God vs. ET

“At the very end, the argument leaps to a logical equivalence of God and extraterrestrial life in terms of existence.”

Consider the following logic: There is no direct evidence of extraterrestrial life It is, however, probable based on our empirical understanding of life and the number of planets suitable to host life, that extraterrestrial life exists somewhere in the universe It is thus reasonable to...

Max Muncy ends longest game in World Series history with Game 3 home run

“According to the Baseball Gauge, the host team -- the Red Sox, in this case -- goes on to win 73.2 percent of the time. ”

The Los Angeles Dodgers defeated the Boston Red Sox 3-2 in Game 3 of the 2018 World Series on Friday night. It was an 18-inning affair that doubled as the longest game in World Series history. As a result, the Red Sox now lead the best-of-seven series by a 2-1 margin. The two sides will play...

The Black Hole at the Birth of the Universe

“In their proposed scenario, our universe was never inside the singularity; rather, it came into being outside an event horizon, protected from the...”

The big bang poses a big question: if it was indeed the cataclysm that blasted our universe into existence 13.7 billion years ago, what sparked it? Three Perimeter Institute researchers have a new idea about what might have come before the big bang. It’s a bit perplexing, but it is grounded...

Slavery in the New Testament

“Some people spoke out against the mistreatment of slaves, and there were slave revolts, but no abolitionist movement existed.”

Slavery in the Roman Empire was a fact of life. Most people could not imagine a society without slaves. Some people spoke out against the mistreatment of slaves, and there were slave revolts, but no abolitionist movement existed. The fate of a slave depended largely on the temperament of his or...

The New Science of Seeing Around Corners

“Computer vision researchers have uncovered a world of visual signals hiding in our midst, including subtle motions that betray what’s being said...”

While vacationing on the coast of Spain in 2012, the computer vision scientist Antonio Torralba noticed stray shadows on the wall of his hotel room that didn’t seem to have been cast by anything. Torralba eventually realized that the discolored patches of wall weren’t shadows at all, but rather...

Nobel Prize in Chemistry awarded for pioneering work in evolutionary science

“This year’s Chemistry Laureates have taken control of evolution and used the same principles – genetic change and selection – to develop proteins...”

The 2018 Nobel Prize in Chemistry was awarded to Frances H. Arnold and the other half jointly to George P. Smith and Sir Gregory P. Winter on Wednesday for their work harnessing the power of evolution to develop new proteins used in drugs and medical treatments. In announcing the award, the...

Karl Popper, Science, and Pseudoscience

“You have to be open to the idea that your beliefs might be false ...”

The notion of pseudoscience was recently introduced in a seed.   In this case biochemical evolution was deemed to be pseudoscience. Pseudoscience (per Oxford) = "A collection of beliefs or practices mistakenly regarded as being based on scientific method."    Thus the claim is that the...

This New AI System Can Create “Deep Fake” Videos

“Barack Obama can be easily transformed into Donald Trump, or John Oliver can suddenly become Stephen Colbert.”

What happens when you can’t trust what your eyes see on screen? As the post-truth era collides with fast-evolving digital technology, online misinformation campaigns are threatening to trigger a catastrophic Information Age crisis. Just ask the Federal Election Commission. Here’s the latest...

Richard Dawkins: One Fact to Refute Creationism

“If all the evidence in the universe pointed towards an old Earth, I would be the first to admit it, but I would still be a young Earth creationist...”

Do I Believe in UFOs?

“The public, it appears, seems to have a burning need to have an answer to what is unknown. And so you go from an abject statement of ignorance to...”

Neil deGrasse Tyson offers an entertaining explanation of critical thinking and the notion of objectively evaluating evidence. The first 11 minutes is where this happens.