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Longtime Jackson restaurant closing its doors after 70 years in business
Owner Bob Crechale passed away on Christmas Eve.
Trump says he’s withdrawing National Guard from Chicago, Los Angeles and Portland
President Donald Trump announced Wednesday that he’s withdrawing the National Guard from Chicago, Los Angeles and Portland but left the door open to sending federal forces “in a much different and stronger form.”
House Judiciary Committee releases video and transcript of Jack Smith deposition
The House Judiciary Committee on New Year’s Eve released a transcript and video of its closed-door hearing with Jack Smith, the former special counsel who led the two failed prosecutions of President Donald Trump.
After 24 years, a downtown Topeka business will close out 2025, closing its doors
Juli’s Coffee and Bistro, at 911 S Kansas Ave., will close down for good at 2:00 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 31.
How this outdoor sporting goods store became a SLO institution for 50 years
The store has been a go-to spot for campers, hikers and climbers for decades.
Unique downtown Platteville business faces uncertain future
PLATTEVILLE, Wis. — A pride flag with the phrase “You Are Loved” hangs above the front door of Driftless Market and Deli.
Beloved Lynchburg business, Easter Island, closes its doors
A beloved shop in Lynchburg has officially closed its doors.
This Instagrammable nature trail hidden in plain sight is only an hour from New Orleans
I vowed to spend more time outdoors in 2025, with one very important caveat: day trips only. Here's where you can go, too.
New issue: Don't count the calories | BBC Science Focus Magazine
January’s long nights, howling winds and unending drizzle that constitute a British winter all seem to scream: stay indoors, get under a blanket and stay very still. But every year, I reach January and the same conclusion as millions of others: it’s time for change. Christmas is what does it. There’s only so much indulgence the body can take. It starts on the 24th when, if you’re lucky, work’s finished and the fridge is full. Over the next seven days, I’ll feast like a Tudor monarch, picking at carcasses, stabbing at cheese and washing it all down with a bit of port (well, someone’s got to finish it). But by New Year’s Day I’ve had enough. Meaningful, lasting change isn’t easy. The science says so. Sure, a fitness influencer will scream at you until they’re Christmas-ham-pink in the face that losing weight is JUST SIMPLE MATHS: burn more calories than you consume, and you’ll lose weight. But your genes, biology and chemistry don’t work like a calculator. There’s more to it. So we’re here to help you construct bite-sized changes that will add up to significant improvements in your health and wellbeing this year.
Youth baseball becoming year-round sport in Wis., producing more talent but with concerns
Youth sports have become a year-round reality for many as more and more indoor sports facilities are being built in Wisconsin.
Extreme Rush entertainment complex to open by early March
POCATELLO — After three years in the making, Extreme Rush will finally open its doors to area residents in the first quarter of 2026.
Chinese state hackers use rootkit to hide ToneShell malware activity
A new sample of the ToneShell backdoor, typically seen in Chinese cyberespionage campaigns, has been delivered through a kernel-mode loader in attacks against government organizations.
The Cadet Restaurant closing its doors after 73 years in business
No one celebrated the Browns' win harder than Ravens players
The biggest winner from the Browns win over the Steelers? A Ravens team with alligator blood.
Mini brains reveal clear brain signals of schizophrenia and bipolar disorder
Tiny lab-grown brains are offering an unprecedented look at how schizophrenia and bipolar disorder disrupt neural activity. Researchers found distinct electrical firing patterns that could identify these conditions with high accuracy. The discovery opens the door to more precise diagnoses and personalized drug testing. Instead of guessing medications, doctors may one day see what works before treating the patient.
Beloved Middle Tennessee businesses that closed in 2025
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) — From new restaurants opening to old favorites closing their doors after years of service, the dining scene in Middle Tennessee was busy in 2025. As some businesses saw lines wrapped around buildings for their much-anticipated openings, such as California-based burger chain In-N-Out, several beloved staples said goodbye for good. Here’s a […]
'If She Knows, Run': Woman Doesn’t Know How to Open Door to McLaren. Her Date Calls It a ‘Green Flag’
A man says it was a 'green flag' that his date couldn't figure out how to open his McLaren's doors. So how do they work?
Gig work is evolving fast. See how drivers and delivery workers are trying to stay afloat.
Gig work for Uber, Lyft, DoorDash, and others has become widespread — and tricky to do profitably, gig workers have said.
Virtual reality opens doors for older people to build closer connections in real life
Many retirement developments serve as a tranquil refuge for older people who can no longer traveling to faraway places or engaging in bold adventures.
Amazon’s After-Christmas Sale Is Stocked With Outdoor Gear Deals Up to 70% Off—Shop Cotopaxi, Osprey, and More
Amazon's after-Christmas sale is filled with incredible deals on hiking and camping gear from Osprey, Cotopaxi, The North Face, and more top brands up to 70 percent off. Upgrade your outdoor gear with high-quality tents, camping chairs, hiking boots, and more—starting at just $4.
Historic Ann Arbor store closes after more than a century in business
After nearly 120 years serving the Ann Arbor community, Downtown Home and Garden welcomed customers for the final time on Christmas Eve before closing its doors permanently.
Scientists found a way to restore brain blood flow in dementia
A new study suggests that dementia may be driven in part by faulty blood flow in the brain. Researchers found that losing a key lipid causes blood vessels to become overactive, disrupting circulation and starving brain tissue. When the missing molecule was restored, normal blood flow returned. This discovery opens the door to new treatments aimed at fixing vascular problems in dementia.
Rochester Sports Garden marks 30th anniversary
The Rochester Sports Garden is celebrating its 30th anniversary as people head to its facilities to do some indoor sports.
Medicare opens door to covering blockbuster drugs for weight loss
Some Medicare enrollees may soon be able to access super-popular drugs for obesity under a voluntary model program, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services announced Tuesday. Eligible beneficiaries will only have to pay $50 a month.
Organizers of Christmas Eve Super Feast say Houston Health Department made them throw out ‘significant’ amount of food
The City Wide Club of America, the organization that hosts the Christmas Eve Super Feast, says they are deeply concerned and frustrated after they say they were forced to throw out a significant amount of food after an inspection by the Houston Health Department.
We are living in a golden age of species discovery
The search for life on Earth is speeding up, not slowing down. Scientists are now identifying more than 16,000 new species each year, revealing far more biodiversity than expected across animals, plants, fungi, and beyond. Many species remain undiscovered, especially insects and microbes, and future advances could unlock millions more. Each new find also opens doors to conservation and medical breakthroughs.
Columbus immigrant business owners say ICE fear is driving customers away
Immigrant-owned businesses in Columbus say fear tied to ICE activity has slashed foot traffic, leaving owners struggling to keep their doors open.
Mayor, council clash over Rochester’s plans for sports complex
The City Council’s decision to move forward with an outdoor sports complex has drawn the ire of DFL lawmakers.
After 70 years of business, Circle Furniture is closing its doors
On Tuesday morning, employees received an email confirming they’re being laid off.
Why This Business Model Is Opening the Door to Entrepreneurship for People With Almost No Capital
Micro-franchising helps people with limited resources become business owners by offering low-cost and proven franchise models.
Quitting a job to go on a European road trip helped her rethink her career
Nurya Doorenbos took a five-month European road trip to figure out what she truly wanted to do for work.
10 Beloved Santa Barbara Businesses That Closed Their Doors in 2025
Santa Barbara said goodbye to 10 businesses in 2025 amid rising costs and tough conditions faced by them, changing the county's landscape.
Another small business in Decatur closes, highlights main challenges
Another small business may soon shut its doors...And owners say it highlights some of the challenges facing small business owners.
Launch Family Entertainment closes out 2025 with record growth, six new openings, and accelerated multi-unit development
WARWICK, R.I. – Launch Family Entertainment (Launch), a leading indoor family entertainment franchise, is ending 2025 with major development milestones, including six new park openings, 13 secured …
Hackensack Meridian Health Day of Connection Donates $500,000 Worth of Warming Kits And Doordash Gift Cards To Shelters Across New Jersey This Holiday Season
It’s the season of giving, and Hackensack Meridian Health is giving back by supporting the communities it serves. New Jersey’s largest health network, and home to the number one hospital in the NY/NJ metro area, and top 20 in the nation hospital, Hackensack University Medical Center, is donating nearly $500,000 dollars worth of winter items and food gift cards to more than 200 shelters across the state.
Colorado businesses push through power outages during holiday season
Many Colorado businesses tried to keep the doors open during the recent power shutoffs despite the drop in foot traffic. Now, they're hoping customers will return in greater numbers ahead of the coming Christmas holiday.
S.F. Power outage: restaurants and cafes open without electricity
Businesses opened their doors Sunday morning in San Francisco despite an ongoing power outage that left thousands of residents without electricity.
Caleb Williams had coldest (literally) celebration before OT TD landed
Caleb Williams knew that DJ Moore was going to catch that 46-yard touchdown in overtime of the Bears' win vs. Packers.
Ramstad: Here’s how the Marvins keep the family business in remotest Minnesota
The fourth generation of descendants of George Marvin are teaching the fifth how to lead one of the nation’s biggest makers of windows and doors.
New family entertainment: Explore the underwater-themed Mermaid Bay Kids Indoor Play
With play sessions starting at just $8, Mermaid Bay's owner says the West Michigan venue inspired by his young children is family-focused and affordable.
Sports reporter’s 3-year-old opened door for grandpa who then found couple dead in home: report
The 3-year-old son of Alabama sports reporter Christina Chambers reportedly opened the door for his grandfather, who then discovered Chambers and her husband dead in a suspected murder-suicide.
Role Model to Headline Entertainment for 2026 NHL Winter Classic Outdoor Game in Miami
Singer-songwriter Role Model will headline the entertainment for the 2026 Discover NHL Winter Classic, the historic outdoor game featuring the two-time ...
Amazon's new Alexa+ feature adds conversational AI to Ring doorbells
Amazon said that the feature uses the Ring doorbell's video descriptions to determine who the person in front the camera is based on their uniform, actions, and what they are holding.
EPIC Entertainment Group brings A Holiday in Oz to Hotel del Coronado
The festive installation includes themed décor, custom character trees, and a lightshow spectacular
Jack Smith tells Congress he could prove Trump engaged in a 'criminal scheme' to overturn 2020 election
Smith testified about his investigations into Trump during a closed-door hearing with members of the House Judiciary Committee.
Jack Smith testifies in closed-door House Judiciary Committee session as GOP ramps up probe of Trump prosecution
Former special counsel Jack Smith is set to testify Wednesday in a closed-door deposition before the House Judiciary Committee regarding his prosecutions of Donald Trump.
Household air pollution
WHO fact sheet on indoor air pollution: includes key facts, definition, impact on health, impact on health equity, WHO response.
Quincy sports commission advances with 48th Street site for potential indoor complex
Quincy Sports Commission
Arc Raiders is getting festive tomorrow, as new environmental effects liven up outdoor maps
A new map condition is coming to Arc Raiders tomorrow, plus a new community event and departure window for expeditions.
More South Korean actors seek Hollywood dream after global success of Korean entertainment
The global success of “Parasite,” “Minari” and “Squid Game” has opened Hollywood’s doors to South Korean actors, but for those without major agency backing, navigating the American industry remains a challenge.
More South Korean actors seek Hollywood dream after global success of Korean entertainment
The global success of “Parasite,” “Minari” and “Squid Game” has opened Hollywood’s doors to South Korean actors, but for those without major agency backing, navigating the American industry remains a challenge
Top story: Amid NIH funding cuts and uncertainty, Gov. Healey says future of science, research in Massachusetts is at stake
Top story: The visit included a tour of the new Paul J. DiMare Center and a closed-door meeting with UMass Chan faculty members.
My kids went to an outdoor elementary school with no art, music, or library. They loved it, but adjusting to public school was hard.
My kids loved their private elementary school because they got to learn in small groups outside. They missed out on a lot, but it was worth it.
Florida's Latino families being squeezed financially by high health care, child care costs
The findings, released by Abriendo Puertas/Opening Doors and UnidosUS, the nation's largest Hispanic civil rights group, paint a portrait of a rapidly growing electorate that is highly engaged on economic and social issues but increasingly strained by the rising cost of living in the Sunshine State.
Tanning bed users are at higher risk of skin cancer, especially in unusual places
Indoor tanning is trending among Gen Z. A new study finds tanning bed users not only have a much higher risk of melanoma, they also have DNA damage linked to cancer across nearly their entire skin.
Florida's Latino families being squeezed financially by high health care, child care costs
The findings, released by Abriendo Puertas/Opening Doors and UnidosUS, the nation's largest Hispanic civil rights group, paint a portrait of a rapidly growing electorate that is highly engaged on economic and social issues but increasingly strained by the rising cost of living in the Sunshine State.
See how American's old and new Airbus narrowbody planes compare
American has axed first class for a single business cabin with beds and doors. The plane is overall chic and modern, but there's a row I'd avoid.
Pols & Politics: Louijeune out as Boston City Council president, Council to cement rubber-stamp status
Ruthzee Louijeune ended her tenure as Boston City Council president by congratulating herself on the way out the door.
‘Fog of war’: Brown University professor describes police swarm after shooting
Computer science professor Michael Littman said he was grading papers in a building next door to the active-shooter scene when Providence police swarmed the area.
Findlay wants permanent Hearts move
Hearts defender wants longer-term say, Rangers' sporting director target leaves door open and panel backs controversial Rugby Park calls.
Stuart Findlay wants permanent Hearts move
Hearts defender wants longer-term say, Rangers' sporting director target leaves door open and panel backs controversial Rugby Park calls.
Popular Downtown Springfield business set to close after 8 years
A popular Springfield business has announced it will close its doors after eight years.
Fox News Politics Newsletter: Omar accused of opening door to massive Minneapolis fraud
Welcome to the Fox News Politics newsletter, with the latest updates on the Trump administration, Capitol Hill and more Fox News politics content.
Plans for outdoor entertainment center along I-40 move forward
Pacific Elm Properties drafts a term sheet for an entertainment center on 136 acres near RDU Airport, shaped by public feedback despite controversy.
Two Spenard businesses are shutting their doors
Two Spenard businesses announce they are closing their doors, they say the economy is impacting them both
NATO chief: "Putin is in the empire-building business again"
"Conflict is at our door," Rutte said.
Entertainment: Holiday Drone Show Saturday Night
Plus: Plenty of indoor events to celebrate the holidays.
From classroom to community: Student’s journey exemplifies ‘public health in action’
When Waveney Brooks transferred to the University of Kentucky as a sophomore, she never imagined that a classroom experience would open the door to real-world public heath practice across Kentucky. What started as a broad introduction to the many disciplines of well-being soon grew into a purposeful public health career path defined by mentorship, community engagement and purpose.
MHA Nation family entertainment center opens doors
NEW TOWN —MHA Nation on Wednesday, Dec. 10, opened the doors on family fun during the grand opening of the new Thrill & Chill Family Entertainment Center in New Town. The new center includes mini golf courses, a laser tag venue, ropes course, an arcade and movie theater. A family restaurant and private party rooms […]
Beaufort business owners to hold indoor Christmas market
BEAUFORT, S.C. (WSAV) – Starting Thursday, December 11, business owners around downtown Beaufort are coming together to host a collaborative indoor Christmas market. Named the Mistletoe Marke…
One of Georgia’s biggest companies is getting into outdoor recreation
Cox Outdoors will bring together recent investments in KUIU and Loop Tackle and planned future ventures in outdoor recreation.
More Fore: The Rise of Indoor Golf Entertainment in Minneapolis
The Twin Cities have always been regarded as avid golf towns—but downtown?
Yahoo Sports Network Adds Live Indoor Football League Games to Growing Programming Slate
Yahoo Sports, C15 Studio, and the Indoor Football League (IFL) are teaming up to bring live football broadcasts to Yahoo Sports Network, the new streaming TV channel available on leading FAST services and yahoosports.tv.
Pebble's founder introduces a $75 AI smart ring for recording brief notes with a press of a button
After rebooting the Pebble smartwatch, founder Eric Migicovsky is expanding his company's device lineup with a new smart wearable: an AI-powered smart ring known as Index 01. Named for the finger where the ring is meant to be worn, the new $75 ring is not meant to be a competitor to the always-on, always-listening AI devices, like the AI pendant Friend, but instead offers a way to record quick notes and reminders with a press of a button on the ring's side. AI only comes into play via the open source, speech-to-text, and AI models that run locally on your smartphone, via the open source Pebble mobile app. That is, if the Ring's button is not being pressed, it's not recording. (And this is a press-and-hold gesture, too, which means you can't start the ring's recording and then let go to surreptitiously record a conversation.) You can wear the stainless steel ring while in the shower, washing hands, doing dishes, or in the rain, but you would have to take it off for other water-related activities, like swimming. At launch, it's water-resistant to 1 meter. The ring is also not a fitness tracker or sleep monitor. It doesn't record details about your heart rate or health. And it's not there to be your AI friend. "I'm not trying to build some AI assistant thing," Migicovsky told TechCrunch in an interview. "I build things that solve one main problem, and they solve it really well," he explains. "I think of as external memory for my brain...that's what this is. It's always with you." Plus, the ring has been designed to be highly reliable and privacy-preserving, he says, as all your thoughts are stored on your phone, not in the cloud. There is no subscription. Migicovsky has been wearing the ring for three months now and says he cannot imagine going back to a world where he doesn't always have a memory device with him. "The problem is that, during the day, I get ideas or I remember something, and if I don't write it down that second, I forget it," he says. The ring solves this problem, he adds, without becoming another device you need to charge. "The battery lasts for years," Migicovsky claims. Technically, the ring is said to support roughly 12 to 14 hours of recording. On average, the founder says he uses it 10-20 times per day to record 3-6 second thoughts. At that rate, he'll get about two years of usage. When the ring's battery dies, you can ship it back to the company for recycling. When using Index, you can record up to five minutes of audio, which can be saved to the ring and synced to your phone later. This makes sense for recording briefer, personal thoughts and notes, even when you don't have your phone handy, but it wouldn't work for recording a longer chat, like a presentation, meeting, or in-person interview of some kind. The ring also supports 99+ languages and has a bit of on-device memory, in case you're not in Bluetooth range of your device, where the recording is ultimately saved and transcribed. (The raw audio is retained, too, in case the speech-to-text is garbled due to loud background noise). If you own a Pebble smartwatch or one from another brand, your recorded thought can even appear on the watch's screen so you can verify it's correct. The ring works with Pebble's mobile app, which offers notes and reminders, but can optionally integrate with your phone's calendaring system, too, or other apps, like Notion. And the ring's software is open source, which makes it hackable by the community, the founder points out. Because of its open nature, the ring's button is already programmable. In addition to the press-and-hold gesture, you can program the ring to do other things with a single or double press, like play or pause your music or control the shutter on your phone's camera. You could use it to send a message through the universal chat app Beeper, which Migicovsky also created, or you could add your own voice actions via MCP. A new approach to hardware Migicovsky acknowledges that hardware can be difficult to get right -- as the previous exit of Pebble to Fitbit showed. (Fitbit, too, was later acquired by Google in 2021). "I didn't earn any money during Pebble -- we exited, but it was not a great exit," Migicovsky admits. This year, however, he decided to reboot the Pebble project after Google open sourced the PebbleOS, which opened up the door to new hardware. With his new company, Core Devices, Migicovsky plans to do things differently. Still, the founder doesn't regret his previous choices, he clarifies. "I wouldn't have gone back and changed anything. I loved what we built. I loved what we did. I love the company that we built, but it's not the only way to build a company," he told TechCrunch. " And, speaking as an ex-YC partner, there are -- there's a time and a place for building a venture-backed startup. Some companies are phenomenal when they raise money and build a big team, and I tried that...I think what I'm doing now is trying an alternative path, which is start from profitability," he says. The new company is a small team of five, self-funded, and focused on sustainability. So far, Core Devices has shipped the Pebble 2 Duo smartwatch with a black-and-white display. Its first run sold out, and the company is now preparing to ship the upgraded version, the Pebble Time 2. The newer device, which has seen 25,000 pre-orders, is a stainless steel watch with a larger, color e-ink screen. As for the Index 01, the ring's pre-order offer ends in March 2026. After that, the price increases to $99. It currently comes in silver, polished gold, and matte black and works with iOS and Android devices. Customers can select from eight ring sizes and three colors.
Tom’s Watch Bar Opens in Los Angeles’ Largest Sports and Entertainment District
Tom's Watch Bar - Inglewood A rendering of Tom's Watch Bar in Inglewood, adjacent to Lum Hotel. Premium sports bar concept welcomes fans to a new L.A. location, steps from Intuit Dome, SoFi Stadium and Kia Forum Grand Opening planned for early December DENVER, Dec. 09, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Tom’s Watch Bar, the ultimate destination for sports viewing and entertainment, today announced it has opened the doors to its 19th venue, located within the thriving sports and entertainment district of I
Cox Enterprises Launches New Cox Outdoors Business Segment
Cox Outdoors unites the company’s recent investments in outdoor-recreation businesses and expands its focus on conservation.
Science with Practice: ‘A doorway into the world of scientific curiosity’
Twenty years ago, at a time when student debt was at an all-time high and the university faced stiff state and federal funding cuts, the Science with Practice program launched to provide experiential learning opportunities for students and pay them for their work. Since then, nearly 800 CALS students have enrolled in the program and course (AGEDS 3120).
‘We’ll need to see a warrant’: the group teaching businesses vital tool to fight ICE raids
Siembra in North Carolina gives owners fourth amendment rights trainings should federal agents show up at their door
Omaha small business vendors see improved sales at Midwest Fest weekend
Holiday shopping season is crucial for vendors who rely on outdoor markets to supplement income.
Ukrainians get creative to keep businesses alive amid winter blackouts
Small businesses have been forced to get creative to keep their doors open and customers happy while power supplies remain unreliable.
Apple's Johny Srouji could continue the company's executive exodus, according to report
The Apple exec largely responsible for the transition to in-house silicon may have one foot out of the door.
Judge orders Google to rebid for default search deals every year in a major antitrust blow
A federal judge orders Google to limit default search deals to one year, in an antitrust effort to open doors for rivals in search and generative AI.
Metroid Prime 4 Has A Lot Of Vaginal Doorways In It
I mean, most of these doors look more like vulvas to me...
Chamberlain blocks smart home integrations with its garage door openers
More cause for RATGDO
New businesses rise in Fountain Inn and Asheville
A Fountain Inn coffee house, a Greenville outdoor-gear shop and an Asheville fitness studio open new locations, boosting local businesses and community spirit.
The indoor health hazard most Californians overlook
A new Stanford study adds evidence against a favorite appliance.
Suspected drunk driver crashes into Manatee County business
Security footage from the store shows the moment the vehicle slammed through the glass doors.
Second padel recreational sports complex planned in Milwaukee
Epic Padel, an Arlington, Virginia-based indoor sports complex operator, is planning its first Wisconsin location in a new industrial building on
Lanouette leads collaborative research bridging science education, urban ecosystems
Assistant Professor Kathryn Lanouette is leading a research project to better characterize what outdoor environmental education can look like in urban spaces.
New workforce development labs at Mote SEA open doors for aspiring marine scientists
As Mote continues to grow, it is setting the stage for the next generation of marine science professionals with new STEM Workforce Development Labs.
Santa Monica Place celebrates holiday season with live entertainment, snow, decor
The holiday season has officially arrived at Santa Monica Place, where visitors to the outdoor shopping destination can enjoy a full festive experience through Christmas Eve. Here’s a breakdown of what guests can expect: While snow is common in Southern California, visitors can still experience a white Christmas, thanks to the new” Snowfall at Santa […]
'Story that isn't a story': town official states amid businesses' outdoor area closures
More business owners in Black Mountain say sudden enforcement changes by the town are threatening their livelihood.
Mason restaurant closing after years of business citing rent hikes
A restaurant in Mason, Ohio is closing its doors after more than a decade of business, citing rent hikes.
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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