Our Consciousness

How Vast Is Consciousness?

Recent neuroscience recognizes two basic forms of consciousness. It all starts with the divisions we make: "Two broad types of consciousness must be distinguished" based on the neurobiological domain (LeDoux, 2023, 219). Creature consciousness is attributed to all organisms with a nervous system. 

The other form of consciousness, associated with more complex nervous systems, is mental state consciousness. It is "the ability to experience the world and one's relationship to it" (LeDoux, 219).

Recently, another category of consciousness has been added: existential consciousness. (Reber, Baluska and Miller, 2024). Here, consciousness is rooted in cellular intelligence as an expression of a living, self-organizing order.

This view of the cellular basis of cognition offers a promising new perspective on the vastness of consciousness in life. Is it necessary to stop seeing the possibility of consciousness as a form of sentience based on the presence of a nervous system?  READ MORE...

Roy Orbison

 

In The NEWS

Sports, Entertainment, & Culture
> The 2023-24 NBA regular season wraps up this weekend; see latest standings and playoff picture (More) | US federal investigators accuse MLB star Shohei Ohtani's former interpreter of stealing $16M from Ohtani (More)

> Taro Akebono, American-born sumo wrestling icon, dies at 54 (More) | DJ Mister Cee, longtime radio host and hip-hop pioneer, dies at 57 (More)

> The 2024 Cannes Film Festival (May 14-25) lineup announced, headlined by films from Francis Ford Coppola and Paul Schrader; see full festival lineup (More)


Science & Technology
In partnership with Qualia Mind

> AI startup Humane releases its widely anticipated Ai Pin, a wearable badge that doubles as an AI-powered smart device (More) | Study suggests some peer reviewers of academic papers may be using chatbots to provide feedback (More)

> Scientists pinpoint how cells untangle overwound strands of DNA, avoiding potential errors in copying and reading its genetic information; applications include treatments for bacterial infections and new anticancer drugs (More)

> Google's DeepMind unveils robots capable of playing soccer after being trained on the rules via a type of machine learning known as deep reinforcement learning (More, w/video)


Business & Markets
> US stock markets close mixed (S&P 500 +0.7%, Dow -0.0%, Nasdaq +1.7%); Nasdaq closes at record high as technology shares climb, rebounding from earlier concerns over inflation (More) | Apple shares rise 4% in best day since May 2023 (More)

> Investment bank Morgan Stanley's shares close down more than 5% on report that multiple federal regulators are investigating its wealth management unit (More)

> Sam Bankman-Fried, former cryptocurrency mogul, appeals fraud conviction for crimes connected to the collapse of his now-defunct trading platform FTX (More) | See previous write-up (More)


Politics & World Affairs
> Russian airstrikes destroy major power plant in Kyiv, Ukraine, and damage power infrastructures in Lviv and Odesa (More) | Ukrainian parliament passes military mobilization law; measures include tightening registration rules and introducing penalties for evading service (More) | Alexei Navalny's posthumous memoir to be published in October (More)

> Sen. Bob Menendez's (D-NJ) bribery trial to be separated from his wife's, federal judge rules; Menendez's trial over obstruction, bribery charges to begin May 6, while his wife's trial tentatively pushed to July (More)

> Harvard reinstates standized test scores for candidates seeking admission to the school, following other Ivy Leagues in rolling back pandemic-era policy (More) | See previous write-up (More)

SOURCE:  1440 News

American Freedoms

What does Sharia law say about woman?

Shariah leaves considerable room for interpretation. When the Taliban ruled Afghanistan in the past, they imposed a strict one, barring women from working outside the home or leaving the house without a male guardian, eliminating schooling for girls, and publicly flogging people who violated the group's morality code.    Aug 30, 2021                       SOURCE:  The New York Times

Most Americans, I would suspect, would object to living under Shariah law, especially American women; however, I cannot speak for them other than in general terms.

In 1776, we gained our independence from Great Britain and wrote our own constitution that was ratified by all the states a couple of years later.  The first 10 amendments to that constitution were called the Bill of Rights, and the very FIRST AMENDMENT addressed freedom of speech and freedom of religion.

By the year 2,000 many Americans, I would also suspect, do not really appreciate what freedom of speech really means nor do they understand what life would be like without our freedom of speech.

Until a child graduates from high school, he or she lives under the influence and control of their parents with the understanding that most of these children cannot really speak their mind in the presence of their parents.

However, when they graduate, they can and usually do say whatever they damn well please and quite often their comments land them in hot water with their superiors, if they work or with their teachers if they attend college.

It is several years before these high school graduates finally realize the power of the first amendment and how precious it is to be careful what you say and how you say it - even though their comments are protected...

What is not protected is how those comments may be interpreted by others and how that interpretation can influence and change relationships.

In many countries throughout the world if citizens say negative comments about the actions of their government, they are thrown in jail for several years in the hopes that they will eventually learn to keep their mouth shut.

However, that does not happen in the USA.  Nor does Shariah law because it restricts the freedoms of people, especially women.  And that freedom is something that we honor and take quite seriously, especially if you have had that freedom curtailed.

Somewhat Political

 

India Challenges China on Technology

For years, China has been Asia’s technology powerhouse.

It is home to what once were some of the world’s most valuable companies, from Tencent to Alibaba. It is where most of the world’s iPhones and other electronics products are produced. And it is now a serious player in electric vehicles.

But a shift appears to be underway, with other countries in Asia trying to take China’s crown.

India is one of these contenders. New Delhi has sought to woo foreign tech companies and has been increasingly successful, with giants like Apple increasing their presence in the country.

India is looking to boost areas such as high-tech electronics and semiconductor manufacturing, as well as support its burgeoning yet challenged startup scene.     READ MORE...

Gloria

 

The Cream

 

Groundbreaking Blended-Wing

(CNN) The basic design of commercial airplanes hasn’t changed much in the past 60 years. Modern airliners like the Boeing 787 and the Airbus A350 have the same general shape as the Boeing 707 and the Douglas DC-8, which were built in the late 1950s and solidified the “tube and wing” form factor that is still in use today.

This is because commercial aviation prioritizes safety, favoring tried-and-tested solutions, and because other developments — in materials and engines, for example — mean the traditional design is still relevant.

However, a seismic shake-up is about to take place. An entirely new aircraft shape has been cleared to take off into California skies. At the end of last month, Long Beach-based JetZero announced that Pathfinder, its 1:8 scale “blended wing body” demonstrator plane, has been granted an FAA Airworthiness certificate and test flights are imminent.  READ MORE...

Somewhat Political

 

In The NEWS

Sports, Entertainment, & Culture
In partnership with Public Rec

> The 2024 Masters—one of four major championships in men's golf—begins today (3 pm ET, ESPN) from Augusta, Georgia; 2022 winner Scottie Scheffler enters as favorite to win (More)

> "Monopoly" live-action film based on the board game in the works to be produced by Lionsgate and Margot Robbie's production company LuckyChap (More)

> Philadelphia Eagles and Green Bay Packers will kick off 2024 NFL season in the league's first-ever game in Brazil (More) | World track and field governing body will be the first international sports federation to award prize money at the Olympics (More)

Science & Technology
> AI startup Anthropic says its flagship chatbot, Claude 3 Opus, matches humans' ability to present persuasive arguments (More) | US regulators to require most internet service providers to publish information on its fees, speeds, and more, similar to nutrition labels on food (More)

> Mathematician Avi Wigderson wins the 2024 Turing Award for his work in randomness in computation; award is considered to be the Nobel Prize of computer science (More)

> Researchers demonstrate adding a protein found in stem cells to engineered immune cells used in some immunotherapies boosts and extends their ability to fight cancer (More) | How CAR-T works (More)


Business & Markets
> US stock markets close lower (Dow -1.1%, S&P 500 -1.0%, Nasdaq -0.8%) on news inflation rose 3.5% year-over-year in March, and expectations that a rate cut will not come in June (More)

> Fitch downgrades China's credit rating outlook from stable to negative amid concerns over local and national government's reliance on China's property industry but keeps sovereign debt rating at A+ (More)

> Auditor KPMG fined $25M by accounting oversight board over allegations it failed to prevent cheating on training exams; settlement marks the regulator's largest-ever penalty (More)


Politics & World Affairs
> Arizona Legislature blocks effort to roll back 1864 law banning nearly all abortions, with lawmakers motioning for recess to avoid vote; state Supreme Court ruled the Civil War-era law enforceable Tuesday (More) | See overview of law (More)

> House blocks procedural vote on bill renewing the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act ahead of April 19 deadline (More) | What is FISA? (More) | Biden administration reportedly considering executive order to significantly restrict asylum applications at the US-Mexico border (More)

> Six Mississippi police officers sentenced to between 15 and 45 years in prison for the torture of two Black men during the course of a warrantless home search in 2023 (More)

SOURCE:  1440 News

TIME is NOT on our Side

 At 76 years of age, my life is not going to last much longer.  However, it is my hope that I have at least another twenty years.  My declining heath may not allow me to live that long but it is what it is.

Not too long ago, I was talking with a high school friend of mine (a Canadian) and we shared what stories we could remember from that period of time that our lives merged together.  The time was 1962-1966.

I could not remember some of his stories and he could not remember some of my stories...

This is not supposed to be a SAD commentary of our memories but help to share how quickly time passes us all by, and when it does there are very few things that we can recall.  That is what time does to us all.

We were 16 then and now are 76...  60 years has passed in the blink of an eye and most of those memories are beyond our ability to retain...  unless we have kept photographs...  which may or may not happen.

We value youth and view older people with contempt because they are no longer macho and no doubt never lived wild and free like the youth of the day are living.  This is where youth is ignorant and naive because those who were teenagers in the 1960s lived life more wildly than any other generation in the history of the USA.

I suggest you research WOODSTOCK...

Time moves by quickly and the sooner you understand that concept, the better off you will be.  I say this because each day should be a powerful day - a day that you are blessed to live - a day that you are blessed to enjoy.

These days should not just be lived to their fullest but should be lived with the future in mind - that is to say, how do I want to live when I am 76 years old and when I can finally retire? 

The title says it all.  Live your life for today but also live it for tomorrow.

Dolphins Playing

 

Nuclear Energy CANNOT Lead Global Energy

The Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant is seen in the background, in Namie, Fukushima Prefecture, Japan on August 24, 2023 [File: Franck Robichon/EPA]

On March 11, 2011, a magnitude 9 earthquake and a subsequent 15-metre tsunami struck Japan, which triggered a nuclear disaster at TEPCO’s Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant.

Three of the six plant’s reactors were affected, resulting in meltdowns and the release of a significant amount of radioactive material into the environment.

Today, 13 years later, Japan is still experiencing the impacts of this disaster. Immediately after the earthquake struck, more than 160,000 people were evacuated. Of them, nearly 29,000 still remain displaced.   READ MORE...

Janis Joplin

 

An Ancient Computer

 

Dark Energy Used to Map Universe

With 5,000 tiny robots in a mountaintop telescope, researchers can look 11 billion years into the past. The light from far-flung objects in space is just now reaching the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument (DESI), enabling us to map our cosmos as it was in its youth and trace its growth to what we see today.


Understanding how our universe has evolved is tied to how it ends, and to one of the biggest mysteries in physics: dark energy, the unknown ingredient causing our universe to expand faster and faster.

To study dark energy's effects over the past 11 billion years, DESI has created the largest 3D map of our cosmos ever constructed, with the most precise measurements to date. This is the first time scientists have measured the expansion history of the young universe with a precision better than 1%, giving us our best view yet of how the universe evolved.  READ MORE...

Somewhat Political

 

In The NEWS

Sports, Entertainment, & Culture
> First leg of the UEFA Champions League quarterfinals kick off, with more matches today; see full schedule and results (More)

> NCAA men's basketball championship game brings in nearly 15 million viewers, a 4% increase from last year but behind the nearly 19 million who viewed Sunday's women's championship game (More)

> YouTube stars Dude Perfect, known for their trick shot videos, get $100M investment from Highmount Capital to expand outside traditional video content (More)


Science & Technology
In partnership with EnergyX

> Google Cloud announces new custom-built processor as part of effort to meet rising AI demand, says chip is 30% more efficient than comparable products from Amazon Web Services and Microsoft (More)

> New platform allows study of factors influencing dendritic translation, a key process involved in the formation of new memories (More) | How memories are created (More)

> Scientists discover bristle worm species with eyesight on par with mice, which may be able to detect ultraviolet light; complex vision comes despite the animals having rudimentary nervous systems (More)


Business & Markets
> US stock markets close mixed (S&P 500 +0.1%, Dow -0.0%, Nasdaq +0.3%) ahead of today's March inflation data; economists predict consumer price index report to show growth of 0.3% month-over-month and 3.4% year-over-year (More)

> Gold prices hit record, surpassing $2,300 per ounce (More) | Costco selling as much as $200M in gold bars per month, Wells Fargo estimates; Costco began selling gold bars in August, reporting $100M in sales in its first quarter (More)

> Boeing reports Q1 passenger plane deliveries fell to 83—the lowest level since mid-2021—amid scrutiny following door plug blowout in January (More) | Federal Aviation Administration investigating whistleblower complaint over safety and quality concerns at Boeing (More)


Politics & World Affairs
> Arizona's Supreme Court rules 1864 near-total abortion ban is enforceable, superseding 15-week abortion ban passed in 2022, effective in two weeks; signatures being gathered for potential ballot measure allowing abortions up to 24th week of pregnancy (More) | Read the opinion (More)

> US House members to deliver articles of impeachment against Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas to the Senate next week; Democrats expected to vote to dismiss charges (More) | See previous write-up (More)

> The Environmental Protection Agency issues ruling requiring over 200 chemical plants to reduce toxic emissions, claims cancer cases near plants expected to fall by 60% (More) | Norfolk Southern agrees to pay $600M to settle class-action suit over 2023 train derailment in eastern Ohio that released toxic chemicals (More)

SOURCE:  1440 News

East Tennessee

 

I have lived in Alexandria, Virginia, Burlington, North Carolina, East Tennessee, and North Kentucky over my 76 years of life.  Thirty-four of these years have been spent in East Tennessee, almost half of my life.

As a North Carolinian by birth, one would expect that my allegiance would be to that state but it is to Tennessee instead, specifically the Tennessee Valley of East Tennessee.

Many people think that Tennessee is backwards, uneducated, and full of rednecks that marry their cousins.  I assure you that this is a misconception and could not be father from the truth; although. there are undesirables living in all states I suppose.

What makes East Tennessee so attractive?

• Its close proximity to the Smoky Mountains
• Its abundance of land and beauty
• Its parks and recreation opportunities
• Its low cost of living that includes no state taxes
• Its friendliness of community and neighbors
• Its mild winter climate and warm summers
• Its lack of crime and violence and drugs
• Its support and trust of law enforcement
• Its availability of competent doctors and medical facilities
• Its availability of fine cuisine and numerous restaurants
• Its free community college education
• Its geographical location
• UT Medical has the ability to perform stem cell transplants

What I especially like about East TN is that there is not much automobile traffic except at RUSH HOUR and not many people that cause you to have to wait in long lines in retail stores and restaurants.

• We are four hours from Atlanta
• We are four hours from Nashville
• We are an 90 minutes from the Great Smoky Mountain
• We are 2 hours from Cherokee Gambling
• We are an hour from McGhee Tyson Airport

What I also like about this area of East TN is that I can purchase a 1,500 square foot home (not including an acre of land) for HALF of what I would have paid in North Carolina on average.  The acre land just makes the opportunity more attractive.

East TN is not perfect - we have crime and violence and drugs in our schools and we have illegal immigrants living in certain areas as well.  The issue is that WE DON'T HAVE THE SAME LEVEL OF THESE PROBLEMS AS ONE MIGHT FIND IN OTHER STATES...

Sling Shot

 

Predicting Everything

A breakthrough in theoretical physics is an important step toward predicting the behavior of the fundamental matter of which our world is built. It can be used to calculate systems of enormous quantities of quantum particles, a feat thought impossible before.


The new University of Copenhagen research may prove of great importance for the design of quantum computers and could even be a map to superconductors that function at room temperature. The paper is published in the journal Physical Review X.

On the fringes of theoretical physics, Berislav Buca investigates the nearly impossible by way of "exotic" mathematics. His latest theory is no exception. By making it possible to calculate the dynamics, i.e., movements and interactions, of systems with enormous quantities of quantum particles, it has delivered something that had been written off in physics. An impossibility made possible.  READ MORE...

Jumpin' Jack Flash

 

Smoke on the Water

 

Gigantic Ocean Discovered Beneath the Ocean

Imagine the vast expanse of the world’s oceans. Now, picture an underwater realm three times that size, not across the globe’s surface, but tucked away deep beneath it, at a depth of 700 kilometers. 

This isn’t the plot of a sci-fi novel but the startling discovery made by a team of scientists, unraveling the mysteries of our planet’s water origins.

Unveiling Earth’s Hidden Hydrosphere
The quest to pinpoint the origins of Earth’s water has led researchers to a monumental find—a colossal ocean ensconced within the Earth’s mantle, over 700 kilometers below the surface. 

This hidden ocean, concealed within a blue rock known as ringwoodite, challenges our understanding of where Earth’s water came from. The size of this subterranean sea is so vast that it triples the volume of all the planet’s surface oceans combined.  READ MORE...

Somewhat Political

 

In The NEWS

Sports, Entertainment, & Culture
> "Cowboy Carter" becomes Beyoncé's eighth album to top the Billboard 200 chart; Beyoncé is also first Black woman to top country album chart (More)

> National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics, an athletic governing body for mostly small colleges, bans transgender women from competing in women's sports (More)

> Actor Jonathan Majors avoids jail time following conviction of misdemeanor assault of his ex-girlfriend (More) | Country artist Morgan Wallen arrested in Nashville for allegedly throwing a chair off a six-story building (More)


Science & Technology
In partnership with Timeline

> Commerce Department awards US subsidiary of Taiwanese chipmaking giant TSMC $6.6B in grants, $5B in loans to build a third semiconductor production facility in Arizona (More)

> Lab-grown "mini-kidneys" successfully grafted into live mice; method will allow the study of polycystic kidney disease, which affects about 1 in 1,000 people (More) | What are organoids? (More, w/video)

> Engineers develop spring-like skeleton to act as muscle tissue scaffolding for biohybrid robots; approach can be used for a wide variety of robots regardless of shape or application (More)


Business & Markets
> US stock markets close almost flat (S&P 500 -0.04%, Dow -0.03%, Nasdaq +0.03%) as investors await consumer price index report tomorrow (More)

> People traveling to see total solar eclipse in the US estimated to have spent up to $1.6B, including on housing, food, and gas, according to consulting group (More)

> 99 Cents Only files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, plans to close all 371 US stores this week, citing inflation as a contributing factor (More)


Politics & World Affairs
> Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu sets date for Israel's ground invasion of Gaza's border city of Rafah but doesn't disclose date, says eliminating Hamas battalions in Rafah is essential (More) | US submits new plan seeking release of 40 hostages in exchange for six-week cease-fire in Gaza (More)

> Former President Donald Trump says abortion laws should be determined by US states, declines to endorse nationwide ban in video posted to Truth Social (More) | See overview of state abortion laws (More) | The Vatican reaffirms opposition to surrogacy, gender-affirming surgery, and gender theory in new document (More)

> Criminal trial begins for 27 people charged in worldwide money laundering case tied to the 2016 "Panama Papers"—a leaked trove of 11.5 million files that exposed how the world's wealthiest hide their assets (More)

SOURCE:  1440 News

Genders

 

I am not a religious person - don't attend Church - don't really pray each day but if I did, if would not be these long prayers or asking for an athletic or military victory, it is would the simple prayer we were told to pray by Jesus.  Not because it was requested by Jesus but because simplicity makes sense.

I do believe in a CREATOR (not the Biblical God) because it makes logical sense that our universe was created and not the result of the BIG BANG.  You cannot create something out of nothing unless you have the powers of a CREATOR.

With that said, you can see I am more spiritual than religious.  And I mention all of this because I strongly believe that we have only two genders:

• Males
• Females

However, there are males that want to be females and females that want to be males but they will always be their biological gender no matter what they cut off or add on.

I am also aware that there are babies born that have both male and female genitalia...  and that is a mystery as to why a Biblical God would allow this to happen.  My belief that a Biblical God would not allow this to happen if that Biblical God had the power to stop it from happening...  obviously, it cannot be stopped.

Therefore, it must natural for it to happen every once in a while.

BUT, aside from that anomaly, we only have males and females and there is a reason that our DNA only allows those two genders to be born.

There may be cultures in the universe that are different from us and give birth to babies that are neither male or female.  That seems self-defeating because there is no way to perpetuate the species unless birth happens in a different way.

Biological males should not compete in female sports and biological females should not compete in male sports.

If you need to address the EGOS of these transpeople then create a special third category for the TRANS where they compete with each other.

Everyone has a right to be who they want to be, but everybody does not have the right to compete in an athletic category that is different from their biological assignment.

Tympani

 

Six Flux Composite Fermions

A team of physicists at Purdue University has discovered a new particle, the six-flux composite fermion, expanding the understanding of the fractional quantum Hall effect beyond the known two-flux and four-flux states. This significant finding highlights the critical role of high-quality semiconductor materials and supports the advancement of quantum physics research.

If the fractional quantum Hall regime were a series of highways, these highways would have either two or four lanes. The flow of the two-flux or four-flux composite fermions, like automobiles in this two- to four-flux composite fermion traffic scenario, naturally explains the more than 90 fractional quantum Hall states that form in a large variety of host materials.

Physicists at Purdue University have recently discovered, though, that fractional quantum Hall regimes are not limited to two-flux or four-flux and have discovered the existence of a new type of emergent particle, which they are calling six-flux composite fermion. They have recently published their groundbreaking findings in Nature Communications.    READ MORE...