Mind Matters Natural and Artificial Intelligence News and Analysis

TagUniverse

view-of-universe-with-stars-and-amazing-colorful-and-deep-blue-dark-stockpack-adobe-stock
View of universe with stars and amazing colorful and deep blue dark
Type
post
Author
Andrew McDiarmid
Date
September 21, 2023
Categorized
Physics
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The Universe and its Mathematical Structure

Do humans project mathematics upon nature or vice versa?
Andrew McDiarmid
September 21, 2023
2
Physics

This past June, we published an article featuring a conversation between physicist Lawrence Krauss and novelist Cormac McCarthy, where they discussed whether mathematics was “discovered or invented.” Robert J. Marks went on to write his own thoughts on the question shortly thereafter. If you’re further interested in mathematics and whether there is an actual correspondence between math and the natural world, consider watching new podcast episode featuring Dr. Melissa Cain Travis. Do humans project mathematical order onto nature? Or was it there all along? On a new episode of ID the Future, I conclude a three-part conversation with Dr. Melissa Cain Travis about her recent book Thinking God’s Thoughts: Johannes Kepler and the Miracle of Cosmic Comprehensibility.  In Part 3, we look Read More ›

adorable-little-girl-shopping-for-toys-cute-female-in-toy-store-happy-young-girl-selecting-toy-stockpack-adobe-stock
Adorable little girl shopping for toys. Cute female in toy store. Happy young girl selecting toy
Type
post
Author
Richard W. Stevens
Date
July 3, 2023
Categorized
Natural Intelligence
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How a Toddler in a Toy Store Refutes Materialism

This everyday observation yields insight into a fundamental truth
Richard W. Stevens
July 3, 2023
5
Natural Intelligence

I’m a magnet for materialists. I often get into discussions with people who tell me that the universe is nothing but matter and energy. These folks believe in materialism. They say I’m nutty and wrong to think there is anything else. Something like: “Silly theist! Gods are for kids!” Let’s follow that thought. A grandparent of 11 humans, I’ve journeyed with their parents through the young ones’ toddlerhood many times. There’s a lot to learn about reality from toddlers’ learning and growing. It leads to understanding Toddler Truth. Take a toddler to a game arcade, a toy store, or another kid’s house to play. There’s one thing you can count on hearing: “I want that!” We parents start tuning out Read More ›

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アンドロメダ銀河
Type
post
Author
News
Date
July 24, 2021
Categorized
Philosophy, Science
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Some Say That the Universe Is a Donut. Others Say It’s a Hole.

Actually, as astrophysicist Ethan Siegel points out, there’s only one universe — which makes theorizing about it a problem.
News
July 24, 2021
2
Philosophy, Science

At Forbes, theoretical astrophysicist Ethan Siegel comments: The true problem with the Universe is that there’s only one to observe, or at least, only one that we’re capable of observing. We don’t have a large sample of Universes to compare between, and we don’t have a large set of data points available to us within our Universe. It’s like rolling five dice, together, once. Your odds of getting all sixes is small: about 1-in-7800. Yet if you rolled five dice at once and saw that it came up all sixes, you wouldn’t necessarily conclude that it was anything more than random chance. Sometimes, nature just doesn’t give you the most likely outcome. It’s possible that the leftover photons from the Read More ›

prosthetic arm
young man working freelance in laptop at home
Type
post
Author
Stephen Berger
Date
May 19, 2021
Categorized
Artificial Intelligence, Ethics, Philosophy of Mind
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Will Humans Ever Be Fully Replaceable by AI? Part 3

Data outlines what can be quantified but does not show the comparison between AI and human performance at the most important points
Stephen Berger
May 19, 2021
11
Artificial Intelligence, Ethics, Philosophy of Mind

To get the right answer to the question of whether artificial intelligence will ever become capable of replacing man we must get the ontology, epistemology, and metrology right. Ontology seeks to understand the essential nature of things and the relationships between different things. Epistemology looks at what we can know and how accurately we can know what is knowable. Finally, metrology explores how we make measurements and comparisons. To get the right answer we must measure the right things (ontology), select what we will measure (epistemology), and determine how we make our measurements and comparisons with accuracy, precision, and repeatability (metrology). Mistakes in any of these areas will lead to a bad outcome. A common mistake is to measure what Read More ›

concept-of-rivalry-between-robots-and-humans-stockpack-adobe-stock.jpg
Concept of rivalry between robots and humans
Type
post
Author
Stephen Berger
Date
May 2, 2021
Categorized
Artificial Intelligence, Philosophy of Mind
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Will Humans Ever Be Fully Replaceable by AI? Part 2

Particles and energy can be translated into each other. Might man also be a type of duality, with a natural and a spiritual reality?
Stephen Berger
May 2, 2021
7
Artificial Intelligence, Philosophy of Mind

In Part 1, we looked at the many dimensions to our thinking. Now, we ask, What then is man? Is man simply a complex biological machine that is fully explained by analyzing it in the four dimensions of space and time? Is the brain just a biological computer fully contained in four dimensions? Most of the world’s religions hold that man exists beyond the mere physical. Man has a soul, a spirit; these exist outside of the physical universe. There are characteristics, attributes, and values that are very real and have great impact, but which defy direct observation or quantification. String theory, an active research area in modern physics, requires 10 or 11 dimensions to fully explain what we see Read More ›

automation engineer
At the Factory: Automation Engineer Uses Laptop for Programming Robotic Arm. New Era in Automatic Manufacturing Industry.
Type
post
Author
Stephen Berger
Date
April 27, 2021
Categorized
Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, Philosophy of Mind, Science
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Will Humans Ever Be Fully Replaceable by AI? Part 1

We must first determine, what is a person and what is the nature of the universe in which a person can exist?
Stephen Berger
April 27, 2021
15
Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, Philosophy of Mind, Science

The title question has been around for quite some time. In this discussion, I would like to take an ontological look at this question. What is the essential nature of being a person? To fully replace humans, what must AI machines become capable of? IF we want to consider the possibility of making humans obsolete, we need to know what is the essence of humanity? What is the ontological nature of a person? What characteristics define being a person? Even before we can address the essential nature of a person, we must identify the essential nature of the universe in which that person exists. What is the universe? How many dimensions does it have? Can the universe, or in it Read More ›

blue-glowing-multiverse-in-space-stockpack-adobe-stock.jpg
Blue glowing multiverse in space
Type
post
Author
Michael Egnor
Date
February 28, 2021
Categorized
Philosophy, Religion, Science
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We Don’t Live in a Multiverse Because the Concept Makes No Sense

Neurologist Steven Novella and philosopher Philip Goff, both atheists, agree that there are many universes besides the one we live in
Michael Egnor
February 28, 2021
5
Philosophy, Religion, Science

Cosmic fine-tuning is the observation that many of the values of the variables in the fundamental laws of physics specifically permit the existence of sentient life (life like us) within a very narrow margin of error. The likelihood of this happening by chance seems vanishingly small. It seems as if Someone expected us. How can we explain this? The fact that God created the universe explains fine-tuning. But for atheists, it’s a real conundrum. As a result, at Neurologica blog, neurologist Steven Novella (pictured) and philosopher Philip Goff have been discussing the most popular atheist explanation for fine-tuning, the “multiverse.” That is, there are countless universes out there, each with its own parameters, and ours just happens to be one Read More ›

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The universe inside us, the profile of a young woman and space, the effect of double exposure. scientific concept. The brain and creativity. Elements of this image furnished by NASA
Type
post
Author
News
Date
November 18, 2020
Categorized
Neuroscience, Science
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Study: The Human Brain and the Universe Are Remarkably Similar

It looks as though the universe is not random but rather patterned in the way it unfolds
News
November 18, 2020
3
Neuroscience, Science

Recently, Franco Vazza, an astrophysicist at the University of Bologna and Alberto Felleti, a neurosurgeon at the University of Verona, decided to compare the network of human brain cells and the network of galaxies in our universe. Even though the universe is 27 orders of magnitude bigger than a single human brain, remarkable similarities emerged: The human brain functions thanks to its wide neuronal network that is deemed to contain approximately 69 billion neurons. On the other hand, the observable universe is composed of a cosmic web of at least 100 billion galaxies. Within both systems, only 30% of their masses are composed of galaxies and neurons. Within both systems, galaxies and neurons arrange themselves in long filaments or nodes Read More ›

Image of earth with different times against green vignette
Type
post
Author
News
Date
July 10, 2019
Categorized
Artificial Intelligence, Philosophy of Mind, Religion
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How Do We Know Our Universe Is Not a Sim World?

It’s an interesting idea, say Bradley fellows, but for a number of reasons, it is not credible
News
July 10, 2019
6
Artificial Intelligence, Philosophy of Mind, Religion

The computer sim universe seems to be a way of dealing with the massive evidence of the fine-tuning of our universe without invoking traditional philosophy or religion.

Read More ›