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Super Mario Bros. Wonder + Meetup In Bellabel Park Arrives On Switch 2 In March
Nintendo Today reveals a new trailer
JaxCo Sports Complex Authority reviews future as Chiefs, Royals determine plans
News that the Chiefs secured a deal to relocate to WyCo, coupled with the Royals' plans to build a new stadium, left many in the community wondering what would happen to the Truman Sports Complex.
What the latest heart disease and stroke numbers mean for your health
Wondering what the latest facts on heart disease and stroke? It’s all right here from @american_heart.
A Bite-Size Column About Delight and Wonder in Science
In Trilobites, reporters aim to share new findings in the science world, be it interspecies friendships or discoveries of ancient fossils.
How Snow Creek relies on science to create its winter wonderland
The ski resort relies almost entirely on snowmaking to open every year.
Is It Too Late To Consider Sphere Entertainment (SPHR) After The Las Vegas Sphere Buzz?
If you are wondering whether Sphere Entertainment's share price still reflects fair value after a strong run, this article walks through what the current valuation numbers actually say. Sphere Entertainment recently closed at US$96.36, with returns of 1.7% over 7 days, 3.3% over 30 days, 2.2% year to date, 132.8% over 1 year, 336.8% over 3 years and 116.4% over 5 years, which understandably has caught many investors' attention. Recent news coverage has focused on Sphere Entertainment's...
Is Lucky Strike Entertainment (LUCK) Pricing Look Stretched After Recent Share Price Rebound?
If you are wondering whether Lucky Strike Entertainment is attractively priced or just a value trap, starting with a clear look at what the current share price implies can help frame your view. The stock most recently closed at US$9.19, with returns of 4.2% over the last 7 days, 2.1% over the last 30 days, 8.2% year to date, and a 5.5% decline over the last year, alongside a 33.4% decline over the last 3 years. Recent coverage has focused on how investors are reassessing entertainment and...
Bo Nix met the moment in Broncos’ win over Bills
With just over four minutes left in Saturday’s AFC Divisional Round game between the Buffalo Bills and the Denver Broncos, the moment man wondered about had arrived. Could young quarterback Bo Nix deliver in a big game when his team needed him most? Nix did, and the Broncos are on their way to the AFC […]
The science of the slush: How temperature profiles dictate precipitation
If you’ve lived in the csra for long, you know our winter weather is rarely simple. We often get stuck with a messy mix instead of a winter wonderland, and i built this graphic to show you exactly …
How Trump turned a January 6 death into the politics of ‘protecting women’
In the wake of the insurrection at the Capitol on January 6, 2021, President Donald Trump quickly took up the cause of a 35-year-old veteran named Ashli Babbitt.“Who killed Ashli Babbitt?” he asked in a one-sentence statement on July 1, 2021. “An innocent, wonderful, incredible woman, a military wom...
Executives' favorite explanation for spending big on AI: FOMO
If you're wondering whether JPMorgan's tech spend is paying off, here's Jamie Dimon's answer: "Trust me."
The sludge in your shower drain? That could be scientists’ next big find : Short Wave
Microbes are little alchemists that perform all manner of chemical reactions. A team of microbiologists co-founded a non-profit to try to harness those abilities to solve some of the world’s big problems — from carbon capture to helping coral reefs to cleaning up waste. Recently, the team turned their attention to the microbes living in people’s homes — on and in shower heads, drip pans, and hot water heaters. These rather extreme environments may have pressured microorganisms into surviving in ways that could be advantageous to humans. Science reporter Ari Daniel takes us on a treasure hunt in miniature.This episode was produced by Hannah Chinn. It was edited by Rebecca Ramirez. Tyler Jones checked the facts. The audio engineer was Robert Rodriguez.Interested in learning more about the weird and wonderful world of microbes? Email us your question at shortwave@npr.org.Listen to every episode of Short Wave sponsor-free and support our work at NPR by signing up for Short Wave+ at plus.npr.org/shortwave.
The sludge in your shower drain? That could be scientists’ next big find : Short Wave
Microbes are little alchemists that perform all manner of chemical reactions. A team of microbiologists co-founded a non-profit to try to harness those abilities to solve some of the world’s big problems — from carbon capture to helping coral reefs to cleaning up waste. Recently, the team turned their attention to the microbes living in people’s homes — on and in shower heads, drip pans, and hot water heaters. These rather extreme environments may have pressured microorganisms into surviving in ways that could be advantageous to humans. Science reporter Ari Daniel takes us on a treasure hunt in miniature.This episode was produced by Hannah Chinn. It was edited by Rebecca Ramirez. Tyler Jones checked the facts. The audio engineer was Robert Rodriguez.Interested in learning more about the weird and wonderful world of microbes? Email us your question at shortwave@npr.org.Listen to every episode of Short Wave sponsor-free and support our work at NPR by signing up for Short Wave+ at plus.npr.org/shortwave.
Super Mario Bros. Wonder - Nintendo Switch 2 Edition + Meetup In Bellabel Park Has Been Rated
Get ready for a 2026 release
Is Phibro Animal Health (PAHC) Pricing Reflecting Its Strong Multi Year Share Price Performance?
If you are wondering whether Phibro Animal Health's current share price lines up with its underlying worth, you are not alone. This article is built to help you think that through clearly. The stock recently closed at US$39.44, with returns of 5.7% over the last week, a 1.8% decline over the last month, 5.7% year to date, 99.9% over the last year and 190.7% over three years, alongside a 110.2% return over five years. These price moves sit against a backdrop of ongoing interest in animal...
Has Cardinal Health (CAH) Run Too Far After A 309% Five Year Share Price Gain?
If you are wondering whether Cardinal Health's share price still offers value after a strong run, this breakdown will help you frame what the current price could be telling you. The stock recently closed at US$201.11, with returns of 1.5% over the last 30 days, a 2.2% decline year to date, and gains of 67.5% over 1 year, 176.1% over 3 years, and 309.3% over 5 years. Recent coverage around Cardinal Health has largely focused on its role as a major healthcare distributor and its exposure to...
The Business of Food Is Also a Playground
It’s filled with Aldi’s deals and oddities, Dutch Bros’ crazy concoctions and Wonder’s takeout-optimized robots.
MoviePass Is Betting Big on Entertainment Gambling
The company’s Mogul app will introduce pop-culture heads to the wonderful world of sports betting.
Wondering if You Should Get a Flu Shot? Here’s What Science Says
Flu is making people miserable from coast to coast, thanks in large part to a new strain called subclade K.
On the Hook for Uninsured Residents, Counties Now Wonder How They’ll Pay
Millions of people gained health coverage under the Affordable Care Act, reducing pressure on counties in states that fund care for the uninsured. With federal policies expected to reverse that trend, county officials wonder how they will fill the gap — and who will pay for it.
The silence of CMS
Welcome BACK. So glad you’re here. I kicked off my 2026 by running a 5k with a friend, and now I’m wondering whether running continues to be a hobby or an
West Hartford Business Buzz: January 5, 2026 - We-Ha
A round-up of openings, closings, and other news about West Hartford businesses. Business Buzz is sponsored by NBT Bank, and we are very thankful for their support! By Ronni Newton Happy New Year to all! I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday season and is (maybe) ready to get back to a
Why Highly Gifted Minds Start Their Day Differently—The Morning Habit Science Explains
Ever wondered what happens in the minds of highly gifted individuals during those first sleepy moments of the day? For people with a very high IQ (130 and above), mornings don’t start like everyone else’s. Their minds, ever restless and buzzing, set the tone for how they face the early light—often with a morning habit…
Winter Wonder Lab at DaVinci Science Center
William Oplinger, 2,of Phoenixville, plays with inflatable penguins Friday, Jan. 2, 2026, in the Winter Wonder Lab exhibit at the Da Vinci Science Center in Allentown.
NVIDIA Graphics On Haiku OS Make Progress With NVIDIA Open Kernel Modules + NVK/Zink
As a wonderful New Year surprise, there's good momentum on NVIDIA graphics support for the BeOS-inspired Haiku open-source operating system.
After a breakup, I traveled for a year to learn how to be alone again. It led me to move to a country I'd never imagined calling home.
When Claire Drinkwater boarded a plane alone to India, she wondered if she'd finally lost her mind.
In Case You Were Wondering | Sports Science & Nutrition
Case Keenum is back, this time with the Bears' Sports Science and Nutrition teams, to see how the team moves and fuel up. From 3D motion capture mobility training to wellness shots, Keenum gets a first-person look at the small, often overlooked details th
In Case You Were Wondering | Sports Science & Nutrition
Case Keenum is back, this time with the Bears' Sports Science and Nutrition teams, to see how the team moves and fuel up. From 3D motion capture mobility training to wellness shots, Keenum gets a first-person look at the small, often overlooked details th
Did you know these 15 TV shows, movies were shot in Delaware?
Here's a look at Hollywood actors who've appeared in films and TV shows filmed or set across all three counties of Small Wonder.
Winter Wonder Days at Great Lakes Science Center -
Winter Wonder Days at the Great Lakes Science Center runs now through January 2, featuring daily holiday-themed programming such as fire-and-ice shows, carpet skating, gingerbread scavenger hunts, icy experiments and more.
The moon and sun figure big in the new year’s lineup of cosmic wonders
The moon and sun share top billing in 2026.
2025 Business School Rankings: The Complete Collection
Wondering where your favorite business schools stand? P&Q's annual collection of all the business school rankings that matter
The best wonderkids outside big five leagues
There are plenty of wonderkids catching the eye outside of Europe's big-five leagues - BBC Sport takes a look at the top 10 as ranked by the CIES Football Observatory research group.
Tangling With Entanglement And Other Big Ideas In Physics
Physicist Sean Carroll takes on back holes, Schrödinger’s cat, and other big physics concepts that had our audience wondering.
The science behind why you lose track of time during the holidays
Ever wonder why the days after Christmas feel dreamlike and out of sync? There's a deeper explanation behind the holiday haze. The post The science behind why you lose track of time during the holidays appeared first on Straight Arrow News.
Has the 2025 Rally in MSG Entertainment Already Gone Too Far?
If you are wondering whether Madison Square Garden Entertainment is still a bargain after its recent run, or if the easy money has already been made, this breakdown is for you. The stock has climbed 5.7% over the last week, 15.4% over the past month, and 52.6% year to date, with a 64.1% gain over the past year reshaping how the market is viewing its potential. Investors have been reacting to a stream of venue and live-event related headlines, including ongoing buzz around premium experiences...
Christmas tradition: Business continues helping customers capture the holiday spirit
Snowline Acres owners Tom and Kristin Davis are approaching a decade of helping people celebrate the most wonderful time of the year.
Lessenberry: A fateful year awaits in Michigan politics
LANSING — Well, it’s Christmas, and I hope everyone reading this, whatever your beliefs may be, is having a wonderful and relaxing day. While this isn’t ...
Has Fox’s 2025 Surge and Sports Focus Already Been Priced In?
Wondering if Fox is still a buy after its big run, or if the easy money has already been made? You are not alone, and that is exactly what we are going to unpack here. The stock has been on a tear, climbing 4.8% over the last week, 12.2% over the past month, and 50.5% year to date, with multi year returns of 150.6% over 3 years and 171.1% over 5 years reshaping investor expectations. Behind those gains, investors have been reacting to Fox's strategic push into live sports and news...
Why Apple's Foldable iPhone May Be Smaller Than Expected
Apple's first foldable iPhone, rumored for release next year, may turn out to be smaller than most people imagine, if a recent report is anything to go by. According to The Information, the outer display on the book-style device will measure just 5.3 inches – that's smaller than the 5.4-inch screen on the iPhone mini, a line Apple discontinued in 2022 due to poor sales. The report has led some people to wonder why Apple would settle on such a compact form factor.
San Rafael inks deal with chamber for business support
Under the $140,000 agreement, the chamber will manage the Downtown Business Improvement District funds and support programing and revitalization efforts.
Arizona Science Center brings annual Snow Week to the desert
Arizona Science Center is bringing a winter wonderland to the heart of the Valley with its 14th annual Snow Week.
My picks for a day of downtown Milwaukee Christmas, holiday fun
Whether you're a Milwaukee homer, like me, or a first-time visitor, I've created a festive itinerary for a day during the most wonderful time of the year.
Column | Feeling wonder every day improves our health. Here’s how to do it.
Research has established the power of awe. I experienced it myself in a way I never thought I could.
Wonders, Whiffs, and Wild Facts: Science for the Incurably Curious
Learn the science behind sweat, body odor, scalp hair, cold plunges, and even drunken animals in this collection of Just Curious stories.
Weird and wonderful science: How elephant poop leads to guitars and 12 other unusual UCLA research findings from 2025
Check out 13 of the year's most unusual discoveries, which prove groundbreaking science doesn’t always look serious at first glance.
China offers ‘wonderful opportunity’ for scientists: top European neurologist
Consciousness expert Steven Laureys has taken on a role at Hangzhou Normal University amid ‘challenging times’ for science in the US.
Science Central to host first holiday event, Winter WonderLab
The Winter WonderLab will take place December 18 through 20.
Is Becton Dickinson Now an Opportunity After Diagnostics Expansion and 2026 Business Separation Plans?
If you have been wondering whether Becton Dickinson is quietly turning into a value opportunity or just a value trap, you are not alone. This breakdown is designed to give you a clear, no jargon view of where the stock really stands. The share price has bounced 5.6% over the last week and 3.7% over the past month, even though it is still down 11.7% year to date and 10.2% over the last year. This mix often signals shifting expectations around growth and risk. Recent headlines have focused on...
Staying healthy during the holidays with tips from CVS Health
The holiday season is a wonderful time to gather with loved ones, travel and celebrate. It can also be a time when routines shift, stress increases, and exposure to seasonal illnesses rises.
'Immersive enteratainment experience' at suburban mall closing after less than a year
The immersive experience, from Sony Motion Pictures, opened to the public at Oakbrook Center Mall in January of 2024.
Quantum science research is full of promises. When will they happen? : Short Wave
This year, quantum science and computing came up a lot. There have been broad claims that quantum science and engineering could one day help cure diseases, design new materials, optimize supply chains -- or help in other ways not yet fathomable. And, while the Trump administration has made strides to cut scientific funding, quantum research is one of two things they’ve pledged to continue investing in – along with artificial intelligence. Meanwhile, scientists have been hard at work, pushing the research to move quantum engineering from sci-fi to real-world usefulness. All of this got science correspondent Katia Riddle wondering: When will all of this effort actually pay off? She talked to a lot of scientists to figure it out -- and to figure out how much scientist really understand about quantum science. She brings everything she learned onto the show today. To hear more Short Wave reporting on quantum clocks, check out this episode: Quantum Mechanics For BeginnersInterested in more quantum science? Email us your question at shortwave@npr.org.Listen to every episode of Short Wave sponsor-free and support our work at NPR by signing up for Short Wave+ at plus.npr.org/shortwave.
The 25 best Christmas movies of all time, from 'Elf' to 'It's a Wonderful Life'
Our ranking of the greatest Christmas-themed films, from animated classics to modern favorites.
Stephen Colbert questions Paramount's Warner Bros. bid
Stephen Colbert, whose show was canceled by Paramount, wondered about the company's finances amid a $108 billion bid to buy Warner Bros. Discovery.
Why did it take Eagles so long to get Britain Covey involved in return game?
Watching Britain Covey return punts and kicks Monday night against the Chargers it was easy to wonder why he hasn’t been doing it all year.
Falcons vs. Buccaneers: Tampa loses playoff footing after getting stunned by monster games from Kirk Cousins and Kyle Pitts in 29-28 defeat
If the Buccaneers miss the playoffs, they’ll wonder how Cousins knocked them out of a division title.
Wisconsin State Patrol drops reminder: In-car entertainment might be breaking the law
(WFRV) – Ever wonder if motorists in Wisconsin can look at or operate an electronic device for entertainment while driving? Well, the state patrol provided some clarification. The Wisconsin S…
Two Business Students Visit the Amazon, Network with Sustainability Experts, Gain New Perspectives at COP30 Summit
‘The Most Wonderful and Insane Experience of My Life!’
Jamie Dimon on our AI future: fewer jobs and 'working less hard, but having wonderful lives'
Jamie Dimon says AI will cut jobs before delivering big benefits, including a future where people work "less hard" and enjoy "wonderful lives."
Is Caesars Entertainment a Contrarian Opportunity After Recent Debt Reduction Efforts?
If you are wondering whether Caesars Entertainment is a contrarian bargain or a value trap at today’s price, you are not alone. This article will break that question down in plain English. The stock has bounced about 2.6% over the last week and roughly 19.9% in the past 30 days. However, this comes after a tough stretch, with the share price still down sharply over the year and over the longer term. Recent headlines have focused on Caesars’ ongoing debt reduction efforts and strategic...
Wonder and discovery coalesce at Vatican Observatory exhibition
Wonder Bound, the product of a collaboration between Johns Hopkins University, the Space Telescope Science Institute, and the Vatican Observatory, brings images from the Hubble and James Webb space telescopes to a historic venue
Assessing Goldman Sachs After a 301% Five Year Surge and Business Model Shift
If you are wondering whether Goldman Sachs Group is still a smart buy after its huge run up, or if you are late to the party, you are in the right place to unpack what the current share price actually implies. The stock has climbed 3.5% over the last week, 8.7% over the past month, and is up a striking 48.6% year to date, capping a 45.4% 1 year gain and a 301.0% increase over 5 years that has clearly shifted how the market views its risk and growth profile. Recent headlines have highlighted...
Old City 'sip and stroll' boosts holiday business
A part of Philadelphia transformed into a winter wonderland Saturday for the 2nd annual Old City Sip and Stroll.
5 captivating images from National Geographic’s Pictures of the Year
‘Individually, these photographs speak to beauty, fragility, and wonder.’
December 5, 2025
A boom in construction of AI data centers is facing backlash over soaring electricity and water usage, and the resulting utility hikes. Plus, to save spotted owls in the Pacific Northwest, one plan suggests killing thousands of barred owls. And, geologist Anjana Khatwa explains how embracing wonder and awe adds to our scientific understanding of the rocks that form our planet.
Data center battles: local protests, state incentives, and political fallout
Wondering why data centers are suddenly everywhere in the news? We’ll break it down. Plus, why the backlash isn’t falling along the usual party lines and what Michigan can learn from how voters in other states have responded.
Broncos-Raiders Preview
LAS VEGAS (AP) It's certainly not pretty the way the Broncos are playing, and their 10-2 record has led many around the NFL to wonder if this team is for real.
Biltmore Village transforms into a Charles Dickens wonderland with music, entertainment
Biltmore Village invites the public to step back in time this holiday season during its Dickens Christmas in the Village event.
Wolfe Mountain Entertainment presents holiday radio play in Pomeroy
Wolfe Mountain Entertainment will present “It’s a Wonderful Life, a live radio play” next weekend at New Beginnings United Methodist Church.
Is There Now an Opportunity in PENN Entertainment After Steep 5 Year Share Price Decline?
Wondering if PENN Entertainment’s beaten down share price is a hidden bargain or a value trap? This article will walk through the numbers with you, step by step. Despite some big swings over the last few years, PENN now trades around $14.69, with returns of -0.3% over 7 days, -11.6% over 30 days, -23.6% year to date, and a steep -33.0% over the last year that has clearly shifted market sentiment. Those declines sit on top of an even tougher long term picture, with shares down -55.9% over 3...
I think the Galaxy Z TriFold is a wonderful laptop – you can kiss your tablet goodbye, too
Media junkies, professionals, creators: the Galaxy Z TriFold is for every power user under the sun.
Science Explains Why You Wince When Watching Another's Pain
By Dennis Thompson HealthDay ReporterTUESDAY, Dec. 2, 2025 (HealthDay News) — Ever wonder why you instinctively wince when you see physical harm come to a TV or movie character on screen? There’s a scientific explanation for why we flinch when watching painful events, even though we know it’s not ...
'Wonderful and kind' TV star stopped by multiple businesses in Peoria
The well-known actor was in town for the 2025 Illinois Comic Con and patronized local businesses.
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.
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ON THE OBJECTIVITY OF SCIENCE: KARL POPPER and THOMAS KUHN. Lecture 5 of Postmodern Philosophy [Peterson Academy course]
Lecture Five: Science and technology have accomplished wonders since the Enlightenment. But, as Karl Popper asks, how do we “distinguish between science and pseudo–science“? Thomas Kuhn suggests that scientists are less-than-objective and more “like the typical character of Orwell’s 1984.” Themes: Logical Positivism and Analytic philosophy’s aspirations and travails. Scientific method. Science and pseudo-science. Falsifiability. […]