The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines the word “penguin” as “any of various erect short-legged flightless aquatic birds (family Spheniscidae) of the southern hemisphere.” That description seems simple enough, but definitions are not what people have in mind when they actually use words. Instead people think of concepts: the myriad properties, ideas, examples and associations that spring… Continue reading People Differ Widely in Their Understanding of Even a Simple Concept Such as the Word ‘Penguin’
We Aren’t Helpless in the Face of Increasing Fires and Smoke
As swaths of central and eastern North America faced skies choked with smoke last week, those of us in the West empathized. Our part of the continent watches sunsets turned blood red through bloodshot eyes every year. Breathing in acrid brown-yellow haze pulls climate change anxiety right to the surface. Being told that decades of… Continue reading We Aren’t Helpless in the Face of Increasing Fires and Smoke
The Real Presence – Divine Intimacy Meditation
The Real Presence Presence of God – “Hidden God, devoutly I adore Thee, truly present beneath these veils: all my heart subdues itself before Thee, since all before Thee faints and fails” (cf. Adoro Te Devote). MEDITATION “Verbum caro factum est” (Jn 1:14). The Incarnation of the Word, the ineffable mystery of the merciful love… Continue reading The Real Presence – Divine Intimacy Meditation
Some Neural Networks Learn Language Like Humans
How do brains learn? It’s a mystery, one that applies both to the spongy organs in our skulls and to their digital counterparts in our machines. Even though artificial neural networks (ANNs) are built from elaborate webs of artificial neurons, ostensibly mimicking the way our brains process information, we don’t know if they process input… Continue reading Some Neural Networks Learn Language Like Humans
Who Invented the Measurement of Time?
In modern times, clocks underpin everything people do, from work to school to sleep. Timekeeping is also the invisible structure that makes modern infrastructure work. It forms the foundation of the high-speed computers that conduct financial trading and even the GPS system that pinpoints locations on Earth’s surface with unprecedented accuracy. But humans have likely… Continue reading Who Invented the Measurement of Time?
Sorry Pundits, George W. Bush Made the Saudis. Putin Too
“Under Biden, America has surrendered the oil economy. The Saudi king is now the world’s oil king again, and we are all worse for it.” Those are the words of Daniel Turner, founder and executive director of Power the Future, an organization that “advocates for American energy jobs.” Up front, oil is an essential commodity.… Continue reading Sorry Pundits, George W. Bush Made the Saudis. Putin Too
Japanese Moon Landing Attempt Falls Short as Spacecraft Goes Silent
A Japanese company’s attempt to execute the first commercial landing on the moon has ended with a dramatic silence, with mission controllers unable to establish communications after the scheduled landing. The HAKUTO-R mission was designed by the Japanese company ispace and launched atop a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket in December 2022. With the failed landing… Continue reading Japanese Moon Landing Attempt Falls Short as Spacecraft Goes Silent
The Rosenhan Experiment (Psychology, Psychiatry, Sanity, Insanity, Schizophrenia, Fraud)
Podcast: Download MYS262: The Rosenhan Experiment rocked the psychology profession 50 years ago. Jimmy Akin and Dom Bettinelli discuss the study’s look into how mental health patients were treated, why the study was so important, and what it revealed about the human mind. Get all new episodes automatically and for free: Follow by Email |… Continue reading The Rosenhan Experiment (Psychology, Psychiatry, Sanity, Insanity, Schizophrenia, Fraud)
Key Player in Biden Documents Removal Was Caught Up in Bill Clinton-Era Chinagate Scandal
Above, the location in the capital’s Chinatown where Biden aide Kathy Chung in 2017 transferred boxes with top-secret material. She also figured in the Chinagate fundraising investigation of the 1990s. By Paul Sperry, RealClearInvestigationsJune 8, 2023 The custodian of Joe Biden’s vice presidential records, a key witness in his classified documents probe, was caught up in… Continue reading Key Player in Biden Documents Removal Was Caught Up in Bill Clinton-Era Chinagate Scandal
How Winners of the ‘Green Nobel’ Are Protecting the Environment
CLIMATEWIRE | The Goldman Environmental Prize will go to six environmental activists this year, recognizing them for their efforts to protect lands and communities from Brazil to Turkey to Texas. Announced Monday, this year’s prize — known as the “Green Nobel” — comes as the threats from climate change and environmental degradation accelerate. The winners fought… Continue reading How Winners of the ‘Green Nobel’ Are Protecting the Environment