| Topic: |
Science > Physics |
| User: |
"Robert Karl Stonjek" |
| Date: |
20 Nov 2006 04:22:25 PM |
| Object: |
The Big Questions [HTML] |
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What is reality?
a.. 18 November 2006=20
b.. Roger Penrose=20
c.. Magazine issue 2578=20
Can we be sure that the world we experience is not just a figment of our =
imaginations, asks Roger Penrose
New Scientist tackles eight of the deepest challenges faced by science - =
from reality and consciousness, to free will and death, in The Big =
Questions special features.=20
WHAT do we understand by "reality"? For those of us who consider =
ourselves hard-headed realists, there is a kind of common-sense answer: =
"Reality consists of those things - tables, chairs, trees, houses, =
planets, animals, people and so on - which are actual things made of =
matter." We might tend to include some more abstract-seeming notions =
such as space and time, and the totality of all such "real" things would =
be referred to as "the universe".=20
Some might well consider that this is not the whole of reality, however. =
In particular, there is the question of the reality of our minds. Should =
we not include a conscious experience as something real? And what about =
concepts, such as truth, virtue or beauty? Of ...
Source: NewScientist (Requires Subscription)
http://www.newscientist.com/channel/fundamentals/mg19225780.069?DCMP=3DNL=
C-ezine&nsref=3Dmg19225780.069
Do we have free will?
a.. 18 November 2006=20
b.. Patricia Churchland=20
c.. Magazine issue 2578=20
The more we find out about how the brain works, the less room there =
seems to be for personal choice or responsibility, says Patricia =
Churchland
In 2003, the Archives of Neurology carried a startling clinical report. =
A middle-aged Virginian man with no history of any misdemeanour began to =
stash child pornography and sexually molest his 8-year-old stepdaughter. =
Placed in the court system, his sexual behaviour became increasingly =
compulsive. Eventually, after repeatedly complaining of headaches and =
vertigo, he was sent for a brain scan. It showed a large but benign =
tumour in the frontal area of his brain, invading the septum and =
hypothalmus - regions known to regulate sexual behaviour.=20
After removal of the tumour, his sexual interests returned to normal. =
Months later, his sexual focus on young girls rekindled, and a new scan =
revealed that bits of tissue missed in the surgery had grown into a =
sizeable ...
Source: NewScientist (Requires Subscription)
http://www.newscientist.com/channel/being-human/mg19225780.070?DCMP=3DNLC=
-ezine&nsref=3Dmg19225780.070
What is life?
a.. 17 November 2006=20
b.. Robert Hazen=20
c.. Magazine issue 2578=20
No human discovery could have more profound ramifications than finding =
what's known in the business as a "second genesis" - an origin of life =
independent of that on Earth. With our present sample of one known =
living world, the possibility remains that Earth is unique and that we =
are utterly alone in the universe. But if we find a second genesis in =
our own cosmic backyard, then we will know that life is a universal =
imperative. The unproven conviction that the cosmos teems with life =
drives many of us in the nascent discipline of astrobiology - a field =
that one wit described as "the only science without a subject matter".=20
Earthbound biologists are exceptionally good at finding life. A single =
cell, a ...
Source: NewScientist (Requires Subscription)
http://space.newscientist.com/article/mg19225780.071?DCMP=3DNLC-ezine&nsr=
ef=3Dmg19225780.071
What comes after Homo sapiens?
a.. 18 November 2006=20
b.. James Hughes=20
c.. Magazine issue 2578=20
All species are fated either to die out or to evolve into something else =
- all except humans, who have a chance of a transcendent future, says =
James Hughes
IN 1957, biologist Julian Huxley, brother of Aldous, coined the term =
"transhumanism" for the idea that we should use technology to transcend =
the limitations of our bodies and brains. Huxley believed that "the =
human species can, if it wishes, transcend itself" through "evolutionary =
humanism".=20
Almost half a century on, transhumanism has become a real possibility, =
pointing the way to an unbelievably transcendent future that would have =
been unimaginable even to Huxley. The choices we make today are deciding =
an answer to the question "What comes after human civilisation?"=20
In the pre-Enlightenment world view, human beings were the pinnacle of =
creation, made in God's image to dwell on an Earth that was the centre =
of the universe. Enlightenment thinking - particularly science - ...
Source: NewScientist (Requires Subscription)
http://www.newscientist.com/channel/life/mg19225780.076?DCMP=3DNLC-ezine&=
nsref=3Dmg19225780.076
What is consciousness?
a.. 18 November 2006=20
b.. Paul Broks=20
c.. Magazine issue 2578=20
How does the brain, with its diverse distributed functions, come to =
arrive at a unified sense of identity, asks Paul Broks
On this special day, my 121st birthday, it is good to be surrounded by =
those I love. There's no denying I feel old, but in body, not spirit. Oh =
dear, there I go, slipping into the old ways of thinking: mind and body, =
spirit and substance. There's no excuse. The ghost in the machine was =
exorcised long ago - and here's Celeste, my sweet, uploaded daughter: =
the living proof.=20
She kisses my aged forehead. Chronologically, Celeste is 90 years old. =
Physically she's a genetically re-engineered woman of 30. =
Psychologically, well, these days you have to keep an open mind about =
psychological ways of being. But one never stops worrying about one's =
children, and the uploading - the transfer of information from old ...
Source: NewScientist (Requires Subscription)
http://www.newscientist.com/channel/being-human/mg19225780.073?DCMP=3DNLC=
-ezine&nsref=3Dmg19225780.073
Will we ever have a theory of everything?
a.. 16 November 2006=20
b.. Michio Kaku=20
c.. Magazine issue 2578=20
2000 years of rational enquiry may be approaching their crowning glory. =
Just one more push could be enough, says Michio Kaku
It's all-out war. The hostilities have begun. With guns blazing, daily =
salvos are being fired by both sides. Welcome to the conflict raging =
within the rarefied world of theoretical physics, where a civil war has =
erupted over string theory and a theory of everything.=20
The stakes are high. A genuine unified field theory that can unite all =
the physical laws of the universe into a single theory would be the =
crowning achievement of 2000 years of investigation into the nature of =
the matter. This is the holy grail of physics, and would be a landmark =
in human intellectual thought. It would, in the words of Einstein, allow =
us to "read the mind of God".=20
The focus of the ongoing civil war is ...
Source: NewScientist (Requires Subscription)
http://www.newscientist.com/channel/fundamentals/mg19225780.074?DCMP=3DNL=
C-ezine&nsref=3Dmg19225780.074
What happens after you die?
a.. 18 November 2006=20
b.. Mary roach=20
c.. Magazine issue 2578=20
We have all wondered if there is an afterlife, but only a few are brave =
- or foolish - enough to try and find out, says Mary Roach
WHAT happens after you die? I can name you 47 men who have tried to =
harness the rational horsepower of science to answer this most floaty =
question. Some were physicians, some physicists, some psychologists. Two =
were Nobel prizewinners. One is a sheep rancher. They have tackled it in =
labs, in hospital operating rooms, in barns behind their houses. Of =
them, only one, to date, has landed an irrefutable proof - not a =
suggestive nugget or an inexplicable anomaly, but the sort of answer you =
could plant your flag into and say, "Victory! Now I know for certain." =
The man's name was Thomas Lynn Bradford.=20
Though his background was in electrical engineering, Bradford's =
afterlife experiment involved gas, not electricity. On 6 February 1921, =
....
Source: NewScientist (Requires Subscription)
http://www.newscientist.com/channel/being-human/mg19225780.075?DCMP=3DNLC=
-ezine&nsref=3Dmg19225780.075
Is the universe deterministic?
a.. 16 November 2006=20
b.. Vlatko Vedral=20
c.. Magazine issue 2578=20
However you look at it, the answer seems to be "maybe", says Vlatko =
Vedral
WHEN I was a child I liked to ponder deep questions before falling =
asleep. One of my favourites was "Do we have free will?". Shifting my =
mind back and forth between the possibilities served me well - it was a =
good technique for falling asleep. Now I am a grown man I am lucky =
enough to have a job that involves deliberating over questions like =
this. So what does a man of science have to say about free will?=20
Most of us in the west are certain that we have free will, though how we =
reach that conclusion, and even what we mean by it, is far from clear. =
If we define free will in everyday terms - as the capacity that ...
Source: NewScientist (Requires Subscription)
http://www.newscientist.com/channel/fundamentals/mg19225780.072?DCMP=3DNL=
C-ezine&nsref=3Dmg19225780.072
Posted by
Robert Karl Stonjek
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<BODY>
<DIV>
<DIV>
<H2 class=3D"colspacer inline">What is reality?</H2>
<UL class=3D"colspacer straptext notlist highlight">
<LI>18 November 2006=20
<LI><SPAN class=3Dauthor>Roger Penrose</SPAN>=20
<LI>Magazine issue 2578 </LI></UL>
<DIV style=3D"MARGIN: 10px 0px">
<H5><FONT size=3D3>Can we be sure that the world we experience is not =
just a=20
figment of our imaginations, asks <B>Roger =
Penrose</B></FONT></H5></DIV><!-- summary adds its own p tags -->
<P><I><B>New Scientist</B> tackles eight of the deepest challenges faced =
by=20
science - from reality and consciousness, to free will and death, in =
</I><I><A=20
href=3D"http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg19225780.068-the-biggest-qu=
estions-ever-asked.html">The=20
Big Questions</A> special features. </I></P>
<P>WHAT do we understand by "reality"? For those of us who consider =
ourselves=20
hard-headed realists, there is a kind of common-sense answer: "Reality =
consists=20
of those things - tables, chairs, trees, houses, planets, animals, =
people and so=20
on - which are actual things made of matter." We might tend to include =
some more=20
abstract-seeming notions such as space and time, and the totality of all =
such=20
"real" things would be referred to as "the universe". </P>
<P>Some might well consider that this is not the whole of reality, =
however. In=20
particular, there is the question of the reality of our minds. Should we =
not=20
include a conscious experience as something real? And what about =
concepts, such=20
as truth, virtue or beauty? Of ...</P>
<P>Source: NewScientist (Requires Subscription)<BR><A=20
href=3D"http://www.newscientist.com/channel/fundamentals/mg19225780.069?D=
CMP=3DNLC-ezine&nsref=3Dmg19225780.069">http://www.newscientist.com/c=
hannel/fundamentals/mg19225780.069?DCMP=3DNLC-ezine&nsref=3Dmg1922578=
0.069</A></P>
<P><FONT face=3DGeorgia><FONT face=3D"Times New Roman" =
size=3D5><STRONG>Do we have=20
free will?</STRONG></FONT></P>
<UL class=3D"colspacer straptext notlist highlight">
<LI>18 November 2006=20
<LI><SPAN class=3Dauthor>Patricia Churchland</SPAN>=20
<LI>Magazine issue 2578 </LI></UL>
<DIV style=3D"MARGIN: 10px 0px">
<H5><FONT size=3D3>The more we find out about how the brain works, the =
less room=20
there seems to be for personal choice or responsibility, says Patricia=20
Churchland</FONT></H5></DIV>
<P>In 2003, the <I>Archives of Neurology</I> carried a startling =
clinical=20
report. A middle-aged Virginian man with no history of any misdemeanour =
began to=20
stash child pornography and sexually molest his 8-year-old stepdaughter. =
Placed=20
in the court system, his sexual behaviour became increasingly =
compulsive.=20
Eventually, after repeatedly complaining of headaches and vertigo, he =
was sent=20
for a brain scan. It showed a large but benign tumour in the frontal =
area of his=20
brain, invading the septum and hypothalmus - regions known to regulate =
sexual=20
behaviour. </P>
<P>After removal of the tumour, his sexual interests returned to normal. =
Months=20
later, his sexual focus on young girls rekindled, and a new scan =
revealed that=20
bits of tissue missed in the surgery had grown into a sizeable ...</P>
<P>Source: NewScientist (Requires Subscription)<BR><A=20
href=3D"http://www.newscientist.com/channel/being-human/mg19225780.070?DC=
MP=3DNLC-ezine&nsref=3Dmg19225780.070">http://www.newscientist.com/ch=
annel/being-human/mg19225780.070?DCMP=3DNLC-ezine&nsref=3Dmg19225780.=
070</A></P>
<H2 class=3Dinline>What is life?</H2>
<UL class=3D"notlist straptext">
<LI>17 November 2006=20
<LI>Robert Hazen=20
<LI>Magazine issue 2578 </LI></UL>
<P>No human discovery could have more profound ramifications than =
finding what's=20
known in the business as a "second genesis" - an origin of life =
independent of=20
that on Earth. With our present sample of one known living world, the=20
possibility remains that Earth is unique and that we are utterly alone =
in the=20
universe. But if we find a second genesis in our own cosmic backyard, =
then we=20
will know that life is a universal imperative. The unproven conviction =
that the=20
cosmos teems with life drives many of us in the nascent discipline of=20
astrobiology - a field that one wit described as "the only science =
without a=20
subject matter". </P>
<P>Earthbound biologists are exceptionally good at finding life. A =
single cell,=20
a ...</P>
<P>Source: NewScientist (Requires Subscription)<BR><A=20
href=3D"http://space.newscientist.com/article/mg19225780.071?DCMP=3DNLC-e=
zine&nsref=3Dmg19225780.071">http://space.newscientist.com/article/mg=
19225780.071?DCMP=3DNLC-ezine&nsref=3Dmg19225780.071</A></P>
<H2 class=3D"colspacer inline">What comes after <I>Homo =
sapiens</I>?</H2>
<UL class=3D"colspacer straptext notlist highlight">
<LI>18 November 2006=20
<LI><SPAN class=3Dauthor>James Hughes</SPAN>=20
<LI>Magazine issue 2578 </LI></UL>
<DIV style=3D"MARGIN: 10px 0px">
<H5><FONT size=3D3>All species are fated either to die out or to evolve =
into=20
something else - all except humans, who have a chance of a transcendent =
future,=20
says <B>James Hughes</B></FONT></H5></DIV>
<P>IN 1957, biologist Julian Huxley, brother of Aldous, coined the term=20
"transhumanism" for the idea that we should use technology to transcend =
the=20
limitations of our bodies and brains. Huxley believed that "the human =
species=20
can, if it wishes, transcend itself" through "evolutionary humanism". =
</P>
<P>Almost half a century on, transhumanism has become a real =
possibility,=20
pointing the way to an unbelievably transcendent future that would have =
been=20
unimaginable even to Huxley. The choices we make today are deciding an =
answer to=20
the question "What comes after human civilisation?" </P>
<P>In the pre-Enlightenment world view, human beings were the pinnacle =
of=20
creation, made in God's image to dwell on an Earth that was the centre =
of the=20
universe. Enlightenment thinking - particularly science - ...</P>
<P>Source: NewScientist (Requires Subscription)<BR><A=20
href=3D"http://www.newscientist.com/channel/life/mg19225780.076?DCMP=3DNL=
C-ezine&nsref=3Dmg19225780.076">http://www.newscientist.com/channel/l=
ife/mg19225780.076?DCMP=3DNLC-ezine&nsref=3Dmg19225780.076</A></P>
<H2 class=3D"colspacer inline">What is consciousness?</H2>
<UL class=3D"colspacer straptext notlist highlight">
<LI>18 November 2006=20
<LI><SPAN class=3Dauthor>Paul Broks</SPAN>=20
<LI>Magazine issue 2578 </LI></UL>
<DIV style=3D"MARGIN: 10px 0px">
<H5><FONT size=3D3>How does the brain, with its diverse distributed =
functions,=20
come to arrive at a unified sense of identity, asks Paul =
Broks</FONT></H5></DIV><!-- summary adds its own p tags -->
<P>On this special day, my 121st birthday, it is good to be surrounded =
by those=20
I love. There's no denying I feel old, but in body, not spirit. Oh dear, =
there I=20
go, slipping into the old ways of thinking: mind and body, spirit and =
substance.=20
There's no excuse. The ghost in the machine was exorcised long ago - and =
here's=20
Celeste, my sweet, uploaded daughter: the living proof. </P>
<P>She kisses my aged forehead. Chronologically, Celeste is 90 years =
old.=20
Physically she's a genetically re-engineered woman of 30. =
Psychologically, well,=20
these days you have to keep an open mind about psychological ways of =
being. But=20
one never stops worrying about one's children, and the uploading - the =
transfer=20
of information from old ...</P>
<P>Source: NewScientist (Requires Subscription)<BR><A=20
href=3D"http://www.newscientist.com/channel/being-human/mg19225780.073?DC=
MP=3DNLC-ezine&nsref=3Dmg19225780.073">http://www.newscientist.com/ch=
annel/being-human/mg19225780.073?DCMP=3DNLC-ezine&nsref=3Dmg19225780.=
073</A></P>
<H2 class=3D"colspacer inline">Will we ever have a theory of =
everything?</H2>
<UL class=3D"colspacer straptext notlist highlight">
<LI>16 November 2006=20
<LI><SPAN class=3Dauthor>Michio Kaku</SPAN>=20
<LI>Magazine issue 2578 </LI></UL>
<DIV style=3D"MARGIN: 10px 0px">
<H5><FONT size=3D3>2000 years of rational enquiry may be approaching =
their=20
crowning glory. Just one more push could be enough, says <B>Michio=20
Kaku</B></FONT></H5></DIV>
<P>It's all-out war. The hostilities have begun. With guns blazing, =
daily salvos=20
are being fired by both sides. Welcome to the conflict raging within the =
rarefied world of theoretical physics, where a civil war has erupted =
over string=20
theory and a theory of everything. </P>
<P>The stakes are high. A genuine unified field theory that can unite =
all the=20
physical laws of the universe into a single theory would be the crowning =
achievement of 2000 years of investigation into the nature of the =
matter. This=20
is the holy grail of physics, and would be a landmark in human =
intellectual=20
thought. It would, in the words of Einstein, allow us to "read the mind =
of God".=20
</P>
<P>The focus of the ongoing civil war is ...</P>
<P>Source: NewScientist (Requires Subscription)<BR><A=20
href=3D"http://www.newscientist.com/channel/fundamentals/mg19225780.074?D=
CMP=3DNLC-ezine&nsref=3Dmg19225780.074">http://www.newscientist.com/c=
hannel/fundamentals/mg19225780.074?DCMP=3DNLC-ezine&nsref=3Dmg1922578=
0.074</A></P>
<H2 class=3D"colspacer inline">What happens after you die?</H2>
<UL class=3D"colspacer straptext notlist highlight">
<LI>18 November 2006=20
<LI><SPAN class=3Dauthor>Mary roach</SPAN>=20
<LI>Magazine issue 2578 </LI></UL>
<DIV style=3D"MARGIN: 10px 0px">
<H5><FONT size=3D3>We have all wondered if there is an afterlife, but =
only a few=20
are brave - or foolish - enough to try and find out, says <B>Mary=20
Roach</B></FONT></H5></DIV><!-- summary adds its own p tags -->
<P>WHAT happens after you die? I can name you 47 men who have tried to =
harness=20
the rational horsepower of science to answer this most floaty question. =
Some=20
were physicians, some physicists, some psychologists. Two were Nobel=20
prizewinners. One is a sheep rancher. They have tackled it in labs, in =
hospital=20
operating rooms, in barns behind their houses. Of them, only one, to =
date, has=20
landed an irrefutable proof - not a suggestive nugget or an inexplicable =
anomaly, but the sort of answer you could plant your flag into and say,=20
"Victory! Now I know for certain." The man's name was Thomas Lynn =
Bradford. </P>
<P>Though his background was in electrical engineering, Bradford's =
afterlife=20
experiment involved gas, not electricity. On 6 February 1921, ...</P>
<P>Source: NewScientist (Requires Subscription)<BR><A=20
href=3D"http://www.newscientist.com/channel/being-human/mg19225780.075?DC=
MP=3DNLC-ezine&nsref=3Dmg19225780.075">http://www.newscientist.com/ch=
annel/being-human/mg19225780.075?DCMP=3DNLC-ezine&nsref=3Dmg19225780.=
075</A></P>
<H2 class=3D"colspacer inline">Is the universe deterministic?</H2>
<UL class=3D"colspacer straptext notlist highlight">
<LI>16 November 2006=20
<LI><SPAN class=3Dauthor>Vlatko Vedral</SPAN>=20
<LI>Magazine issue 2578 </LI></UL>
<DIV style=3D"MARGIN: 10px 0px">
<H5><FONT size=3D3>However you look at it, the answer seems to be =
"maybe", says=20
<B>Vlatko Vedral</B></FONT></H5></DIV>
<P>WHEN I was a child I liked to ponder deep questions before falling =
asleep.=20
One of my favourites was "Do we have free will?". Shifting my mind back =
and=20
forth between the possibilities served me well - it was a good technique =
for=20
falling asleep. Now I am a grown man I am lucky enough to have a job =
that=20
involves deliberating over questions like this. So what does a man of =
science=20
have to say about free will? </P>
<P>Most of us in the west are certain that we have free will, though how =
we=20
reach that conclusion, and even what we mean by it, is far from clear. =
If we=20
define free will in everyday terms - as the capacity that ...</P>
<P>Source: NewScientist (Requires Subscription)<BR><A=20
href=3D"http://www.newscientist.com/channel/fundamentals/mg19225780.072?D=
CMP=3DNLC-ezine&nsref=3Dmg19225780.072">http://www.newscientist.com/c=
hannel/fundamentals/mg19225780.072?DCMP=3DNLC-ezine&nsref=3Dmg1922578=
0.072</A></P>
<P>Posted by<BR>Robert Karl Stonjek</P></FONT></DIV></DIV></BODY></HTML>
------=_NextPart_000_007C_01C70D4D.344BBC50--
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| User: "Douglas Eagleson" |
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| Title: Re: The Big Questions [HTML] |
20 Nov 2006 04:25:13 PM |
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Robert Karl Stonjek wrote:
What is reality?
A certain philosophical question was posed and the reader must
understand the realm of the scientist of true philosophical questioning
and the outcome is the considered placement of the perspective of all
enquiry.
Narrow mindness is definable in these questions and the simple solution
appears to all except the deep thinking kind of thinkers.
I would not relish writing the question replies because triviality is
easy to stumble apon.
.
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| User: "Ben Rudiak-Gould" |
|
| Title: Re: The Big Questions [HTML] |
20 Nov 2006 09:37:21 PM |
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Robert Karl Stonjek wrote:
What is reality?
a.. 18 November 2006
b.. Roger Penrose
c.. Magazine issue 2578
I pick d.. None of the above.
-- Ben
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