SCROLL NEWS / DISCOVERY
Search headlines
Find the stories shaping the conversation.
Results for " Air " 11,742 found 🔀 AI-powered Shuffle
Friday Night Blitz: High school football heats up
Despite the chill in the air, Rhode Island's high school football season is heating up.
IRS takes up whistleblower claim of Hope Florida money that flowed to Uthmeier’s political committee
The Internal Revenue Service is reviewing a whistleblower claim about $10 million in Medicaid settlement money that moved through the Hope Florida Foundation and, within weeks, into a political committee chaired by James Uthmeier, now Florida’s attorney general, according to new records obtained by the Florida Trident.
Health and wellness fair returning to Hartford on Saturday
HARTFORD, Conn. (WTNH) — The 16th annual Ollie M. Williams Community Health and Wellness Fair will be held Saturday in Hartford. The event will offer free resources, health screenings and giveaways…
Vote no on Prop 45 to Protect California’s environment and public health
This November, California voters will have a chance to push back against President Trump’s attacks on our clean air and water, public health, and open space by voting NO on Proposition 45. This deceptive ballot initiative is a 41-page recipe for pollution and sprawl. It would weaken California’s bedrock environmental law and make it easier to build data centers, warehouses and other polluting projects – with severely limited public oversight.
‘HomePad’ coming: Will Apple hold an October special event?
With Apple reportedly planning to unveil new products on October 13, here’s when the company could announce an event, based on the timing of its previous October announcements.
ASUS ROG Edition 20 - Celebrating 20 years of Republic of Gamers
ASUS is celebrating 20 years, with its "Edition 20" products that are pure enthusiast excess in the best possible way, including a custom AMD Ryzen X870E board & AIO, GeForce RTX 5090, 3000 W PSU, open-frame case and pairing it with a high-end OLED into one beautiful showcase.
14 Jefferson County restaurants fail health inspections in September
Fourteen Jefferson County food establishments, led by Yasmins Food Mart in Fairfield at a 73, failed September health inspections with scores below 85.
Fairport Harbor downtown businesses band together for community night out
The annual Witches Night Out event is back with more planned for this weekend, including an opportunity to check out a special "haunted" lighthouse tower, but beware of the ghost cat!
Stellar Entertainment Expands Azerbaijan Airlines Partnership With New IFE Experience
Stellar Entertainment is expanding its Azerbaijan Airlines partnership with new IFE design, content, and advertising.
Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden stops paying health benefits for employees on strike
The Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden has stopped paying health benefits for all employees who went on strike over what they say are unfair labor practices.
Tampa airport lands another nonstop flight to Central American locale
Breeze launches Tampa-Costa Rica flights with fares from $149.
'This Morning' show host hospitalized after on-air health scare
Alison Hammond, host of the British morning show "This Morning," was hospitalized after she appeared to have a health scare during a live broadcast.
'This Morning' show host hospitalized after on-air health scare
Alison Hammond was hospitalized after a health scare during the live broadcast of the morning show "This Morning" on Oct. 2.
Bishop’s computer science chair says AI is eliminating ‘grunt work’ and reshaping digital jobs
Dr. Russell Butler, chair of Bishop’s University’s Department of Computer Science, says artificial intelligence is increasingly taking over routine digital “grunt work,” changing the skills students and workers may need in the years ahead. Photo courtesy of Bishop’s University. Click here to read our platform! Get local news like this every morning. Subscribe free below. Subscribe Pulse Newsroom Artificial intelligence is already taking over some of the routine digital work once performed by entry-level employees, according to Bishop’s University Computer Science chair Dr. Russell Butler — a shift he believes will make expertise, judgement and the ability to evaluate AI-generated work increasingly important. Butler described the change as automation reaching what he calls the “bottom of the cognitive pyramid” during an interview with The Pulse about AI, university education and the future of digital work. His argument is not that humans are disappearing from the workplace. Instead, he sees their role changing as AI becomes capable of handling more of the repetitive tasks involved in computer-based work. “Everything’s converging on just AI basically doing all the grunt work,” Butler said. The bottom of the cognitive pyramid Butler is from Lennoxville, completed his undergraduate studies at Bishop’s and later earned his PhD at the Université de Sherbrooke. He joined Bishop’s in 2019 and now chairs its Department of Computer Science. He uses AI in research, teaching and other creative work, and said the technology is increasingly capable of handling routine digital tasks that once required substantial human time. “You’ve got the grunt work, like moving things around in Excel, doing basic programming tasks,” Butler said. “That’s like the bottom grunt work that the entry-level worker would have done two or three years ago.” Butler went further, saying in his view that much of this type of work has already been absorbed by AI tools. He connected that change to a shift he sees taking place in computer science, where entry-level roles have declined while experienced workers can use AI to increase what they can produce. “A senior developer now has access to essentially an unlimited amount of junior developers on demand,” Butler said. He was describing AI systems metaphorically, not literal employees. His point was that one experienced developer can now ask AI tools to produce code or other technical work that might previously have been assigned to more junior workers. That raises a broader question for universities and employers. If some of the simpler work traditionally given to newcomers can now be done by machines, how do people gain the experience needed to become senior workers themselves? Students doing work that once required years of programming Butler said he is already seeing the change inside his classroom. He created a Bishop’s course called CS208, Coding in Plain English, to show students — including those without traditional programming backgrounds — what they can accomplish using AI. Some come from disciplines such as psychology or neuroscience with no previous programming experience. “What I’m finding is that students who have zero programming experience, they come in from another discipline like psychology or neuroscience or something, they are now able to get up and running with real data sets,” Butler said. Butler’s own doctoral work involved neuroimaging, and he said he has assigned students work he considers comparable to the kinds of analysis he performed during his PhD. He described giving students a real dataset, an expected result and instructions to use AI to complete the analysis. Butler said those students have been able to carry out work at a level he associates with tasks he once performed after years of programming experience. That does not mean a student using AI instantly acquires the same knowledge as an experienced computer scientist. But Butler sees it as evidence that AI can dramatically lower the technical barrier between having a problem to solve and producing a working result. The role of the person using the system then changes. They need to know what to ask for, understand enough about the subject to judge the answer and take responsibility for what is ultimately produced. What about AI hallucinations? One persistent concern surrounding generative AI is hallucination — when a system produces information that sounds convincing but is false or unsupported. Butler said that problem has improved substantially in newer systems and is not as severe as it was with earlier models. He pointed in particular to newer AI systems’ ability to search the web, consult scientific databases and return source links rather than simply generating a citation from their internal model. Butler nevertheless said users should verify what AI produces. “You should verify,” he said while discussing citations generated with AI. His position is that hallucinations have become less common in the systems he uses, not that incorrect AI output is impossible. Human checking remains part of the process. Hours of work compressed Butler offered another example from his administrative work at Bishop’s. The university has been comparing CEGEP courses with first-year Bishop’s courses to determine where students may qualify for advanced standing. Traditionally, Butler said, that means reviewing two sets of course descriptions and manually matching one institution’s courses with another’s. As department chair, that could require hours of reading and comparison. He said AI can now be given both sets of material and asked to generate an initial mapping automatically. “It saves me hours and hours of work,” Butler said. Butler said the AI-generated mapping can also produce a better result than he would produce himself. He sees similar opportunities in businesses. A company may receive specifications, drawings, emails or other digital material from customers and then have employees convert that information into an internal format before anything can be manufactured or delivered. AI can increasingly perform parts of that intermediate processing. In Butler’s view, the employee does not necessarily disappear. Instead, the job becomes more about checking the result. “The human is still there,” he said. Judgement could become more valuable That change is central to Butler’s view of where digital work may be headed. If AI can produce a first draft, write basic code, compare documents or process large amounts of information, he argues that knowledge and judgement become increasingly important. “The real scarce resource going forward is going to be domain knowledge, expertise, and… credentials, authority, the ability to work with other people,” Butler said. He is therefore encouraging students not only to learn AI tools but also to broaden their education. He mentioned acting, fine art and photography as examples of courses that can help develop what he described as taste and intuition — the ability to recognize what is good, what is not and what should be changed. “And that’s the skill that they need now because the grunt work has been automated and now it’s about evaluating what the AI produces and telling it how to improve or expand the output,” Butler said. That does not remove the need for technical knowledge. Butler’s argument is that the emphasis may shift away from manually completing every step of a task and toward directing, checking and improving work produced with AI assistance. He also stressed that humans remain responsible for final decisions. “At the end of the day, the human has to make the final call,” Butler said, pointing to the question of accountability. Physical work may be different Butler draws a distinction between digital work and jobs requiring people to manipulate the physical world. He expects AI to continue advancing quickly in tasks performed almost entirely on computers. He is more cautious about claims that humanoid robots will soon be able to replace workers such as plumbers or electricians. Butler said those trades would not be replaced “anytime soon” in his view and described some current robotics demonstrations as overhyped. He described the situation as counterintuitive. “It’s almost like we solved the highest level first,” he said, contrasting advances in digital AI with the harder problem of building robots capable of operating reliably in the physical world. Butler’s argument is that some digital occupations could face automation sooner than trades requiring complex physical work. The wider AI shift in the Townships Butler’s comments come as local institutions are increasingly grappling with how AI should be used. The federal government recently announced up to $162 million over five years for 10,000 AI-related placements through Mitacs. The Université de Sherbrooke told The Pulse that the number of its collaborative research and innovation projects supported through Mitacs has approximately doubled since 2018-19, while the number of placements has approximately tripled. UdeS also said it already has projects involving both AI adoption and the application of AI to other fields. At Bishop’s, Butler said part of his role involves building the Computer Science department’s local presence, connecting students with regional partners and strengthening relationships with the Sherbrooke technology ecosystem. Those developments put universities in a difficult position. They have to prepare students to use the tools employers increasingly have available while also making sure graduates understand enough to recognize when those tools are wrong, incomplete or being applied to the wrong problem. The risk of losing human skills Butler does not see AI as risk-free. Later in the interview, he raised a separate concern: as AI becomes better at reading, writing, programming and other cognitive tasks, people could lose some of the underlying skills that historically helped produce new ideas. “The other danger is that we’re going to lose the human skills,” Butler said. He specifically mentioned reading and writing and argued that people could lose some of the lower-level understanding that contributes to breakthroughs. Butler said AI systems are based on existing human knowledge and argued that they become much more powerful when paired with a capable person. That tension runs through his view of the technology. AI can remove hours of routine work. It can allow beginners to perform tasks that once required substantial technical training. It can give experienced workers significant leverage. But the more capable the technology becomes, the more important it may be for people to develop the judgement needed to decide what should be done in the first place. For Butler, that is where education may have to change. Students still need to understand their field. They still need to know when something is wrong. And they still need to be able to make the final decision. But if AI increasingly handles the bottom of the cognitive pyramid, the value of a worker may depend less on how quickly they can perform the grunt work and more on whether they understand what the work is supposed to accomplish. Don’t miss the next story that affects your community. Join thousands of readers getting The Pulse every morning—plus breaking news alerts when it matters most. If you value this kind of local journalism, consider supporting it. Subscribe, share and like! Subscribe Share
How Optum, Owensboro Health teamed up to build a virtual nursing program
Kentucky-based Owensboro Health is teaming up with Optum Insight to pair bedside nurses with virtual nurses, freeing up frontline clinicians to dedicate more time to patient care. | Owensboro Health is teaming up with Optum Insight to pair bedside nurses with virtual nurses to free up frontline clinicians to dedicate more time to patient care.
Entertainment: Hawaii featured in Awkwafina
We're getting our first look at a new docuseries from actress and rapper Awkwafina and The 99th Maui County fair is underway!
Great Lakes Sports and Entertainment Network to air Pistons games
Detroit Pistons fans can watch games on the Great Lakes Sports and Entertainment Network all season long.
Two Brazilian political dynasties clash again
Brazilians vote Sunday in a tight race between two familiar political forces, with plenty at stake beyond the presidency. Here’s what to watch.
Friday Open Thread
This is a slow time of year for baseball news, if your team isn’t in the playoffs. MLB doesn’t like teams to make news during the playoffs, because they want the focus to be on the playoff teams, which is fair. Jameson Taillon is going to have elbow surgery next week. He’s had Tommy John […]
Affordable alternatives to Apple's AirPods Max
If you can live without deep iOS integration and the polished design of the AirPods Max, you could save hundreds.
Every Animal Confirmed For Grand Theft Auto VI So Far, Ranked
Nature's majesty, unfairly scrutinized
More Americans are concerned about political corruption
89% of Americans believe government corruption is widespread, a Gallup poll found.
More Americans are concerned about political corruption
89% of Americans believe government corruption is widespread, a Gallup poll found.
Science Spooktacular At Elkhart County 4-H Fairgrounds Oct. 31
Science, technology, engineering and math are getting a spooky twist this Halloween.
Anthropic tells IPO investors US government actions could hit its business
Anthropic’s IPO prospectus warns that US government actions could harm its commercial customer and partner relationships, Reuters reports.
Tom Cruise's latest risky business
Tom Cruise doesn't play things safe. Yes, obviously, I'm referring to him hanging off assorted aircraft and other insane things he does in his cinematic stunt-o-ramas.
Tom Cruise's latest risky business
Tom Cruise doesn't play things safe. Yes, obviously, I'm referring to him hanging off assorted aircraft and other insane things he does in his cinematic stunt-o-ramas. But in his 45-year history in Hollywood, Cruise has done a lot of different roles and navigated through various reinventions.
Airbnb Host Tries To Scam Guest With An AI-Created Image Of A Disgusting Toilet
There was a tiny flaw in the plan: it was bollocks
Coastal forces shape building sciences practice
When Built Environments relocated to Wilmington, the firm’s partners weren’t looking for the lazy tranquility one hopes for when on vacation. Instead, they sought sultry heat. They wanted to understand whipping coastal winds and punishing precipitation – the kind that tropical storms produce. That’s because how materials degrade can reveal a lot about how they can be improved. “We specifically chose the Wilmington market because it does fall within Climate Zone 3A, which is a coastal warm-humid climate,” said Jarrett Davis, who joined Built Environments in 2023 to lead the company’s building science practice. “There’s not a lot of product research in that climate zone, but there are a lot of structures here that get weatherized pretty severely.” Built Environments has provided building science, material testing and code compliance consulting for 25 years, ever since principal materials scientist Steve Doggett founded the company in Minnesota. “There are very few manufacturers that understand fully how their own materials and products work, whereas we know their shortfalls and their benefits out in the real world on jobsites,” Doggett said. “That’s why the original Built Environments was formed, to make buildings better.” He said the 15-employee company is just as comfortable on a jobsite, retrofitting a high-end beachside property, for example, as it is recreating some of the coast’s most intense weather conditions in the great indoors. The company operates an A2LA-accredited ISO/IEC 17025 mechanical testing laboratory on Wright Street. The year-old facility has expanded Built Environments’ in-house capabilities, Doggett said. “We’re able to simulate that hurricane wind (and) rain and perform structural and impact testing on wall assemblies, roof assemblies and glazing assemblies,” he said. “There are certain requirements that those windows and doors need to meet as far as wind ratings and pressure ratings and things of that nature.” Standard Glass Co.-Glass Depots, of Wilmington, is currently testing a new glazing system using Built Environments’ stress testing, the partners said. One method involves what’s called a “large missile cannon.” “We take 8-foot two-by-fours, and we shoot them at assemblies, so they have to withstand that impact,” Davis said. “It’s pretty cool to see, I’m not going to lie.” In many cases, the lab can run a full, wall-scale test of a product in a matter of weeks or months, whereas “it might take midrange manufacturers years,” Doggett said. “We’re nimble. We can cut that time in half.” The lab also develops intellectual property. Doggett, for example, shares a patent with Sustant LLC, of Minnesota, on a fastener patch to increase the air and water tightness within building envelopes. “We have too many ideas and not enough time,” he said. But the partners noted that they or their fellow principals – of which the company has four total, including a principal engineer and a principal codes and standards expert – could be anywhere on a given day, including in the courtroom providing expert testimony in contentious insurance cases. “Let’s say there is a fire on a structure,” Davis said. “We can analyze all the specific materials within that assembly – an exterior wall or something like that – because there are loads that require certain heat release. And so, we can measure each one of those materials, if need be, to say if this was likely or not a code-approved assembly.” Despite what can be inferred in a lab, the partners said nothing beats learning from how materials change over time under real-world strain. Take, for instance, the curious case of the creaking condo. “We recently had a customer that came to us trying to assess a sound issue of a roof. It was making noises that no one could explain or account for. How do you tackle something like that?” Doggett asked rhetorically. “There’s really no generally agreed-upon methodologies.” The problem turned out to be a faulty installation of a commercial roof system. “The building in this particular case was not local,” he said. “In the initial installation, the commercial roofing contractor installed the wrong fasteners in the wrong locations into the deck, and essentially the solar radiation was causing the building to move quite substantially early in the morning when the sun initially hit that assembly after a quite cool evening, causing the threads on the fasteners to kind of jump within the material, within the metal.” Built Environments designed an effective repair methodology that was within budget, the partners said. “We get the bizarre,” Doggett said. “I will say that’s something that has stayed the same over 25 years.” The partners said they are hiring, and that Cape Fear Community College is one of their main recruiting grounds. Davis and Doggett look for talented people who can understand traditional methodologies yet are open to on-the-job training and new understandings, they said. After all, it’s not just weather that can ruin a building. “My favorite saying is,” Davis said, “‘What are the eight most expensive words in construction? That’s how my daddy used to do it.’”
Coastal forces shape building sciences practice
When Built Environments relocated to Wilmington, the firm’s partners weren’t looking for the lazy tranquility one hopes for when on vacation. Instead, they sought sultry heat. They wanted to understand whipping coastal winds and punishing precipitation – the kind that tropical storms produce. That’s because how materials degrade can reveal a lot about how they can be improved. “We specifically chose the Wilmington market because it does fall within Climate Zone 3A, which is a coastal warm-humid climate,” said Jarrett Davis, who joined Built Environments in 2023 to lead the company’s building science practice. “There’s not a lot of product research in that climate zone, but there are a lot of structures here that get weatherized pretty severely.” Built Environments has provided building science, material testing and code compliance consulting for 25 years, ever since principal materials scientist Steve Doggett founded the company in Minnesota. “There are very few manufacturers that understand fully how their own materials and products work, whereas we know their shortfalls and their benefits out in the real world on jobsites,” Doggett said. “That’s why the original Built Environments was formed, to make buildings better.” He said the 15-employee company is just as comfortable on a jobsite, retrofitting a high-end beachside property, for example, as it is recreating some of the coast’s most intense weather conditions in the great indoors. The company operates an A2LA-accredited ISO/IEC 17025 mechanical testing laboratory on Wright Street. The year-old facility has expanded Built Environments’ in-house capabilities, Doggett said. “We’re able to simulate that hurricane wind (and) rain and perform structural and impact testing on wall assemblies, roof assemblies and glazing assemblies,” he said. “There are certain requirements that those windows and doors need to meet as far as wind ratings and pressure ratings and things of that nature.” Standard Glass Co.-Glass Depots, of Wilmington, is currently testing a new glazing system using Built Environments’ stress testing, the partners said. One method involves what’s called a “large missile cannon.” “We take 8-foot two-by-fours, and we shoot them at assemblies, so they have to withstand that impact,” Davis said. “It’s pretty cool to see, I’m not going to lie.” In many cases, the lab can run a full, wall-scale test of a product in a matter of weeks or months, whereas “it might take midrange manufacturers years,” Doggett said. “We’re nimble. We can cut that time in half.” The lab also develops intellectual property. Doggett, for example, shares a patent with Sustant LLC, of Minnesota, on a fastener patch to increase the air and water tightness within building envelopes. “We have too many ideas and not enough time,” he said. But the partners noted that they or their fellow principals – of which the company has four total, including a principal engineer and a principal codes and standards expert – could be anywhere on a given day, including in the courtroom providing expert testimony in contentious insurance cases. “Let’s say there is a fire on a structure,” Davis said. “We can analyze all the specific materials within that assembly – an exterior wall or something like that – because there are loads that require certain heat release. And so, we can measure each one of those materials, if need be, to say if this was likely or not a code-approved assembly.” Despite what can be inferred in a lab, the partners said nothing beats learning from how materials change over time under real-world strain. Take, for instance, the curious case of the creaking condo. “We recently had a customer that came to us trying to assess a sound issue of a roof. It was making noises that no one could explain or account for. How do you tackle something like that?” Doggett asked rhetorically. “There’s really no generally agreed-upon methodologies.” The problem turned out to be a faulty installation of a commercial roof system. “The building in this particular case was not local,” he said. “In the initial installation, the commercial roofing contractor installed the wrong fasteners in the wrong locations into the deck, and essentially the solar radiation was causing the building to move quite substantially early in the morning when the sun initially hit that assembly after a quite cool evening, causing the threads on the fasteners to kind of jump within the material, within the metal.” Built Environments designed an effective repair methodology that was within budget, the partners said. “We get the bizarre,” Doggett said. “I will say that’s something that has stayed the same over 25 years.” The partners said they are hiring, and that Cape Fear Community College is one of their main recruiting grounds. Davis and Doggett look for talented people who can understand traditional methodologies yet are open to on-the-job training and new understandings, they said. After all, it’s not just weather that can ruin a building. “My favorite saying is,” Davis said, “‘What are the eight most expensive words in construction? That’s how my daddy used to do it.’”
Amid trade dispute, Canada continues business relationship with Washington state
Canada ambassador Mark Wiseman visited Seattle this week. He said his country wants the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement implemented fairly.
Trump pushes Europe to release diesel reserves
United Refining Company Chairman and CEO John Catsimatidis discusses high gas and diesel prices. Catsimatidis also weighs in on NYC Mayor Mamdani marketing New York City to businesses.
Eagles' Jalen Hurts Seemingly Places Blame on New Offensive System
Hurts has a fair point, but the team needs to be better.
Carlos Alcaraz Is Whining About the ATP Schedule, Again
Carlos Alcaraz has been whining about the ATP schedule again, so naturally I am now going to whine about Alcaraz whining about the ATP schedule. Somebody has to keep this cycle going. In fairness to Alcaraz, the central argument is hardly ridiculous. Professional tennis has a calendar problem. The season stretches across almost the entire …
Prairie Meadows HR vice president is voice for employees
Gina Vitiritto has spent her professional career as a confidante and advocate for the people of Prairie Meadows Racetrack and Casino. What started as a seasonal waitressing job in her hometown of Altoona became a 32-year career in human resources. She worked in the clubhouse beginning in 1989 and joined the HR team in 1994. …
Islanders News: Darche on summer, Duclair on target
Good morning and happy Friday, the New York Islanders are last in the Metro. Islanders News Elsewhere Last night’s scores included the Jack Hughes getting the Devils the win in overtime after he objected to a mid-game question from AJ Mleczko about bubble wrap and plastic utensils (he was reportedly injured during a team dinner […]
Frequent fliers react to United using status to snag Delta customers
United is using Starlink Wi-Fi and a limited-time status match to lure elite frequent fliers from rival airlines.
2026 Bank of Utah Championship: Friday Tee Times, Pairings
See Friday tee times for the Bank of Utah Championship after Zach Bauchou grabbed the lead with a brilliant opening-round 62. The post 2026 Bank of Utah Championship: Friday Tee Times, Pairings appeared first on HEAVY.
Are Democrats Worried About the Wrong Rich People?
As billionaires become a popular political target, a new book urges Washington not to lose sight of a much larger, and quieter, group of wealthy business owners.
AIPAC Is Spending Millions to Elect Friends. It’s Also Making Enemies.
The American Israel Public Affairs Committee has increasingly become a campaign issue unto itself. Some candidates have worn opposition from AIPAC as a badge of honor or made a point of rejecting the group’s support.
Opinion: As AI political deepfake advertisements go viral, state lawmakers struggle to keep up
Opinion from Stefani Langehennig: Imagine watching a political campaign video in which a candidate admits to taking a bribe. You recognize the face and voice. But the confession is entirely fabricated, thanks to artificial intelligence.Now imagine that your state has passed a law against these AI-generated election deepfakes. Would that mean the video has to be removed from the airwaves?
Mike Mazzei, Cyndi Munson face off in gubernatorial debate ahead of midterm election
OETA aired a pre-taped debate between the Republican and Democratic candidates for governor on Thursday.
Neff College of Business Fall Job Fair
UToledo's John B. and Lillian E. Neff College of Business and Innovation brought more than 75 companies to the Student Recreation Center on Thursday for its Fall Job Fair, providing networking opportunities to hundreds of students.
Egypt’s first fintech unicorn plans to sell 20% of local business in Cairo stock market debut
Egyptian fintech MNT-Halan plans to offer 320 million shares, or 20% of its local business, in a proposed October listing on the Egyptian Exchange
The science behind ‘fairy rings’: Why mushrooms grow in circles
Folklore once blamed dancing fairies for rings of mushrooms appearing in fields and forests; a new Swedish study suggests fungi spread outward to escape temporarily unfavorable conditions underground
Pete Hegseth creates a Pentagon Office of Religious Affairs reporting directly to him
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is launching an office of religious affairs at the Pentagon.
Eagles Star Assigns Blame For Busted Play vs Bears
Outside of Quinyon Mitchell, the Philadelphia Eagles’ secondary had a rough night against the Chicago Bears in Week 3. Despite facing a third-string quarterback in Case Keenum, the Eagles didn’t have any answers to the Bears’ passing game. The result? Giving up 247 yards and two touchdowns through the air. The Bears scored 27 points […] The post Eagles Star Assigns Blame For Busted Play vs Bears appeared first on HEAVY.
Center For Family Health Sports Scoreboard
Airdate: October 1st, 2026 Center For Family Health Sports Scoreboard – October 1st, 2026October 2, 2026Boys Soccer AP Cabrini vs Lumen Christi, 10-1-26 | Photo GalleryOctober 1, 2026Volleyball Will Carleton vs JPEC, 10-1-26 | Photo GalleryOctober 1, 2026The David Rice Show – Episode #152 w/ High School Football Week 6 Picks & Leslie Head Coach…
Enjoy Appalachian food favorites at the Valle Country Fair
VALLE CRUCIS — When outdoor festival season rolls around, one question inevitably comes up: “How many fair goodies shall we allow ourselves to consume?” At the Valle Country Fair, there’s
Needlepoint shops see surge as Gen Z seeks creative escape
Crafts like knitting and quilting used to be pastimes for gray-haired ladies wiling away the hours, crocheting sweaters for grandchildren or embroidering lacy handkerchiefs. But today, traditional “Granny Crafts” are
Scientists just pushed superconductors beyond their usual current limit
Ultrashort electrical pulses allowed scientists to push superconductors closer than ever to the point where their electron pairs actually break apart. The method revealed hidden differences between superconducting materials and could open new ways to probe and control their quantum behavior.
Columbia Health expands annual flu fair outreach to additional locations and day
Columbia Health expanded its annual flu fair this year, adding a second vaccination location and an extra day. Eligible affiliates have one day left of the four-day fair to stop by and get vaccinated.
Team of the Week: Midwestern State women’s soccer
Midwestern State women's soccer hasn't lost a home match since October 21, 2023, most recently winning a pair of home contests to advance to 10-0-1 in their 2026 campaign.
Latino Expo Resource Fair returns this weekend, in a new location
The Latino Expo cancelled its resource fair last year because of the political climate.
Willis ownership shifting with addition of Sewell family as new partner
Willis Automotive and the Sewell Family of Companies today announced a new partnership that will see Willis Chairman Rich Willis sell the company to current CEO Jason Willis and Collin Sewell of the Sewell Family. Jason Willis will continue to serve as president of Willis Automotive and remain an owner alongside Sewell. Rich Willis, chairman…
Suspicious death investigation underway after body found behind Portland area business
Authorities launched a suspicious death investigation in Multnomah County after discovering a body believed to belong to a man in his 40s or 50s behind a business in a Fairview shopping center.
Carolina Hurricanes games come to Palmetto Sports & Entertainment Network!
National Hockey League’s Carolina Hurricanes, today announced that the team has partnered with Gray Media to simulcast 10 Hurricanes Hockey Network game broadcasts over the air in markets throughout the Carolinas.
Ten bucks says you’ll love this community science project
Today marks the first day of Rut Watch 2026 With another season of Deer Spy in the books thanks to community scientists like you, biologists are now on a mission to pinpoint the peak of the white-tailed deer breeding season in Maine. Every observation of deer breeding behavior and sign helps define the timing of the rut, and this project uses the power of community science to collect deer data all fall long. Hunters, hikers, and wildlife watchers - Rut Watch pairs well with any outdoor adventure you have planned this season. It’s a perfect excuse to slow down and connect with nature as you look for clues. So get outside, rack up that deer data and submit rut reports from now through December 1. The online form is science made simple: Location Date and time Breeding behavior observed Submit a Rut Report What to watch for Active Breeding The most obvious breeding behavior to observe is a buck mounting a doe, but that is a rare sight as it only lasts a moment. You are more likely to witness a buck “tending” a doe, following closely, chasing, nuzzling, or pawing at her rump until she is receptive. Sparring After bucks shed their velvet, sparring helps sort out who is who in the dominance hierarchy. Early season matches are often less intense than later season matches between similar sized bucks. Most sparring is complete by the time breeding begins. Rubs Don’t just look for deer, pay attention to the trees. Rubs are marks made by bucks when they rub their antlers on trees, removing bark and leaving their scent calling card in the process. Scrapes Look to the forest floor for this sign of breeding season behavior. Scrapes consist of two parts - a licking branch, and a patch of cleared earth. Bucks break a low branch around head height, then paw at the leaves below to expose the dirt. Covered in scent, a scrape tells does and other bucks, “I’m here!” Learn More More information What’s next for deer community science: Northern Maine Wintering Deer Survey Other active community science projects: Fish Tag Reporting Maine Golden Eagle Study Maine Amphibian & Reptile Atlas Project Maine Deer Management: Maine’s Big Game Management Plan Game Species Conservation & Management Report The Benefits of Hunting: Supporting Wildlife, Conservation, and Community Subscribe Share Leave a comment
Jessica Pegula Teases Future Role In Billionaire Family’s Sports Empire After Tennis
Jessica Pegula has hinted at a potential sports ownership role in future following her retirement from tennis. Pegula, currently ranked World No.
S&T experts contribute to state energy plan
Dr. David Borrok, center, vice provost and dean of S&T’s College of Engineering and Computing, and Dr. Joseph Newkirk, right, professor and chair of nuclear engineering and radiation science, participate in the Missouri Advanced Nuclear Energy Task Force, appointed by Gov. Mike Kehoe in May. Governor Mike Kehoe and the Missouri Department of Natural Resources...Continue Reading S&T experts contribute to state energy plan
99th Maui County Fair entertainment schedule
The 99th Maui County Fair, happening Oct. 1–4, 2026at the County’s War Memorial Complex, will bring four days of live entertainment to the main stage, featuring a mix of Hawaiian music, hula, local favorites and island contemporary performers for fairgoers of all ages.
iPhone Duo inner display has a replaceable $29 top layer
AppleCare coverage for the iPhone Duo will mean inexpensive repairs for Apple's first foldable, including $99 full inner display replacement or $19 "cover layer" swaps.
WTA Unveils 2027 Calendar With Pay Milestone
The WTA has unveiled its 2027 calendar, pairing a historic pay milestone with a lighter load for its top players. It will span 55 events across 26 countries and territories and build toward the WTA Finals in its new home of Charlotte, North Carolina. Announced on Thursday, the calendar adds a new WTA 250 tournament …
Expert reveals US business owners set to bear brunt of Canadian tariff fallout as trade war uncertainty looms
Karan Ramchandani says Trump's import bans on Canadian dairy, alcohol and automobiles could trigger inflation as production costs hit consumers.
Hot Ticket: BBQ, brews and big country hits highlight the weekend
Village Fair: Country music, barbecue and 70 years of tradition come together this weekend as the League City Music Festival & BBQ Cookoff, also known as the annual Village Fair,
World Business Chicago ghosts City Council hearing, putting funding in crosshairs
The move left aldermen threatening to withhold city funding from the public-private group.
World Business Chicago ghosts City Council hearing, putting funding in crosshairs
The move left aldermen threatening to withhold city funding from the public-private group.
USDA invests $12.7M through Dairy Business Innovation Initiatives
Funding supports regional initiatives that provide technical assistance and subawards to businesses working to bolster the dairy supply chain.
What to know about the U.S. Senate race to replace Sen. Dick Durbin
Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton, who has served alongside Gov. JB Pritzker since 2018, faces Don Tracy, the former chair of the Illinois Republican Party.
Twelve South launches tiny new 'Airfly Drive' wireless CarPlay adapter
Twelve South, the company behind a range of premium Apple accessories, has launched a notable expansion of its Airfly brand....
Taft ISD hosts Math, Science STEM family night
Taft ISD students recently received the chance to show off their Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) skills during a family night and book fair at the district’s Woodroe Petty
Neuroscience launches seminar series with talk on brain circuitry by renowned neurobiologist Peter Strick P’98
The Bates Program in Neuroscience kicked off its new Neuroscience Seminar Series with a talk from Peter Strick P’98, Thomas Detre Professor and Chair of Neurobiology at the University of Pittsburgh.
Sinclair, Zagunis headline Oregon Sports Hall of Fame class
Christine Sinclair, Mariel Zagunis and Jacoby Ellsbury are among five inductees selected for the Oregon Sports Hall of Fame Class of 2026.
UTA Shakes Up Filmed Entertainment Group: Matt Rice Named President
The exec will be joined by newly elevated managing partners Allan Haldeman, Blair Kohan, Jay Gassner and Julien Thuan, as well as a Filmed Entertainment Board.
Menopause and heart health: What every woman over 40 needs to know
'Go Red for Women' Medical Co-Chair Dr. Michelle Dew joins Shane and Kerrigan to share how women going through menopause can protect their heart health for years to come.
Menopause and heart health: What every woman over 40 needs to know
'Go Red for Women' Medical Co-Chair Dr. Michelle Dew joins Shane and Kerrigan to share how women going through menopause can protect their heart health for years to come.
‘Momentous’ groundbreaking sets stage for new health, community center in Fairfax City
Fairfax City officials and some of their Fairfax County colleagues gathered Wednesday (Sept. 30) to kick off an expected three years of construction of the future Willard-Sherwood Health & Community Center. Built on the Blenheim Blvd site long occupied by the Joseph Willard Health Center, the new 100,000-square-foot facility will serve both city and county
N.C.'s only open House race is a toss-up
Jennifer Balkcom is a former Democrat who said she first voted for a Republican in 2016. Jamie Ager is the Democratic candidate and is the CEO of a sustainable meat family farm in Fairview.
Ana Navarro reacts to question about supposed rift with ‘View’ cohost Alyssa Farah Griffin (exclusive)
‘The View’ star Ana Navarro reacted to a question about a supposed rift with cohost Alyssa Farah Griffin, a former Trump staffer whom Navarro isn’t following on Instagram and has clashed with on air.
Crissy Collins shares thoughts on business, family, community
Meet Crissy Collins who with husband Zach founded World’s Greatest Heating & Air, which has earned a reputation for quality and honesty. Here, she reveals her views on finding the right …
The Enemies Project: WashU father-daughter duo fight against political extremism
With over 90000 subscribers on YouTube, senior Sadie Rosen and her father Larry Rosen (B.A. ‘88) reveal the power of empathy through their channel, The Enemies Project. The pair bring together strangers with fundamentally opposed political beliefs for a sit-down conversation. Their docuseries aims to break online echo chambers through vulnerability. It’s working, as across their 16 uploaded episodes, all the enemies have left connected.
‘Survivor 51’ star Ana Sani had unaired ‘crashout’ after popcorn-gate
‘Survivor 51’ star Ana Sani had unaired ‘crashout’ after popcorn-gate: ‘Thankfully, they didn’t show that, but I lost my mind.’
Dave And Buster's Entertainment (PLAY) Stock Sees Fair Value Cut As Turnaround Questions Persist
The fair value estimate for Dave & Buster's Entertainment has been cut from US$17.00 to US$13.00, which represents a reduction of about 23.5% in the price target. Analysts are clustering around this lower range as they reassess how much weight to give the turnaround story against concerns about sales mix, margins, and execution. As you read on, you will see how this shift fits into the broader analyst narrative and how to keep track of where the story goes next. Stay updated as the Fair Value...
Bulls Waive UDFA, Sign Ex-Phoenix Suns Forward
The Chicago Bulls made a pair of moves ahead of the 2026 NBA preseason.
UW Health Kids Safety Fair rescheduled for Saturday
UW Health rescheduled its Kids Safety Fair, offering families a day of education and fun.
What type of jacket to buy to keep yourself warm this winter
Warmth isn't about puffiness or price. Learn the three physics principles — trapped air, wind block and breathability — behind a truly warm winter jacket.
"Office Hours: Business Edition" Takes Flight with United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby
/PRNewswire/ -- "Office Hours: Business Edition," from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Haslam College of Business, has returned with fresh episodes....
UW-Eau Claire’s marching band to perform in 2027 Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade
It’ll be the ninth ensemble from Wisconsin to participate in the parade in its over 101 years of operation.
OLLY Unveils Mochi Bites, Pairing Science-Backed Innovation with First-of-Its-Kind Format
/PRNewswire/ -- Eleven years ago, OLLY redefined the supplement aisle by bringing gummies into the mainstream. Now, the brand is pushing the category forward...
90 Ideas in 90 Minutes: Blaire Massa
Measure belonging, not just outputCompanies are exceptionally good at measuring transactions. At Ballet Des Moines, we know exactly how many tickets we sell, how many students attend our programs, how many dollars we raise. But those numbers look backward, not forward. We wanted to find out whether people were going to come back. So we…
Rotary Health Fair brings on-site blood testing back to Homer
More than 50 exhibitors will offer health screenings and wellness resources
New “plant armor” more than triples strawberry yields
A new protective fabric boosted strawberry yields by as much as 3.56 times while blocking insects and still allowing sunlight, rain, and airflow to reach the plants. Originally inspired by research on military clothing, Plant Armor could also help farms reduce pesticide and water use.
Good science requires much more than evidence
Empiricists believe that scientific theories are true only if they make correct empirical predictions: if we can't verify these predictions, then there is no reason to expect that they tell us anything about reality. However, Professor of Philosophy at King's College David Kyle Johnson argues that this is mistaken. In response to Bas van Fraassen, who has written on this subject for the IAI, he argues that we have many reasons for believing a theory to be true, such as it being parsimonious and having large scope — qualities which have been used throughout the history of science as criteria for judging theories. In 2024, Princeton philosopher Bas van Fraassen wrote a short article for IAI News entitled “Science Does not Describe Reality: The Limits and Benefits of Explanation.” At the time, I was working on two projects (a science book and a Great Course) that, when completed, would (among other things) defend science’s ability to describe reality. I wanted to write a response to van Fraassen, but the projects demanded too much of my attention. But now that those projects are complete, I am in a position to explain the objections to van Fraassen’s thesis. Summarizing van Fraassen’s argumentIn a nutshell, his argument is this: What scientists do is make predictions based on theories and then invite others to test to see whether those predictions are borne out. “If theory T is right, result R should happen in experimental condition C.” Many think that running an experiment that shows that R happens in condition C is proof that theory T is true (and should be believed). But, van Fraassen argues, that R happened in condition C is only a reason to think that R happens in condition C. That’s the only observable, or empirical, result we can actually see, so that is all that we are really justified in believing. (The underlying theory that made that prediction still may or may not be true.) That is why he calls those who accept his position “empiricists.”Before I explain what is wrong with this position, let me explain what it gets right. What van Fraassen Gets RightFirst, a theory correctly predicting the results of an experiment is not, strictly speaking, “proof” that the theory is correct. The basic line of reasoning is this:If the theory T is true, result R should happen. Result R did happen. Thus, theory T is true.In other words:“If T then R. R. Thus, T.”This is a deductively invalid, fallacious mode of reasoning, called “affirming the consequent.” Those premises do not guarantee that the conclusion follows. “If I am in Pennsylvania, then I am in the USA. I am in the USA. Thus, I am in Pennsylvania.” Clearly that argument doesn’t guarantee its conclusion; neither does the above argument.However, science is not a deductive method of reasoning; it is an inductive one. And inductive arguments merely try to raise the probability of their conclusion, not “prove” them for certain. Thus, the fact that an experimental result doesn’t prove a theory is true is irrelevant; it’s not supposed to. That is not what scientific reasoning is about.___If the hypothesis that something exists clearly provides the best explanation for what we can observe, then the belief that it exists is what is rational.___Second, it’s also true that a single experimental result doesn’t provide enough justification to believe that a theory is true. Scientists do not come to a consensus about whether a theory is true by looking at a single experiment; they look at all the evidence to determine where the preponderance of evidence points. The mere fact that I am in the USA raises the probability that I am in Pennsylvania, but not nearly enough to conclude that I am in Pennsylvania. However, if I am also regularly encountering people wearing Eagles and Phillies hats and seeing advertisements for Founding Father tours, I probably am. In the same way, a theory successfully predicting the outcome of one experiment is not enough to conclude that it is true; but if a theory makes a wide variety of predictions that are all vindicated by multiple experiments, performed by many different groups and people, all actively trying to prove the theory false (which is what good scientific experiments are designed to do)—that is a good reason to conclude that the theory is true. In other words, if you repeatedly try to prove something false but can’t, that is a very good indication that it isn’t. The problem of underdeterminationIn reply, those whom van Fraassen calls “empiricists” often point to the “problem of underdetermination.” For any given theory that makes successful predictions about what happens in experimental conditions, there are countless other possible theories that make exactly the same predictions—and since they do, the experimental evidence in question is just as much reason to accept any of those theories as it is to accept our original one. Thus, the argument goes, we have no way of knowing whether our original theory is true, or one of the other “predictively equivalent” theories is true. SUGGESTED VIEWING How Occam's Razor changed the world With Johnjoe McFadden As an example of underdetermination, philosophers often offer this example. The evidence of fossils seems to provide reason to conclude that the universe is quite old; ancient fossils are what the “ancient universe” hypothesis predicts. But it’s also possible that God created an ancient-looking universe 200 years ago, complete with a “fake” fossil record for us to find, to make it look old. The existence of fossils is what that theory predicts too. So, the argument goes, the fossil record can’t be used as evidence that the universe is ancient; the fossil record supports the “200-year-old ancient-looking universe” theory just as much. The problem of underdetermination points out that, for any theory with supporting evidence, we could invent another completely different theory that predicts exactly the same evidence, and thus undermine that evidence’s ability to support the original theory.But this “argument from underdetermination” betrays a fundamental misunderstanding of what scientific reasoning is and how it works. To explain, let me use another rather strange (but very real and commonly discussed) philosophical thought experiment called “The Grue Problem.” The “Grue” ProblemSuppose I want to know what color emeralds are, so I observe a few, see that they all appear green, and form the theory that “all emeralds are green.” I thus predict that the next 100 emeralds I find will also appear to be green. And let’s say that happens, and so I thus conclude that my theory that all emeralds are green is true. Now, one might rightly point out that I don’t know for sure that all emeralds are green—I have not seen them all. Maybe some I haven’t found yet are blue. Fair enough. After all, we used to think that all swans were white, until we found some black ones. But let’s say that I go on a quest and collect every emerald in the universe—and, for the sake of the argument, let’s say I can do this, and can even know that I have every one of them. So, I collect them all, look at them all, and verify that they all appear green. Can’t I now rightly conclude that all emeralds are green?Inspired by the problem of underdetermination, a friend might argue that I cannot.Sure, they all appear green now—but there could be another kind of color called “grue.” Something is grue if it is green up to a certain point in time, but then spontaneously turns blue. And there could be an infinite number of “shades” of grue. Something that is one shade of grue will turn blue at noon today, but something that is another shade of grue will turn blue at noon tomorrow, etc. So yes, the emeralds appear green now; and since they haven’t turned blue yet, they are not some “past” shade of grue. But they might be some “future” shade of grue (e.g., they may turn blue at noon tomorrow). And since all future shades of grue are consistent with “being green up to this point in time,” the evidence you have is completely consistent with the notion that all emeralds are some future shade of grue, rather than green. Indeed, that they would appear green until now is what the “some future shade of grue” hypothesis predicts. So, we have just as much reason to conclude that all emeralds are some shade of grue as we do to conclude that they are green.You’re probably thinking “It’s not equally possible that the emeralds are grue; they are obviously green.” You are right! But explaining why your instinctive reaction to my friend’s argument is correct will help inform why van Fraassen’s “empiricist” is wrong and science actually does describe reality.The main mistake my friend makes is in thinking that the “empirical evidence” (of all the emeralds appearing green) is (or even should be) all I am using to draw the conclusion that all emeralds are green. It is not. I am also considering known facts about how colors typically work; things don’t usually change color, and when they do, they don’t do so suddenly, without cause, and all at once. So, even though the simple evidence of the emeralds all appearing green up to this point is consistent with them being some future shade of grue—that is even what the grue hypothesis “predicts”—it is still exceedingly unlikely that they are. The hypothesis that they are green is much more likely. Understanding science refutes the problem of underdetermination The misunderstanding about science that the “empiricist” pointing to “the problem of underdetermination” makes is similar to the one that my friend made. Science is not just about considering experimental evidence; in fact, it’s not even just about considering empirical evidence. As Ernan McMullin and many other philosophers of science have pointed out, the inference that makes science is “inference to the best explanation” (sometimes called “abduction” or “retroduction” by McMullin). While, depending on the circumstances, scientists use many different kinds of reasoning, science as a whole is, simply put, the process of considering multiple competing explanations and comparing them to certain criteria—explanatory criteria (the kinds of things explanations must be and do, by definition, to be a good explanation)—to see which explanation is the best.And these criteria do not deal only with empirical results. Yes, successful predictions raise the probability of a hypothesis, but it’s also the case that the more new assumptions a theory makes, the less likely it is to be true; every new assumption presents an opportunity for the theory to be false. (The fewer assumptions a theory makes, the simpler or “more parsimonious” it is said to be.) Likewise, the more existing evidence a theory contradicts, the less likely it is, because in order for a theory to be true, every piece of evidence it contradicts has to be somehow faulty. (The fewer established theories a new theory contradicts, the more “conservative” it is said to be.) And, obviously, the more something explains, the better explanation it is. (This is called having “scope.”) If a theory raises unanswerable questions, it’s not expanding our understanding, and thus is not wide-scoping. Scientists consider all these things when deciding which theory to accept, because the theory that adheres best to these explanatory criteria is most likely to be true.___the mere fact that a theory’s predictive success is why it “sticks around” or “becomes accepted” in the scientific community is not a reason to be skeptical about its truth.___The reason the grue hypothesis is no good is because it invents an entirely new kind of color—not just a new shade, but an entirely different category of color (a different way colors work)—and thus is not parsimonious. It raises unanswerable questions about how and why emeralds would just spontaneously change from green to blue (and thus does not have wide scope). And it contradicts what is already well established about how color works (and thus is unconservative).The theories that the problem of underdetermination points to do the same thing. Yes, the theory that God created an “ancient-looking universe” (complete with an ancient-looking fossil record) two hundred years ago is also consistent with the empirical evidence (of a fossil record) that presently exists; but that theory is monumentally unparsimonious (it requires many extra assumptions about infinite entities) and not wide-scoping (it raises unanswerable questions about why God would do such a thing). So, I can rationally conclude that it is false.Indeed, the history of science includes many examples of theories that were rejected because they lacked parsimony and/or scope, even before their falsity (and the truth of their competing theory) was confirmed by observation. As I point out in my book, geocentrism was rejected by the scientific community because it lacked parsimony, almost 200 years before the observation of parallax confirmed that the Earth moves around the sun. And the continuum theory of matter was completely rejected by 1860, because it couldn’t explain chemical reactions or organize matter into a periodic table, even though the experiments that eventually confirmed atomic theory weren’t even proposed until the 1870s. Solving the best of a bad lot problemIn response, the “empiricists” are likely to object, this time pointing to the “best of a bad lot” problem. “We have no reason to conclude that an explanation that has been shown to be better than others is true because we have no guarantee that the true theory was among those that we were considering.” If you have a “lot” (a collection) of poor explanations, even the best one is not true.The responses to this problem, however, are numerous. Peter Lipton argues that the set of hypotheses that scientists consider are not just randomly selected and thus unlikely to contain a theory that is true; they use existing knowledge to home in on what is most likely to be true. A doctor trying to explain abdominal pain is not going to bother wondering whether demons are causing it; they are going to stick with things like appendicitis and kidney stones, because they are most likely. Further, despite its name, inference to the best explanation is not just the process of comparing hypotheses and accepting the best one; we also want one that is a good explanation in its own right. If it’s not, we are going to keep looking until we find an explanation that is. And while that process does not guarantee that we will come across the exact truth, it’s very likely that the theory that emerges as the best will be at least approximately true, and thus we will be justified in believing it. And lastly, as I point out in my book, although many theories not based in scientific evidence (like geocentrism and continuum theory) have been completely overturned, science almost always progresses by the refinement of scientifically established theories—not their replacement. (Although our sun is not the center of the universe, heliocentrism was our first step in understanding the Earth’s true place in the universe.) So even if a theory we accept today may not be completely right, accepting it is a step on the journey toward the complete truth. The example of atomic theoryNow, it’s worth pointing out that most empiricists are not skeptical of all scientific theories; they are only skeptical of the ones that hypothesize the existence of “unobservables.” It’s not like they think that round Earth, heliocentrism, and germ theory are just useful (but untrue) “instruments” for making predictions about how to most efficiently navigate the seas, predict planetary motion, and treat diseases. They admit that the Earth actually is round, that the planets revolve around the sun, and that germs exist and cause disease. These facts and entities can be observed; the theories that suggest they exist are true. It’s only when theories start hypothesizing the existence of unobservables—like electrons, or quantum fields—that can’t be observed directly, that we should start doubting the theories’ truth. And to be fair to van Fraassen, in this published work, he doesn’t really say that we should doubt the truth of such theories. Only that scientific reasoning does not rationally force us to accept them as true. Skepticism, or agnosticism, he argues, is warranted. SUGGESTED READING Science is based in metaphor By Andrew Reynolds But the history of atomic theory throws a monkey wrench into that argument. Atoms used to be unobservable; again, scientists first accepted the theory that they exist because it had such grandiose explanatory power. But then atoms were seen with electron microscopes. They thus moved into the category of the observable. But this didn’t substantially change anything about what scientists were justified in believing; it certainly didn’t change any “atomic skeptics’” minds. It just confirmed what everyone already knew! If the hypothesis that something exists clearly provides the best explanation for what we can observe, then the belief that it exists is what is rational. The fact that the thing itself is not technically observable does not make doubting its existence rational.What’s more, the atoms were seen with an electron microscope. But electrons are themselves unobservable. How can an electron microscope reveal an atom if electrons are not real? This leads us to what is famously known as Hilary Putnam’s “miracle argument.” It’s (not) a miraclePhilosopher Hilary Putnam’s miracle argument is somewhat famous. Basically, he argued that a scientific theory being able to repeatedly make successful predictions—even about unobservables—without being at least approximately true would require a “miracle.” In other words, it would be such an improbable occurrence that it could not rationally be believed—the better explanation for why scientific theories about unobservables make the right predictions is because the unobservable entities and structures they hypothesize exist.Van Fraassen has addressed this argument. Indeed, in his original article, where he references Alison Gopnik’s point about orgasms not being “necessary for procreation” even though the desire for orgasm “drives the creation of progeny,” he is pointing to his own argument about how organisms are not naturally selected by evolution to get true beliefs; to the extent that belief-forming processes are selected for, the ones that are selected are the ones that are useful for survival—not the ones that produce true beliefs. In the same way, van Fraassen argues, scientific theories are accepted, not because they are true, but because they aren’t falsified; they make successful predictions; that’s what makes them “stick around.” So, the fact that they make successful predictions (and thus became accepted) is not a reason to think they are true.This argument is similar to C. S. Lewis’s “argument from reason,” which he used to argue against evolution: “The truth of evolution undercuts our ability to know that it is true.” Lewis’ argument famously failed; Elizabeth Anscombe, by Lewis’s own admission, demolished Lewis in a debate on the topic, and I have explained elsewhere why modified versions of the argument fail as well. In short, it’s because it fails to recognize that a belief-forming process can make an organism more likely to survive because it reliably produces true beliefs. It is therefore not the case that beliefs generated by naturally selected belief-forming processes are automatically false or unjustified.In the same way, the reason a theory “sticks around” could be because it’s not falsified, because it “makes correct predictions.” But the reason it makes correct predictions is most likely because it is true. (In pointing this out, I am echoing the arguments of Musgrave, Lipton, Psillos, and Kitcher, who refuted van Fraassen’s argument and analogy long before his 2024 article.) It would be a huge coincidence that it could do so without being true. And that is the point of Putnam’s miracle argument. Thus, contrary to van Fraassen’s suggestion, the mere fact that a theory’s predictive success is why it “sticks around” or “becomes accepted” in the scientific community is not a reason to be skeptical about its truth. ConclusionLet me close by saying something about the fact that empiricists don’t doubt the truth of all scientific theories, just the ones that hypothesize unobservables. In today’s society, this theory is dangerous to espouse publicly. The nuance between being skeptical about all of science, and just the highly technical theories about unobservables, is guaranteed to be lost to the average reader. And there is so much unjustified skepticism and doubt about the findings of science and experts that a headline like “Science Does Not Describe Reality” could easily fuel the anti-science movement, worsen climate change denial and cause the next pandemic.This is why I believe it was important to still respond to van Fraassen’s article, a full two years after he wrote it. Not only, as I have argued, does it represent a philosophically inaccurate view of how scientific reasoning works and what scientific reasoning can do, but it is a dangerous view to boot. It should thus be rejected.
Editorial: The Trump administration’s strange affection for prediction markets
There is something genuinely strange happening at the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, the federal agency responsible for regulating derivatives markets. Under Chairman Michael Selig, the CFTC has challenged states seeking
Azerbaijan Airlines and Stellar Entertainment expand partnership to transform inflight entertainment
Azerbaijan Airlines is set to deliver a more dynamic inflight entertainment experience through an expanded partnership with Stellar.
Drazan joined by chair of Republican governors group as race heats up
Montana Gov. and chair of the Republican Governors Association Greg Gianforte joined Sen. Christine Drazan to meet with business owners in Eugene.