This video explains, using simple and elegant mathematical proofs, why the universal computational ability proves a computer is not conscious – because all of the meanings and conventions of any computer (IOS vs Android, Java vs. PHP, WAV vs MP3 etc) are assigned by conscious beings:
Tag Archives: Cognition-Based Evolution
What makes cancer cells so smart that in Stage 4 they can thwart almost any treatment anyone throws at ‘em? For that matter… what is it that makes any form of life smart at all? What is the “magic” that enables life itself to plan, build and organize? Rocks and snowflakes and sand dunes don’t…
The profession of biology is deeply conflicted about purpose. It seeks to explain life as a physical and mechanical phenomenon. To reduce the organism to the parts that compose it. Yet life is intrinsically intentional. Our standard models of physics and chemistry leave no space for this most fundamental attribute of life. This has brought…
The Birth of a Whole New Field of Scientific Inquiry? Last time I told you about how our search for an evolutionary theory of viruses had hit a dead end. Then one day I got an email from Bill Miller: “Dear Perry, Arthur and Frantisek, I’ve written this here 80-page paper on virus evolution. I’d…
One Trail Dead-Ends While Another Blazes into View Last time I showed you some diagrams that gave me some eye-opening insights into viruses, DNA, and ethernet packets! Read Part 3 Here. At the same time I was musing on those diagrams, I got in touch with a scientist who was about to publish a paper…
The Journey to Natural Virus Evolution In 2019 I hired publicist Kelly Sullivan to fire up interest in my $10 Million Origin of Life Prize. Then nine months later, we all know what happened. So, two weeks into lockdown, Kelly says, “Perry, the media doesn’t want to see anything unless it’s about viruses. Surely, you…
Last time I asked you to imagine composing a mashup of the Beatles’ song “Hey Jude” with the Rolling Stones’ song “You Can’t Always Get What You Want” with your friends. (Read Part 1 here). I asked… Who wrote that mash up?
Imagine you’re heading to a campsite to hang out with your friends for the weekend. On the drive you hear “Hey Jude” by the Beatles and “You Can’t Always Get What You Want” by the Rolling Stones on the radio. Later, sitting around the campfire, munching s’mores and sipping beers, you start strumming your guitar…
Your boss summons you to his office. You sense something is ‘up.’ He drops the bombshell: “You are being relocated to Muncie, Indiana.” Your heart pounds in your chest. “No way,” you retort. “We just poured our hearts into our new home. The garden blooms with vibrant colors and my wife cherishes her Yoga class.”…
Imagine you’re building a LEGO city with your friends. In the traditional understanding of evolution (called Neo-Darwinism, aka Evolution 1.0), you and your friends are constantly making random changes to your LEGO city. The best changes (the ones that help your city survive and thrive) stick around. In this case, if viruses were part of…
