Digital Physics, Life, The Universe & Everything

“Digital Physics” is a “retro-nerd” film whose central character Khatchig is a penniless and frustrated maths & computing student set in the 1980’s (I think). The film itself was released in 2016. It crossed my path on Twitter in March 2019 when a dialogue with Chris Papavasilou ( @ChrisPapavasili ) led me through some questions … Continue reading “Digital Physics, Life, The Universe & Everything”

A Long Watch – Proper Dialogue?

In the spirit of “long-read” here is a long-watch (1hr 40mins). So far I’ve only watched the first few minutes (with false start *) … but it bodes well. (* Missing start available here.) Firstly, Rubin makes it clear in his “no rules” facilitation that this is about people talking to each other, himself included at … Continue reading “A Long Watch – Proper Dialogue?”

Progress in Dialogue – Thomas Metzinger meets Sam Harris

Sam Harris conversation with Thomas Metzinger in the Waking Up Podcast. Hat tip to Terry Waites for the link as a conversation starter: Brain dump only whilst listening (few sentences / little editing) : In usual “naive” Sam Harris way the conversation skips superficially across many topics, and Metzinger is himself highly politically motivated. These days … Continue reading “Progress in Dialogue – Thomas Metzinger meets Sam Harris”

Two “Mind” Conferences Storified

Last week & weekend I followed two conferences via Twitter. HumanMind2017 and BreakingConvention. #HumanMind2017 I had originally intended to attend in Cambridge (partly because I have a nostalgic soft-spot for The Møller Centre where it was held), but diary log-jam meant I overlooked doing anything about it until they started Tweeting. I ended up following them very … Continue reading “Two “Mind” Conferences Storified”

Altered States of Consciousness

A running theme throughout Psybertron is the reality of conscious mind and its consequences in the real world. That’s partly because explantory understanding of our understanding and of our decision-making is my main research focus and partly because – probably not coincidentally – it’s also a prime (but not the only) example where politicised scientific dogma … Continue reading “Altered States of Consciousness”

What is Sam Harris game?

I blogged my own confusion about exactly what Sam Harris education was way back here, over a year ago. Reality is he’s an English major and a very clever writer. A bit like Pirsig “skating on thin ice” when writing about Zen having previously read only one book on the subject, later pursuing studies to cover his … Continue reading “What is Sam Harris game?”

Teesside SitP Open Mike Night – a Round-up.

I mentioned and shared, a few posts ago, a brief presentation on Free-Will I gave to Teesside Sceptics in the Pub last week, but I also wanted to mention the other contributions: Sue Whitcombe was probably the highlight of the night, partly because it was delivered with the passion of direct personal experience and partly … Continue reading “Teesside SitP Open Mike Night – a Round-up.”

Sam Harris – philosopher or scientist?

I’m completing a review of Julian Baggini’s “Freedom Regained” [previous reference] [and another] in which there are quite a few comparative references to Sam Harris and Dan Dennett. I’m a big fan of the latter – philosopher first and foremost with a special interest in evolution and cognitive science. Harris I often defend as a … Continue reading “Sam Harris – philosopher or scientist?”