02 MAR 2019 by ideonexus
Scientific Laws Mean That God has No Freedom
he one remaining area that reHgion can now lay claim to is the origin of the universe, but even here science is making progress and should soon provide a definitive answer to how the universe began. I published a book that asked if God created the universe, and that caused something of a stir. People got upset that a scientist should have anything to say on the matter of religion. I have no desire to tell anyone what to believe, but for me asking if God exists is a valid question for science... 1 
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notes31 MAY 2015 by ideonexus
Anthropologization
. 'Anthropologization' is the great internal threat to knowledge in our day. We are inclined to believe that man has emancipated himself from himself since his discovery that he is not at the centre of creation, nor in the middle of space, nor even, perhaps, the summit and culmination of life; but though man is no longer sovereign in the kingdom of the world, though he no longer reigns at the centre of being, the 'human sciences' are dangerous intermediaries in the space of knowledge. The tru... 1 notes
notes25 MAY 2015 by ideonexus
Ian Bogost: "Science"
The rhetoric of science has consequences. Things that have no particular relation to scientific practice must increasingly frame their work in scientific terms to earn any attention or support. The sociology of Internet use suddenly transformed into “web science.” Long accepted practices of statistical analysis have become “data science.” Thanks to shifting educational and research funding priorities, anything that can’t claim that it is a member of a STEM (science, technology, engi... 1 notes
notes22 JUN 2013 by ideonexus
Being in a Car Affects Our Sense of Personal Space
Psychologists have noted that people driving a motor car react in a manner that is
often completely unlike their normal social behaviour as regards their territories. It seems that a motor vehicle sometimes has a magnifying effect on the size of a person’s personal space. In some cases, their territory is magnified by up to ten times the normal size, so the driver feels that he has a claim to an area of 9 to 10 metres in front of and behind his motor car. When another driver cuts in front o...Folksonomies: perception personal space
Folksonomies: perception personal space
1 notes
notesThe car magnifies our personal space perception, making us angry when others violate it.
26 JAN 2013 by ideonexus
Sturgeon's Law
I repeat Sturgeon’s Revelation, which was wrung out of me after twenty years of wearying defense of science fiction against attacks of people who used the worst examples of the field for ammunition, and whose conclusion was that ninety percent of SF is crud.[1] Using the same standards that categorize 90% of science fiction as trash, crud, or crap, it can be argued that 90% of film, literature, consumer goods, etc. are crap. In other words, the claim (or fact) that 90% of science fiction is... 1 notes
notes90% of everything is crap, be it film, literature, music, etc.
08 JAN 2013 by ideonexus
Science is Monism
Monism is the default worldview of natural science. In science, an explanation has to be grounded in empirical evidence. In a slightly different take, for a statement to be considered a scientific explanation, it must be falsifiable—there has to be some kind of test that could be applied to the statement to prove it wrong. For example, the statement that the moon is made of cheese is a scientific statement because it can be falsified. Facts can be brought to bear on the claim (such as the d... 1 notes
notesScientific statements must be falsifiable.
22 JUN 2012 by ideonexus
Spirituality from Science
There have, however, always been men of high and disciplined spirituality who have insisted on their direct experience of something greater than themselves. Their conviction of the reality of a spiritual life apart from and transcending the life of the body may not lend itself to scientific proof or disproof; nevertheless the remarkable transformation in personality seen in those who rightfully lay claim to such experience is as objective as tomorrow's sunrise. Millions of lesser men draw str...Folksonomies: science spirituality
Folksonomies: science spirituality
1 notes
notesA belief in something greater than oneself is not necessarily belief in the supernatural.
08 JUN 2012 by ideonexus
One Half of DNA is Parasitic
Parasites are not only incredibly diverse; they are also incredibly successful. There are parasitic stretches of DNA in your own genes, some of which are called retrotransposons. Many of the parasitic stretches were originally viruses that entered our DNA. Most of them don't do us any harm. They just copy and insert themselves in other parts of our DNA, basically replicating themselves. Sometimes they hop into other species and replicate themselves in a new host. According to one estimate, ro... 1 notes
notesThis doesn't sound right to me, but the claim is that Viruses have inserted so much DNA into our genomes.
22 MAR 2012 by ideonexus
The Success of Zoos
Given that 143 million people visit accredited zoos and aquariums each year, the Association of Zoos and Aquariums is entitled to the claim that the association is building North America's largest wildlife conservation movement. Zoos and aquariums are mainstream environmental organizations. Their supporters, some 48 million registered members, are extraordinarily committed to conservation, and AZA zoos and aquariums back up their boast with money, spending some $250 million in 2006 on i,719 c... 1 notes
notesAs an example of a capitalist solution to conservation.
23 JAN 2012 by ideonexus
Religion is Hubris
The fact that stares one in the face is that people of the greatest sincerity and of all levels of intelligence differ and have always differed in their religious beliefs. Since at most one faith can be true, it follows that human beings are extremely liable to believe firmly and honestly in something untrue in the field of revealed religion. One would have expected this obvious fact to lead to some humility, to some thought that however deep one's faith, one may conceivably be mistaken. Noth... 1 notes
notesQuoting Sir Hermann Bondi. To claim that you know the mind of god with great certainty is incredibly egotistical when you consider all the other divergent religious opinions making the same claim.
