Philosophy Wire: Look fast!

Studying chaos with one of the world's fastest cameras. Ultrafast camera technology might aid in the study of unpredictable systems. [1] Look fast. And all the chaos will dissolve into a static image. Be slow. And the world will disappear into fast motion. Can there be balance within the storm? Can we ever look at the river as it will be? Chaos. Movement. Fast. Slow. Funny. I do not remember running to anywhere but Me. (Can you see?)

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Philosophy Wire: Stars shining bright… Sleep tight…

General anesthesia and normal sleep affect brain in an amazingly similar way as consciousness fades [1] Sleep deep. Lose senses. Stop being. (The stars are Suns) Funny. Only in the absolute absence of light, can we ever dream of a starry night...

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Philosophy Wire: Nasty smell…

Unhealthy behaviors trigger moral judgments that are similar to the basic emotions that contribute to our ability to survive. Two different hypotheses are to be found in the current scientific literature as to the identity of these emotions. After developing a new approach to brain imaging, a research team shows that unhealthy behaviors trigger brain responses that are similar to those prompted by bad smells. [1] Smell that jasmine. And you will feel good. For no reason at all. Do you realize now? That is why evil roams in the cosmos. For no reason at all. Don't you see? The only thing that needs a reason is Being itself. (Am I good enough?) Why are you here? (Why are you asking?) Why do you smile when you think of that jasmine? Don’t you know it died?

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Philosophy Wire: Dancing with the stars…

Scientists demonstrated the first use of a method called self-calibration to remove contamination from gravitational lensing signals. The results should lead to more accurate cosmological models of the universe. [1] But is there anything that we see without lensing? Is there anything that we see as it truly is? (Except the thing that we do not see) Is there anything that we know regarding reality? (Except the things which are not real) Is there a way to feel how close we are to the truth? (Except the feeling we have of how close we are to lies) Listen to the hollow wind my friend. Can't you feel it? There was never music to listen to... Except that weird univocal urge to dance...

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Philosophy Wire: Feel the noise!

Adding noise to enhance a weak signal is a sensing phenomenon common in the animal world but unusual in manmade sensors. Now researchers have added a small amount of background noise to enhance very weak signals in a light source too dim to sense. [1]

Add noise.
Increase power.

Let me see.
I can see everything now.
There is not much to see.
Just a blur.

Let me see.
So much noise.
I can see it all now.
But I am missing.

The things which I should not see.
Don’t you see?
These are the ones we should.
Let me see now.

So much noise.
I can’t hear anything…

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Philosophy Wire: Reality. Senses. Us.

What our senses allow us to experience may not reflect what actually exists. It may be a creation of our own consciousness, or a computer simulation designed by super-intelligent beings. (1)

We do not see things.
We create the things we think.
We do not hear things.
We just listen to our self.
We don’t think anything.
We just think what we have heard.
We never learn nothing.

But the things we already have.

One.
Two.
Three.
Four…

Don’t you see? No one is counting…

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Philosophy Wire: Looking inside…

Using properties of light from fluorescent probes is at the heart of a new imaging technique that allows for an unprecedented look inside cell membranes. [1] Looking inside. The main goal from the beginning of time. Looking inside. For the outside is obvious. Transparent. Nothing hidden under the Sun. Fool. Can’t you see? What is out there, is nothing else than what is inside. You are already looking at your precious prize. But you just cannot admit that you do. Because if you did, you should admit that there is no Sun illuminating anything. But only the pale silver Moon… Getting its light from you… With only one wish… To look inside you… But you were too preoccupied to allow it… Close your eyes to the light... Did you ever wonder… Why did you start seeing in the first place?

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Philosophy Wire: Materials. Memory. Paradoxes.

Advanced memory from advanced materials: Researchers successfully demonstrated a method to switch a novel material between two different nonvolatile states at very high speeds and with great accuracy. The physical constituents of the device in question are significantly robust against external influences such as magnetic fields. These facts together mean a high-speed and high-capacity memory device could be created. Such a device would also be extremely energy efficient. [1] Resilient memory. Capable memory. Stable memory. In a cosmos which is nothing but. How can this be? How can we see things in a cosmos where there are no things? How can we feel our self in a cosmos where we die every second passing by? Look at that jasmine. It smells so beautiful. (Are you dead?)

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Philosophy Wire: Unreal reality…

Philosophy Wire by Spiros Kakos [2023-02-20]: We humans have a bit of a problem with reality. We experience it all the time, but struggle to define it, let alone understand it. It seems so solid and yet, when we examine it closely, it melts away like a mirage. We don’t know when it began, how big it is, where it came from and where it is going, and we certainly have no clue why it exists. Since ancient Greece, we have come a long way. What was once explained in terms of divine creation is now in the explained – or so we think – via science. Over the past 200 years or so, we have peeled back the layers of reality, even if we are still not entirely sure what we have revealed. But if anything, the mystery has only deepened. We are now at a point where it is equally credible to claim that reality is entirely dependent on subjective experience, or entirely independent of it. Reality has never felt so unreal. [1]

Silly questions.

What is real?
What is real but the perception of real?
How can anything be perceived as real without being such?
Can anything but a tautology exist?

Are we bound on our own definitions while chasing our tail?
With the proper definitions, anything can be real.
Without any definitions, we can still perceive reality.

Look at that table.
It is there.
Because you see it.

But it disappears the moment you don’t.
You can touch it.
Until the moment you cannot.
Question your questions.

Are you here?

(Can the table touch you?)

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Philosophy Wire: A delicate touch…

Photo by Spiros Kakos

If robots are to help out in places like hospitals and phone repair shops, they’re going to need a light touch. And what’s lighter than not touching at all? Researchers have created a gripper that uses ultrasonics to suspend an object in midair, potentially making it suitable for the most delicate tasks. [1] Touch. Without touching anything. It sounds like a paradox or a weird Zen quote. Yet, it is the only way possible. The moment you actually touch something you destroy it. The moment you touch something it becomes part of you. And it is then that you need something more than touching to feel it. Search for the things that feel the same. It is there were you will find all the reasons why they are not. Extend your hand. Touch yourself. Isn’t it weird that you can feel me?

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Philosophy Wire: Sensing yourself!

Our brains are capable of detecting the location of touch even when it's not directly on the body, new research shows. An intriguing new study indicates that we can sense how an object we're holding comes into contact with something else - almost as if it were an extension of ourselves. [1] We sense the cosmos by touching. And that something that we touch touches something else. Which in turn is beside something else. At the end you touch the cosmos. And at the end of everything you touch, the Ouroboros comes back to the beginning. At the end, you feel the only thing you can actually feel… Your self!

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Philosophy Wire: Skin. Time. Darkness. Sun…

A study has now found that a type of opsin (a family of proteins which act as photoreceptors) known as neuropsin is expressed in the hair follicles of mice and synchronize the skin's circadian clock to the light-dark cycle, independent of the eyes or brain. Researchers now want to see if skin heals better if it's exposed to certain types of light. [1] Wrinkles in time. Shuddering to the touch of the cosmos. Yes, you can feel when it is dark. But not an instant before the moment you stop feeling it. You can live. But not an instant before you actually die. Listen to the Sun whispering “I am the only one who can sense the Moon”…

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Philosophy Wire: Making the blind see… But what?

Scientists are investigating new ways to provide visual signals to the blind by directly stimulating the optic nerve. Their preliminary study uses a new type of neural electrode and provides distinct signals. [1] An interesting idea which poses another interesting question: with what should we stimulate the optic nerve to make someone see? What are the optical triggers that should (should?) be there in order to experience the cosmos properly? (Properly?) How should we know them? How could we know them? Could it be that the blind sense the cosmos better than us? And even if that were so, would we ever be willing to accept it? It is scary, but in the same way we cannot convince the blind for what we do see, they cannot convince us for what they cannot… Do you see? There is nothing you cannot…

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Philosophy Wire: Touch me… Touch nothing…

New e-skin innovation gives robots and prosthetics an exceptional sense of touch. [1] At the end robots will sense everything. (Technology already senses more than we do) At the end we will rely on them to sense the cosmos. At the end, every single detail will be known to us. From the faintest sound to the dimest light, we will see and hear everything. At the end we will be blind. Smiling for knowing the cosmos at last. Without being able to see that the cosmos is crying for not being able to sense is anymore…

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Philosophy Wire: Not learning. Staying untouched.

As students learn a new concept, measuring how well they grasp it has often depended on traditional paper and pencil tests. Researchers have developed a machine learning algorithm, which can be used to measure how well a student understands a concept based on the student's brain activity patterns. The study is one of the first to look at how knowledge learned in school is represented in the brain. [1] Trying to understand how learning is represented in the brain. Taking for granted that this is a good thing. But the cosmos is a mirror of what is good and what is not. No, the representation of what you learn in the brain is not a good thing. Because this means that an untouched brain is now touched. Changed by the cosmos. Unable to sense anything exactly because it has sensed everything. No, learning about glue does not help you fix that glass. It is the only reason that you see the glass broken in the first place…

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Philosophy Wire: Seeing. Without seeing…

Researchers have identified how the human brain is able to determine the properties of a particular object using purely statistical information. Our brain has the ability to break up the continuous stream of information received by our sensory inputs into distinct chunks. A pickpocket is able to interpret the sequence of small depressions on his fingers as a series of well-defined objects in a pocket or handbag, while the shopper's visual system is able to interpret photons as reflections of light from the objects in the window. Our ability to extract distinct objects from cluttered scenes by touch or sight alone and accurately predict how they will feel based on how they look, or how they look based on how they feel, is critical to how we interact with the world. [1]

Close your eyes and the cosmos will disappear.
Do you really believe that it did?
You really don't see anything.
Until the moment you decide to.
Well before we sensed the cosmos, we laughed as children…

We can't see anything.
And what best proof that there is nothing to see.
Than the fact that we see everything?

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Philosophy Wire: Smell that beautiful apple… No, don't die yet…

Scientists report that functional olfactory receptors, the sensors that detect odors in the nose, are also present in human taste cells found on the tongue. The findings suggest that interactions between the senses of smell and taste, the primary components of food flavor, may begin on the tongue and not in the brain, as previously thought. [1] Smell that rose. You know it is lovely. In a cosmos of decay and tragedy, you taste greatness. In a world of death and suffering, you smell happiness. Sensing the cosmos has nothing to do with this cosmos. The only thing senses offer are a small window beyond the world you live in. The only reason to trust your senses is because they have nothing to do with sensing the thing sou see... You are dying now... Not yet, not yet... Can you smell that beautiful apple?

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Philosophy Wire: Adapting… Being… Seeing…

Brains of blind people adapt to sharpen sense of hearing, study shows. [1] Listen. For you are not seeing very well. Think. For you cannot hear anything. Feel. For you have lost connection with the cosmos. Die. For the only thing remaining is you. In a closed room, silence... For you to start speaking again…

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Philosophy Wire: Dark sun. Bright moon…

Scientists combined a mirror experiment simulating a different direction of the setting sun and a new test procedure to measure orientation behavior in bats to understand the role of the sun's position in the animals' navigation system. The results demonstrate for the first time that a migratory mammal species uses the sunset direction to calibrate their compass system. [1] The sun is setting low. You will go to sleep now. And the moon will guide you through the dark alleys of existence. To the place where the sun shines forever. It is the darkness of his light that will once more guide you. Back to the bright light of the moon once again. See with your own eyes. There are no shadows in the dark…

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Philosophy Wire: Genes. Vision. Prison.

People left blind by retinal degeneration have one option: electronic eye implants. Neuroscientists have now developed an alternative: gene therapy that, in tests, restored vision in blind mice. [1] Strange humans. We start by feeling everything. By being part of the cosmos. By knowing our self. But we need more. And then we grow up. We start seeing around. We start speaking. We start reading. And the magic is gone. We are trapped now. Outside our self. Away from the cosmos. Inside the cold void of existence, we feel everything. Feeling empty. Because the only way to have it all, is to seek nothing… Inside the cold void of existence, we feel everything. But nothing inside us… Look at those people who see it all… Did you ask them if they really want to?

* Read “An anthropologist on Mars”.

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