The simulation argument states that one of the following must be true: the human species is very likely to go extinct before reaching a “posthuman” stage; any posthuman civilization is extremely unlikely to run a significant number of simulations of their evolutionary history (or variations thereof); we are almost certainly living in a computer simulation. …
Dear Professor People used to believe something was true because someone told them it was true, and that someone might have been a priest or a king or a parent or a book, but after a while people realised that wasn’t a very good way of telling what’s true from what’s not true. There were …
The coronavirus has shown that health is not just a private matter, it’s public, and if it isn’t it needs to be made public. And people are expecting to be bailed out by the government. There are demands for government intervention. You can’t let the market decide when the market is collapsing around you.
Three years ago I was ghosted by Mama Professor. Our relationship had ended years before, back in 2011, but due to the Professor we still saw quite a lot of one another, and there was some financial dependancy. At times it felt like being in a relationship.
I got a phone call from the Metropolitan Police yesterday morning. Hello, it’s the Metropolitan Police here, a woman said. We’ve just been speaking with Mama Professor, though she didn’t call her Mama Professor but I’m going to. She won’t mind.
When the government declared a climate emergency last year many of us cried Yay!, and Huzzah! and Bravo! and Jolly good show old bean! but then we waited, and we waited, and we waited, and then politics went back to what it was before, which was Brexit Brexit Brexit Brexit Brexit Brexit Brexit Brexit Brexit Brexit Brexit Brexit Brexit Brexit Brexit Brexit Brexit Brexit Brexit Brexit Brexit Brexit…
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Well, some people say we can already whilst others say we can’t. To measure something we need to be able to define what it is we’re measuring and the term intelligence as it is commonly used may be too vague. According to Wikipedia: Intelligence has been defined in many ways: the capacity for logic, understanding, self-awareness, learning, emotional knowledge, reasoning, planning, creativity, critical thinking, and problem …
Why is it that Brexiters are so insistent they’re being called stupid? Is it because they are being called stupid? In some cases, yes. You can easily find Remainers saying Leave voters are stupid, ignorant, racist or whatever, just as you can find Leavers accusing Remoaners of being unpatriotic traitors or elitist snobs, and the …
Democracy is defined as a system of government by the whole population or all the eligible members of a state, typically through elected representatives. Typically through elected representatives, but not always. In ancient Athens, democracy was direct rather than representative, with citizens selected by lot to sit in the assembly, the same selection process we …
Is it a coincidence that the rise of identity politics coincides with the rise of the Internet and in particular of social media? Identity politics has been around for a while and predates the internet, but it’s become particularly impactful in the last few years. Facebook is centred on the personal profile. It encourages people …