tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3722233.post1036999202735486243..comments2024-03-28T18:17:00.135-05:00Comments on Computational Complexity: James Randi, Magicians-Author-Skeptic, passed away at the age of 92Lance Fortnowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06752030912874378610noreply@blogger.comBlogger11125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3722233.post-17085457416179784272020-12-01T08:04:17.261-06:002020-12-01T08:04:17.261-06:00If you want to learn a little bit more about the (...If you want to learn a little bit more about the (classified) research underway, see https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/23/us/politics/pentagon-ufo-harry-reid-navy.html<br />There is apparently some commitment from the U.S. government to be less secretive than in the past, and reveal some of their findings to the public. So, let's wait and see!Pascalhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14201150679841329835noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3722233.post-13356994478815333342020-12-01T06:51:47.942-06:002020-12-01T06:51:47.942-06:00Also, besides the recently declassified videos, yo...Also, besides the recently declassified videos, you may remember that Congress and president Trump were briefed on the subject of UFOs. The contents of the briefings unfortunately remain classified, but we did learn at that occasion that Trump does not particularly believe in UFOs: https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/exclusive-trump-unidentified-flying-objects/story?id=63725191 That puts him firmly in the rationalist camp!Pascalhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14201150679841329835noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3722233.post-15605107563592520722020-12-01T06:35:44.536-06:002020-12-01T06:35:44.536-06:00It has been found that... more research is needed!...It has been found that... more research is needed! Pascalhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14201150679841329835noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3722233.post-36948263255579768552020-11-30T21:58:48.087-06:002020-11-30T21:58:48.087-06:00We lead an imperfect life but collectively we hope...We lead an imperfect life but collectively we hope and do understand many things and hope that we can do better. Science has shown the power of this over the last few hundred years. Sitting in a village without engaging in the world is ok but that doesn't mean there is no truth, only beliefs.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3722233.post-52171059910342973482020-11-30T18:31:23.388-06:002020-11-30T18:31:23.388-06:00Fro p 416 of Hodges's book, "Readers migh...Fro p 416 of Hodges's book, "Readers might well have wondered whether he really believed the evidence to be `overwhelming', or whether this was a rather arch joke. In fact he was certainly impressed at the time by J.B. Rhine's claims to have experimental proof of extra-sensory perception. It might have reflected his interest in dreams and prophecies and coincidences, but certainly was as case where for him, open-mindedness had to come before anything else; what *was so* had to come before what was convenient to think ..."Jim Hefferonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09292836035665054384noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3722233.post-20618140135702999172020-11-30T11:25:25.102-06:002020-11-30T11:25:25.102-06:00What sort of ESP do you consider that it is "...What sort of ESP do you consider that it is "plausible" that some humans might have?<br /><br />Astrology was different in times past: https://thonyc.wordpress.com/2020/09/30/astrology-in-the-age-of-newton/. It wasn't just natal astrology. Now that we understand what the planets are and how gravity works, astrology does not make sense.David Marcushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07084520656051241766noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3722233.post-92193140867687592702020-11-30T10:28:26.033-06:002020-11-30T10:28:26.033-06:00Have the cameras found anything interesting? If no...Have the cameras found anything interesting? If not evidence of intelligent life in the universe, perhaps something of interest to science? gasarchhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03004932739846901628noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3722233.post-41819790453638226692020-11-30T03:38:49.218-06:002020-11-30T03:38:49.218-06:00Re: 6) The author of the post (and this commenter)...Re: 6) The author of the post (and this commenter) are not skeptic to global warming. Yet we (I assume the author as well) have flown pre-covid 10+ times a year, drove cars around and took part in other high-carbon-output activities. <br /><br />The commenter's uncle does not believe in man-made global warning, yet has never been in an airplane and lives a simple life in a village.<br /><br />Who is the real skeptic? Why do beliefs matter? Aren't our true beliefs those revealed by our actions? The focus on what everyone believes seems to me like searle's chinese room argument taken to an extreme. As I grow older, I tend to care more for what people do.Lnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3722233.post-67351136404505219342020-11-30T02:28:22.915-06:002020-11-30T02:28:22.915-06:00While I am generally sympathetic with the scientif...While I am generally sympathetic with the scientific approach to the paranormal, there are some cases for which I did not see a full solution yet, which is somewhat disappointing. Pros and cons are changing like duck or rabbit when viewed through the scientific or paranormal lens. As an example consider the Austrian physical medium Rudi Schneider (1908-1957). The article on wikipedia is edited by sceptics who carefully leave out any positive evidence. Quite another picture emerges from Anita Gregory's "The Strange Case of Rudi Schneider," 1985, and many contemporary reports (again wikipedia is citing the outspoken critics only). Therefore I consider the status of the paranormal still an interesting open question, elusive to contemporary science like lower bounds in complexity theory :-)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3722233.post-33731983893012379812020-11-30T02:11:43.071-06:002020-11-30T02:11:43.071-06:00"Claims that I was abducted by a UFO or I sa..."Claims that I was abducted by a UFO or I saw a UFO have decreased since people now have cell phones so ALWAYS have a way to take pictures"<br /><br />You should go tell the U.S. Navy that UFO are passé, because their cameras are radars still record UFO activity and they said so very publicly.Pascalhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14201150679841329835noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3722233.post-28659766783466270612020-11-30T00:06:30.321-06:002020-11-30T00:06:30.321-06:00Turing's remark on ESP may have been mildly ir...Turing's remark on ESP may have been mildly ironical. For more background see the chapter "Turing and the paranormal" by David Leavitt in "The Turing Guide" by Jack Copeland et al. (2017).Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com