Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Institute of Art and Ideas @iai.tv · 2h

With almost every news story today there are competing perspectives and truths. Many have given up in their quest for knowledge. | https://bit.ly/3VRGIPR

Philosopher Jason Baehr argues knowledge is a survival skill. One we must cultivate to sustain trust and democracy in the digital age.

#techsky

Institute of Art and Ideas @iai.tv · 21h

Can consciousness be solved by science? | https://bit.ly/4gsPPzN

Join as Sean Carroll, Ellen Langer, and Tamar Gendler discuss if consciousness can ever be explained materialistically, or if materialism can be extended to account for thought and experience.

#consky #philsky

Mind, matter, and everything

There is a widespread belief that we are getting closer to describing how the mind works. In a 2020 survey of English-speaking philosophers, more than half thought materialism described the human mind...

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Institute of Art and Ideas @iai.tv · 1d

Poet William Blake and physicist Werner Heisenberg shared a fear: that science, while granting us power over the world, was cutting us off from reality itself. | https://bit.ly/3KBmcAC

Mark Vernon argues that only imagination and poetry can reconnect us with its vivid particulars.

#philsci 🧪

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Institute of Art and Ideas @iai.tv · 1d

Are dimensions fundamental to the universe or just a mathematical framework for what we observe? | iai.tv/video/dimensions-of-the-unknown

Join Professor Karen Crowther, Professor Raphael Bousso, and Professor Dean Rickles as they debate the dimensions of the unknown.

#philsci ⚛️🧪

Dimensions of the unknown

We think of dimensions as central to reality. The three dimensions of space -- up and down, forwards and backwards, left and right -- we take for granted. Some hold time as a fourth. But critics maintain dimensions aren't fundamental to the universe, an...

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Institute of Art and Ideas @iai.tv · 1d

“Dark matter was invented in response to the problem that observations of galaxies didn’t match theoretical predictions,” argues Bjorn Ekeberg. | https://bit.ly/467DFZR

However, there is still no evidence - Ekeberg believes that the universe is a lot stranger than we can imagine.

#philsci ⚛️ 🧪

The Delusions of Cosmology | Bjørn Ekeberg

The idea that the universe started with a Big Bang is a key tenet of the standard model of cosmology. But that model is a lot less scientific than it’s taken to be. To begin with, we can never have di...

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Institute of Art and Ideas @iai.tv · 2d

Over the last century, black holes have evolved from a theoretical curiosity into a key testing ground for modern physics. | https://bit.ly/48Rgc0t

But as Eugene Chua argues, the models rely on untested assumptions, including those behind Hawking’s theory of black hole evaporation.

#philsci ⚛️ 🧪

Hawking radiation and the messy truth behind black hole physics | Eugene Chua

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Institute of Art and Ideas @iai.tv · 2d

The received view in physics is that the direction of time is provided by the second law of thermodynamics, according to which the passage of time is measured by ever-increasing disorder in the universe. | https://bit.ly/4mpjriZ

This view, Julian Barbour argues, is wrong.

#philsci ⚛️ 🧪

Time is the increase of order, not disorder | Julian Barbour

The received view in physics is that the direction of time is provided by the second law of thermodynamics, according to which the passage of time is measured by ever-increasing disorder in the univer...

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Institute of Art and Ideas @iai.tv · 2d

“A better tack is not to try to kill relativism, but to draw its teeth. Relativism thrives when people do not have to shoulder the burden of actually coming to a conclusion,” argues Simon Blackburn.

Tap to read more about his argument against relativism: https://bit.ly/3VXrBnL

#philsky

Against Relativism

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Institute of Art and Ideas @iai.tv · 3d

"It is undeniable that nature can be destructive and uncontrollable, but its destruction sometimes helps bring back the balance of the earth,” believes Edward McDougall. | https://bit.ly/2FlsHSK

Tap the link to read more about how we can use philosophy to reconnect with nature.

#philsky

Shinto: How To Reconnect With Nature

Shinto beliefs could help modern society refocus on its connection to nature, instead of obsessively rejecting nature for the sake of technology. <br />

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Institute of Art and Ideas @iai.tv · 3d

Maurice Merleau-Ponty's phenomenological philosophy suggests the search for the self and consciousness need not be focused on the space within our skulls. | https://bit.ly/3IqhKUm

Ron McClamrock believes that instead we should turn our attention to the lived body. Tap to read.

#philsky

Merleau-Ponty and the embodied self | Ron McClamrock

Maurice Merleau-Ponty's phenomenological philosophy suggests the search for the self and consciousness need not be focused on the space within our skulls, explains Ron McClamrock.

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Institute of Art and Ideas @iai.tv · 3d

“Bodies are judged according to standards that reflect and reinforce other hierarchies,” argues Professor Clare Chambers. | https://bit.ly/468dG4u

By being more aware of society’s beauty standards we can remind ourselves that the unmodified body is valuable just as it is.

#socsky

The political power of your body | Clare Chambers

We all feel pressure for our bodies to look a certain way: 70% of women say they feel pressure to have a perfect body, and two thirds of men feel ashamed of how they look. However, those pressures don...

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Institute of Art and Ideas @iai.tv · 4d

Earth has a story rarely told - that of our ocean. What it does, why it works, and how it's influenced human civilisation. | https://bit.ly/3JY60sX

Join Helen Czerski, as she argues that the ocean is not merely a feature of our planet, but an extraordinary engine on which we all depend.

🧪 #ecosky

How oceans shaped the world

Earth is home to a huge story that is rarely told - that of our ocean. What it does, why it works, and how it's influenced human civilisation. Join leading oceanographer and broadcaster, Helen Czerski...

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Institute of Art and Ideas @iai.tv · 4d

What does beauty have to do with science? | https://bit.ly/4gm1LDm

Professor Milena Ivanova argues that science does in fact use beauty to trigger feelings of awe and wonder, but beauty can also be a guide to scientific discovery.

#philsci 🧪

James Webb images were made to look beautiful | Milena Ivanova

The recent images from the James Webb Telescope were deliberately made to look beautiful by NASA. The telescope itself can’t even detect visible light – the colours of the images were chosen by the as...

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Institute of Art and Ideas @iai.tv · 4d

Contemporary life is defined by excess, we always want more and there never seems to be enough. | https://iai.tv/video/surplus-happiness

Join trailblazing philosopher, Slavoj Zizek, as he argues the joys of excess are futile and asks if we can ever find a way out.

Surplus happiness

Contemporary life is defined by excess. There must always be more, but there is never enough. Join firebrand philosopher, Slavoj Žižek, as he argues the joys of excess are flimsy and futile and asks w...

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Institute of Art and Ideas @iai.tv · 5d

Is simplicity the path to truth, or a dangerous illusion? | https://bit.ly/3Wk95pX

Occam’s razor is often taken as a guiding principle of science and rational thought, but theoretical physicist Jim Al-Khalili argues that its appeal conceals a deeper problem.

#philsci ⚛️ 🧪

Occam's razor is leading cosmology astray | Jim Al-Khalili

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Institute of Art and Ideas @iai.tv · 5d

From Karl Marx to Elon Musk, many have claimed that technology is a liberating force for good. But there is increasing challenge to this notion. | https://bit.ly/46V5WSv

Join Yanis Varoufakis, Timothy Nguyen, and Janne Teller to discuss if we should really be socialising big tech.

#techsky

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Institute of Art and Ideas @iai.tv · 5d

Physics is viewed as the key to understanding everything, but is this fundamentally wrong? | https://bit.ly/3VPMMIn

Leading physicist George Ellis argues that reality cannot be predicted by studying simple physical constituents.

#philsci ⚛️ 🧪

Reality goes beyond physics: Why physics will never explain everything | George Ellis

Of all the sciences, physics has been seen as the key to understanding everything. As Feynman said, “physics is the fundamental science.” But in this article, one of the world’s leading physicists, Ge...

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Institute of Art and Ideas @iai.tv · 6d

We tend to believe that the human race has become increasingly rational over time; that the superstitions of the past. | https://bit.ly/4gXkSUS

But Rami Gabriel, argues we have modern superstitions of our own.

#philsci #socsky

Humanity is no less superstitious now than in the past | Rami Gabriel

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Institute of Art and Ideas @iai.tv · 6d

The mainstream view among physicists is that dark energy, a phenomenon we cannot directly observe, makes up 68% of the universe. | https://bit.ly/4nSAL0U

But according to leading theoretical physicist Claudia de Rham the status quo in physics is wrong.

#philsci ⚛️ 🧪

Massive gravity and the dark energy enigma

The mainstream view among physicists is that dark energy, a phenomenon we cannot directly observe, makes up 68% of the universe. But according to leading theoretical physicist Claudia de Rham the stat...

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Institute of Art and Ideas @iai.tv · 6d

Can prayer help even if you don’t believe in God? | https://iai.tv/articles/prayer-for-atheists-auid-1181

Professor of Philosophy at King’s College, William Irwin, explores Hinduism and Buddhism to discover how prayer can change the world.

#philsky

Prayer for Atheists: a helpful practise even if you don't believe in God

Prayer can be a helpful practise even if you don't believe in God

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Institute of Art and Ideas @iai.tv · 7d

Studies show political debates rarely change minds. Fair debate should be central to democracy, but what if debates don’t truly inform? | https://bit.ly/4pO5GNN

Sarah Stein Lubrano argues that real change requires creating the social conditions for meaningful, natural conversations.

#polsky

We need to stop talking about politics | Sarah Stein Lubrano

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Institute of Art and Ideas @iai.tv · 7d

“The history of work and jobs is littered with disruption, change, and we live today as much with the relics of old ways of working as we do the moulds of new forms we are creating,” argues Julia Hobsbawm. | https://bit.ly/4mfL6To

#AI #techsky #philsci

AI won't steal your job, it'll make it interesting | Julia Hobsbawm

The future of work is more uncertain than at any point in a century, writes Julia Hobsbawm, highlighting that, according to the World Economic Forum, about a quarter of jobs will change by 2028. But w...

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Institute of Art and Ideas @iai.tv · 8d

The climate has become imprisoned in academia, jargon, and empty rhetoric. | https://bit.ly/3VId67l

In this piece, sociologist Onofrio Romano denounces his own discipline's hollow attempts to make a difference to the planet.

#ecosky #socsky

Climate politics is currently just hot air | Onofrio Romano

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Institute of Art and Ideas @iai.tv · 8d

As the world's borders tighten and exclusion is the norm, migrant art is not a side story but a challenge to the way we think and see. | https://iai.tv/video/migrant-forms

Join Rowan Williams, Natalya Din-Kariuki, Issam Kourbaj, and Subha Mukherji to debate how art becomes politics.

#artsky

The art of crossing borders

As the world's borders tighten and exclusion is the norm, migrant art is not a side story but a challenge to the way we think and see. These “migrant forms” do not merely depict suffering, they trans...

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Institute of Art and Ideas @iai.tv · 8d

Non-reductionism, the idea that mental states are not reducible to physical states, is the new orthodoxy in analytic philosophy of mind.| https://bit.ly/46erOYC

However, Giuseppina D’Oro argues critiques analytic philosophy’s conception of psychology as a natural science of the mind.

#philsky

We must put an end to scientism | Giuseppina D'Oro

Giuseppina D'Oro challenges the prevailing belief in non-reductionism and questions the ideology of scientism in analytic philosophy of mind.

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