Mind Matters | Natural and Artificial Intelligence News and Analysis

Latest Articles

^{Type
post

Denyse O'Leary
Date
July 27, 2026

Categorized
Philosophy, Science

Tagged
Bheki Mahlobo, Featured, Joel Kotkin, Religious revival, Stephen C. Meyer}

More Scientists Are Talking About a Mind Behind the Universe?

_{An urban affairs analyst thinks so and he also suggests some reasons why} _{Denyse O'Leary
July 27, 2026

4

Philosophy, Science}

space of time dimension concept,universe,illusion,time theory

^{Type
post

Robert J. Marks
Date
July 27, 2026

Categorized
Logic, Mathematics

Tagged
Double negatives, Featured, Long words in English, Monday Microsofties}

Monday Micro Softy 89: Double Negatives are a No-No

_{Actually, they do have their uses — for example, if politicians are trying to correctly state views while making them hard to understand} _{Robert J. Marks
July 27, 2026

9

Logic, Mathematics}

Close up of old English dictionary page with word vocabulary

^{Type
post

Wesley J. Smith
Date
July 26, 2026

Categorized
Ethics, Medicine and Health

Tagged
bioethics, Paul Ramsey, Quill R Kukla}

Mainstream Bioethics Does Not Represent Mainstream Beliefs

_{It seems that bioethics is becoming just another social justice political movement} _{Wesley J. Smith
July 26, 2026

3

Ethics, Medicine and Health}

^{Type
post

Doug Smith
Date
July 26, 2026

Categorized
Large Language Models (LLMs)

Tagged
Betrayal, BibleHub.com, Christian resource, GenAI, LLMs, Sausages}

Open Letter to BibleHub.com: Please Remove LLM-Generated Word Sausage

_{I find your use of GenAI a betrayal of a sacred trust} _{Doug Smith
July 26, 2026

11

Large Language Models (LLMs)}

A man puts wooden blocks with the words Fact and fake. Concept of news and false information. Yellow press.

^{Type
post

Gary Varner
Date
July 25, 2026

Categorized
Science Fiction

Tagged
Characters, Morality, Sherlock Holmes, Star Trek, Star Wars, Superman}

Star Wars: The Force Awakens Review Part 5

_{Science fiction often has various characters describing different social or philosophical positions} _{Gary Varner
July 25, 2026

6

Science Fiction}

Cosmic Eye. Macro Photo of a Hazel Eye in Space

^{Type
post

Denyse O'Leary
Date
July 24, 2026

Categorized
Neuroscience, Philosophy of Mind

Tagged
Brain stem (and mind), Consciousness, Dorothea Olkowski, Jaak Panksepp (1943-2017), Mark Solms, Michael Egnor}

Is “The brain is a computer!” One of Science’s Biggest Mistakes?

_{If so, the mistake throws a wrench into claims that conscious computers can ever be built} _{Denyse O'Leary
July 24, 2026

6

Neuroscience, Philosophy of Mind}

spread of digital brain connections. Artificial intelligence and the idea of neural networks. Concept for mapping the brain's neuronal connections and connectome. Generative AI

^{Type
post

Casey Luskin
Date
July 24, 2026

Categorized
Education, Science

Tagged
Casey Petroff, Gary King, Intelligent design controversy, James Evans, Jonathan Osborne}

Papers: Argumentation and Surprise Are Best Ways to Do Good Science

_{Many studies show that students learn science best when engaging in critical thinking — that is, when they are asked to understand arguments for and against a particular viewpoint.} _{Casey Luskin
July 24, 2026

7

Education, Science}

Science professor giving lecture to class

^{Type
post

Denyse O'Leary
Date
July 23, 2026

Categorized
Near-Death Experiences, Philosophy, Science

Tagged
Bruce Greyson, Charlotte Martial, Featured, Galileo (1564–1642), Kristin French, Marieta Pehlivanova, Mark Johnson, Materialism vs dualism, Michael Zignarelli}

A Genuine Science-Based Debate About Near-Death Experiences?

_{Such a debate seems to be developing. It would make materialism much hard to just take for granted} _{Denyse O'Leary
July 23, 2026

5

Near-Death Experiences, Philosophy, Science}

Hospital staff operating an automated external defibrillator AED during a code blue, emergency response

^{Type
post

News
Date
July 22, 2026

Categorized
Animal mind, Evolution

Tagged
Asocial brain hypothesis, Cephalopods, Ectotherms, Endotherms, Featured, Jess Cockerill, Lisa Hendry, Octopus (intelligence), Octopus brain, Social brain hypothesis}

Maybe Being a Loner Helps the Octopus Be Smart?

_{With the asocial brain hypothesis, researchers ask us to think beyond traditional explanations for why some animals display unexpected intelligence} _{News
July 22, 2026

4

Animal mind, Evolution}

An octopus holding a plastic bottle , generative ai

^{Type
post

Denyse O'Leary
Date
July 21, 2026

Categorized
Artificial Intelligence, Business and Finance, Creativity, Large Language Models (LLMs)

Tagged
AI fiction, ChatGPT, Geoff Bagwell, George Orwell, Nineteen Eighty-Four (1949), Romance fiction}

Are Fictionbots Triumphing Over Writers?

_{At The Spectator, Geoff Bagwell tells us that AI is destined to destroy the creative writing industry as bots take writers’ jobs} _{Denyse O'Leary
July 21, 2026

5

Artificial Intelligence, Business and Finance, Creativity, Large Language Models (LLMs)}

An open book with pages creatively folded to form a heart, a symbol of knowledge, love, and storytelling, resting on a wooden surface with a blurred background of bookshelves.

^{Type
post

Peter Biles
Date
July 20, 2026

Categorized
Education

Tagged
Featured, Literacy}

Horowitch and Harrington Chime in on the “Post-literate Society”

_{Is the age of longform reading truly over?} _{Peter Biles
July 20, 2026

5

Education}

books in colored covers swirl on a blue background, copy space

^{Type
post

Gary Smith
Date
July 20, 2026

Categorized
Economics, Education

Tagged
Cyril Northcote Parkinson (1909‒1993), Featured, Parkinson's Law, Pomona College, University bureaucracy}

Parkinson’s Law Is the Key to Understanding Bureaucratic Bloat

_{The experience of one small university offers a useful example} _{Gary Smith
July 20, 2026

6

Economics, Education}

File cabinets overflowing with orange folders and documents, symbolizing bureaucracy and disorganization

^{Type
post

Robert J. Marks
Date
July 20, 2026

Categorized
Mathematics

Tagged
Featured, Monday Microsofties}

Monday Micro Softy 88: Flipping Gold Coins

_{Computer programmers must be good at math. The solution to this week's Micro Softy uses math — but you don’t need to know the math to impress your friends} _{Robert J. Marks
July 20, 2026

5

Mathematics}

Stack of american gold coins background. US half Dollar coin with eagle. Concept of a stable banking system and economy.

^{Type
post

Jeffrey Funk
Date
July 20, 2026

Categorized
Artificial Intelligence

Tagged
Academic analyses, AI, Data centres, Microsoft, Slop, Tech bros, Zuckerberg and Palihapitiya}

Even the Tech Bros Are Turning Against AI

_{Some claim the problem is AI slop} _{Jeffrey Funk
July 20, 2026

6

Artificial Intelligence}

AI developer working on data models, surrounded by data visualizations

^{Type
post

News
Date
July 19, 2026

Categorized
Evolution, Psychology

Tagged
Darwinian Fairytales (1995), David Stove (1917-1994), Denyse O'Leary, Evolutionary psychology, Gad Saad, Michael Egnor, Suicidal Empathy (book 2026)}

Who, Exactly, Is the Subject of Evolutionary Psychology?

_{Neurosurgeon Michael Egnor and science writer Denyse O’Leary offer some thoughts about why the discipline does not make sense} _{News
July 19, 2026

6

Evolution, Psychology}

^{Type
post

Wesley J. Smith
Date
July 19, 2026

Categorized
Ethics, Medicine and Health

Tagged
Euthanasia, France}

France Legalizes Euthanasia

_{This may merely be the launching pad for an ever more expansive euthanasia regime} _{Wesley J. Smith
July 19, 2026

2

Ethics, Medicine and Health}

Vials with Sodium pentobarbital used for euthanasia and lethal inyecion in a hospital, conceptual image

^{Type
post

Robert J. Marks
Date
July 19, 2026

Categorized
Artificial Intelligence

Tagged
AI immigrants vs. natives}

With AI, It’s Verify. Then Verify the Verification

_{Advice for AI Natives} _{Robert J. Marks
July 19, 2026

5

Artificial Intelligence}

AI hallucinations and incorrect outputs. False information and fabricated contents. Businessman using generative AI on a laptop computer.

^{Type
post

Gary Varner
Date
July 18, 2026

Categorized
Cosmology

Tagged
Kylo Ren and Poe, Star Wars, Stormtroopers, The Empire}

Star Wars: The Force Awakens Review Part 4

_{Finn finds himself alone, so he begins stripping off his armor as he wanders the desert} _{Gary Varner
July 18, 2026

6

Cosmology}

^{Type
post

Denyse O'Leary
Date
July 17, 2026

Categorized
Animal mind, Philosophy of Mind

Tagged
Cats, Felines, Michael Egnor, soul}

Do Cats Have Souls? Some Reflections

_{At the close of his article, Richard Stevens asks, “As humans have an immortal mind, might some animals have such a mind beyond biology, too?"} _{Denyse O'Leary
July 17, 2026

5

Animal mind, Philosophy of Mind}

Captivating close up portrait of a shorthair cat with expressive soulful eyes set against a futuristic vibrant tetradic color scheme showcasing the natural beauty and elegance of the feline subject

^{Type
post

News
Date
July 17, 2026

Categorized
Censorship, Media, Politics, Social Media

Tagged
Ariel Zilber, Bluesky, Charlie Kirk, Elon Musk (and Twitter), Ethan Toven-Lindsey, Jack Dorsey, Justinas Vainilavičius}

Do Readers Remember Bluesky, the Kinder, Gentler Twitter?

_{It is still playing catchup in terms of user numbers} _{News
July 17, 2026

4

Censorship, Media, Politics, Social Media}

More Books for the Bots

If It Is About the Covid Crazy, Don’t Tell Your Diary Anything!

Is the Mind Reducible to the Brain? The Debate in Krakow

Latest Articles

More Scientists Are Talking About a Mind Behind the Universe?

Monday Micro Softy 89: Double Negatives are a No-No

Mainstream Bioethics Does Not Represent Mainstream Beliefs

Open Letter to BibleHub.com: Please Remove LLM-Generated Word Sausage

Star Wars: The Force Awakens Review Part 5

Is “The brain is a computer!” One of Science’s Biggest Mistakes?

Papers: Argumentation and Surprise Are Best Ways to Do Good Science

A Genuine Science-Based Debate About Near-Death Experiences?

Are Fictionbots Triumphing Over Writers?

Horowitch and Harrington Chime in on the “Post-literate Society”

Parkinson’s Law Is the Key to Understanding Bureaucratic Bloat

Monday Micro Softy 88: Flipping Gold Coins

Even the Tech Bros Are Turning Against AI

Who, Exactly, Is the Subject of Evolutionary Psychology?

France Legalizes Euthanasia

With AI, It’s Verify. Then Verify the Verification

Star Wars: The Force Awakens Review Part 4

Do Cats Have Souls? Some Reflections

Podcast

How Cognitive Principles Can Inform Better Technological Design

Briefs

No, we haven’t hit the Singularity. We’re not even sure what it is

AI scores 100% in math contest?: Robert J. Marks explains

Hate the media? Elon Musk interview touches a nerve

Orcas surprise researchers by exploding dead sunfish

Neanderthals are still getting smarter…

Interoception: Is it really a new sixth sense?

Relax. You do NOT have a lizard brain

Authors be warned: AI scams are much cleverer today

Can a pagan religion thrive without a supernatural element?

Videos

Science Uprising 10: Asking the Impolite Questions About AI

Is It Really the End for Silicon Valley or Just a Reboot?

COSM 2021: Kai-Fu Lee Tries His Hand at Future Casting

Ari Emanuel, COSM 2021: Movie Nite’s Changed; It’s Not Just COVID