-Matters-097-Robert-Marks.mp3 Here is a partial transcript, listing six limits of AI as we know it: (The Show Notes, Additional Resources, and a link to the full transcript are below.) 1. Computers can do a great deal but, by their nature, they are limited to algorithms. Larry L. Linenschmidt: When I read the term “classical computer,” how does a computer function? Let’s build on Read More ›

^{Type
post

Author
Heather Zeiger
Date
August 26, 2020

Categorized
Data Privacy, Global Technology, Social Media, Surveillance

Tagged
___longform, bias, ByteDance, China, Featured, Intercept (publication), Michael Schuman, TikTok, Virtual eugenics, Zhang Yiming}

Why Some Nation States Are Banning TikTok

_{The United States is not alone in questioning the social medium’s allegiance to the Chinese government} _{Heather Zeiger

August 26, 2020

10

Data Privacy, Global Technology, Social Media, Surveillance}

Why is TikTok so controversial? It’s the first Chinese technology company that has reached a billion users outside of China. Its main demographic is Generation Z—teens and twenty-somethings. If you take a look at TikTok videos, most are goofy and irreverent. They’re frenetic shorts of everything from fashion tips to pranks and, of course, (bad) dancing. TikTok’s stated mission is to “inspire creativity and bring joy.” What could go wrong? Here’s what. Working with China, as Disney and the NBA can attest, comes with certain strings attached, including acquiescing to the Chinese Communist Party’s rules for acceptable speech. Because ByteDance, which owns TikTok, is a Chinese company (although partly owned by investors from the U.S. and Japan), the Chinese Communist Read More ›

Glorious Sky - Elements of this Image Furnished by NASA

^{Type
post

Author
News
Date
August 20, 2020

Categorized
Philosophy of Mind, Science

Tagged
___longform, Bernardo Kastrup, Consciousness, cosmopsychism, Dissociation, Featured, Michael Egnor, Panpsychism, Sabine Hossenfelder, Universal consciousness}

Bernardo Kastrup Argues for a Universal Mind as a Reasonable Idea

_{The challenge, he says, is not why there is consciousness but why there are so many separate instances of consciousnesses} _{News

August 20, 2020

9

Philosophy of Mind, Science}

In a recent podcast, Michael Egnor continued his discussion with philosopher and computer programmer Bernardo Kastrup; This week, the topic was panpsychism and cosmopsychism. (Last week, the topic was why consciousness couldn’t just evolve from the mud.) https://episodes.castos.com/mindmatters/Mind-Matters-096-Bernardo-Kastrup.mp3 A partial transcript follows: (The complete transcript is here. The Show Notes and Resources are below.) Dr. Kastrup made clear that he is not a panpsychism but rather a cosmopsychist. He explains the difference, defining panpsychism as follows: Bernardo Kastrup (pictured): Panpsychism, well, to be more accurately called constitutive panpsychism, it’s the notion that at least some of the elementary particles that constitutes the universe, at least some of them, are fundamentally conscious. In other words, they have experiential states, fundamental experiential Read More ›

^{Type
post

Author
News
Date
August 18, 2020

Categorized
Ethics, Philosophy of Mind

Tagged
___longform, Aggression, Empathy, Molly Crockett, Morality Pill, Noa Eren, Oxytocin, Patricia Churchland, Paul Crutchfield}

The “Morality Pill” Hormone Does Not Make People “Nicer”

_{After an initial buzz as a “love hormone” we should all be dosed with, oxytocin started to reveal a big down side} _{News

August 18, 2020

8

Ethics, Philosophy of Mind}

Recently, we looked at the revival of enthusiasm for a morality pill on the grounds that it could make people do what authorities say with respect to COVID-19. Many of these proposals focus on the neuropeptide oxytocin. As a current advocate explains, These substances interact directly with the psychological underpinnings of moral behavior; others that make you more rational could also help. Then, perhaps, the people who choose to go maskless or flout social distancing guidelines would better understand that everyone, including them, is better off when they contribute, and rationalize that the best thing to do is cooperate. Paul Crutchfield, The Conversation, “‘Morality pills’ may be the US’s best shot at ending the coronavirus pandemic, according to one ethicist” Read More ›

^{Type
post

Author
News
Date
August 16, 2020

Categorized
Ethics

Tagged
___longform, Agata Sagan, Daniel Munro, Julian Savulescu, Molly Crockett, Parker Crutchfield, Peter Singer, Richard Weikart}

COVID-19 Drives the Latest Proposal for a “Morality Pill”

_{Those who don't comply with government policy would be urged or forced to take it} _{News

August 16, 2020

9

Ethics}

University of Western Michigan philosophy professor Parker Crutchfield (pictured) recently suggested getting people to take a pill to promote more “pro-social” behavior in order to better fight off COVID-19. He argues that the United States is not equipped for a fight against the disease just by expecting everyone to work together, as in, say, World Wars I and II: It seems that the U.S. is not currently equipped to cooperatively lower the risk confronting us. Many are instead pinning their hopes on the rapid development and distribution of an enhancement to the immune system—a vaccine. But I believe society may be better off, both in the short term as well as the long, by boosting not the body’s ability to Read More ›

^{Type
post

Author
News
Date
August 15, 2020

Categorized
Medicine and Health, Philosophy of Mind

Tagged
___longform, Anansi, Arachnophobia (disorder), Arachnophobia (film), Black Widow, Brown Recluse, Children of Time (book), Chris Buddle, Graham Davey, Peter Muris, Rick Vetter, Spiders}

Why Do We Fear Spiders More Than Bees?

_{It’s a peculiarity of human psychology that science fiction writers have exploited} _{News

August 15, 2020

11

Medicine and Health, Philosophy of Mind}

Children of Time, the novel that won the prestigious Arthur C. Clarke Award for Adrian Tchaikovsky in 2016, featured a classic science fiction theme: Humanity faces a superior civilization—in this case, a civilization of intelligent spiders. The novel uses and reimagines familiar science fiction conceits – terraforming, superintelligence, a decaying starship – in a story that interweaves the development of an empire of spiders accidentally gifted intelligence with the descent into barbarism of a starship crew searching for a new home. Its thoughtful depiction of two civilisations trying to understand each other cleverly inverts the usual narrative of planetary conquest, and features startling moments of cognitive estrangement during clashes with the alien, yet sympathetically drawn, spiders. Paul Mcauley, “Tale of Read More ›

^{Type
post

Author
News
Date
August 13, 2020

Categorized
Philosophy of Mind, Science

Tagged
___longform, Bernardo Kastrup, Consciousness, Darwinism, Evolution, Featured, god, Intelligent design theory, Jerry Coyne, Jerry Fodor, Materialism, Michael Egnor, Natural selection, Panpsychism, Philosophy, What Darwin Got Wrong (book)}

Why Consciousness Couldn’t Just Evolve from the Mud

_{Kastrup, a panpsychist, is sympathetic to the basic intuitions behind the idea that there is design in nature (intelligent design theory)} _{News

August 13, 2020

10

Philosophy of Mind, Science}

In a recent podcast, “Does the Moon Exist if No One is Looking at It?”, neurosurgeon Michael Egnor interviewed philosopher and computer programmer Bernardo Kastrup. Dr. Kastrup has been, in Dr. Egnor’s words, “leading a modern renaissance of metaphysical idealism”—that is, reality is essentially mental rather than physical. Read More ›