science
Topics and developments in science and medicine, presented by Futurism.
Grey Areas
Open thy eyes. It is said that we only see 5% directly and that we reconstruct the whole image of reality in our conscious and fill it in according to our beliefs.
Chemical Mind
The brain is the most mysterious and highly complex device in the known universe, being composed of over 100 billion neurons, each with 10,000 or more possible connections, forming an astounding 100 trillion connections called synapses. Unlike other body cells, neurons never touch each other; instead, they are separated by gaps only 20-40 nanometers wide (to put this to scale, a piece of paper is roughly 100,000nm wide). Remember, these numbers don't include the neurons that exist within your body, some of which being as long as the distance from your head to your big toe!
Justin GignacPublished 7 years ago in FuturismThe Law of Attraction and Getting What You Want.
The universe we live in is made of energy. Everything we perceive is energy in some form or another, even our thoughts. All energy has a vibrational frequency, vibrating at a specific rate. We as beings transmit different frequencies of vibration into the universe. Our vibrations attract energies with the same vibrational frequency. This means that attitudes, emotions and even our thoughts that can raise or lower our vibrations that attract different energies to us, which in turn alters the physical world through its manifestation.
Phillip WoodfordPublished 7 years ago in FuturismAre IQ Tests Valid Measurements of Human Intelligence?
According to britannica.com, human intelligence is a mental quality that consists of the abilities to learn from experience, adapt to new situations, understand and handle abstract concepts, and use knowledge to manipulate one’s environment. So, are IQ Tests valid measurements of human intelligence? And if not, then what is?
Davie TrucePublished 7 years ago in FuturismWhy We Should Stop Using the Word Race, It's Stupid.
I have a friend, not just any kind of friend but that special friend who looks at you and knows exactly what's up. The guy/girl you go to when you're in love, scared, confused. The brother from another mother. The sister you never had. That person we all have or should have.
Milad HussinPublished 7 years ago in FuturismPhilosophy: the Essential Analysis
Knowledge is the first principle. Man exists as mind. To found one’s principles upon any other axiom denies personal existence. The self-awareness of the individual provides the essential absolute necessary for any comprehension of the nature of existence. Mind is the knower. The nature of knowledge is the definition of cognitive awareness. Definition is founded upon the principles of reason. The binary nature of definition provides a framework for the comprehension of reality. Any given bit of knowledge must be either affirmed or denied, and it cannot exist simultaneously affirmed and denied. The affirmation or denial of any proposed idea is considered a single Knowledge. The accumulation of knowledges in the mind is the awareness of our existence. We live in a world of ideas, each an abstract conception in and of itself defined by logic into a coherent superstructure structure of consummate sentience. Experience, however, is ultimately subjective. Due to the self-defining nature of knowledge, this does not mean it is untrue, but that the very premise of true and false are contained in the mind as human conceptions. You may speak gibberish, and you may build a house of straw, but one will soon find that it is becoming to model one’s definitions after the objective reality instead of demanding nature to bow down to your dictionary. In that knowledge is a matter of subjective experience, knowledge has no basis in objective reality. One can assume a house to be made of oak, but if so, then this house of oak was swept away on a gentle breeze. The physical matter of which the house was composed has no name outside of the mind of the knower, but the principles of weight and tensile strength will remain objective. The external world is an unknowable postulate from the vantage point of the human mind. All active stimulus is but the sensation of the brain; the reality of this sensation can neither be affirmed nor denied; only accepted or rejected as a knowledge. Not even the brain can truly be affirmed nor denied as real, but that the thoughts of sensory awareness are manifest. Thought is the substance of the mind, and the basis of knowledge. Definition applied to thought is idea. The nature of our sensory existence is the foundation of our belief in an external reality. We see the world and we hear it and when we eat it we taste it and feel it going into our bodies—but then we wake up and it was actually quite a dream, and certainly that which is dreamed is not a reality. However, in that the faculties of sense continue to operate even in states of unreal consciousness, the senses alone cannot provide the evidence for an external reality. It becomes necessary for us to observe a moment of silence for all the dead solipsists.
Eliander BlackPublished 7 years ago in Futurism- Top Story - June 2017
The Consciousness Paradox
Unlike any other species on this planet, humans develop extreme anxiety when thinking about the possibility of nothingness after death. With strong egos and attachment to the material world, ideas and theories of what comes after death and how humankind came to this land were developed. We found comfort in these thoughts, reassuring ourselves that our lives have purpose, meaning, and existence even beyond death. Humans find comfort in having purpose, for without it life seems almost meaningless... hopeless.
Justin GignacPublished 7 years ago in Futurism A Thinking Person's Artificial Intelligence
Over the past decade, artificial intelligence migrated from computer geeks' workshops to something many people encounter in their everyday lives, but not without fears of its effects. Last year, the Pew Research Center assembled a panel of more than 1,300 experts, polled on the impact of increasing our reliance on algorithms—mathematical models underpinning artificial intelligence that aid in making decisions and completing tasks—and whose responses were boiled down into a set of themes.
Alan KotokPublished 7 years ago in FuturismSinister Dexterity (Or, Let's Get Sinister)
You've been using your right hand all your life. Well, with the exception of the ten percent this whole article is backward for. Next time you do something you've grown to consider a single-command operation, try using the hand that isn't the one that wants to do it. Open doors, tie your shoes, write, all with one hand and not the expected one. Let's get into why.
Casey ParkerPublished 7 years ago in FuturismThe Dawn of Microbots and Nanorobots
Creating nano and micro-scale robots to assist biomedical interventions in humans is a relatively young research field receiving copious amounts of interest within scientific research and Sci-Fi.
Thamarasee JeewandaraPublished 7 years ago in FuturismSolar Eclipse 2017
Solar eclipse 2017—are you ready for it? On August 21, 2017, for the first time in 99 years, a total eclipse of the sun will pass across the entire continental United States.
Anya WassenbergPublished 7 years ago in FuturismCan Better Data Head Off Environmental Disasters?
Do you live within 200 yards of an oil or gas pipe? More than 60% of Americans do, but no one—not public agencies, not commercial customers, and not even the energy companies that own the pipes—could tell you exactly where defects in those pipes are. As that infrastructure ages far beyond its intended lifespan, the costs of maintaining and servicing pipelines pose a $68 billion headache for the industry and a ticking time bomb for the public.
Rob SalkowitzPublished 7 years ago in Futurism