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: Tell me everything!

An experimental study suggests that sleep restriction may hinder information disclosure during criminal interviews, contradicting widespread assumptions about the effectiveness of sleep deprivation as an interrogation tool. [1] We are so eager to discover the truth. That we cannot see. That truth revealed with violence, pauses being truth. Only what Is but not created, truly Is. Being only has meaning in the context of Being. Ask yourself. “Who am I?”. And yes. The only way to get that answer is with violence…

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Philosophy Wire: Virtual. Reality.

Virtual reality activates brain networks that increase your ability to identify with other people, according to new research published in eNeuro. The technology could become a tool in the treatment of violent offenders to empathize more with others. [1] What a petty world. Their most intelligent inhabitants cannot understand it. But a small ant can. Humans wandering around trying to empathize. But whatever can be simulated can be nothing but fake. Henry is here. Bees buzzing near flowers. My dear Basil. Dorian Gray is dead. What a beautiful painting!

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Philosophy Wire: Two from One…

Photos by Spiros Kakos @ Pexels

Scientists uncover a novel and generic mechanism for the division of artificial cells into two daughter cells. The success of life on earth is based on the amazing ability of living cells to divide themselves into two daughter cells. During such a division process, the outer cell membrane has to undergo a series of morphological transformations that ultimately lead to membrane fission. Scientists at the Max Planck Institute of Colloids and Interfaces, Potsdam, and at the Max Planck Institute for Polymer Research, Mainz, have now achieved unprecedented control over these shape transformations and the resulting division process by anchoring low densities of proteins to the artificial cell membranes. [1]

In the beginning there was one.
But one which wanted and was able to divide into two.

In the beginning there was a truth.
But a truth able and ready to be transformed into lies.

In the beginning there was life.
But life which was ready to be dissolved into nothingness…

The sun sets now.
In the beginning there was nothing.
In the beginning there were lies.
In the beginning there was everything…

Oh, dear darkness.

You were afraid so much of yourself.

That you could only dream of light...

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Philosophy Wire: Collective wisdom. Your wisdom.

Philosophy Wire by Spiros Kakos [2023-01-15]: In 1906, Francis Galton was at a country fair where attendees had the opportunity to guess the weight of a dead ox. Galton took the guesses of 787 fair-goers and found that the average guess was only one pound off of the correct weight -- even when individual guesses were off base. [1] Ask me. And I will lie to you. Ask the cosmos. And you will listen to the truth. Are you ready to accept the truth? Are you ready to accept you? Ask me. And I will tell you the truth. Only if you know it already…

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Philosophy Wire: What do we like to see?

Researchers built deep artificial neural networks that can accurately predict the neural responses produced by a biological brain to arbitrary visual stimuli. These networks can be thought of as a 'virtual avatar' of a population of biological neurons, which can be used to dissect the neural mechanisms of sensation. [1] Oh, dear brain! What do you like to see, beyond the things which you have already seen? Oh, thy self! What do you wish to have, besides the things you already have had? The only true and consistent truth can be truth itself. The only thing we know is by definition what we already know. Damn you universe! What are you staring at?!

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Philosophy Wire: Lack of dreams… People dead…

The lack of dreams could be messing with your mind. Modern life is squeezing dreams out of our sleep and it could be having serious effects on our brain power and mental well-being. [1] It is the fake which determines what is true. The wrong which defines what is right. The illogical which governs the realm of logic. Look at your dreams to understand your reality. Stop dreaming, and reality will collapse in a world of “truth”. Eternal and yet void…

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Philosophy Wire: Phantom noises. Democracy. Philosophy.

Millions of Americans hear ringing in their ears - a condition called tinnitus - but a new study shows an experimental device could help quiet the phantom sounds by targeting unruly nerve activity in the brain. Results of the first animal tests and clinical trial of the approach resulted in a decrease in tinnitus loudness and improvement in tinnitus-related quality of life. [1] Deciding that something heard by millions is something fake and “disturbing”. A decision made by those who do not hear it. Senses are the result of democracy. And democracy is the worst method to determine the truth regarding philosophical problems, let alone reality itself. You may make your phantom noises go away, but you will never really listen to what is out there. Only someone without ears (or without a brain to filter what ears capture) can experience the cosmos raw and untamed, as it truly is. Would you call the humming of birds and bees in a forest disturbing? Let’s vote. I don’t like birds and bees! I don’t see any birds or bees! Ah! The humming went away. Alas! And so did everything else…

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Philosophy Wire: Rivers in the sky. Allegories. Truth.

Rivers in the… sky are responsible for the greatest floods experienced by California. [1] As above so below. We tend to believe that all the great quotes have allegorical meaning. And yet, the power of the truth is based on things we experience and see every day. Like the rain. Like a drop of water. Flowing down your face…

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Philosophy Wire: What can be proved? Not the things which matter anyway…

Philosophy Wire by Spiros Kakos [2017-02-21]: One should be a good and ethical person. Difficult to prove why. And that is why being good is so important. The most important things in life cannot be proved by nature. The truth does not need proof. But we need the truth more than ever. A truth which cannot fit in the small little boxes we have built with logic in our small little heads. Search for untenable. The unproven. The crazy. There you will find certainty. Safety. Logic...

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Truth? Αλήθεια;

Σούνιο [Πούντα Ζέζα] / Sounion [Punta Zeza]

Truth is the biggest Lie...

Το μεγαλύτερο Ψέμα είναι η Αλήθεια...

Philosophy Wire: Theory of Evolution without evolution. A paspartu to all truths...

Philosophy Wire by Spiros Kakos [2015-02-25]: Wedged inside rocks in the deep sea off the coast of Western Australia lurks an organism that hasn’t evolved in more than 2 billion years, scientists say. And this seems to be in accordance with the Theory of Evolution. [1] Eveything is compatible with any theory. Because every theory has exceptions. Name things carefully and you will discover that the truth is where you began from: inside your mind.

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Philosophy Wire: Turtles. Eye. Light. Truth.

Philosophy Wire by Spiros Kakos [2014-10-27]: Each summer, leatherback sea turtles (Dermochelys coriacea) migrate thousands of kilometers from their tropical breeding grounds to feed in cooler waters. Yet how the animals know when to begin their long journey back south at the end of the season has mostly remained a mystery. New findings, to be published in an upcoming issue of the Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology, suggest that leatherback sea turtles may be able to sense seasonal changes in sunlight by means of an unpigmented spot on the crown of their head—known as the pink spot (pictured). Researchers conducted an examination of the anatomical structures beneath the pink spot and found that the layers of bone and cartilage were remarkably thinner than in other areas of the skull. This thin region of the skull allows the passage of light through to an area of the brain, called the pineal gland, that acts as biological clock, regulating night-day cycles and seasonal patterns of behavior. [1] We have the tendency to believe that light comes from somewhere on the "outside". But light comes from the inside. We think and that is why we "see" light. Let us stare the truth in the eye. We will be dazzled by her brightness...

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Philosophy Wire: Biology, common people, scientists...

Philosophy Wire by Spiros Kakos [2014-09-25]: 'Most of the songbirds that migrate between North America and the tropics do it to escape harsh northern winters. That squares with the folk belief that "birds fly south for the winter", but is the exact opposite of what biologists thought – that tropical birds ventured north to escape overcrowding. [1] Over-analysis does not usually help. As Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn said, everything you add to the truth subtracts from the truth. Listen to the non-experts. They usually know more than you think...

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Philosophy Wire: Consciousness, hair power, Samson, myths...

Philosophy Wire by Spiros Kakos [2014-05-13]:

Unseen power stemming from… hair! [1, 2]
An old tale had told us so. (Samson)
We are now laughing at it. [3]
But something deeper lies beneath the surface... [4, 5, 6]
Our current "knowledge" does not let us see beyond our own nose.
Old knowledge, long gone, haunts our shallow existence.
Let's try to forget in order to remember...

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Philosophy Wire: Hidden planets, lost indications...

Philosophy Wire by Spiros Kakos [2014-05-06]: A surprise monster may be lurking in our solar system. A newly discovered dwarf planet has grabbed the crown as the most distant known object in our solar system – and its orbit hints at a giant, unseen rocky world, 10 times the mass of Earth and orbiting far beyond Pluto. [1] Old planets long gone. Now re-"discovered". We always see nothing where we once saw something. And there always come the time when we see something where we were once certain that nothing is. Constantly changing opinion. There is no single truth. Just a planet. Everywhere and nowhere at the same time... Close your eyes. You are there already. Floating in space. You are the truth. You formulate it. By living...

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Philosophy Wire: Dogs, civilization, leftovers, pariahs...

Philosophy Wire by Spiros Kakos [2013-01-24]: The dog has evolved from wolves through the waste bin of humans. Eating from the leftovers of humans has shaped the dog into what it is today. [source: BBC News] Human civilization is very much alike. It feeds from the leftovers of misunderstood (at their time) geniuses. We live in our oblivion, wandering around, without thinking too much of what we throw to the waste bin of our thoughts. If we are lucky, we barely catch the glimpse of some precious gems in the waste bin of outcasts who eat from our leftovers... Because the most precious thoughts are the ones which you pass by easily, the simple, the seemingly "useless"...

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Philosophy Wire: Santa Clauss exists, parallel universes exist…

A man has been arrested for telling children that Santa Claus does not exist. [source: web news] Many believe that speaking of things that do not exist is immoral and dishonest. But who arrested people talking of parallel universes? Will we ever be able to see them like we see Santa in this photo? And independently of what “reality” actually is, something which I have analyzed too much in this portal (see reality tag), which is really most honest? To talk about things which do not exist so as to get billions of dollars of funding, or to talk about things which do not… “exist” (do not exist? too big words for a philosopher… ask Parmenides if you wish) so as to give kinds joy and happiness?

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Philosophy Wire: London, Beijing, Athens and the media propaganda.

Philosophy Wire by Spiros Kakos [2012-07-28]: The London Olympic Games opening ceremony just sucked! Totally. At every level! No harmony. No show. Just a bunch of people wandering around. People in the Internet shout it. But the “official” media have a different opinion: for them, the opening ceremony was great! Once again, media show us that they have NOTHING to do with reality!!!!! Nothing at al!!!

 

PS. Maybe the rule “see what the media say that happened, and deduce the conclusion that the OPPOSITE did actually happen” is valid?

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Philosophy Wire: Dione, Saturn, poetry…

Philosophy Wire by Spiros Kakos [2012-03-04]: Dione seems to have an exosphere of oxygen, scientists now say [source: BBC News]. A frozen world beyond human reach, having life in the shadow of the beautiful Saturn rings… Sounds so poetic, it is already true…

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