I can never tell if my "hits" are from robots or human beings. Please do me a huge favor and leave a comment, however short, to tell me someone is out there reading this stuff ... I owe Hofstadter a huge debt of gratitude for his "Surfaces and Essences" and, to a lesser extent "I Am a Strange Loop". He points out the central role that analogy plays in our thinking and, in Strange Loop, the fact that we "bootstrap" our idea of what it is to be human through an analogy between our own experience and that of others.  Our conviction that the world is full of folks like us and that we are a person such as those around us is ultimately based on analogy. We then proceed to endlessly refine this most fundamental of analogies. What is it like to be somebody else? Let me explain what it is like to be me. I wonder what it would be like to be James Bond? Or Superman? Or God? Such curiosity leads us quickly into deep trouble. By analogy, we ask ourselves how ...

Interesting discussion between leading atheists  Richard Dawkins, Daniel Dennett, Sam Harris , Ayaan Hirsi Ali A wide-ranging discussion of subtle issues with atheism, including an unusually subtle treatment of why people accept religion - the process of assimilation and the difficulty in freeing people from assimilation. Risks associated with criticizing Islam; When to take the gloves off - being polite to people who have been indoctrinated; Vetting the authorities; How liberal kids get assimilated to radical Islam; Sam Harris speaks eloquently about the powerful meme of Islam; Dawkins doesn't understand that everyone doesn't think like he does; Dennett refers to the "narrative arc" in TV shows and movies, which primes a person for assimilation; The appeal of Islam to intelligent, liberal women; Ali calls Islam a form of madness; Dennett compares crime committed for religious reasons with drunk driving Harris points out that religious delusion is excluded in DSM  Ar...

There are many reasons why humans are attracted to the idea of a spirit-filled Universe. "Theory of mind", which gives he brain a perception (not just a "theory") that other beings are conscious and act with intent just as we do. These days, we see this as a brain function that does not reflect reality, just as the illusion that things get smaller as they move away from us. Even our modern, scientifically-trained minds make us see life where there is movement. Another consequence of they way we are built is a survival strategy that involves manipulation of the environment (tool use being the most obvious aspect of it). We expect to control the world around us and we are frustrated at the limitation of our power to do so. It is easy to imagine that the world can be (or actually is) controlled by a mind and a mind can be persuaded to help us do things we can't do for ourselves. The illusion of time is strong in the human brain. We don't remember the past as ...