SCROLL NEWS / DISCOVERY
Search headlines
Find the stories shaping the conversation.
Results for " Bea " 8,306 found 🔀 AI-powered Shuffle
Trump’s NIH director visits with Mass. scientists, health care executives affected by research funding cuts
Dr. Jay Bhattacharya said he wants Iowa and Nebraska to have equal opportunities for research funding as Massachusetts.
Trump’s NIH director visits with Mass. scientists, health care executives affected by research funding cuts
Dr. Jay Bhattacharya said he wants Iowa and Nebraska to have equal opportunities for research funding as Massachusetts.
NFL Week 14 Preview: Stats and Storylines for 6 FOX Sports Games
Week 14 brings six games to the FOX Sports lineup and we preview a busy slate, including Bears at Packers.
If Betting on Vibes, 'No Team in Football has Better Vibes than the Bears'
Putting down some cash on Bears-Packers? There are reasons to pick both sides. But the vibes? They say roll with Chicago. Sammy P reports.
As Denver's professional teams keep winning, business booming at local sports gear stores
As the Denver Nuggets, Denver Broncos and Colorado Avalanche fans celebrate winning seasons so far, local sports stores are ready with all the gear.
As Denver's professional teams keep winning, business booming at local sports gear stores
As the Denver Nuggets, Denver Broncos and Colorado Avalanche fans celebrate winning seasons so far, local sports stores are ready with all the gear.
N.J. students are finally beating pre-pandemic test scores in one surprising subject
New Jersey education officials had some rare positive news when they released statewide standardized test scores this week.
Trump, 79, Is Absolutely Furious About Intense Scrutiny on His Mental Decline
Insiders say the president spends days obsessing over reports comparing him to “Sleepy Joe.”
A Huge Redistricting Win for the GOP
Plus, testimony on the Caribbean boat strikes, updates on Trump’s ballroom plans and an arrest in the Jan. 6 pipe bomb case, in this edition of the WSJ Politics newsletter.
Sphere Entertainment (SPHR): Valuation Check as Short Interest Surges Well Above Peers
Sphere Entertainment (SPHR) is drawing attention after short interest jumped to roughly 33% of its float, well above peers, and signaling a crowded bearish trade that could shape the stock’s next move. See our latest analysis for Sphere Entertainment. That spike in short interest comes after a powerful run, with Sphere Entertainment’s share price now at $82.76 and posting a 30 day share price return of 12.71%, a 90 day share price return of 69.24%, and a 99.37% year to date share price...
LeBron James' 18-year-old record comes to an end
LeBron James' incredible run of 1,297 regular-season NBA games scoring 10 or more points ends as the Los Angeles Lakers beat the Toronto Raptors 123-120.
Cal State Northridge defeats Cal State Bakersfield 87-66
LOS ANGELES (AP) Larry Hughes Jr. scored 27 points as Cal State Northridge beat Cal State Bakersfield 87-66 on Thursday in a Big West Conference opener.
Ulta Beauty says its bet on K-beauty is paying off
CEO Kecia Steelman said in an earnings call that K-beauty is driving sales and bringing in new customers.
We The People: Sphere celebrates second anniversary with continued innovation in Las Vegas entertainment
The Sphere marked its second anniversary by continuing to redefine entertainment through immersive experiences that transport audiences beyond traditional viewing.
Packers running back Josh Jacobs updates his health ahead of Bears game
Bear Bones: Getting you ready for Bears vs Packers
Join our Bear Bones discussing all things Bears vs Packers!
Why BYU QB Bear Bachmeier is key to Cougars upsetting Texas Tech for Big 12 title
Bachmeier has been one of the most electric freshmen in the country in 2025
Do Americans support Trump’s boat strikes? It’s complicated.
If nothing else, the controversy over the Trump administration’s second strike on an alleged drug boat in the Caribbean has surfaced a long-overdue debate about its already legally dubious first strikes.
Robot Musk Goes Full ‘Poop Mode’ in Unhinged Art Freakshow
Robotic quadrupeds with hyperrealistic billionaire heads churned out artwork in the most unsettling manner at Art Basel Miami.
The Big Dumper effect! Mariners top list of trending '25 teams
Call it the Big Dumper Effect. The Mariners were the No. 1 trending sports team in the United States in 2025, according to Google's Year in Search. The Mariners beat out the NBA champion Oklahoma City Thunder and runner-up Indiana Pacers for the top spot on the trending teams list.
Nigel Farage denies saying anything racist ‘with malice’ as he attacks BBC
Reform UK leader launches tirade against broadcaster in latest effort to address claims of abuse from school contemporaries
How to watch every Investec Champions Cup match on TV this weekend
Rugby union’s premier club competition gets underway with Bordeaux Begles as the defending champions after beating Northampton Saints in last year’s final
'We're adding possibilities' MUSC Health Opens Phase 3 of West Ashley Medical Pavilion
WCIV ABC News 4, Charleston, South Carolina provides coverage of local and national news, sports, weather and community events in the region, including North Charleston, Mt Pleasant, Summerville, Hanahan, Goose Creek, Rantowles, Cottageville, St George, Moncks Corner, Jacksonboro, Ravenel, Cottageville, Walterboro, Sullivans Island, Dewees Island and Folly Beach.
The Chicago Bears are winning for the first time in years. Their shirtless coach is a big reason why.
Chicago Bears head coach Ben Johnson acknowledged his burgeoning reputation as, according to his quarterback, a “man of the people” on Monday.
Bigleaf Networks Named to Inc.’s 2025 Best in Business List in Best in Innovation
BEAVERTON, Ore., December 04, 2025--Bigleaf Networks is proud to announce its inclusion on the Inc. Best in Business list in the Best in Innovation category. Inc.’s annual Best in Business Awards celebrate the exceptional achievements and contributions of companies that have made a profound impact on their industries.
NFL Week 14 picks: Bears defeat Packers at Lambeau; Texans topple Chiefs
Sam Farmer makes his picks and predictions for Week 14 of the NFL season, with the Chicago Bears winning at Lambeau Field and the Chiefs moving to below .500.
I'm the CEO of BeatBox Beverages. DJing, dad duty, and catching up with Mark Cuban are all part of my day.
Justin Fenchel started BeatBox Beverages with his friends in business school. In 2014, Mark Cuban invested $1 million for a third of the company.
Anderson leads Xavier against Cincinnati after 28-point game
Xavier hosts the Cincinnati Bearcats after Roddie Anderson III scored 28 points in Xavier's 96-74 victory against the Saint Francis (PA) Red Flash
'Nine points from top but a million miles away'
Ross: If we have stooped so low that we need a dodgy last minute penalty to beat a team like Dundee United then the squad have a problem that can't be fixed with the current players. If Jack Butland and Nico Raskin weren't there this year, we could've been relegated by now. Also, James Tavernier had a poor day, we should maybe consider a long term replacement for him in January.
Arsenal's 'beautiful' line-up change
Match of the Day pundit Danny Murphy says Arsenal's squad depth is "remarkable" after Brentford struggled to contain the right side of their attack in the 2-0 win on Wednesday: "It's becoming remarkable now how good their squad is because [Jurrien} Timber and [Bukayo] Saka play on the right hand side normally, which is arguably one of the best combinations down the right side in Europe. "Then they bring in [Ben] White and [Noni] Madueke, who looked like they have played together for seasons. It was a beautiful combination.
Florida wildlife agency’s leaders claim they don’t have to follow science
When I was growing up here in Florida, everyone revered science. We looked to high-IQ scientists to tell us how to fly to the moon, how to transplant a heart, how to fire up a laser, how the universe began with a Big Bang. But science is clearly out of favor now, especially in Florida. […]
Virginia jumps out early, beats Texas 88-69
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) Chance Mallory scored 16 points, and Virginia jumped out early and cruised past Texas 88-69 on Wednesday night in the ACC/SEC Challenge.
Lamar defeats Louisiana 65-55
BEAUMONT, Texas (AP) Braden East had 24 points in Lamar's 65-55 win over Louisiana on Wednesday.
Seedy K’s GameCap: Arkansas
In my pregame prep, I refreshed my memory about some truly important mileposts, battles of note against Arkansas in decades past. The Good: Scooter or Charles one or the other or both following a shot to beat the Razorbacks in Knoxville in the Dream Game Chaser game. The Bad: The season ending loss to Arkansas […]
GOP Senator: Pete Hegseth ‘is responsible’ for processes that lead to strike on survivors in the Caribbean
Bears Over Beers: Return To Lambeau, Packers Preview
The latest episode of @bearsoverbeers talks the Chicago Bears upcoming game against the Green Bay Packers and more.
The Tragedy of Christian Power Politics
“There is a time for war,” says the preacher in Ecclesiastes, “and a time for peace.” Let the present time point toward the time of perfect and ultimate peace, when the swords of nations shall be beaten into plowshares.
Packers vs. Bears Injury Report
See who's in and who's out for the Week 14 matchup between the Green Bay Packers and Chicago Bears on December 7, 2025.
Big 12 Sports welcomes Pat Timlin WISN 12
The newest member of the Big 12 Sports team makes his first trip to Lambeau Field.
MrBeast is building a platform to connect creators and big advertisers
Top YouTuber MrBeast is building a marketplace to connect creators with Fortune 1,000 brand advertisers.
Trump says he’d support release of video of second strike on alleged drug vessel
President Donald Trump said Wednesday that his administration would “certainly” release video of a follow-up strike on an alleged drug vessel in the Caribbean after the initial attack did not kill everyone on board.
MrBeast is planning to launch a phone service called 'Beast Mobile'
Your phone plan could soon be tied to MrBeast, as the YouTuber has plans to launch a wireless service called Beast Mobile.
Analysis: What happens inside a command center during a military strike?
The controversy over who gave the order for a second strike that apparently killed people clinging to an alleged drug trafficking boat in the Caribbean has raised important questions about how and where such life-and-death decisions are made.
PAHO ramps up support to Caribbean health systems one month after Hurricane Melissa
Washington, D.C., 3 December 2025 (PAHO)– One month after Hurricane Melissa tore through the Caribbean, the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) continues working closely with national health authorities of Jamaica, Haiti, and Cuba to restore essential services, prevent and respond to disease outbreaks, and strengthen health systems in the hardest-hit countries.
Friday's World Cup draw to determine fields' summer path
How Friday's draw in D.C. compares to the 1994 Las Vegas event
Is There Now an Opportunity in PENN Entertainment After Steep 5 Year Share Price Decline?
Wondering if PENN Entertainment’s beaten down share price is a hidden bargain or a value trap? This article will walk through the numbers with you, step by step. Despite some big swings over the last few years, PENN now trades around $14.69, with returns of -0.3% over 7 days, -11.6% over 30 days, -23.6% year to date, and a steep -33.0% over the last year that has clearly shifted market sentiment. Those declines sit on top of an even tougher long term picture, with shares down -55.9% over 3...
Cowboys vs. Chiefs sets regular-season record for most-watched NFL game after 57.2 million viewers tuned in on Thanksgiving
A record number of people watched the Cowboys beat the Chiefs on Thanksgiving.
Launching hundreds of thousands of satellites will threaten space research, scientists warn
We've all come to appreciate the beautiful images space telescopes provide us of galaxies, nebulas and more, but they also provide astronomers with important scientific information about our universe. That science may be under threat in the next decade if the proposed 560,000 satellites are launched.
Packers WR Christian Watson Makes Bold Proclamation About NFC North
Christian Watson declares, "We're coming for that spot," as the Green Bay Packers target the NFC North lead and top NFC seeding against a surging Chicago Bears team.
Prisco's Week 14 NFL picks: Packers beat Bears, Cowboys keep rolling
Pete Prisco reveals all of his Week 14 picks, including Chiefs keeping playoff hopes alive.
Missouri State football bowl game predictions, where Bears could land
With the bowl games announced on Sunday, here are the potential landing spots for Missouri State football, according to national media.
Florida wildlife agency’s leaders claim they don’t have to follow science
When I was growing up here in Florida, everyone revered science. We looked to high-IQ scientists to tell us how to fly to the moon, how to transplant a heart, how to fire up a laser, how the universe began with a Big Bang. But science is clearly out of favor now, especially in Florida. […]
2025 NFL Odds: Bears Most-Bet Team to Win Super Bowl after Upsetting Eagles
Time to go all in on Chicago? Bettors think so, throwing bucks behind the Bears after their Black Friday win over Philly.
Bears-Packers Week 16 matchup flexed to Saturday night
The Bears’ Week 16 matchup against the Packers has been flexed to a later time slot.
Packers-Bears game flexed to Saturday night for Week 16
Assume that the Green Bay Packers’ game against the Baltimore Ravens in Week 17 will be flexed into a night slot, too.
Omarion Hampton injury: Chargers RB likely to return against Eagles
The Chargers could get a boost to their run game against the Eagles with the latest on Omarion Hampton
Flag football championships: Young sport thriving in Alabama, plus team capsules
Flag football is not just unbeaten Central-Phenix City, according to the Red Devils’ coach.
Dave Coulier reveals he has tongue cancer, his 2nd diagnosis in a year, after beating non-Hodgkin lymphoma
The "Full House" star also shared that he created AwearMarket, a digital marketplace that sells toxin-free products.
‘My Next Guest Needs No Introduction With David Letterman’ Sets Season 6 Premiere; MrBeast, Michael B. Jordan & Jason Bateman Join Show
David Letterman is back with Season 6 of My Next Guest Needs No Introduction on Netflix. The former late-night host recently sat down with Jay Kelly star Adam Sandler for a special episode. That December 1 episode was not part of Season 6, which will premiere on December 16. It comes after Netflix renewed My …
David Letterman to Interview Michael B. Jordan, MrBeast and Jason Bateman on Netflix Show
The three-episode sixth season returns on Dec. 16.
Mistral closes in on Big AI rivals with new open-weight frontier and small models
Mistral unveils its Mistral 3 lineup, including a frontier model and efficient small models designed for offline, customizable enterprise use—aiming to prove small, fine-tuned AI can beat closed-source giants.
Metroid Prime 4: Beyond is a technical marvel and game design nightmare
After a decade of development, Metroid Prime 4: Beyond is a beautiful but befuddling game full of misguided design decisions and annoying sidekicks.
New entertainment district allows locals to browse and booze in fast-growing Alabama city
Patrons will be able to drink from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Monday through Saturday.
The Bear’s Den, December 2, 2025
The Chicago Bears start working towards showdown with Packers
Ole Miss, eyeing 6-0 home start, meets improved Miami
Ole Miss will try to remain unbeaten at home when it hosts Miami, which is playing its first true road game of the season, in Oxford, Miss., on Tuesday night.
NFL playoff picture: Bears, Patriots hold top seeds in NFC and AFC
Lawmakers demand audio and video of boat attack as follow-up strike raises concern on Capitol Hill
The Republican chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee on Monday said Secretary Pete Hegseth had confirmed to him there was a second US strike on an alleged drug boat in the Caribbean in September — an attack that has drawn bipartisan scrutiny on Capitol Hill.
The Apple Watch Series 11 is $70 off, beating its Black Friday price
Sometimes, good deals come to those who wait.
Nightreign Reveals Its Deadliest Field Boss And I Don't Believe It
Bell Bearing Hunter's placement is raising questions
11 surprisingly simple, expert-backed fixes for dramatically better sleep | BBC Science Focus Magazine
Everyone has trouble sleeping from time to time, even sleep scientists. This is what they do to beat insomnia.
Chris 'The Bear' Fallica's Top 10 College Football Rankings: Week 15 Edition
Chris 'The Bear' Fallica delivers his top 10 rankings ahead of conference championship weekend of the college football season.
This Unbeatable LG OLED Deal Takes the Cyber Monday Crown
Nab this stunning LG OLED C5 smart TV at a deep discount at Amazon and Best Buy.
/dev: 2026 Season One Gameplay Preview
A preview of the gameplay changes coming to Summoner’s Rift in 2026.
Review: Marvel Cosmic Invasion (PS5) - Marvel's Most Fun Beat-'Em-Up in Decades
Beta Ray Brill
/dev: 2026 Season One Gameplay Preview
A preview of the gameplay changes coming to Summoner’s Rift in 2026.
WHO issues global guideline on the use of GLP-1 medicines in treating obesity
To address the growing global health challenge of obesity, which affects more than 1 billion people, WHO has released its first guideline on the use of Glucagon-Like Peptide-1 (GLP-1) therapies for treating obesity as a chronic, relapsing disease.
Super Bowl 2026: Pregame performers include Charlie Puth, Brandi Carlile
Charlie Puth will sing the national anthem, Brandi Carlile will perform “America the Beautiful,” and Coco Jones will sing “Lift Every Voice and Sing.”
Exploring Denmark’s Tardigrade Fauna through Citizen Science
In a groundbreaking study that intertwines the realms of citizen science and systematic biology, researchers have successfully unveiled an intricate tapestry of tardigrade fauna residing in Danish cryptogams. Tardigrades, or “water bears,” are microscopic, water-dwelling ani
WRDW TV and Peachtree Sports Network to Broadcast 10 Augusta Basketball Games
Augusta, Ga. - Augusta University basketball will once again be air on the Peachtree Sports Network. A total of 10 games, including four doubleheaders will be on WRDW-TV's affiliate for the second straight year.
Marvel Cosmic Invasion is another mighty brawler from Dotemu
Marvel Cosmic Invasion is the latest beat 'em up from Tribute Games and Dotemu, and it packs a punch thanks to a superpowered tag system.
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.
Sports betting to impact Missouri — and its neighbors
Missourians no longer have to travel out of state to bet on sports. How will that impact Missouri and its neighbors?
Top Palm Beach County professionals, business people on the move for the week of Dec. 1
Top Palm Beach County business professionals moving up within their industry or standing out in their community.
I left JPMorgan to work for MrBeast. I took a 50% pay cut and know it was the right decision for my career.
Bart Dziedzic left JPMorgan for MrBeast in 2024. He took a big pay cut but he now values experience and hands-on work over salary.
How Recent Changes Are Shaping the Story Behind Beauty Health's Valuation
Beauty Health stock has recently seen its price target adjusted, with the fair value estimate holding steady at $1.93 despite some shifts in underlying assumptions. The primary driver behind this update is a lowered discount rate, which reflects analysts' increased confidence in management's ability to reduce risk and reinforce revenue stability. Stay tuned to learn how you can follow new developments and better understand the evolving narrative behind Beauty Health's valuation. Analyst Price...
Alicia Keys says a realization about her 'own triggers' shaped the way she parents
Alicia Keys and her husband, Swizz Beatz, have a blended family of five kids, three of whom are from his previous relationships.
Rising levels of hate forcing women out of Swedish public life, says equality agency
Country seen as champion of equal rights faces reckoning after senior politician says she felt compelled to quit
Sound Smart: 7 Observations from NFL Sunday in Week 13
Was Jerry Jones right? Are the Bears for real? What should the Panthers do with Bryce Young? Henry McKenna offers a big-picture look at Week 13.
Knicks beat Raptors 116-94 for their 4th straight victory
NEW YORK (AP) Josh Hart had 20 points, 12 rebounds and seven assists, Karl-Anthony Towns added 22 points and eight rebounds and the New York Knicks beat the Toronto Raptors 116-94 on Sunday for their fourth straight victory.
Lawmakers from both parties voice concerns over follow-up strike on alleged drug boat
Lawmakers from both sides of the aisle voiced serious concerns over the weekend over reports on a follow-up strike that killed survivors on an alleged drug vessel in the Caribbean, as the Senate and House armed services panels pledged to conduct “vigorous oversight.”
Local retailers encourage continued support after Small Business Saturday
Small Business Saturday may have come and gone, but local businesses in the Two Virginias are reminding you to still shop small.
NFL playoff picture: Bears jump to No. 1 in the NFC, 4 teams including Raiders eliminated from contention
Lawmakers voice bipartisan support for congressional reviews of Trump's boat strikes
Lawmakers from both parties said Sunday they support congressional reviews of U.S. military strikes against vessels suspected of smuggling drugs in the Caribbean Sea and eastern Pacific Ocean, citing a published report that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth issued a verbal order for all crew members to be killed as part of a Sept. 2 attack.
Britney Spears discusses 'sadness and darkness' in Instagram return after Kevin Federline dispute
Britney Spears shared an emotional post after reactivating her Instagram, discussing the 'beautiful things' that can come from 'suffering and ugliness and sacrifice.'
Alex Killorn with a Shorthanded Goal vs. Chicago Blackhawks
2025 NFL playoff picture, Week 13: Who's in, who's out, who's in the hunt
Latest 2025 NFL playoff picture and standings update with which teams are in, out or still alive.
America's most popular cooking oil may be linked to obesity, new study finds
New research links America's most popular cooking oil to obesity through metabolic pathways that convert fatty acids into weight-promoting compounds.
U.S. and Ukrainian negotiators meet as Donald Trump seeks to broker an end to the war
High-level peace talks were underway Sunday in Hallandale Beach.