Recently, a whole bunch of flat Earth-type videos have appeared in my YouTube suggestions. But it is an interesting question. Just ignoring the massive acceptance of the Earth being an oblate spheroid. Ignoring the millennia of people measuring the Earth's radius, engineers accounting for the Earth's curvature for large projects, ie, long tunnels and bridges, … Continue reading Cavendish
Author: rom
People have a strange capability of believing weird things. Some examples: The world is flat The moon landings were fake Vaccines are harmful and microchips The Earth is only six to ten thousand years old Donald Trump was worth voting for a second time Angels and jinns Karma and reincarnation Afterlife Divine Birth of Jesus … Continue reading Beliefs
Scientism is used as a pejorative. I could argue it is a reaction of philosophy to science, in a similar way that Luddites react to technology. Generally, scientism is seen as a use of science that is in some way inapplicable to a phenomenon or circumstance. ScienceBut first, what is science? Well, it is a … Continue reading Scientism
Which authors have shaped my worldview? All of them, even if I have not read them, but some more than others. Having said that, not all of them are equal, and certainly not directly In my preteen years, I recall avidly reading Enid Blyton's Secret Seven and occasionally Famous Five. Generally, I let these books … Continue reading Two Authors
Sometimes, I despair when I hear some people describing President Donald Trump as amoral. I can't help thinking what those people mean is, that Trump's actions don't comport with their idea of the right way for a President to behave. To my mind that fits with the concept of immoral rather than amoral. Some might … Continue reading Amorality
Do we live in a zero-sum1 universe? Well, the answer is yes, no, maybe. In writing this essay, I was reminded of an episode early on in my second ‘real’ job. Our company sponsored a local university professor, and in return, the professor and perhaps a protégé would give lectures for a day or two … Continue reading Zero-Sum
Depending on the type of antirealist one might be they might argue for the following at least according to ChatGPT (in italics): That depends on the type of antirealism. Different antirealists deny independence in different domains: Metaphysical Antirealism – Reality itself is dependent on perception or conceptual schemes. This is the position I must most … Continue reading Antirealism
Recently, I came across a letter from Einstein to a grieving father, Dr Robert Marcus, who happened to be a rabbi and had written in desperation. The father’s letter seems to have come from a book by Naomi Levy, called Einstein and The Rabbi. The two predominant questions to Einstein were: Is there any consolation … Continue reading Death
Here is a summary of where I think I am. Subject to change. The Chat AI suggested the following "pithy" descriptions:1) Process Monism2) Naturalistic Realism3) Agnostic Pragmatic Realism4) Causal NaturalismI think I will go with Process Monism, as it "Emphasizes [my] belief that everything is part of an unfolding, interconnected causal process rather than discrete … Continue reading My Position
I have not posted in a while, so I thought I'd post this brief interaction with ChatGPT on the subject of consciousness as an epiphenomenon. The program, I have to say, is a smooth-talking bastard, but in a good way (a way that I like).Incidentally, the image is created by ChatGPT (DALL·E 3) I asked: … Continue reading Epiphenomenon
rom's corner 