Michael was an agnostic / atheist who cheerfully and generously engaged opposing views. Many of his peers on the irreligious side of the fence were hostile and abrasive, but Michael exhibited unwavering respect, always insisting on assuming his opponents operate with positive intent.

This incisive list of questions must be answered before any two people can have a meaningful conversation about the nature of intelligence and AI (because each of us has our own personal definitions & sacred cows about being and beings). From a paper by Nicolas Rouleau and Michael Levin:

Why are important conversations so difficult and why is curiosity the greatest virtue? Dov Baron from British Columbia describes the emotional source code rules that govern our conversations about politics, religion, evolution, cancer and relationships. His website is dovbaron.com. Dov Baron [email protected] Podcast: https://evo2.org/podcasts/courage-fueled-by-curiosity-love/

When most of us set out to do anything, there’s what we think is going to work in theory… and then there’s what turns out to actually work in practice. We are sometimes slow to realize they are not the same! I just had one of these moments myself a couple months ago. Jon Correll,…

Edward Kelly is a neuroscientist whose research overturns the current popular definition of the mind. We had a fantastic conversation about his non-traditional path in scientific research. He is a scientist at the University of Virginia. Podcast: https://evo2.org/podcasts/irreducible-mind-why-the-current-paradigm-is-passed-its-expiration-date-with-edward-kelly/

The creation-evolution scene perfected polarization and cancel culture long before social media was even a twinkle in Mark Zuckerberg’s eye. Extreme views reduce grand vistas to bumper sticker slogans. Shallow and 1-dimensional. The real discoveries hide in the space in the middle:

Why are we losing the war on cancer? This mind-blowing 8-minute video will change how you think about it. From rogue kidney cells to a $25 test that could save millions, we’re exposing the evolutionary dance of cancer. Watch this – it might just save your life.

How to Save the Earth AND the Humans at the Same Time 20 years ago, I went to China and witnessed the pollution. The sun was a murky yellow haze. Six hours west of Shanghai, the countryside air was still drenched with smog. I said to myself “If I wasn’t an environmentalist before, I sure…

Podcast link: https://evo2.org/podcasts/discussions-about-science-philosophy-and-theology-interview-by-subboor-ahmad/ YouTube link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DNw6gwzsHo8

“Where did life come from” is a vast mystery. We have only a smattering of clues. Attempts to reconstruct its beginnings have enjoyed scant success. To many, the sophistication and majesty of life itself leaves us awestruck and speaks to a divinely ordered cosmos. Yet the spirit of science is to understand the systems that…