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Analysis: Trump and Vance are suddenly acknowledging ICE ‘mistakes’
US Border Patrol chief Greg Bovino couldn’t have been more unequivocal Tuesday when talking about the often aggressive and controversial Immigration and Customs Enforcement operations he’s leading in Minneapolis.
Claude Code is suddenly everywhere inside Microsoft
Microsoft is increasingly adopting Claude Code
Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra release window, price signals, and what pre-order buyers should expect
Galaxy S26 Ultra is the next big thing from Samsung, and buyers are closely monitoring news about its release date, price, and pre-order offers. Samsung may have scheduled Galaxy Unpacked 2026 on January 21 or 28. Meanwhile, things went wrong with initial plans that included the Galaxy S26 Edge, and the sudden revival of the […]
Suds & Science
Ever thought that learning would be more fun with a cold drink in hand? We've got you covered! Suds & Science brings scientists face-to-face with the public at local neighborhood bars for a night of learning, drinking, and community that you won't want to miss! Highlights: - Fun and informative lectures from STEM professionals - Lively discussions between scientists and audiences - Connection with your community in a laid-back environment "Tentacle Tinder: How Cephalopods Decide When to Swipe Right" Cephalopods (the class of mollusks that includes octopuses, squids, cuttlefishes, and nautiluses) are renowned for their complex cognitive abilities and for their remarkable capacities to rapidly alter their body patterns for camouflage and communication. But behind the scenes, things get even stranger. Nearly all cephalopod females mate with multiple males and can store sperm for weeks to months. That means each female carries a tiny archive of potential fathers. So the big question becomes: when everyone is competing for a spot in that archive, how do cephalopod females decide who to mate with, and can they control whose sperm ultimately fertilizes their eggs? About the Speaker Theodora is a PhD student in Marine Biology at Scripps Institution of Oceanography, UC San Diego. Prior to starting at SIO, Theodora researched chronic reproductive pain conditions in New York, created marine science multimedia as a science communication intern at Point Reyes National Seashore, and studied cephalopod neuroethology as a research intern at Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology. Theodora currently studies the evolutionary and behavioral dynamics of female choice in cephalopods, with a focus on local California market squid. When she’s not doing research or underwater, Theodora can usually be found listening to or singing classical music. Fleet Science Center on Facebook / Instagram
Scientists Are Tracking Mysterious Blackouts Beneath the Sea
Scientists have discovered sudden underwater blackouts that can plunge the seafloor into darkness and threaten marine life.
Democrats fear ICE could open a detention facility in Orlando
'Let me be clear. We oppose any effort to place an ICE facility here and will fight it at every turn.'
Ralph Fiennes in the “28 Years Later” sequel, “Riot Women”, and David Byrne's cover of 'Drivers License' top this week's Must List
"Dandelion Is Dead" and "Masquerade" round out our picks for the weekend of Jan. 16.
Federal mental health funding restored for programs in San Antonio, across US after abrupt reversal
Federal funding for mental health and addiction services will continue after a sudden reversal by the Trump administration — ending a brief but alarming period of uncertainty for nonprofits across the country, including in San Antonio.
Comedian Joel Kim Booster marries video game producer Michael Sudsina: 'Never felt so certain'
'Fire Island' star Joel Kim Booster ties the knot with Riot Games producer Michael Sudsina. 'My wedding was the best day of my life, no contest,' the comedian says.
Are refs behind the NBA's sudden scoring decline?
In today's edition: Harbaugh to the Giants, the NBA's sudden scoring decline, the 100th Grand Slam of the century, highest-paid athletes of 2025, Yahoo Fantasy Baseball is here, and more.
NFL Divisional Round Report: Bears Action Becoming 'Unprecedented'
All of a sudden, bettors can't get enough of Chicago — even against the favored Rams. Patrick Everson reports on that and more.
Google Gemini Can Proactively Analyze Users’ Gmail, Photos, Searches
Alphabet Inc.’s Google said its Gemini artificial intelligence assistant can now proactively tap into users’ data across Gmail, Search, Photos and YouTube, an attempt to make its consumer-facing AI product more personalized.
Massive brain study reveals why memory loss can suddenly speed up with age
A massive international brain study has revealed that memory decline with age isn’t driven by a single brain region or gene, but by widespread structural changes across the brain that build up over time. Analyzing thousands of MRI scans and memory tests from healthy adults, researchers found that memory loss accelerates as brain tissue shrinkage increases, especially later in life. While the hippocampus plays a key role, many other brain regions also contribute, forming a broad vulnerability rather than isolated damage.
'Suddenly Amish' TLC 'reality show' airs tonight; here's what to know
In a reversal of the 2012 TLC cable television series "Breaking Amish," the network returns with "Suddenly Amish," which follows six "English" individuals as they step into an Amish community
PBS Fans React After ‘News Weekend’ Suddenly Gets Axed
The show ended its run after Congress rescinded $1.1 billion in public funding.
Kate Hudson opens up about her 'Song Sung Blue' role
Kate Hudson transformed herself to play Claire Sardina in 'Song Sung Blue,' whose life as a singer was suddenly taken away after a horrific accident. Hudson talks about playing the 'incredibly resilient' fighter.
Sudan war leaves millions hungry and displaced as health system nears collapse
Sudan’s protracted conflict has spiralled into one of the world’s most severe humanitarian crises, with hunger, displacement and the collapse of basic services exacting a daily toll on civilians.
Trump suddenly sounds a lot like a progressive Democrat when it comes to business
President Donald Trump made two extraordinarily unusual policy statements in rapid succession Wednesday that sent stocks sinking and raised serious questions about the limits of presidential power in a free-market economy.
NBA power rankings: Celtics' climb continues; Thunder back on top
The Boston Celtics have won seven of their last eight games and are suddenly within reach of the top of the Eastern Conference.
Will Amy Klobuchar run for Minnesota governor? Walz’s announcement sets off a major midterm shift
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz’s decision to abandon his bid for a third term has suddenly sparked one of the biggest political questions of the new year: Will Sen. Amy Klobuchar run for governor?
Joe Starkey: Suddenly, there is joy and hope in the Pittsburgh sports world
Savor the moment. Things change fast in pro sports. But right now? On Monday, Jan. 5, 2026? This feels about as giddy and hopeful as it’s been around...
Trump said Venezuela stole America’s oil. Here’s what really happened
At 7 a.m., the earth began to rumble. Suddenly, oil blew out of its well in a massive eruption that towered 200 feet in the air and sprayed the fearful villagers of La Rosa.
Rubio faces ghosts of American interventions after spearheading Maduro takedown
Marco Rubio is suddenly facing his most daunting puzzle in his 28 years in politics.
Bill Maher Makes Candid Admission About Rob Reiner’s Death
The 'Real Time With Bill Maher' host interviewed the iconic director for his 'Club Random' podcast months before his sudden death.
Why I joined the cult of creatine
Suddenly, one day, creatine was everywhere, being talked up by every fitness influencer, mental health guru and powder peddler on the internet. It’s hard not to join in.
Why is Great Canadian Entertainment suddenly offloading most of its B.C. casino assets?
Great Canadian Entertainment, one of Canada’s largest gaming and entertainment companies, will be reduced to a presence of just two properties in B.C. after a recently announced agreement to sell its casino operation in Coquitlam to the Snuneymuxw First Nation.Founded in B.C. more than 40 year
Why is Great Canadian Entertainment suddenly offloading most of its B.C. casino assets?
Indebted from a private-equity takeover, it's selling off most of its B.C. casinos, with a First Nation taking over the core of its assets.
Did an exploding comet wipe out the mammoths?
Scientists are uncovering new clues that a cosmic explosion may have rocked Earth at the end of the last ice age. At major Clovis-era sites, researchers found shocked quartz—evidence of intense heat and pressure consistent with a comet airburst rather than volcanism or human activity. The event could have sparked massive fires, blocked sunlight, and triggered a rapid return to ice-age conditions. These harsh changes may explain the sudden loss of megafauna and the disappearance of the Clovis culture.
Dealmakers 2025: Taylor Swift and Paramount to a Rapper’s Presidential Pardon, the Power Players Behind the Year’s Seismic Showbiz Shakeups
Dealmakers 2025: Taylor Swift and Paramount Skydance to a Rapper's Presidential Pardon, the Power Players Behind the Year’s Seismic Showbiz Shakeups
Miami (OH) defeats Bowling Green 93-83
BOWLING GREEN, Ohio (AP) Peter Suder had 17 points in Miami (OH)'s 93-83 victory against Bowling Green on Tuesday.
Week 18 Power rankings roundup: Bears finishing strong
Headed to the final week of the regular season, @SamHouseholder rounds up the Bears’ power rankings.
Knicks, Spurs ring out 2025 with NBA Cup final rematch
The New York Knicks can build on a three-game winning streak and produce a repeat result of the NBA Cup final when they visit the suddenly struggling San Antonio Spurs on Wednesday in a clash between two of the league's best teams.
Protecting the ‘Holiday heart:’ What to know about heart health during the holiday season, new smart watch technologies
Dr. Nassir Marrouche is director of the Heart and Vascular Institute at Tulane University with a subspecialty in electrophysiology. He treats atrial fibrillation, heart arrhythmia, irregular heartbeats, sudden cardiac death
Resurgent Clippers aim to extend win streak against Pistons
After a rare bump in the road, the Detroit Pistons will be out to regain their stride against the suddenly resurgent Los Angeles Clippers on Sunday at Inglewood, Calif.
A wave of bankruptcies is hitting nearly every corner of the economy, leading to this 'unusual' pattern
Bankruptcies are suddenly everywhere, from billion-dollar giants to small businesses to individuals. Experts are stumped at the breadth of industries.
Sudan civil war: Health system ‘on the verge of collapse’
The war in Sudan has been tearing the country apart for almost 1,000 days, putting the country’s health system under intolerable pressure. The World Health Organization (WHO) is reporting widespread disease outbreaks, severe shortages, malnutrition and rising deaths.
All LinkedIn Games Solutions for Today (December 25, 2025)
LinkedIn Games offers you plenty of interesting puzzles, like Zip, Queens, Mini Sudoku, etc., to solve! And for us, we offer you answers for them!
'Big Brother' alum Mickey Lee in 'critical condition' after suffering multiple cardiac arrests
Micky Lee, an alum of 'Big Brother' season 27, is in 'critical condition' after suffering a 'series of cardiac arrests'. Her family is currently fundraising to help cover sudden medical expenses.
Sudanese bloc declares Nairobi roadmap, but is it a civilian breakthrough?
The new bloc's roadmap echoes the Quad plan, but observers say this only splinters civilian forces in Sudan.
Sudlersville man arrested for attempted arson of Ridgely business
The Office of the State Fire Marshal announced today they have arrested a 26-year-old Sudlersville man for attempted arson targeting a business in Ridgely.
Strava puts popular “Year in Sport” recap behind an $80 paywall
Strava’s most viral feature is suddenly locked away.
RFK Jr.'s Health Department Just Pulled Millions in Funding from the American Academy of Pediatrics
The grants involved research studying autism and sudden infant deaths.
Trump adds 5 more countries to travel ban, imposes new limits on others
The Trump administration announced it was adding Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger, South Sudan and Syria to the list
Chicago health information leader recognized for raising CPR readiness and blood pressure awareness
DALLAS, Dec. 16, 2025 — In the United States, more than 350,000 sudden cardiac arrests occur outside of the hospital every year, and 90% of them are fatal.[1] In an effort to save more lives, Laura Merrick, winner of the American Heart Association’s 2025...
UNC Brewing Science Program Goes Down the Drain
The University of Northern Colorado has canceled its Brewing Laboratory Science program as part of 50 total staff layoffs implemented due to a projected $14 million budget shortfall, causing dismay among enrolled students. Sean Johnson, the program manager for eight years, who helped forge local commercial partnerships, has been laid off with his remaining classes moving online. Students praised the program's practical science and networking opportunities. Affected students expressed frustration over the lack of transparency, the university's prioritization of larger programs, and the sudden loss of learning opportunities and mentorship. UNC's Chemistry department stated the decision was part of university-wide budget cuts and is focused on supporting affected students.
All LinkedIn Games Solutions for Today (December 14, 2025)
It's Sunday funday, and the LinkedIn Games are ending the week strong. Here are all the solutions for today!
As Sudan burns, the NBA’s embrace of the UAE shows how sport enables atrocity
The NBA’s growing ties with the UAE come as the Gulf state faces mounting evidence of complicity in atrocities in Sudan – and silence from sport
I stopped dyeing my hair and was suddenly treated differently. One recruiter told me I was too mature for a role.
A recruiter told Jillian Bowman, 52, that her maturity wasn't a fit for the team she would be working with.
More A than I: Testing for Large Language Model Plagiarism in Political Science -
More A than I: Testing for Large Language Model Plagiarism in Political Science By Robert Keener, The University of Tennessee This article shows how the sudden introduction of large language models (LLMs) has allowed a [...]
As Helena Moreno inherits a New Orleans budget crisis, she might learn from Buddy Roemer
Buddy Roemer was suddenly confronted with a budget crisis after he was elected governor of Louisiana in 1987 — similar to the situation that Helena Moreno is facing as mayor-elect of New Orleans
What I Don’t Know About Politics (And Why It Might Not Matter)
As scribes over here in the UK suddenly ask if the right-wing populist Reform party has peaked, I realise I know almost nothing about politics. Even more
Passenger Jet Suddenly Dropped From Sky for a Wild Reason, Airbus Says
Apologies to our art director, who must depict a plane plunging after being blasted by cosmic rays, which is something that actually happened.
Vascular Surgeon reveals why healthy arteries get blocked, warns against 5 symptoms that are commonly ignored
Dr Sumit Kapadia, Vascular Surgeon and Varicose Vein Specialist, recently on his IG handle, spoke about artery blockages, and why even healthy arteries get blocked. Dr Kapadia mentioned that arteries (even 'healthy' ones) don't get blocked all of a sudden, though gradual narrowing can occur without any warning, or mild signs only. This process, known as 'Atherosclerosis' literally means the presence of fat into the blood vessels. This fat, or cholesterol, Dr Kapadia says, when combined with calcium, and inflammatory cells, leads to plaque. When these narrowed arteries suddenly have a blockage, that can cause a blood clot, leading to a heart attack, brain stroke, or Peripheral Artery Disease (PAD) in the legs. Hence, people who think they are healthy, might be carrying an underlying condition that they are not even aware of, says Dr Kapadia. For this, it is important to get regularly tested, and to watch out for these 5 signs that are common indicators of artery blockage.
Cosmic rays are cause behind JetBlue flight suddenly plunging in the sky. This is why it happened
The plane suddenly lost altitude while traveling from Cancun to New Jersey in October.
Data center battles: local protests, state incentives, and political fallout
Wondering why data centers are suddenly everywhere in the news? We’ll break it down. Plus, why the backlash isn’t falling along the usual party lines and what Michigan can learn from how voters in other states have responded.
Sudden business closures leave gift card holders in the lurch
Swifty’s abruptly closes after $2.2M tax seizure; how to handle unused gift cards.
A viral confrontation and a sudden resignation shake up Georgia GOP
The man behind the vigilante sting operation that apparently netted a teenage GOP official says he has no regrets.
Frustrated patients amid UConn Health-Aetna rate dispute
We are hearing from patients who feel caught in the middle of a dispute between Aetna and UConn Health. They are frustrated the health system is now considered out-of-network for thousands of people. “It’s very disconcerting to all of a sudden to be told, ‘Hey, I can’t see you because you know, your insurance won’t pay,’” said Brenda Barth, of…
'Story that isn't a story': town official states amid businesses' outdoor area closures
More business owners in Black Mountain say sudden enforcement changes by the town are threatening their livelihood.
Scoop: Inside the sudden shuttering of home care provider Inbound Health
The closure underscores mounting uncertainty around the hospital-at-home sector.
Science must move from materialism to mystery
Theoretical physicist and neuroscientist Àlex Gómez-Marín argues that modern science has become trapped in a framework that mistakes matter for the whole of reality. In this wide-ranging interview, Gómez-Marín challenges the foundations of materialism, defends the scientific study of near-death experiences, and calls for a new type of science grounded in mystery and a renewed sense of the sacred. He suggests that abandoning materialism could open the door to a deeper understanding of consciousness, death, and the purpose of human existence. Simon Custer: You are both a theoretical physicist and a neuroscientist, and you have also been fiercely critical of materialist theories of mind and consciousness. What do you think the ultimate nature of reality is?Àlex Gómez-Marín: I don't know what the ultimate nature of reality is, but what I try to first assess is whether the stories that they [mainstream science] have told us about it are right, or maybe whether there are other alternatives. That's why I've been a fierce critic of materialism. As a scientist, I realized that they had sold us this idea that to be a good scientist you also had to subscribe to many other -isms, like materialism, reductionism, and even secularism. And so first I think one needs to unmount these -isms, and then, as is happening today in consciousness studies, we have a huge landscape where there isn't only one game in town, the idea that matter is the only thing that really exists. But because we are studying the hard problem of consciousness, it may be the case that other views of reality, like idealism, or even dualism, or other theories like dual aspect monism... these are philosophical ideas that now, I think, have room in science to be taken seriously. How does something like materialism relate to dualism or idealism? What is materialism in the first place?Well, materialism is the philosophical position that matter is the only really ‘real’ thing in the universe. And I think that worked kind of well because science started 400 years ago and Galileo made that split, I call it the foundational wound. It was a great business move.He said, let's start doing science on that portion of reality that lends itself more easily to mathematization and measurement. So, for some reason, the solidity of this table or the movement of planets lend themselves very well to this foundational idea of science. But as time went on, 400 years later, we realized that we had forgotten the other side, which is what really matters.What really matters is pain, is love, is feelings, sensation, consciousness, which is very hard to define, but very intimate. We all know what it is. It's that thing that disappears when we go into deep sleep and comes back in the morning. SUGGESTED VIEWING On the edges of knowledge With Michael Shermer, Rupert Sheldrake, Güneş Taylor It's what it is like to be, as Nagel said. It's the feeling of being alive. So, materialism is good to study certain things, but then when it ossifies into this ideology and then is dressed like science, now it's preventing us from understanding these key questions that are really that everybody wants to know.Why are we here? Why do we feel reality? Where do we go when we die? And so we need other ways. We need pluralism. I'm only asking for having more options on the table and taking them seriously. Why does materialism fail to explain consciousness? For example, if you were to lobotomize me, I would not be a functional human being. What do you say to someone who might think that materialism adequately explains the mind?Well, here we could speak about different things. We could talk about physics or about neuroscience. I happen to have training with both.For instance, for neuroscientists, 99% of them, I'm not included in that portion, believe that the brain can only be a productive organ. It's an organ that somehow, somewhere, consciousness emerges. It's like a lamp. And then something happens, magic happens, and then consciousness emerges.That's the position you need to be if you're a materialist because if the only really ‘real’ thing is matter, then you need to say, just give us some more time and money and we'll figure out how mind emerges or is produced from matter. There are many philosophically sophisticated ways of criticizing this.Now there's another option, which is the brain as a permissive organ. This was said by William James more than 100 years ago.Now then the brain wouldn't be like this machine, like for instance, a heat engine whose smoke is consciousness, which is what we would have in the first big model, the productive model. But in the permissive model, the brain would be a kind of a filter. And so the brain would still have a very important role in consciousness, but it wouldn't be a productive role.It would be permissive, much like a filter or much like a prism which would receive light. And - I'm speaking metaphorically - it would receive the light of the mind and then it could reflect it and refract it.Now, with these two big options on the table, I think we can make progress into what I call the edges of consciousness, which are all these experiences, weird experiences that many people have, but we don't talk about enough, like near-death experiences, precognitive dreams, synchronicities. These experiences are very important for humans and they have a place in the permissive hypothesis and they are literally impossible in the productive hypothesis. So that's yet one more reason to explore alternatives to materialism. There may be anecdotal evidence for near-death experiences, but is there robust evidence that would be accepted by the majority of scientists who subscribe to the scientific method?Sure. And the plural of anecdotes, someone said, is data.And there's a lot of data. Actually, this year is the 50th anniversary, half a century, since Dr. Raymond Moody realized that we have two ears and one mouth and started listening to what his patients had to say about their experiences while they were clinically dead.The heart had stopped, breathing had stopped in these patients. These patients would come back and tell him these amazing stories that some people may say are hallucinations, but for the patients were hyper-real, like seeing light at the end of the tunnels, seeing deceased family members waiting for them, feeling bliss.___I would say the evidence suggests that the mind can survive the death of activity of the brain.___And so he and others started taking them seriously and writing their accounts down. And then you can do a science based on that material of experience that people have. Now, on the more objective side, more recently people have started to measure what's going on in the brain when people are clinically dead and brought back. This has opened a proper field of study, which is near-death studies.Evidence is a difficult word, because sometimes people think that when you say evidence, this is just the final proof. Evidence is like in a jury. You bring testimony, you bring pieces of data that point in one direction or another.I would say the evidence suggests that the mind can survive the death of activity of the brain. When brains are broken or shut off, there can still be mind going on. And that's revolutionary.That would entail that when we die, it's not game over, which, by the way, is the thesis of materialism. If consciousness survives, materialism dies. It's game over for materialism if something of us continues after we die. Do you think that there is mental continuity after death?Well, I think so, and I believe so, and I could also say I may have experienced it myself, because four years ago I had a near-death experience. I was in the hospital, I lost a lot of blood, and I saw those beings at the end of the tunnel, three beings, and there was yellow light. I was in a well, I was looking upwards, and I hadn't read about NDEs by then, but when I came back from this experience, I decided I would try to integrate this also in my professional life. Not just my personal life, of course, but my professional life as a physicist and as a neuroscientist. So I may have had the experience of glimpses of what an afterlife would be, and I'm not ashamed to say it in this way, and then one can do science of it, and then one can do philosophy of it.One can think about what -isms we were discussing, what views on reality would allow those experiences to be really ‘real,’ as opposed to, well, poor guy, the brain was kind of broken, it must have been a hallucination. Do you have a view about whether individuality or “the ego” persists after death, or whether we sort of merge into some sort of cosmic consciousness instead?I don't know, but my view would be along those lines you're suggesting. I think we could speak about a kind of universal mind, and then the problem is not how we emerge from matter, but how we fragment from a more holistic consciousness into these individual eddies and then when we die, this kind of dissipates.But I'm not sure. For instance, idealism would promote that view, but then what would survive of us after these eddies just vanish and become again the big Consciousness, I'm not sure what that would be. I don't know for sure, but I would tell you I believe something of us survives.And there are other lines of research, not just near-death experience, that can address this really hard question of survival. For instance, there are children who remember previous lives. This was studied by Ian Stevenson at the University of Virginia for more than 50 years.___Research takes place within a selection mechanism that also sometimes reinforces things that are not very scientific.___It's amazing research. He went all over the world, especially in the East, and collected all these case studies, all these stories. In plural, these were data of kids, very young age, who would describe up to 40 items that then he could go and verify.There was no internet. There was really no way the kid could know. Why would the kid say that when I was living in this other body and I was a woman and that's how my house would look like or that's how I would die, right? Again, there is evidence, not proof, but there's evidence not only that something weird and interesting is happening as we cross the threshold, but also when we come back to this life.Scientists should not be afraid of studying this, but they are because there's stigma. There's usually stigma upon the enigma, and this is so unfortunate. And one of the reasons is because of the ideology of materialism, because those things cannot be possible. What is wrong with the politics of science such that they have generated this stigma?So many things. Science is a human activity to begin with.So it falls prey to all our passions and ego and greed. That's one thing. Science is a job for the good and for the bad.You need to get a salary. You need to get grants. Research takes place within a selection mechanism that also sometimes reinforces things that are not very scientific.And then, we didn't have time to unpack this, but science for many years become entangled, as I was suggesting before, to other -isms, materialism, secularism. So anything that smells like the afterlife, people may think has to do with God, and then they freak out.Anything that suggests that there's something about the mind that may not need a physical material substrate to exist, it smells like non-materialism. So, all these -isms are ideologically blocking that kind of research, and then there are all these sociopolitical constraints as to what should be studied and what shouldn't be studied.I call it the backstage of science. Sometimes we scientists or science communicators seem to speak as if the data is the only thing that matters. We say, well, data and theory.But then there's a third leg of this stool, which is all the politics that goes behind the scenes. And we often don't speak about this, and it's quite vicious and petty, and it's very real. Why is materialism so attractive to most scientists?Well, an easy answer is because we've grown up with it.It's what the educational system promotes, and that's what you hear when you go to university. So it's like growing in a culture. It feels like the air in which you breathe.So it's very hard to begin with to detect, well, maybe there's another alternative. Maybe there are other ways of doing science, other environments in which one could do science. That's one reason.And other reasons maybe are more profound, and I'm not qualified to explain them, but I could say, looking at this 400-year history of science, since it started around 1623 with Galileo's book The Assayer, that science went and coupled with all what's going on in the West.And so the fall of religion, you could say, and science presented us this new alternative that then could be coupled very well with other -isms, and this idea of growth, and then science losing its good twin brother, which was philosophy. There's a whole natural history of science starting as philosophy, kind of emancipating or breaking out from philosophy, and then marrying technology, and then marrying other social systems.From that point of view, materialism is a very convenient idea to propose. There were attempts, like the German idealists tried to do a more romantic science. But no, the idea prevailed, like Francis Bacon said: You should pursue nature through all her corners, he said, and make her spill her secrets.Our attitude towards nature in the science that dominates is very much reflecting how we treat nature in our society, in our culture, like a resource to extract secrets by force and then dominate it. How is materialism related to the notions of growth and progress? What's wrong with having a productive citizenry?This is another very interesting and very difficult question to answer.But there's this recent book coming out by Paul Kingsnorth. In it, he explains this idea of the machine and this idea of progress. And this, again, this conflation of more is better, of we need to go forward always, and convincing us that the way to do that is to continually extract more from nature. But because we don't have the religious context anymore, because God is dead, then what do we have? We have what we can do as humans with our own gadgets.It's kind of the story of the Promethean fire. We will just build anything to make ourselves God.A good example today is transhumanism. Transhumanism is this pseudo-religion dressed in technoscientific language whose goal is very religious. They promise immortality, they promise redemption, they promise transformation of the entire natural world, but it's done by human means through technology. Are you suggesting that we can't have ethics without religion?Well, we should have ethics with or without religion. That's another pruning that has happened in science. We say, forget about aesthetics, although some physicists still think that beautiful means probably true, and forget about politics. We pretend there's no backstage of science, and even let's forget about ethics.___Science needs to be in the service of mankind.___Scientists, when they become more like engineers, they're just thinking how to make things work so that they can go to the moon, go to Mars, make machines that think, but they don't think whether that's a good idea.And also consider metaphysics. Many scientists for a long time pretended, and maybe that comes from the stream of positivisms, that really one doesn't need metaphysics at all, except that materialism is always the metaphysics running the system.You see, it's not just ethics. It's the pruning of all of these, you could say, five main legs of philosophy that just makes a kind of unconscious science, a science that doesn't really know what it's doing. It's doing it very well locally, but it just doesn't know what it's doing globally. Do you think science has to have an ultimate vision and purpose behind it for it to be effective or for it to be meaningful and transformative?Yes, a way I would say that is that science needs to be in the service of mankind. And it hasn't been that. And we can see it through, you know, when we discovered the secrets of the atom, and all of a sudden, the Manhattan Project, and then we create nuclear weapons.And now we're trying to crack how machines may think, and now we're creating this mess, right? So science needs to be in service of mankind, not in service of a few ideas that maybe want to make more money or just dominate upon nature. What about planes, trains, automobiles, and modern medicine? Hasn't science served mankind by helping us develop those technologies?Yes and no. I see where you're going, and it's fair.I came here by plane, and it's a blessing. When I almost died, the surgeons did their job, and they saved my life. But these two forced choices between Luddites and Silicon Valley types, I think, of course, it's a false dichotomy.Progress, in a way, it's good, but we often don't speak about the dark side of the moon. We say the great things that progress has brought, and we don't speak about the disasters, the side effects that it has come with, and the same when we promise new technologies. We tend to think that any technology is great, that email is going to save us so much time because we don't need to write letters and send them anymore.Is that true? I spend so many hours a week writing emails. Let's just say there are great things about it and bad things about it. People like Harvard psychologist Steven Pinker, for example, argue that we've made moral progress over time because of the Enlightenment. Do you think that's totally wrong-headed?I think he's emphasizing a side of the moon, and he does that very well, and you can find tons of plots where there's a slope going up and say it's great. But I think he should also tell the not-so-friendly story.But if your ideology is just to resist and continue to explain that the Enlightenment is the best thing ever and reason is the best thing ever… this feels to me like you're worshipping these abstractions.I'm very critical of it and also of these, again, science communicators and scientists that say, Oh, science says, in the name of science, experts say. It's like, come on, let's be careful because we can shoot ourselves in the foot by putting forth to the people an image of science that we know is not really true. Recently there's been a resurgence of spirituality and of people who say that they're spiritual but not religious, especially in the United States. If materialism is going away, what is going to fill that gap? Are we going to return to traditional religion? Do you see that being connected with the rise of the political right?I'm not a fortune teller, so I don't know what's going to happen. But, yeah, we could say we're in this post-materialist age and even post-secular age. One cannot come back to the past, but maybe just to contact with the roots is a good idea.What do I mean by that? I think we need to do a science 2.0, a science that says thank you to Galileo and thank you to materialism, but we need to reinvent even a new kind of scientific method. We need to do so in a culture where we realize humans cannot thrive in a vacuum where there's this idea that the sacred has to be removed.Now, how do we do that without bringing in back all the vices of religion? I don't know. I'm from a Catholic country.Here we are in England, so there are differences and interreligious dialogue has always been a challenge. But I think maybe a way of putting it is: after all these conflicts and branchings I was quickly alluding to, science from philosophy and then also from religion, now there's a time of reconciliation perhaps and maybe debates in the proper sense, like exchange of ideas in service of learning and getting into something higher than both poles. We need science to talk to religious people and it's interesting when people say they're spiritual and not religious.I think this is just a way of saying, no, I don't want to go back, I want to go forward. But at the end of the day, religions have offered us practices and grounding that we now desperately need. Everybody can and should just meditate or pray or do whatever they want, but we're in a crisis and it's time for reconciliation. What do you say to critics that say you are merely projecting our need for meaning onto a fundamentally indifferent universe?Yeah, I know that the typical science communicator says something like this. But we're not projecting. Human beings feed on meaning.It's the other way around. If you're a materialist, because the only thing that there is is matter, all that comes next, free will, consciousness, meaning, this is a kind of illusion that we need to explain.They're just craving for meaning, but there isn't really for them. I would also like to remind my materialist friends that for decades, if not centuries, they've said in the name of science, we know that this and this and this doesn't really exist. I think now they sense they're forced to say, well, actually, we don't know. We've been saying, for instance, that there's nothing after you die, and now probably they need to admit that they don't know the answer.___We need to do a science 2.0, a science that says thank you to Galileo and thank you to materialism, but we need to reinvent even a new kind of scientific method.___So it's a moment to open up possibilities and also to gently but fiercely critique these claims that I think harm society. If you say in the name of science, get on with it, when your father dies, you'll never see him again. Well, what the F do you know about it? You haven't studied the literature, you haven't had any of those experiences, and basically what you're doing is you're just doing marketing on ideology. This needs to stop. Do you think that it's scarier for some people to entertain the thought that there might be life after death, compared to a materialist worldview where you just die, given that there might be consequences for unsavory behaviour?Well, death and dying is scary. It's maybe the ultimate ending. It's a limit on life, and when we're in this conquest mode, we don't like limits.And it also has, there's a shockwave backwards, so I think if you change your notion of what death is or may be, you live differently. It also has consequences, as you're saying, for the future because this is not our only goal here and we come back in whatever form. And again, different religions would say different things. I the East, they are more happy with the idea of reincarnation, and here in the West, there are other preferences. But in any case, it changes how we live, and that's really what matters.It's not about just projecting or imagining what we'll be after, but how we live now and also how we treat those who are dying. So it goes from the individual to the families, to the hospitals.Now in the near-death research I do, this has ramifications at all these levels, all the way to society.But our society is thanatophobic. It has a phobia of death. We don't want to hear about death, and this is another thing we need to put on the table and be willing to talk about it. Do you think that we might get closer to answering ultimate questions like why is there anything at all if we jettison materialism?That’s an excellent question, Simon. Two things: we should stop treating reality, I believe, as a great sudoku, as an enigma, as something that with intelligence, money, and time that we will crack and instead treat reality more like a mystery. And what you do for in front of a mystery is not to be the clever guy in a class and say “I’ll solve you” but more like “I will bow and you will transform me.”I know this sounds a bit like a scientist speaking like a mystic. But I think this reorientation is needed. In the end, we won’t crack the big questions, but they will transform us. If we free ourselves from this prison of materialism, the way we will explore these questions will be freer, more creative, and in service of mankind. Do you think exploring mystery is the reason why we are here?I think we are here because, and this pseudo-theological argument I’m making off the cuff, But the One, the Absolute, if there is such a thing, had everything except limitation. We are that absolute experiencing that contingency. It’s like an act of divine proprioception. It’s a wonderful adventure, it’s just incredible to be alive. Perhaps we have forgotten why we are here and the whole point is to experience the flesh.Let me end by saying this. I criticize materialism harshly. I bang on this dead horse, because I think it’s dead. But matter is a great mystery. So maybe my invitation is as follows: hey materialist friends, come here, let’s work on materialism 2.0! Consciousness is a mystery, but matter is also a mystery. The fact that we can have an intersubjective experience consensus, the fact that we can apply mathematics, that we can measure things... the physical world we take for granted, but it is a great mystery too.Maybe that’s related to your last question: why are we here? Why did spirit decide to incarnate? Being in the flesh may be a great thing if spirit decided to do so.Àlex Gómez-Marín, thank you very much.My pleasure.
It’s Suddenly the Greatest Boogeyman for Women in Their 30s and Early 40s. It Doesn’t Need to Be.
It's kind of the Labubu of women's health.