Topic
Edge of Science
Ideas that real scientists and philosophers take seriously but nobody has proved: parallel universes, simulation theory, the Fermi paradox and theories of consciousness. Each one shows what supports it and what is missing.
Ideas · NeuroscienceIntegrated Information TheoryUnder this theory, a system does not need to be a brain to have some degree of consciousness, which critics say leads to strange conclusions. It was put to a head-to-head test against a rival in 2023, and neither came out clearly ahead. More than a hundred researchers called it pseudoscience. So is it real science?Ideas · PhysicsMany-Worlds InterpretationIn this reading of quantum physics, a measurement never picks one result. Every possible outcome happens, and you split along with it. A Princeton student proposed it in 1957, and it is one of several mainstream readings of quantum theory. The catch is that no experiment can tell it apart from its rivals. So is it science?Ideas · AstronomyThe Fermi ParadoxA galaxy billions of years old should have been crossed by any technological species many times over, yet we have found no confirmed sign of anyone. A 2018 study found a substantial chance we are alone. Others say we have barely looked. Fermi is reported to have asked at lunch, "Where is everybody?" Does anyone have an answer?Ideas · PhilosophyThe Simulation ArgumentA philosopher argued in 2003 that one of three statements must be true, and one is that we are almost certainly living in a computer simulation. His reasoning is that simulated minds would far outnumber real ones. Critics say no observation could ever count against it. Is it science, or only logic?
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