When John Cardy proposed a far-reaching principle to constrain all possible theories of quantum particles and fields, he expected it to be quickly rebutted. But for almost 25 years that hasn’t happened—and it now seems that his theorem may have been quietly proved earlier this year. If the solution holds, it is likely to guide…
What is the lifetime of our communicative civilization? Will our civilization make it through the 21st century intact? Is there a “Great Filter” of self-destruction that limits the life expectancy of intelligent life in the universe?
Brian Cox’s latest book, The Quantum Universe, which he co-wrote with Jeff Forshaw of the University of Manchester, is not a dry undergraduate text book, but nor is it a particularly easy read. The subject matter is hard. Quantum mechanics, which describes in subatomic detail a shadowy world in which cats can be simultaneously alive…
Recent work by Geoffrey Goodwin and John Darley shows that it might be possible to employ a simple mental puzzle to assess a person’s perspective on moral questions. This quiz can help you find out whether someone is a relativist, who believes that no one single answer exists to a particular moral problem, or whether…
Today, we face Big Questions about meaning and purpose, virtues and values, and how to shape our common future, as we continue to strive to understand our origins and place in the universe.
Professor of psychology Michael Gazzaniga is spelling out a cautionary tale about the uses of neuroscience in society.
We sleep. We dream. We do not know why. Faith traditions have interpreted sleep and dreams as meaningful for millennia without the need for scientific grounding, though. Dreams are visits from angels, attacks by devils, and revelation from the divine. Some dreams predict the future while others seem like spiritual exhaust from the day. Dreams…
Donald S. Lopez is interested not only in the “what happened” of the Buddhist encounter with science, but in the “how” and “why” of the various encounters.
George Dyson talks with Martin Eiermann about the definition of life, human progress, and the importance of cognitive autarchy.
A review of Ecological Developmental Biology: Integrating Epigenetics, Medicine, and Evolution, by Scott F. Gilbert and David Epel (Sunderland, MA: Sinauer 2009). As a combatant in the evolution wars here in the United States and abroad, I have penned and processed quite a few papers on the interpretation of evolution.1 This means also reviewing the vast…