Mind Matters Natural and Artificial Intelligence News and Analysis

Denyse O'Leary

two-tyrannosaurus-rex-are-fighting-in-pine-forest-created-by-generative-ai-stockpack-adobe-stock
Two tyrannosaurus rex are fighting in pine forest . Created by generative AI .

The wildly varying intelligence of big, bad, extinct T. Rex

After centuries with the “stupid” label, T. rex was found in one 2023 study to be as smart as a primate. But then…
A 2024 study suggests that T. rex was only as smart as a crocodile, not a chimp. That might seems like a comedown — except that crocs are fairly sharp. Read More ›
surreal-portrait-of-natures-essence-womans-face-blending-with-lush-trees-and-life-symbolizing-environmental-connection-and-growth-stockpack-adobe-stock
surreal portrait of nature's essence. woman's face blending with lush trees and life, symbolizing environmental connection and growth

Panpsychism Going Mainstream in Popular Media?

Significantly, Hawkins does not try to privilege conventional “consciousness is an illusion” over panpsychism (“everything is conscious”). He treats the two views equally
Panpsychism is very much a materialist theory. It avoids absurdity by admitting that human consciousness is real — but then tries to make it part of nature. Read More ›
earth on precipice
北アメリカを中心としたクリスタルの地球儀の背景に清流が流れている

Gaia Reborn? New Climate Book Sees Earth as Living Entity

The Gaia hypothesis, pioneered by Lynn Margulis and James Lovelock was once ridiculed but Ferris Jabr thinks we should take it seriously to fight climate change
This idea, which can be placed along the panpsychism spectrum, risks making climate issues a religion and will cast specifically human rights into doubt. Read More ›
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Blue abstract lightning

Astrophysicist: Electricity Can Account For Human Consciousness

Ethan Siegel set out to show that there is no design in the universe and that included reducing consciousness to electricity, with the details still to be ironed out
It’s useful to know that this sort of fact-free performance is acceptable, given the state of a materialist interpretation of consciousness today. Read More ›
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The word ban on wooden cubes with internet www icon background. Internet ban and censorship concept.

Musk vs Australia: Down Under Is Down One For Now

A federal court has refused to extend the demand that Musk’s X platform remove videos showing the stabbing attack on Rev. Mar Mari Emmanuel
The story highlights once again, the way X (Twitter) is one of the few important social media to resist government censorship. Read More ›
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DNA, biology, origin of life, genetic science, close-up shot, ultrafine detail, colorful

Science Team Argues, Consciousness Came Before Life

Can the authors take issue with Darwinian evolution claims while maintaining a materialist stance?
Apart from demoting evolution, “consciousness first” is yet another attempt to naturalize consciousness by making it a basic origin of life process. Read More ›
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Norway Limits Phone Use in School. Did That Truly Help Students?

A Norwegian study says yes but some psychologists dismiss both the study and the limits for conflicting reasons
It’s hard to understand why anyone would doubt that irrelevant messaging from cell phones is a distraction for a student who is trying to learn a concept. Read More ›
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Cave paintings over five thousand years old painted on rocks in the Serra do Cipó region, Brazil

Why Did Our Ancestors Start Drawing in Caves and Making Jewelry?

For that matter, why did they choose to develop artworks around fossilized dinosaur footprints?
We can’t read the thoughts of the dead who left no decipherable writings but we can study the workings of the human mind from remarkably long ago. Read More ›
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A dominant male orang-utan in his native habitat. Rainforest of Borneo.

Orangutan heals wound using leaves — and triggers big media event

The orangutan is not the first or only animal to self-medicate. Birds and elephants do it too
It will be interesting to see whether other orangutans in the area begin to imitate their new neighbor in using chewed akar kuning leaves to treat wounds. Read More ›
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: A journey through a kaleidoscopic, mathematical dreamscape, punctuated with intricate details, entwined and layered to create a mesmerizing wonder.

Arts major cracks hard math through practice, practice, practice

She became an engineering prof that way. The war on math is certainly not over but the warriors may be starting to find themselves on the back foot
Mathematics underlies our entire universe at its most basic level. Correct answers conform to reality. The war on 2 + 2 = 4 is just plain doomed. Read More ›
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Fighting Bonobos ( Pan paniscus). At a short distance, close up.

Researchers: Bonobos Are More, Not Less, Aggressive Than Chimps

Tracking males of both types of ape every waking hour shattered the pop science “hippie ape” illusion
The “hippie ape,” it turns out, is yet another product of the human imagination; the bonobo is an animal in nature. It’s best not to confuse the two. Read More ›
mysterious-arch-of-clouds-over-water-portal-to-heaven-stockpack-adobe-stock
Mysterious arch of clouds over water, portal to heaven

Can an Atheist Believe in Life After Death?

An atheist philosopher makes the case at Closer to Truth
There is much evidence to suggest that the human mind is immaterial and immateriality is one of the characteristics of things that do not die. Read More ›
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Head of a woman - showing different states of mind and being through tranparency

Was Darwinian Philosopher Daniel Dennett the End of an Era?

Dennett’s image of the human mind as a user-illusion was very fashionable but it never made any sense
Who will assume Dennett’s role as the leading, world-famous Darwinian materialist philosopher? Will the position remain — tellingly — vacant? Read More ›
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blue sky ocean

Are Near-Death Experiences Just Another Branch of Research Now?

We should hope so because there are a number of interesting allied research areas that would be better studied without preexisting prejudice against NDEs
In a discussion at Psychology Today, a philosopher notes that her dissertation supporting the reality of near-death experiences was received without hostility. Read More ›
physics-or-mathematical-equations-on-a-universe-decorative-led-background-give-the-impression-of-interstellar-space-travel-stockpack-adobe-stock
Physics or mathematical equations on a universe decorative LED background give the impression of interstellar space travel.

Fine-Tuning of Universe Makes a Top Neuroscientist “Very Hopeful”

Allen Institute’s Christof Koch talks about the assumptions underlying his consciousness theory — which led many other neuroscientists to try to Cancel him
When one of the world’s most prominent research neuroscientists goes off the classic materialist script — and gets away with it — things are changing. Read More ›
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Nuclear power plant.

Is Our World, Post-1950, Really a Geological Epoch?

Some earth scientists lobby for calling the past 75 years the Anthropocene epoch, giving it equal importance with the 16-million-year Upper Jurassic
Whether it’s good science terminology, the Anthropocene concept broadcasts so much cultural vibe that it may not just go away after a No vote. Read More ›
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Robot, chat bot, android and digital evolution of robotics. Future processor development technologies. 3D illustration of quantum cyberspace. AI and global data

About the claim that chatbot Claude 3 showed self-awareness…

Has anyone noticed the resemblance between the conviction that an AI project thinks like a human and that extraterrestrials are visiting us?
Just as extraterrestrials are Out There because we don’t want to think we are alone, chatbots are Becoming Human because we don’t want to feel we are unique. Read More ›
robot-hand-displays-blue-digital-interface-wearing-blue-suit-and-helmet-stockpack-adobe-stock
Robot hand displays blue digital interface, wearing blue suit and helmet.

How Materialism Handicaps Us in Understanding AI’s Limits

Sabine Hossenfelder acknowledges AI’s limits, yet she is convinced that it will become conscious
Such a position is not something the materialist derives from the evidence; it is imposed by the ideology. Read More ›
abstract-image-of-the-brain-in-which-synapses-are-represented-as-glowing-lines-symbolizing-learning-stockpack-adobe-stock
Abstract image of the brain in which synapses are represented as glowing lines symbolizing learning

Neuroscientist: How the Brain-as-Computer Myth Led Science Astray

Michael Merzenich explains neuroplasticity — how the brain organizes itself in detail — to Robert Lawrence Kuhn at Closer to Truth
The Dalai Lama asked Merzenich a question that cut to the heart of the question of the relationship between our brains and ourselves. Read More ›
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Violation of law, law-breaking concept. Metal handcuffs on Canadian flag on black background top view

Canada Prepares Harsh New Online Harms Bill to Fight “Hate”

Canada is a comparatively peaceful country, so onlookers might puzzle over the assumption that draconian measures are needed to fight poorly defined “hate.”
Canada is a comparatively peaceful country, so onlookers might puzzle over the assumption that draconian measures are needed to fight poorly defined “hate.” Read More ›