Many people would disagree with this but because it is unrepeatable(It is supernatural remember) it is no good, you can't accept it. I have an open mind as well as a logical one, I look for motives generally, because people lie, and sometimes people have more to lose by admitting they'd experience a supernatural event, that's illogical. Still you can't repeat or see clear images etc. so your brain restricts such ideas because it's finite. Because it used to be call "UFO", which was always synonymous with aliens perhaps. They changed it because they found some Chinese drones over Canada or USA somewhere. Science also puts your mind in a cage which is the brain. Because they would have inspected our planet before hand and realised they would either be caged and tested on, or shot. Maybe? After all they would be much higher evolved than us.
This is hilarious! They're prone to mental illness(not funny)! Has anyone seen the original TV series of The Hitchhikers guide to galaxy? The robot A.I. was called Marvin, who was depressed all the time, here's a quote: Marvin : The first ten million years were the worst. And the second ten million: they were the worst, too. The third ten million I didn't enjoy at all. The solution: “There are obviously times for AI models and people when this is more than justified in order to prevent harm,” he added. “However, when it comes to AI models, we can have it both ways. We can and should eliminate hallucinations at the level of a given AI application because — for it to be adopted and deliver impact — it must behave as intended as much as possible. However, we can also remove these constraints, provide less context, and use these AI models to promote our own creative thinking.” - Freethink We could buy our very own Marvin!
How logic alone may prove that time doesn’t exist (philosophy of time) https://theconversation.com/how-logic-alone-may-prove-that-time-doesnt-exist-227817 INTRO: Modern physics suggests [the flow of] time may be an illusion. Einstein’s theory of relativity, for example, suggests the universe is a static, four-dimensional block that contains all of space and time simultaneously – with no special “now”. What’s the future to one observer, is the past to another. That means time doesn’t flow from past to future, as we experience it. This clashes with how time is conceptualised in other areas of physics, such as quantum mechanics, however. So is time an illusion or not? One approach to find out would be to try to prove that time is unreal using logic alone... (MORE - details) = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = The mistake at the heart of the physics of time https://iai.tv/articles/the-mistake-at-the-heart-of-the-physics-of-time-auid-2811?_auid=2020 EXCERPTS: Even if, mathematically, we can divide time into smaller and smaller chunks, we could not expect to measure such shrinking time intervals ad infinitum. Infinitely divisible, physical time is a mathematical abstraction. The time line, a straight line covering the real numbers, is a useful tool [...] It should not, however, be taken as representing the reality of time any more than a clock dial does. [...] Clocks don’t reveal the true nature of time; they are tools invented to abstract certain aspects of the experiential flow of time and to measure them in a systematic way. [...] The map serves a clear purpose: the mathematical description of natural phenomena to the highest degree of precision possible. ... The mapmaker should not forget what cannot be included in the map—the experience of walking the terrain, the biting chill of the mountaintop, the dappled light through the trees of the forest... (MORE - details) - - - - - - - - - - But the "mistake" that the article above itself seems to make is in alternatively treating the experience of time as fundamental, when it's a product of the brain (in the context of a prevailing view that treats anything subjective as secondary/emergent -- incapable of being primary). _
Time is a dimension that our brain indeed is used as a product of our brain, it also affects us externally, wearing a working watch for example reminds your brain of the current time while the brain guesses.
Can philosophy be justified in a time of crisis? https://www.currentaffairs.org/2024/04/can-philosophy-be-justified-in-a-time-of-crisis Is there something wrong with the pursuit of “knowledge for knowledge’s sake”? Is it morally wrong to do nothing but scientific research and to be “apolitical”? I think there’s a good argument for that position.... - - - - - - - - - - - - Philosophy is an art https://aeon.co/essays/philosophical-theories-are-like-good-stories-margaret-macdonald Early proponents of the ‘analytic’ method in philosophy such as Bertrand Russell saw good philosophy as science-like and were dismissive of philosophy that was overly poetic or unscientific. [...] But for Margaret Macdonald, philosophical theories are akin to stories, meant to enlarge certain aspects of human life... - - - - - - - - - - - - Military AI and the illusion of authority https://www.prindleinstitute.org/2024/04/military-ai-and-the-illusion-of-authority/ INTRO: Israel has recruited an AI program called Lavender into its ongoing assault against Palestinians. Lavender processes military intelligence that previously would have been processed by humans, producing a list of targets for the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) to kill. This novel use of AI, which has drawn swift condemnation from legal scholars and human rights advocates, represents a new role for technology in warfare. In what follows, I explore how the technological aspects of AI such as Lavender contribute to a false sense of its authority and credibility... (MORE - details) - - - - - - - - - - - - What is the aesthetic value of science? https://aestheticsforbirds.com/2024/04/11/what-is-the-aesthetic-value-of-science/ EXCERPT: We usually associate aesthetic experience with the enjoyment of artworks and landscapes, but I have always found incredible pleasure in science and its history. [...] In my work, I have explored the ways in which aesthetics enters experimental practice. Celebrated experiments in the history of science, from Foucault’s demonstration of Earth’s rotation to Rutherford’s discovery of alpha particles, can be seen as a source of aesthetic value. This value can be experienced in a number of contexts. The experiment can be focused on a natural phenomenon that we find beautiful or awe inspiring, from seeing cells under the microscope to neuron structures resembling branching trees. The very instruments used can provide aesthetic value... (MORE - details) - - - - - - - - - - - - Don't believe what they're telling you about misinformation https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/...-what-theyre-telling-you-about-misinformation EXCERPTS: [...] The fear of misinformation hinges on assumptions about human suggestibility... [...] But do the credulity theorists have the right account of what’s going on? Folks like Mike Hughes aren’t gullible in the sense that they’ll believe anything. [...] Their behavior demonstrates a paradox of belief. Action is supposed to follow belief, and yet beliefs, even fervently espoused ones, sometimes exist in their own cognitive cage, with little influence over behavior. [...] Sperber concluded that there are two kinds of beliefs. The first he has called “factual” beliefs. Factual beliefs—such as the belief that chairs exist and that leopards are dangerous—guide behavior and tolerate little inconsistency; you can’t believe that leopards do and do not eat livestock. The second category he has called “symbolic” beliefs. These beliefs might feel genuine, but they’re cordoned off from action and expectation. We are, in turn, much more accepting of inconsistency when it comes to symbolic beliefs; we can believe, say, that God is all-powerful and good while allowing for the existence of evil and suffering... (MORE - details) _
Is everything supernatural unrepeatable and therefore untestable? That seems suspiciously convenient, for people who claim that the supernatural exists, don't you think? Why should I accept that something exists if there's no good evidence for its existence? There's no evidence of any minds existing independently of brains. It is what it is. There's no such thing as "higher evolved", you know? Bacteria, for example, are some of the most successful species on this planet. Is that because they are "higher evolved"?
Obviously, otherwise you'd believe in the supernatural Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image! Nothing suspicious about it, it's a fact. I don't blame you in particular for rejecting supernatural experiences, I do however think that if you experience something supernatural you still wouldn't believe in the supernatural. See above ^^ also, you have to think logically sometimes about motives. When some people read a supernatural account they think about motive and if it's good they might believe it, open minded. But you stay close minded, it suits you Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image! Do you believe the mind exists? Well, more intelligent. A lot more. A human is more evolved than bacteria because it's newer and uses bacteria as part of a more complex system.
The beginnings of modern science shaped how philosophers saw alien life – and how we understand it today https://theconversation.com/the-beg...en-life-and-how-we-understand-it-today-213454 Speculation about extraterrestrials is not all that new. There was a vibrant debate in 17th-century Europe about the existence of life on other planets. - - - - - - - - - - - - Idealism is realism https://iai.tv/articles/idealism-is-realism-jeremy-dunham-auid-2815 Idealism is often met with some ridicule; surely the world doesn't just exist in our heads. Jeremy Dunham argues this view of idealism is a misconception. Idealism is a much more realist worldview than we think, and more realist than its alternatives, as it does not deny the existence of the most real things there are: thoughts [perceptions, sensations, the phenomenal nature of things]. - - - - - - - - - - - - The hidden logic behind emotions https://iai.tv/articles/the-hidden-logic-behind-emotions-auid-2814 For almost a century, conventional wisdom held that emotions from happiness to sadness, anticipation to surprise, and anger to terror were opposites. And like primary colours, they could be combined to create other emotions like ‘guilt’ or ‘delight’. Such an idea is deeply flawed argues philosopher of psychology and neuroscience, Juan R. Loaiza. The metaphor of colour should be replaced by a new analogy – sound – to describe more meaningfully the complexity of human emotional experience.... - - - - - - - - - - - - The internet’s new favorite philosopher https://www.newyorker.com/culture/infinite-scroll/the-internets-new-favorite-philosopher EXCERPTS: For Kevin Maret, an undergraduate art student at the University of Idaho, that moment came while reading “In the Swarm: Digital Prospects,” a slim monograph by the philosopher Byung-Chul Han that was first published in English by M.I.T., in 2017. [...] Han diagnosed what he called “the violence of positivity,” deriving from “overproduction, overachievement, and overcommunication.” We are so stimulated, chiefly by the Internet, that we paradoxically cannot feel or comprehend much of anything. ... In “Non-things,” Han argues that online we encounter a glut of information—i.e., non-things—that distracts us from having experiences with objects in the world... (MORE - details) - - - - - - - - - - - - Did the Enlightenment fail? https://engelsbergideas.com/reviews/did-the-enlightenment-fail/ EXCERPTS: Nietzsche’s characteristically enigmatic remarks have confused historians and philosophers alike, who tend to regard the Enlightenment and the Revolution as manifestations of the same story of philosophical and political progress that gave rise to the modern world. Not so, argues Richard Whatmore in his gripping new book The End of Enlightenment. Instead, Whatmore argues, many of the thinkers we associate with ‘the Enlightenment’ today saw the French Revolution as the nightmarish conclusion of the century-long breakdown of an enlightened social order, and a return to the fanaticism, enthusiasm, and violence of the wars of religion in the 17th century. Contrary to the popular understanding of the Enlightenment as a primarily French movement dedicated to the achievement of democracy, liberalism, and the rule of reason, Whatmore’s Enlightenment was a way of thinking born out of the bloody conflicts of the 17th and 18th centuries, dedicated to toleration, free commerce, international peace, and political moderation. [...] The End of Enlightenment tells the story of how this vision of a pacified, cosmopolitan, and tolerant world came to an end in the final decades of the 18th century, and the various strategies devised by leading Enlightenment thinkers to arrest or even prevent decline... (MORE - details) _
That is true, But then is there any evidence of brains existing independently of minds? Afterall a brain is basically just an abstract concept in our mind. It is conceived as a generalization or categorical set defined as a type of object with certain properties and theoretical operations in our heads independently of our perception of it. Few people have actually seen an actual brain. It is a visualized ideal or form eidetically constructed in our minds out of images we remember seeing in books and on film.. When we read or hear the word "brain" a whole complex of true propositions about it and images of it pops up in our minds, cohering as one selfsame 3D object posited as existing outside our mind in physical spacetime. That is by and large our whole experience of the brain. Could we know a brain as an existing physical thing in any other way? I don't think so. Outside of the known idea of the brain, there is only undifferentiated matter and energy or unfiltered sensory noise.
Consciousness and the Dennett Paradox https://johnhorgan.org/cross-check/consciousness-and-the-dennett-paradox INTRO: The idea that consciousness isn’t real has always struck me as crazy, but smart people espouse it. One of the smartest is [the late] philosopher Daniel Dennett, who has been questioning consciousness for decades, notably in his 1991 bestseller Consciousness Explained. I’ve always thought I must be missing something in Dennett’s argument, so I hoped his book From Bacteria to Bach and Back: The Evolution of Minds would enlighten me. It does, but not in the way Dennett intended... (MORE - details) - - - - - - - - - - - - Anthropic CEO says that by next year, AI Models could be able to “replicate and survive in the wild” https://futurism.com/the-byte/anthropic-ceo-ai-replicate-survive EXCERPTS: In a podcast interview with the New York Times' Ezra Klein, Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei discussed "responsible scaling" of the technology — and how without governance, it may start to, well, breed. "I’m truly talking about the near future here. I’m not talking about 50 years away," the Anthropic CEO said... [...] Amodei is a serious figure in the space. ... While AI doomsday talk is pretty par for the course these days, Amodei's insider perspective adds a lot of weight to his argument... (MORE - missing details) _
The key problem with the “brain in a vat” thought experiment https://bigthink.com/13-8/the-key-problem-with-the-brain-in-a-vat-thought-experiment/ KEY POINTS: The "brain in a vat" idea, often explored in science fiction, suggests that all human experience could be simulated through neural circuitry alone. However, the brain in a vat (BIV) scenario seems to overlook the intricate interdependence between the brain and the body, suggesting that the brain cannot function in isolation but needs a biologically active system mirroring the complexities of an actual body. Real-world interaction and bodily engagement may be essential for genuine experience and consciousness... (MORE - details) _
A BIV enthusiast might respond by saying that all the brain's motor signals could still be outputted to the computer generating the simulated world which is in turn responding with the right sensory feedback signals required to simulate all the sensations of movement and volition and resistance and touch and friction and fatigue and pain it would be experiencing in a real physical world. So the BIV would still experience itself as moving around and interacting with things even without a real body because all the return signals perfectly match those that would be received from a moving physical body in a real physical world. The simulation itself would shift and change in response to the BIV's outputting motor signals to create the illusion of a first hand bodily experience in a physical world just like in a video game where the avatar appears to be moving about and interacting with things in the video world.
The unsurprising non-detection of intelligent aliens https://bigthink.com/starts-with-a-bang/unsurprising-non-detection-intelligent-aliens/ Long ago, Enrico Fermi posed a simple question just by gazing at the stars: "Where is everybody?" Known today as the Fermi Paradox, there are many possible solutions, but some explanations are far simpler than others: namely, that there isn't anyone else. Still, the most common way of estimating who's out there, the Drake equation, should never be used. Here's the science of how to do it right... - - - - - - - - - - - - - You don’t have to drop philosophy for activism https://loveofallwisdom.com/blog/2024/04/you-dont-have-to-drop-philosophy-for-activism/ [Nathan J. Robison] claims, “I definitely feel, though, that I couldn’t have justified spending a career as an academic philosopher” – not because there are so few such jobs out there and you’re taking them from people who want them more, but because the time you spend on such a career is supposedly abdicating a larger political responsibility. [...] There are multiple problems with Robinson’s view. First of all, it only makes sense if one assumes that one’s philosophical or intellectual work isn’t making a practical contribution to the world... - - - - - - - - - - - - - The moral problem of grading: An extended analysis https://philosophicaldisquisitions.blogspot.com/2020/02/the-moral-problem-of-grading-extended.html Grading is the bane of most academics’ lives. Several times a year the working academic will be required to grade the students in their classes. Academics often complain about this process — begrudging both the time it takes and the mind-numbing nature of the task — but rarely think about its ethics. Most see it as an inevitable and essential part of their jobs. If they didn’t grade students’ exams and assignments then what would be the point of all that teaching? It seems so obvious that grading is the natural denouement of teaching. [...] the ethical academic should be opposed to most of our current grading practices, but that they still need to grade students anyway. They just need to be more transparent and open with students about the limitations of what they are doing... _
(paper) Collective intelligence: A unifying concept for integrating biology across scales and substrates https://www.nature.com/articles/s42003-024-06037-4 ABSTRACT: A defining feature of biology is the use of a multiscale architecture, ranging from molecular networks to cells, tissues, organs, whole bodies, and swarms. Crucially however, biology is not only nested structurally, but also functionally: each level is able to solve problems in distinct problem spaces, such as physiological, morphological, and behavioral state space. Percolating adaptive functionality from one level of competent subunits to a higher functional level of organization requires collective dynamics: multiple components must work together to achieve specific outcomes. Here we overview a number of biological examples at different scales which highlight the ability of cellular material to make decisions that implement cooperation toward specific homeodynamic endpoints, and implement collective intelligence by solving problems at the cell, tissue, and whole-organism levels. We explore the hypothesis that collective intelligence is not only the province of groups of animals, and that an important symmetry exists between the behavioral science of swarms and the competencies of cells and other biological systems at different scales. We then briefly outline the implications of this approach, and the possible impact of tools from the field of diverse intelligence for regenerative medicine and synthetic bioengineering. - - - - - - - - - - - - The New York Declaration on Animal Consciousness https://sites.google.com/nyu.edu/nydeclaration/declaration MANIFESTO: Which animals have the capacity for conscious experience? While much uncertainty remains, some points of wide agreement have emerged. First, there is strong scientific support for attributions of conscious experience to other mammals and to birds. Second, the empirical evidence indicates at least a realistic possibility of conscious experience in all vertebrates (including reptiles, amphibians, and fishes) and many invertebrates (including, at minimum, cephalopod mollusks, decapod crustaceans, and insects). Third, when there is a realistic possibility of conscious experience in an animal, it is irresponsible to ignore that possibility in decisions affecting that animal. We should consider welfare risks and use the evidence to inform our responses to these risks. - - - - - - - - - - - - AI is redefining what it takes to be a software engineer on Wall Street https://archive.is/ZGT9z#selection-2221.0-2221.93 Philosophy background required? It's becoming increasingly important to train the more creative part of the brain through writing and social sciences courses, like English, philosophy, and psychology, according to some of Wall Street's top tech execs and recruiters. [...] "As AI comes in, cogent and clear communication becomes much more important, and the ability to actually phrase your questions correctly, soundly, and safely makes a lot more of a difference as well," Zafar told Business Insider. As such, communication and psychology are becoming "more valued minors or majors for students to focus on," he said... - - - - - - - - - - - - The flavour of truth https://sootyempiric.blogspot.com/2024/04/the-flavour-of-truth.html INTRO: There has been another round of discussion online about evil humanities professors disordering our political life by spreading pernicious relativism about truth and objectivity. I remain convinced that this is a distraction, that in fact none of our disputes in political and social life are actually about the nature of truth. Apparently I have not persuaded people! So today I try a different approach. I will try to persuade you that all the sorts of things people do to actually create trouble for claims of objective truth are, in the main, unobjectionable, or even where controversial not really the sort of thing that divides us politically... - - - - - - - - - - - - Plato’s burial place? https://lavocedinewyork.com/en/news...g-in-herculaneum-reveals-platos-burial-place/ University of Pisa expert Graziano Ranocchia said on Tuesday that the Herculaneum papyri may have identified the exact place where he was buried... - - - - - - - - - - - - Keep Immanuel Kant's name out of your mouth https://www.thedailybeast.com/germa...ame-out-of-your-mouth?source=email&via=mobile German chancellor Olaf Scholz wants Russian leader Vladimir Putin to stop “appropriating” 18th century philosopher Immanuel Kant. [...] Scholz declared that “Putin doesn’t have the slightest right to invoke Kant,” according to Zeit. He said everything Putin stands for—“aggressive war, breach of international law and despotism”—is at odds with Kant’s metaphysics. “Nevertheless, Putin’s regime remains committed to appropriating Kant and his work at almost any cost,” he said.... _
Neurons Aren't Special: A Copernican Argument (Eric Schwitzgebel) https://schwitzsplinters.blogspot.com/2024/04/neurons-arent-special-copernican.html INTRO: In virtue of what do human beings have conscious experiences? How is it that there's "something it's like" to be us, while there's (presumably) nothing it's like to be a rock or a virus? Our brains must have something to do with it -- but why? Is it because brains are complex information processors? Or because brains guide the sophisticated behavior of bodies embedded in rich environments? Or because neurons in particular have a special power to give rise to consciousness? In a paper in progress with Jeremy Pober (partly anticipated in some previous blog posts), I've been developing what I call a Copernican argument against the last of these options, the specialness of neurons... (MORE - details) - - - - - - - - - Wittgenstein and how to debate your enemy https://iai.tv/articles/wittgenstein-and-how-to-debate-your-enemy-drew-douglas-johnson-auid-2829 From populist politics to debates over vaccines and gender, ours is an age of polarisation. How can we debate productively in cases of deep disagreement? Wittgenstein’s account of balancing certainty about the rightness of our beliefs with intellectual humility provides the key, argues Drew Douglas Johnson. We can achieve this balance by recognising that our core certainties are rationally ungrounded, and yet are no less legitimate for this groundlessness... - - - - - - - - - Oxford shuts down institute run by Elon Musk-backed philosopher https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2024/apr/19/oxford-future-of-humanity-institute-closes Nick Bostrom’s Future of Humanity Institute closed this [previous] week in what Swedish-born philosopher says was ‘death by bureaucracy’... _
Question: In the absence of neural consciousness in lower levels of awareness, as in plants, would the term "quasi-intelligence" not be appropriate as a definition at these lower biological levels?
"Exotic information processing" is probably more accurate than proto-intelligence. But there may be no convenient term for conveying such. Even applying modifiers to "intelligence" -- that indicated degraded stepping stones -- risks people grabbing and running away with that, and prescribing mitigated sapience to almost any complex system. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plant_perception_(physiology) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plant_cognition _
