There seem to be two ways to approach what the word “consciousness” (or, alternatively, “conscious”) could possibly mean. The physicalist is inclined to start from the most fundamental level of reality and work their way upwards, looking at basic elements … Read More
Since Einstein released his theory of relativity, we’ve assumed that what is observed must be relative to us, the observer. We’ve placed great importance on recognizing the reference frame of any observed event. For instance, consider a bouncy ball bouncing in an airplane aisle. … Read More
Brian Greene, a pioneer of string theory, claims scientists must tell two tales for a given theory: one mathematical and one physical. Philosophical Engineering Design Point: The “tale of two tales,” as Greene puts it, between the mathematical story of … Read More
“Newtonian mechanics unified our understanding of stellar and terrestial motions, and Maxwell’s theory unified our understanding of electromagnetic phenomena and light. Einstein’s special theory of relativity unified our concepts of space and time, and his general theory unified our conceptions … Read More
The artist Rene Magritte was very conscious of symbols and objects. He used them in his work to provoke “powerful responses.” Take a look at one of his pieces titled Common Sense. How does your “common sense” want to describe … Read More
When we want to explain the world around us, our immediate intuition is to ask about the newest developments in the field of physics, to describe the world in terms of numbers. We create a formula here, which has numbers … Read More
Some cognitive scientists now believe that, through development of artificial intelligence, we can create and manipulate consciousness. It’s like those fantasy movies about robots one day having a mind like humans. It’s seems somewhat shocking to us that a computer … Read More
“Imagination is always an experimental process…whether we are experimenting with logical concepts or with the fancy free material of art… Many people do not find it as pleasurable to read a theorem as to read a poem… But no creative … Read More
“Moses, Jesus, and a bearded old man are playing golf. Moses drives a long one, which lands on the fairway but rolls directly toward the pond. Moses raises his club, parts the water, and the ball rolls safely to the … Read More
Which personality type are you? Brenna Sniderman from Forbes Insight shares the five personality types of innovation -) movers and shakers = motivated by targets and rewards; want results at the end of the day -) experimenters = “where there … Read More