If we were to replace our bodies, one atom at a time, would we be the same person? One would think...

The following video presents philosopher Manuel DeLanda as he speaks about materialism and...

Below is a link to a podcast recording of philosopher Slavoj Žižek at Birbeck College in London shooting off his usual Lacanian-Marxist philosophical fireworks. In it he waxes paradoxical on all things apocalyptic. As to be expected from the Slovenian rock-star intellectual, he makes some brilliant points while forcing his listeners to think for...

1. Write what you’d rather be reading. 2. Write about where it leads. 3. Search shall find,...

"Ticking away inside almost all cells are tiny clocks composed of protein gears. Scientists have known that these molecular clocks govern the daily rhythms of life, from mealtimes and bedtimes to the rise and fall of hormone levels, body temperature and blood pressure. New research shows that circadian clocks, as the daily timekeepers are...

лишь только то высокий смысл имеет, что узнает в своей...

If only one language was spoken on earth, there would still be miscommunication and dogma, the nature of words is to name everything nameable. Recall the language that has no words, the one you were born speaking. written by: Alex Bodnar

GMT +1, the Amsterdam area

We are very hungry.

What is the threshold for defining a simulated sentience as a legal person? Classically, we might...

Whatever their true nature, dark energy (symbolized as Λ) and dark matter must dominate...

Our ability to think has long been considered central to what makes us human. Now research suggests that our bodies and their relationship with the environment govern even our most abstract thoughts. This includes thinking up random numbers or deciding whether to recount positive or negative experiences. Do you agree with the conclusion...

Our reality is a program simulation. Or, more accurately, computer programs mimic our reality....

Show me matter that isn't changing, transforming, or withering away. Is there anything eternal...

People are fascinated by language. An enormous amount has been discovered about language in...

The ‘all-at-oncess’ of the network penetrates our psyche. Unconsciously, we want to be in tune with the immediacy of the grid. A lack of presence is incompatible with our electronic environment. Detachment is the highest value in a literate culture. Detachment is absurd when you are connected to everyone and everything. Our...

Why choose the future over the present? A reason to do so is if we perceive the present not to be worthy and thus try to change it. Always picking the future over the present could be defined as making the journey the reward. People who read and participate in lesswrong.com and overcomingbias.com seem to care most about the fate of a possible...

Roles are immersive, dear diary app persona interface. Pause predicting bestsellers,measuring...

2010

How important are 'the latest news'? What would it mean to ignore most news and to concentrate on our present goals? These days many people are following an enormous amount of news sources. I myself notice how skimming through my Google Reader items is increasingly time-consuming. Is there maybe more to it than just curiosity and...

We all go to the same source when we die. There is no heaven or hell, we all come from the same...

“[The net] makes the measurement of the self nearly inescapable, and makes the archive the model for the self rather than engaged presence.” —Rob Horning This was true in the past but as the dominant metaphor of the web shifts from pages to streams from objects to flows our model of the self is also shifting. When the web was slower...

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I guess I have found the only possible 3D deformation of the Euclidean plane which - regarding of...

Hear the silence within the sound, every sound is a combination of tone and silence intervals,...

If a group of beings from another planet were to land on Earth — beings who considered themselves as superior to you as you feel yourself to be to other animals — would you concede them the rights over you that you assume over other animals? — George Bernard Shaw Imagine a being so vast and powerful that its theory of mind of other...

Wyzo: the Firefox-based browser dedicated to downloading media "Everything you like in...

This post was first published as part two of a series of three posts on on Augmentology...

Something I've noticed about internet communications (forums, msn, chat) is that they are more similar to my internal monologue than to face to face conversation. However, it is not a monologue, it is a dialogue or multilogue (polylogue? :P). I think this is primarily because of lower felt need to be be cautious, a willingness to risk displaying...

Learning about Fractals, Chaos, and Complex Systems has really changed my worldview, and...

NotMarie:” 3V, what on earth are ambiguous virtualities? 3V:” how do you know about ambiguous virtualities? NotMarie:” it was on my holoscreen this morning when I logged in, just the words, no link, and no reference.. I am sure it came from you.. so what is it? 3V:” well, it was supposed to be a surprise, a linguistic concoction I...

How much does the average person know about how one of our simplest tools work, the knife? What does it mean to cut something? What does the act of cutting accomplish? How does it work? We all know how to use this particular tool. We think it is obvious, thus we do not contemplate it any further. But most of us have no idea what actually...

R15K For 2-6 Players – AGES 10+ R U L E S O F P L A Y ----------- INTRODUCTION You are about to play a variation of the most unusual game that has appeared in many years. It is not difficult, but because it is so different you will find it worthwhile to read the rules completely through before starting play. No attempt has been made...

The past is the ocean floor on witch the present ocean resides, the future is the sky that will...

NotMarie:” I am overwhelmed 3V, I am plagued and besieged by impressions, ever since our last conversation, I keep on getting lost in my thoughts and sensations.. 3V:” why is that? NotMarie:” ..I am not sure really, it is as if in our last conversation a kind of imaginary carpet has been ripped from under my mind.. Suddenly I have...

not an author and a reader … a collision of co-creators not reading or watching … playing and procreating not a product … a process not a tidy straight line … a mosaic … a pattern that you can view from any perspective not a beginning and an end … the end of the beginning, middle and end not a frozen narrative … a collective...

Red Bull Stratos, a mission to the edge of space, seeks to surpass limits that have existed for 50...

This is an essay I recently wrote for a class on Fractals, Chaos, and Complex Systems. All...

We do not need salvation we need a transparent and complex enough interface W If there is one...

The material and the spiritual are so closely entwined in the human mind that making meaning for...

Bolivian Deforestation "Once a vast carpet of healthy vegetation and virgin forest, the...

  Perhaps us humans living now are more like Gulliver than ever before - with our massive foot...