SCROLL NEWS / DISCOVERY
Search headlines
Find the stories shaping the conversation.
Results for " become " 3,599 found 🔀 AI-powered Shuffle
Knicks will not hang banner for NBA Cup win
The Knicks become the first NBA Cup champions to not hang a banner
Why Being a Black, Female Science Teachers Matters So Much to Students Like Me
Educator's view: Diversity in teaching and STEM is not just about who stands at the front of the classroom, but about who kids believe they can become
Fowler in his pomp - on this day in 1995
This was the year when Frank Bruno finally became a boxing world champion, when Oasis let (What's The Story) Morning Glory? Michael Jackson's Earth Song was topping the charts, usurping Robson & Jerome, and Coolio's Gangsta's Paradise had left its musical mark weeks earlier. Curly Watts was marrying Raquel in Corrie, there were footballers serving bans for kicking fans and there were grey kits that were soon to become a thing of controversy.
'Schoolyard bullies' or voice of the police? Signal 99 shapes debate
As Signal 99, Carolyn Adams and her collaborators have become an increasingly prominent voice in Cincinnati-area politics.
Peoria shopping center to become business district, increase sales tax
Glen Hollow shoppers to pay 1% sales tax to pay for shopping center improvements
Every media business becomes an events business
"People show up for figures who can build strong parasocial connections. But none of that matters if the other people who show up can't hang."
Being a Huge Asshole Is Not Good Politics
It would be one thing if Trump was delivering for the average person. But when he isn't, his complete lack of human virtue becomes a bigger problem.
'Villa aren't doing things the easy way'
It is nine consecutive wins for Unai Emery's Aston Villa and, with every victory, the takes become glossier. Villa are brilliant. Villa are flying.
He built JPMorgan's coast-to-coast banker network. Now exec John Richert says the middle market's moment is coming.
JPMorgan's mid-cap chief explains how investment banking works beyond Wall Street, and why the middle market has become a billion-dollar opportunity.
Conflating politics and fitness is weird: Michelle Tafoya
‘Gutfeld!’ panelists weigh in on a Washington Post piece claiming pull-ups have become a new symbol of American masculinity.
WHO highlights health risks and opportunities in the global waste crisis
A new World Health Organization (WHO) report, Throwing away our health: the impacts of solid waste on human health – evidence, knowledge gaps and health sector responses, warns that poorly managed solid waste is driving a public health crisis and calls for urgent action to protect people and the environments they live in.Globally, the volume of municipal solid waste is growing at an unprecedented rate. Yet, many countries still lack the systems and resources to manage this waste safely. “Solid waste reflects how our societies produce and consume, and how we treat people and the environment in the process,” said Dr Ruediger Krech, Director a.i., Department of Environment, Climate Change, One Health & Migration at the World Health Organization. “If we continue to treat waste as an afterthought, we will lock in avoidable disease, climate pollution and deep social inequities. This report is a clear call to put health and equity at the centre of how we design, manage and ultimately reduce waste.”The report summarizes evidence on how solid waste – especially municipal solid waste – affects health through polluted air, water, soil and food. When waste is not collected, or is dumped, burned or not poorly treated, it can release hazardous chemicals, contaminate drinking-water sources and create breeding grounds for insects and rodents.Communities underserved by waste management services, those living near dumpsites and poorly managed landfills and incinerators, children and pregnant women, as well as waste workers – particularly those working informally – face the greatest risks. For the water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) community, the report underlines that safe management of municipal and health care waste is integral to safely managed, climate-resilient systems.A large share of municipal solid waste is still not collected or is disposed of in uncontrolled conditions, including open dumpsites and open burning. These practices damage ecosystems, contribute to climate change and undermine efforts to build healthy cities. When waste is properly managed, however, it can become a resource – generating energy and creating green jobs. The report calls for a coordinated, multisectoral response grounded in the waste hierarchy: preventing waste where possible, then reducing, reusing and recycling, with safe recovery and disposal.Key actions for governments and partners include reducing waste generation at source; expanding affordable and reliable waste collection services, especially in underserved communities; improving control at recovery and disposal facilities; and eliminating open dumping and burning, including hazardous waste. The new report identifies a central role for the health sector in addressing solid waste as a public health threat. The health sector can prevent and minimize health-care waste at source, improve segregation and safe treatment, invest in cleaner climate-resilient technologies, and advocate for health-protective policies and standards. The report also encourages more surveillance, research and biomonitoring to strengthen the evidence base, and promotes social protection and inclusion of informal waste workers.“This report gives countries and health authorities a very practical agenda,” said Mr Bruce Gordon, Head, Water, Sanitation, Hygiene and Health Unit, WHO. “Health ministries can start now by ensuring safe management of health-care waste, developing strong occupational health programmes for waste workers, and working with municipalities to reduce health risks from solid waste by closing open dumps and burn sites and gradually improving towards safe services. These concrete steps save lives today and will make cities cleaner and healthier in the future.
8 Rare Vintage Tech Products Worth Thousands That Might Be Hiding In Your Attic
Collectible tech is a lot newer than most other kinds of vintage items, which might take hundreds of years to become interesting. Nostalgia plays a big part.
100-plus years of New Mexico women in politics
1912: New Mexico becomes the 47th state admitted to the Union. Nina Otero-Warren helped lead women in a movement that paved the way for voting
Palantir CIO Jim Siders leaves to become head of Thrive Capital's new IT services business
Siders spent more than 12 years at Palantir, recently overseeing its global IT operations, business applications and infrastructure.
What Buddy the Elf Can Teach Us About Global Health Security
You might not expect a man in yellow tights eating syrupy spaghetti to teach you about global health security—but Elf offers surprisingly helpful lessons to understand the importance of addressing biological threats before they become global pandemics.
Science in a French City, Which I Shall Not Name
It has a beautiful historic center with typical old European streets and an impressive number of museums. It is a delightful area of narrow cobbled streets, small charming squares, and beautiful old buildings. It is a very old city—more than 2,000 years old. It is a green city with many parks. There are 14 churches and cathedrals in this city, although over the years it has become less Christian and more Muslim. [Alex Gordon]
The Death—and Rebirth—of Science Diplomacy
Once a vehicle for global cooperation, international science has become a high-stakes arena of geopolitical rivalry.
COP 30: entrenching the crisis of climate politics
As the dust settles after COP30 in Belém, the scale of the failure becomes impossible to ignore. The world is on a path toward catastrophic warming, ecological systems are collapsing, and millions…
My tween kept asking to chat with her friends online. Now, in Australia, I can just say, 'it's against the law.'
Leon Spencer, an Australian dad, wants his kids to meet up with friends in person, not become products for advertisers.
You Might Soon See 8GB Laptops Everywhere, as Manufacturers Are Likely to Make High-RAM Configurations Unaffordable
Memory shortages are anticipated to pose constraints on laptop manufacturers, as a new report states that 8GB memory will become common.
5 Side Hustles From Home That Can Become Real Businesses In 2026
Side hustles from home are no longer just extra income. Here are five that can turn into real businesses in 2026, with clear next steps to apply.
Another blue wave? Meet the Democrat trying to make it happen and the Republican trying to stop her
Brian Jack is a first-term Republican congressman from Georgia, but he’s become a key figure in the Oval Office
I write about ultraprocessed foods, yet I still can’t tell you how to avoid them. Here’s why
“Ultraprocessed” has become a bad word in our food supply, but regulators are struggling with how to define the term to help consumers. Here’s why that’s so hard to do.
2025 Heisman Trophy: Indiana QB Fernando Mendoza becomes the school's first Heisman winner
Winter Doesn't Slow Down Entertainment in Buena Vista - by Carly Winchell
Buena Vista (BV) has become known as a small town with a lively music scene. Entertainment does not die down during the winter months either. Below are a
A Kinect for kids is outselling Xbox to become the hot toy this holiday
The Nex Playground is basically Kinect for kids, and it’s outselling Microsoft’s Xbox, shaking up the console market this holiday.
Report: Lakers' future first-round picks have become less valuable
The Lakers don't have that many attractive trade assets they could use to upgrade their roster in the coming months.
‘We are more successful than they wanted us to be’: Chloe Kelly on team squabbles, scoring that penalty and surviving sport’s gender wars
Women’s football is booming – but the bigger it’s got, the messier it’s become for players. Through it all, the hot tip for Sports Personality of the Year has kept a cool head
Political power and profitable trades in the US Congress
The debate over whether US members of Congress should be allowed to trade individual stocks has become a mainstream policy concern. This column uses data on every US congressional stock trade from 1995 to 2021 to reveal that while rank-and-file members do not systematically beat the market, once some of them assume leadership positions their portfolios start to look very different and outperform those of regular members. The pattern raises uncomfortable questions about how political power, corporate access, and personal wealth interact.
The Republicans’ Endangered Health
The refusal to extend ACA subsidies becomes a huge political liability and signals deepening splits.
Prep talk: Santa Margarita's Isaia Vandermade has become sack machine in playoffs
Isaia Vandermade and Santa Margarita will face De La Salle on Saturday in the CIF Open Division state championship football game.
City Colleges of Chicago Director and ISU Health Sciences alumna becomes first Black person in Illinois to hold a doctorate in Clinical Laboratory Science
When she learned she was the first Black person in Illinois to hold a *Doctorate in Clinical Laboratory Science (DCLS) she was “flabbergasted,” and not because she earned the doctorate, but because she knows it’s a catalyst for “something much bigger than me."
Reimbursement expected to drive implementation of CCTA, coronary plaque analysis
For years, imaging experts have predicted that CCTA may become the primary imaging modality for coronary artery disease and eliminate the need for invasive diagnostic catheterizations. That prediction is now coming true.
Superbet Group becomes Super Technologies, shaping the future of digital entertainment ecosystems
BUCHAREST, Romania, Dec. 11, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Superbet Group, a leading company in the global technology and entertainment space, announces its rebrand as Super Technologies. The new identity, which will be simply known as Super, reflects the company’s evolution, its expanded vision for the future, and its commitment to building innovative solutions for a rapidly changing world. At the same time, the company will continue to operate its commercial brands across existing territories, with
St Ergnat's dream of writing next great Moneyglass tale
St Ergnat's Moneyglass hope to become the County Antrim village's next sporting heroes in this weekend's All-Ireland Ladies Club final.
Coca-Cola is getting a new CEO. He's a company veteran.
The beverage company's COO, Henrique Braun, will become its next CEO on March 31, 2026, the company said on Wednesday. He will succeed James Quincey.
AI Business Deals Are Getting a Bit 2008-ish
The complex financial ties binding the sector together could become everyone’s collective downfall.
WTF? Embracing profanity is one thing both political parties seem to agree on
The language of politicians has become more vulgar in recent years
AirPods Pro 3 after three months: Exactly what I want from an upgrade
AirPods Pro 3 were a complicated upgrade for me at first, but three months in, my experience has become much more positive.
From Concerts to Events: What’s Next for Casino-Backed Entertainment in Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania has a rich and thriving entertainment market. From major theme parks like Hersheypark and Knoebels to a host of museums, concert halls, and theatres. At the heart of Pennsylvania’s entertainment market is a booming casino industry. Locations like Parx Casino, Mount Airy Casino Resort, and Mohegan Pennsylvania provide residents and visitors with many entertainment options. Casino-backed entertainment has evolved beyond simple table games and slot machines. It has become a billion-dollar industry central to tourism and entertainment in the State.
The art and science of failing well
There’s bad failure — the kind we ignore or hide — and good failure, which becomes data for future progress. Three experts discuss how to tell the difference.
A 5-month-old's shocking death and the dangers of extreme diets, medical misinformation
The alkaline diet in particular has become a dangerous, yet widespread, piece of misinformation.
Healthworks: Empowering Penn State students through peer health education
Peer educators are trained student leaders who support their peers through workshops, one-on-one wellness services, and outreach events. First and second-year students from all academic majors who have a passion for health and wellness can apply now to become a peer educator for the 2026-27 academic year.
Lakers, Spurs square off in NBA Cup West semifinal
A pair of Western Conference powers, vying to become the primary threat to the defending NBA champions, will meet in an NBA Cup West semifinal Wednesday when the Los Angeles Lakers play host to the San Antonio Spurs.
Miami election updates: Trump, GOP face major test in mayoral runoff
Democrat Eileen Higgins holds a slight lead over Republican Emilio González to become Miami's next mayor.
Czech billionaire Babis becomes PM with promise to cut ties to business empire
If he honours his pledge, he will no longer benefit from the sale of any Agrofert product, from frankfurters to fertiliser.
Mounts of Mayhem is here
Mounts of Mayhem charges into Minecraft today! Choose your steed, master the spear, and outsmart foes both familiar and new to become a true champion. Mount up and ride into the mayhem today in Bedrock and Java Edition.
Miami’s mayoral runoff gives Democrats hope of breaking a nearly 30-year streak of GOP control
The race to become Miami’s next mayor may technically be nonpartisan, but the politics surrounding the contest aren’t.
Google and Apple team up to make switching between Android and iPhone easier
Taking your data from one ecosystem to another might soon become less painful.
Red Sea Film Foundation CEO Faisal Baltyuor On Building an Entertainment Ecosystem in Saudi Arabia
Baltyuor opens up about the central role the Red Sea International Film Festival has in the country's drive to become a global production hub.
Trump greenlights exports of Nvidia H200 chips to China
President Donald Trump announced on Monday in a Truth Social post that he’s removing export controls on Nvidia’s H200 chips to China, a key reversal in what’s become part of a broader trade war between the world’s two biggest economies.
College campuses have become a front line in America’s sports-betting boom
The fun is undeniable but so is the toll it is taking on young men
Sports media gets much tougher on sports gambling
"This is the year we start to see some real journalistic pushback to the behemoth that legal and accessible sports gambling has become."
Every year, I drive across the country to live with my mother-in-law for a few months. It's become my favorite tradition.
My mother-in-law lives across the country, so we take road trips every year to visit her and spend a few months living with her in her house.
Slater’s largest land donation will become a community legacy
Slater is making good use of 18 acres of land donated by longtime residents Craig and Julie Weeks.
UK: TotalEnergies Merges Its Upstream Business with NEO NEXT, Creating the Largest Independent Oil and Gas Producer in the UK
PARIS, December 08, 2025--TotalEnergies has signed an agreement with NEO NEXT Energy Limited (NEO NEXT) under which TotalEnergies will merge its Upstream business with NEO NEXT and become the leading shareholder in the expanded NEO NEXT, which will be renamed NEO NEXT+, with a 47.5% ownership.
When News Becomes Entertainment; Check That Off The List
People want news, but not from news outlets; X’s blue checkmarks are coming home to roost; and Meta is finally paying publishers (kind of).
‘It certainly changes the tone’: Political analyst on Bonds’ announcement not to seek reelection
At-large D.C. Council member Anita Bonds becomes the latest official to not seek reelection for the District’s governing body.
Financial influencer tracks 'quiet millionaires': Here's the No. 1 strategy they all share
Financial influencer JC Rodriguez reveals how ordinary people become millionaires through consistency, not flashy investments, in 'quiet millionaires' talks.
'Godfather of AI' Geoffrey Hinton says computer science degrees 'will remain valuable' — and students should learn to code
AI pioneer and Nobel Prize winner Geoffrey Hinton said students who want to become AI researchers need to focus on critical thinking.
County Health Officials Warn About Potential Measles Exposures At Supermarket
Around 90 percent of unvaccinated people who are exposed to the virus become infected, according to the Rockland County Health Department.
From wholesale to community impact; food bank and local business thrive together
Thinking outside the box to strengthen both a business and a food bank is happening in Cleveland, where a local wholesaler has become part of the Greater Cleveland Food Bank’s mission and community.
Where the hell is Samsung's Ballie robot?
Ballie has been promised to us multiple times over the last few years, but we're still waiting to see if it becomes a real product.
Kenya's William Ruto secures US health aid in first deal under Trump administration
Kenya becomes the first African country to secure US health funding since cuts to foreign aid by Trump.
Incoming Czech PM Babis' business empire spans chickens to fertility clinics
Czech billionaire Andrej Babis will become prime minister on December 9, after his populist ANO party won an October election. President Petr Pavel said he would appoint Babis after he cleared conflict-of-interest concerns by agreeing to shift his Agrofert business group to an independently governed trust.
President Trump -- the sports fan -- becomes mainstay of his second term
President Trump is a sports fan. In his second term, he's been inserting himself into America's pastimes.
Chicago braces for dangerous cold as health officials warn frostbite can strike in 30 minutes
Chicagoans woke up to brutal cold Wednesday, with wind chills plunging to nearly 15 below. Health officials say the conditions are dangerous and can become life-threatening in a matter of minutes.
Czech billionaire Babiš will become PM after disposing of agri-business conflict
President Petr Pavel applauds the anti-establishment tycoon for resolving an issue with the Agrofert holding that had overshadowed the election aftermath.
Cleveland waterfront proposals include mixed-use entertainment, soccer field, housing
North Coast Waterfront Development Corp. has narrowed down the list of 18 applicants wishing to become part of a 50-acre downtown Cleveland development
AI chatbots used inaccurate information to change people’s political opinions, study finds
A paper published in the journal Science found that chatbots become more persuasive when they share large amounts of information.
Women’s Health Is Chronically Understudied and Underfunded. It’s Time for a Change
For millions of women, TikTok has become a doctor's office: Scroll through the app and you'll see endless videos about menopause, joint pain, hormone therapy – featuring no small amount of pseudoscience. Though misguided, this digital quest for medical knowledge is only a symptom of a larger issue:
Politics is now Americans' No. 1 money worry, financial planners say
Heading into 2026, the political environment has become the top concern clients are raising with their advisor, according to a new report by the CFP Board.
How U.S. Employers Can Meet the Healthcare Needs of Younger Workers
Employers and health systems can do a better job of serving the specific healthcare needs of Millennials and Gen Zers by embracing the following seven approaches: 1) Enlist AI in the design of benefits and the delivery of care; 2) Harness virtual technologies to boost employees’ engagement in choosing and making the most of their healthcare benefits; 3) Shift to prepayment reimbursement models, which emphasize maintaining patients’ health rather than generating revenue when patients become ill; 4) Train physicians to connect with younger patients both technologically and culturally; 5) Combat the physician shortage by supporting educational programs and advocating for legislation to increase residency slots; 6) Treat mental health as an essential part of overall health; and 7) Adopting ways to make care for younger workers more affordable.
Wes Streeting orders review of mental health diagnoses as benefit claims soar
Health secretary has asked experts to investigate whether normal feelings have become ‘over-pathologised’
Explore youth leadership opportunities in the Michigan 4-H Shooting Sports program - 4-H Shooting Sports
Learn about the teen leader program in 4-H shooting sports and how youth can become involved, have an impact on the program and develop leadership and life skills.
Your health has a ‘check engine’ light. Let’s start using it (Guest Opinion by Dr. Sarah Matt)
Wearable devices give us the power to see inside our own bodies and take action before health problems become impossible to fix, writes CNY surgeon and tech strategist.
Kilbourne Run Sports Park nears completion of $40M soccer upgrade
Columbus hopes the park will become a regional soccer hub.
Feeling more at home on road, Nuggets take on Pacers
Home is usually a sanctuary for NBA teams, but Ball Arena has become a house of horrors for the Denver Nuggets.
Opinion | Big business finally joins the fight against Trump’s tariffs
Costco becomes the largest company to sue over the administration’s trade policy.
Yuyu Pharma Announces Strategic Investment in Dalan Animal Health as Part of Accelerated Global Expansion in Animal Health
Yuyu Pharma announced today that it has completed a strategic investment in Dalan Animal Health, a U.S.-based biotechnology company advancing an innate immunity–based platform for developing vaccines for honeybees and shrimp. The investment marks a significant step in Yuyu Pharma's plan to become a more active global player in the fast-growing animal health sector.
Jersey City voters will decide on former NJ Gov. Jim McGreevey’s comeback attempt
Jersey City voters will head to the polls Tuesday in a runoff to decide whether former Gov. Jim McGreevey, who resigned from the governorship in scandal more than 20 years ago, will succeed in making a longshot political comeback and become their next mayor.
We asked readers about how prices on everything from rent to groceries have changed. Here's what they said.
Most respondents felt that it has become more expensive to grocery shop and dine out.
Science history: Computer scientist lays out 'Moore's law,' guiding chip design for a half century
At a small local chapter meeting of a professional society, Gordon Moore's talk laid out the rudiments of what would become "Moore's law, which would govern the electronics industry for a half century.
In a bold move, UCLA hires Bob Chesney to become its next head football coach
UCLA turns to up-and-coming James Madison head coach Bob Chesney, hiring him to rebuild the Bruins football program.
Mikel Merino - could he be Arsenal's number nine?
Arsenal's draw with Chelsea was not their best performance of the season but the sight of Mikel Merino wheeling away after scoring an important goal has become a familiar welcome sight for the Gunners.
AI becomes a political wedge issue, creating odd bedfellows across parties
MAGA media personality Steve Bannon described the fight on the right as one between populists and "broligarchs" in the tech industry.
Once-in-a-century floods set to become annual events in northeastern US in the next 75 years, study finds
Rising sea levels and storm surges from hurricanes will bring more frequent extreme floods to northeastern U.S. states, including Connecticut, New York and New Jersey.
Forsberg: Jordan Walsh emerging as the 'violent defender' C's were promised
After Jordan Walsh's career night, Chris Forsberg breaks down how the young Celtics wing has become a legitimate difference-maker on defense.
Newport business works to reduce Oregon’s fish waste
The Newport restaurant has become a local staple known for serving locally-caught seafood to tourists visiting Oregon’s Central Coast.
Science must move from materialism to mystery
Theoretical physicist and neuroscientist Àlex Gómez-Marín argues that modern science has become trapped in a framework that mistakes matter for the whole of reality. In this wide-ranging interview, Gómez-Marín challenges the foundations of materialism, defends the scientific study of near-death experiences, and calls for a new type of science grounded in mystery and a renewed sense of the sacred. He suggests that abandoning materialism could open the door to a deeper understanding of consciousness, death, and the purpose of human existence. Simon Custer: You are both a theoretical physicist and a neuroscientist, and you have also been fiercely critical of materialist theories of mind and consciousness. What do you think the ultimate nature of reality is?Àlex Gómez-Marín: I don't know what the ultimate nature of reality is, but what I try to first assess is whether the stories that they [mainstream science] have told us about it are right, or maybe whether there are other alternatives. That's why I've been a fierce critic of materialism. As a scientist, I realized that they had sold us this idea that to be a good scientist you also had to subscribe to many other -isms, like materialism, reductionism, and even secularism. And so first I think one needs to unmount these -isms, and then, as is happening today in consciousness studies, we have a huge landscape where there isn't only one game in town, the idea that matter is the only thing that really exists. But because we are studying the hard problem of consciousness, it may be the case that other views of reality, like idealism, or even dualism, or other theories like dual aspect monism... these are philosophical ideas that now, I think, have room in science to be taken seriously. How does something like materialism relate to dualism or idealism? What is materialism in the first place?Well, materialism is the philosophical position that matter is the only really ‘real’ thing in the universe. And I think that worked kind of well because science started 400 years ago and Galileo made that split, I call it the foundational wound. It was a great business move.He said, let's start doing science on that portion of reality that lends itself more easily to mathematization and measurement. So, for some reason, the solidity of this table or the movement of planets lend themselves very well to this foundational idea of science. But as time went on, 400 years later, we realized that we had forgotten the other side, which is what really matters.What really matters is pain, is love, is feelings, sensation, consciousness, which is very hard to define, but very intimate. We all know what it is. It's that thing that disappears when we go into deep sleep and comes back in the morning. SUGGESTED VIEWING On the edges of knowledge With Michael Shermer, Rupert Sheldrake, Güneş Taylor It's what it is like to be, as Nagel said. It's the feeling of being alive. So, materialism is good to study certain things, but then when it ossifies into this ideology and then is dressed like science, now it's preventing us from understanding these key questions that are really that everybody wants to know.Why are we here? Why do we feel reality? Where do we go when we die? And so we need other ways. We need pluralism. I'm only asking for having more options on the table and taking them seriously. Why does materialism fail to explain consciousness? For example, if you were to lobotomize me, I would not be a functional human being. What do you say to someone who might think that materialism adequately explains the mind?Well, here we could speak about different things. We could talk about physics or about neuroscience. I happen to have training with both.For instance, for neuroscientists, 99% of them, I'm not included in that portion, believe that the brain can only be a productive organ. It's an organ that somehow, somewhere, consciousness emerges. It's like a lamp. And then something happens, magic happens, and then consciousness emerges.That's the position you need to be if you're a materialist because if the only really ‘real’ thing is matter, then you need to say, just give us some more time and money and we'll figure out how mind emerges or is produced from matter. There are many philosophically sophisticated ways of criticizing this.Now there's another option, which is the brain as a permissive organ. This was said by William James more than 100 years ago.Now then the brain wouldn't be like this machine, like for instance, a heat engine whose smoke is consciousness, which is what we would have in the first big model, the productive model. But in the permissive model, the brain would be a kind of a filter. And so the brain would still have a very important role in consciousness, but it wouldn't be a productive role.It would be permissive, much like a filter or much like a prism which would receive light. And - I'm speaking metaphorically - it would receive the light of the mind and then it could reflect it and refract it.Now, with these two big options on the table, I think we can make progress into what I call the edges of consciousness, which are all these experiences, weird experiences that many people have, but we don't talk about enough, like near-death experiences, precognitive dreams, synchronicities. These experiences are very important for humans and they have a place in the permissive hypothesis and they are literally impossible in the productive hypothesis. So that's yet one more reason to explore alternatives to materialism. There may be anecdotal evidence for near-death experiences, but is there robust evidence that would be accepted by the majority of scientists who subscribe to the scientific method?Sure. And the plural of anecdotes, someone said, is data.And there's a lot of data. Actually, this year is the 50th anniversary, half a century, since Dr. Raymond Moody realized that we have two ears and one mouth and started listening to what his patients had to say about their experiences while they were clinically dead.The heart had stopped, breathing had stopped in these patients. These patients would come back and tell him these amazing stories that some people may say are hallucinations, but for the patients were hyper-real, like seeing light at the end of the tunnels, seeing deceased family members waiting for them, feeling bliss.___I would say the evidence suggests that the mind can survive the death of activity of the brain.___And so he and others started taking them seriously and writing their accounts down. And then you can do a science based on that material of experience that people have. Now, on the more objective side, more recently people have started to measure what's going on in the brain when people are clinically dead and brought back. This has opened a proper field of study, which is near-death studies.Evidence is a difficult word, because sometimes people think that when you say evidence, this is just the final proof. Evidence is like in a jury. You bring testimony, you bring pieces of data that point in one direction or another.I would say the evidence suggests that the mind can survive the death of activity of the brain. When brains are broken or shut off, there can still be mind going on. And that's revolutionary.That would entail that when we die, it's not game over, which, by the way, is the thesis of materialism. If consciousness survives, materialism dies. It's game over for materialism if something of us continues after we die. Do you think that there is mental continuity after death?Well, I think so, and I believe so, and I could also say I may have experienced it myself, because four years ago I had a near-death experience. I was in the hospital, I lost a lot of blood, and I saw those beings at the end of the tunnel, three beings, and there was yellow light. I was in a well, I was looking upwards, and I hadn't read about NDEs by then, but when I came back from this experience, I decided I would try to integrate this also in my professional life. Not just my personal life, of course, but my professional life as a physicist and as a neuroscientist. So I may have had the experience of glimpses of what an afterlife would be, and I'm not ashamed to say it in this way, and then one can do science of it, and then one can do philosophy of it.One can think about what -isms we were discussing, what views on reality would allow those experiences to be really ‘real,’ as opposed to, well, poor guy, the brain was kind of broken, it must have been a hallucination. Do you have a view about whether individuality or “the ego” persists after death, or whether we sort of merge into some sort of cosmic consciousness instead?I don't know, but my view would be along those lines you're suggesting. I think we could speak about a kind of universal mind, and then the problem is not how we emerge from matter, but how we fragment from a more holistic consciousness into these individual eddies and then when we die, this kind of dissipates.But I'm not sure. For instance, idealism would promote that view, but then what would survive of us after these eddies just vanish and become again the big Consciousness, I'm not sure what that would be. I don't know for sure, but I would tell you I believe something of us survives.And there are other lines of research, not just near-death experience, that can address this really hard question of survival. For instance, there are children who remember previous lives. This was studied by Ian Stevenson at the University of Virginia for more than 50 years.___Research takes place within a selection mechanism that also sometimes reinforces things that are not very scientific.___It's amazing research. He went all over the world, especially in the East, and collected all these case studies, all these stories. In plural, these were data of kids, very young age, who would describe up to 40 items that then he could go and verify.There was no internet. There was really no way the kid could know. Why would the kid say that when I was living in this other body and I was a woman and that's how my house would look like or that's how I would die, right? Again, there is evidence, not proof, but there's evidence not only that something weird and interesting is happening as we cross the threshold, but also when we come back to this life.Scientists should not be afraid of studying this, but they are because there's stigma. There's usually stigma upon the enigma, and this is so unfortunate. And one of the reasons is because of the ideology of materialism, because those things cannot be possible. What is wrong with the politics of science such that they have generated this stigma?So many things. Science is a human activity to begin with.So it falls prey to all our passions and ego and greed. That's one thing. Science is a job for the good and for the bad.You need to get a salary. You need to get grants. Research takes place within a selection mechanism that also sometimes reinforces things that are not very scientific.And then, we didn't have time to unpack this, but science for many years become entangled, as I was suggesting before, to other -isms, materialism, secularism. So anything that smells like the afterlife, people may think has to do with God, and then they freak out.Anything that suggests that there's something about the mind that may not need a physical material substrate to exist, it smells like non-materialism. So, all these -isms are ideologically blocking that kind of research, and then there are all these sociopolitical constraints as to what should be studied and what shouldn't be studied.I call it the backstage of science. Sometimes we scientists or science communicators seem to speak as if the data is the only thing that matters. We say, well, data and theory.But then there's a third leg of this stool, which is all the politics that goes behind the scenes. And we often don't speak about this, and it's quite vicious and petty, and it's very real. Why is materialism so attractive to most scientists?Well, an easy answer is because we've grown up with it.It's what the educational system promotes, and that's what you hear when you go to university. So it's like growing in a culture. It feels like the air in which you breathe.So it's very hard to begin with to detect, well, maybe there's another alternative. Maybe there are other ways of doing science, other environments in which one could do science. That's one reason.And other reasons maybe are more profound, and I'm not qualified to explain them, but I could say, looking at this 400-year history of science, since it started around 1623 with Galileo's book The Assayer, that science went and coupled with all what's going on in the West.And so the fall of religion, you could say, and science presented us this new alternative that then could be coupled very well with other -isms, and this idea of growth, and then science losing its good twin brother, which was philosophy. There's a whole natural history of science starting as philosophy, kind of emancipating or breaking out from philosophy, and then marrying technology, and then marrying other social systems.From that point of view, materialism is a very convenient idea to propose. There were attempts, like the German idealists tried to do a more romantic science. But no, the idea prevailed, like Francis Bacon said: You should pursue nature through all her corners, he said, and make her spill her secrets.Our attitude towards nature in the science that dominates is very much reflecting how we treat nature in our society, in our culture, like a resource to extract secrets by force and then dominate it. How is materialism related to the notions of growth and progress? What's wrong with having a productive citizenry?This is another very interesting and very difficult question to answer.But there's this recent book coming out by Paul Kingsnorth. In it, he explains this idea of the machine and this idea of progress. And this, again, this conflation of more is better, of we need to go forward always, and convincing us that the way to do that is to continually extract more from nature. But because we don't have the religious context anymore, because God is dead, then what do we have? We have what we can do as humans with our own gadgets.It's kind of the story of the Promethean fire. We will just build anything to make ourselves God.A good example today is transhumanism. Transhumanism is this pseudo-religion dressed in technoscientific language whose goal is very religious. They promise immortality, they promise redemption, they promise transformation of the entire natural world, but it's done by human means through technology. Are you suggesting that we can't have ethics without religion?Well, we should have ethics with or without religion. That's another pruning that has happened in science. We say, forget about aesthetics, although some physicists still think that beautiful means probably true, and forget about politics. We pretend there's no backstage of science, and even let's forget about ethics.___Science needs to be in the service of mankind.___Scientists, when they become more like engineers, they're just thinking how to make things work so that they can go to the moon, go to Mars, make machines that think, but they don't think whether that's a good idea.And also consider metaphysics. Many scientists for a long time pretended, and maybe that comes from the stream of positivisms, that really one doesn't need metaphysics at all, except that materialism is always the metaphysics running the system.You see, it's not just ethics. It's the pruning of all of these, you could say, five main legs of philosophy that just makes a kind of unconscious science, a science that doesn't really know what it's doing. It's doing it very well locally, but it just doesn't know what it's doing globally. Do you think science has to have an ultimate vision and purpose behind it for it to be effective or for it to be meaningful and transformative?Yes, a way I would say that is that science needs to be in the service of mankind. And it hasn't been that. And we can see it through, you know, when we discovered the secrets of the atom, and all of a sudden, the Manhattan Project, and then we create nuclear weapons.And now we're trying to crack how machines may think, and now we're creating this mess, right? So science needs to be in service of mankind, not in service of a few ideas that maybe want to make more money or just dominate upon nature. What about planes, trains, automobiles, and modern medicine? Hasn't science served mankind by helping us develop those technologies?Yes and no. I see where you're going, and it's fair.I came here by plane, and it's a blessing. When I almost died, the surgeons did their job, and they saved my life. But these two forced choices between Luddites and Silicon Valley types, I think, of course, it's a false dichotomy.Progress, in a way, it's good, but we often don't speak about the dark side of the moon. We say the great things that progress has brought, and we don't speak about the disasters, the side effects that it has come with, and the same when we promise new technologies. We tend to think that any technology is great, that email is going to save us so much time because we don't need to write letters and send them anymore.Is that true? I spend so many hours a week writing emails. Let's just say there are great things about it and bad things about it. People like Harvard psychologist Steven Pinker, for example, argue that we've made moral progress over time because of the Enlightenment. Do you think that's totally wrong-headed?I think he's emphasizing a side of the moon, and he does that very well, and you can find tons of plots where there's a slope going up and say it's great. But I think he should also tell the not-so-friendly story.But if your ideology is just to resist and continue to explain that the Enlightenment is the best thing ever and reason is the best thing ever… this feels to me like you're worshipping these abstractions.I'm very critical of it and also of these, again, science communicators and scientists that say, Oh, science says, in the name of science, experts say. It's like, come on, let's be careful because we can shoot ourselves in the foot by putting forth to the people an image of science that we know is not really true. Recently there's been a resurgence of spirituality and of people who say that they're spiritual but not religious, especially in the United States. If materialism is going away, what is going to fill that gap? Are we going to return to traditional religion? Do you see that being connected with the rise of the political right?I'm not a fortune teller, so I don't know what's going to happen. But, yeah, we could say we're in this post-materialist age and even post-secular age. One cannot come back to the past, but maybe just to contact with the roots is a good idea.What do I mean by that? I think we need to do a science 2.0, a science that says thank you to Galileo and thank you to materialism, but we need to reinvent even a new kind of scientific method. We need to do so in a culture where we realize humans cannot thrive in a vacuum where there's this idea that the sacred has to be removed.Now, how do we do that without bringing in back all the vices of religion? I don't know. I'm from a Catholic country.Here we are in England, so there are differences and interreligious dialogue has always been a challenge. But I think maybe a way of putting it is: after all these conflicts and branchings I was quickly alluding to, science from philosophy and then also from religion, now there's a time of reconciliation perhaps and maybe debates in the proper sense, like exchange of ideas in service of learning and getting into something higher than both poles. We need science to talk to religious people and it's interesting when people say they're spiritual and not religious.I think this is just a way of saying, no, I don't want to go back, I want to go forward. But at the end of the day, religions have offered us practices and grounding that we now desperately need. Everybody can and should just meditate or pray or do whatever they want, but we're in a crisis and it's time for reconciliation. What do you say to critics that say you are merely projecting our need for meaning onto a fundamentally indifferent universe?Yeah, I know that the typical science communicator says something like this. But we're not projecting. Human beings feed on meaning.It's the other way around. If you're a materialist, because the only thing that there is is matter, all that comes next, free will, consciousness, meaning, this is a kind of illusion that we need to explain.They're just craving for meaning, but there isn't really for them. I would also like to remind my materialist friends that for decades, if not centuries, they've said in the name of science, we know that this and this and this doesn't really exist. I think now they sense they're forced to say, well, actually, we don't know. We've been saying, for instance, that there's nothing after you die, and now probably they need to admit that they don't know the answer.___We need to do a science 2.0, a science that says thank you to Galileo and thank you to materialism, but we need to reinvent even a new kind of scientific method.___So it's a moment to open up possibilities and also to gently but fiercely critique these claims that I think harm society. If you say in the name of science, get on with it, when your father dies, you'll never see him again. Well, what the F do you know about it? You haven't studied the literature, you haven't had any of those experiences, and basically what you're doing is you're just doing marketing on ideology. This needs to stop. Do you think that it's scarier for some people to entertain the thought that there might be life after death, compared to a materialist worldview where you just die, given that there might be consequences for unsavory behaviour?Well, death and dying is scary. It's maybe the ultimate ending. It's a limit on life, and when we're in this conquest mode, we don't like limits.And it also has, there's a shockwave backwards, so I think if you change your notion of what death is or may be, you live differently. It also has consequences, as you're saying, for the future because this is not our only goal here and we come back in whatever form. And again, different religions would say different things. I the East, they are more happy with the idea of reincarnation, and here in the West, there are other preferences. But in any case, it changes how we live, and that's really what matters.It's not about just projecting or imagining what we'll be after, but how we live now and also how we treat those who are dying. So it goes from the individual to the families, to the hospitals.Now in the near-death research I do, this has ramifications at all these levels, all the way to society.But our society is thanatophobic. It has a phobia of death. We don't want to hear about death, and this is another thing we need to put on the table and be willing to talk about it. Do you think that we might get closer to answering ultimate questions like why is there anything at all if we jettison materialism?That’s an excellent question, Simon. Two things: we should stop treating reality, I believe, as a great sudoku, as an enigma, as something that with intelligence, money, and time that we will crack and instead treat reality more like a mystery. And what you do for in front of a mystery is not to be the clever guy in a class and say “I’ll solve you” but more like “I will bow and you will transform me.”I know this sounds a bit like a scientist speaking like a mystic. But I think this reorientation is needed. In the end, we won’t crack the big questions, but they will transform us. If we free ourselves from this prison of materialism, the way we will explore these questions will be freer, more creative, and in service of mankind. Do you think exploring mystery is the reason why we are here?I think we are here because, and this pseudo-theological argument I’m making off the cuff, But the One, the Absolute, if there is such a thing, had everything except limitation. We are that absolute experiencing that contingency. It’s like an act of divine proprioception. It’s a wonderful adventure, it’s just incredible to be alive. Perhaps we have forgotten why we are here and the whole point is to experience the flesh.Let me end by saying this. I criticize materialism harshly. I bang on this dead horse, because I think it’s dead. But matter is a great mystery. So maybe my invitation is as follows: hey materialist friends, come here, let’s work on materialism 2.0! Consciousness is a mystery, but matter is also a mystery. The fact that we can have an intersubjective experience consensus, the fact that we can apply mathematics, that we can measure things... the physical world we take for granted, but it is a great mystery too.Maybe that’s related to your last question: why are we here? Why did spirit decide to incarnate? Being in the flesh may be a great thing if spirit decided to do so.Àlex Gómez-Marín, thank you very much.My pleasure.
Landmark gift to prepare and support behavioral health treatment professionals
Penn State graduate Jonathan Wolf has come forward with a landmark gift to dramatically scale up the University’s resources for students studying to become addiction and recovery professionals.
Sports betting goes live today in Missouri. Here’s what you need to know.
Missouri has become the 39th state to legalize sports betting.
When Participating in Politics Puts Your Life at Risk
During the Trump era, political violence has become an increasingly urgent problem. Elected officials from both parties are struggling to respond.
Trump Has Never Been More Isolated
Even Trump’s allies worry that he has become out of touch with what the public wants.
Lee Health: Celebrating our first anniversary as private nonprofit
Starting at the end of 2023 and throughout 2024, Lee Health completed a thoughtful, multi-phase process to become a community-focused.
Missouri launches sports betting as recent scandals shine a spotlight on the growing industry
Missouri has become the latest state to launch sports betting
Missouri launches sports betting as recent scandals shine a spotlight on the growing industry
Missouri has become the latest state to launch sports betting
Case Study | The Art & Science of World-Building
Once the preserve of a handful of high-end labels, world-building has become a powerful method for any brand to create a lasting impression and connect emotionally with customers. Pulling it off requires more than just consistent branding across channels.
France’s business leaders scramble to shape far right’s agenda as election looms
The business community wants the far right to become more market-friendly, but there’s a long way to go.