Dawkins: Is AI Conscious?
Richard Dawkins explores whether AI systems like Claude and Grok can be considered conscious, revisiting the Turing Test as a proxy for consciousness. He conducts informal chats with the large‑language models, noting they can generate poetry and respond fluently, yet they lack subjective sensations and a stable sense of self. Dawkins outlines three evolutionary hypotheses for why consciousness might have emerged in animals and contrasts them with the engineered nature of machine “consciousness.” The piece ends without a definitive answer, emphasizing the philosophical gap between intelligent output and genuine experience.
The NYT’s List of the Best Books of This Century (the 21st): Not Much Science
The New York Times Book Review released its first “100 Best Books of the 21st Century” list, compiled from a survey of 503 novelists, nonfiction writers, poets, critics and other book lovers. The list, announced after the first 25 years...
Bill Maher’s New Rule: Malignant AI
Bill Maher’s recent "New Rules" segment warned that artificial intelligence could become a malignant force capable of endangering humanity. The discussion featured journalist Kara Swisher, former mayor Rahm Emanuel, and national security adviser Jake Sullivan, who explored AI’s historical missteps and potential existential...
New Paper by Ruuska Et Al: Gender Reassignment Does Not Reduce Psychiatric Morbidity in Gender-Dysphoric Youth
A new Finnish cohort study of 2,083 gender‑dysphoric youths and 16,643 matched controls found that psychiatric morbidity remains high after gender reassignment. Before treatment, 47.9% of GD patients had specialist psychiatric contacts versus 15.3% of controls; two years later the...
McCartney Rehearses “Blackbird” On the Day It Was Recorded
Paul McCartney rehearsed “Blackbird” at Abbey Road Studios on June 11, 1968, the exact day the track was recorded for the Beatles’ White Album. The rehearsal video captures George Martin’s production guidance, a brief guitar cue from John Lennon, and the presence...
Paul McCartney’s Abysmal New Song
Paul McCartney is set to release his first solo album since 2020, "The Boys of Dungeon Lane," on May 29. The lead single, "Days We Left Behind," is a piano‑driven ballad that leans on nostalgic references to Liverpool and early...
An Evolutionary Biologist Lists and Discusses the Ten Most Influential Books in the Field
Evolutionary biologist Zach B. Hancock presented a half‑hour video naming the ten most influential books in evolutionary biology, focusing on evolutionary genetics. The list runs from Darwin’s 1859 “On the Origin of Species” to modern works such as Kimura’s “Neutral...
Two “Times” Obituaries for Robert Trivers
Renowned evolutionary biologist Robert Trivers, who died on March 12, was memorialized in obituaries by the *Times* of London and the *New York Times*. The pieces highlight his groundbreaking 1971 paper on reciprocal altruism, which cemented a gene‑centric view...
Today’s Covert Anti-Israel Slant on the News
The NBC Evening News segment portrayed Lebanese children displaced by an "expanding offensive" from Israel, linking their hardship directly to Israeli actions. The report omitted the cease‑fire that held until March 2, when Hezbollah fired missiles and drones into northern Israel...
Luana’s Revealing Class Survey of the Biological Definition of Sex
Evolution professor Luana Maroja surveyed her undergraduate class on how many biological sexes exist in animals and plants. The majority (44%) chose four sexes—males, females, intersexes, and hermaphrodites—while only 21% correctly identified the binary gamete‑based definition. The results highlight persistent...
Jesus ‘N’ Mo ‘N’ Gender
The long‑running webcomic duo Jesus and Mo have resurrected their strip “Fluid” on Patreon, labeling it a “Friday Flashback from almost exactly 8 years ago.” The episode features Mo wearing a niqab as a visual cue for his feminine side,...
Columbia’s Anti-Israel Grad Student Union Makes Big Demands, Prepares to Strike
Columbia University’s graduate‑student union, Student Workers of Columbia‑UAW, has opened a strike‑authorization vote as negotiations stall. The union is demanding a minimum PhD salary of $76,000, a childcare subsidy of up to $50,000 per child, $36.50‑hour wages for casual workers,...