Promoting Science and Critical Thinking
There is an article in which Skype founder Jaan Tallinn claims …”Machines are becoming so intelligent that they could pose an existential threat“. Really!! OK, lets take a look. The article is in the Sidney Morning Herald . Claim: “Jaan Tallinn argues human-driven technological progress has largely replaced evolution as the dominant force shaping our … Read more
Yesterday, 4th July 2012, was indeed one of the great days in the history of science, and hopefully I need not explain why, instead here are a few quotes that I picked up … Brian Cox … This is without doubt in my opinion the biggest scientific discovery of my lifetime and without doubt one … Read more
It’s the scientific equivalent of the 639-year-long recital of John Cage’s “As Slow As Possible” (a performance of which in Germany is currently in its 11th year and with a new note due on 5 July). In 1927, … yes, 1927 ….Professor Thomas Parnell, the first physics professor at Australia’s University of Queensland, decided to … Read more
The rumors are circulating, and it looks like we get official confirmation tomorrow. The expectation is that CERN will announce the discovery of Higgs tomorrow … in terms of a “four-sigma confidence interval”, or to be precise 4.4. Huh? OK, let me explain, it is all about what the numbers tell them. four-sigma = 1 … Read more
There is a really interesting article on the BBC site today, (interesting for me anyway). It asks the question – “What do you need to do to live beyond 100?”. Yep, I have a skeptics hat on, and so I am wondering if it is just the usual “eat your veg and take plenty of … Read more
Concerned that developments in human technology may soon pose new, extinction-level risks to our species as a whole, Astronomer Royal Martin Rees, Cambridge University philosopher Huw Price, and Skype co-founder Jaan Tallinn have formed The Cambridge Project for Existential Risk … “These dangers have been suggested from progress in AI, from developments in biotechnology and artificial … Read more