Monthly Archives: January 2022

Photo credit: superanton, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons.

We have enough problems with attaining universal human rights, but activists want animals and nature to have human-type rights. Transhumanists and futurists also worry about guaranteeing rights for AI technologies when they attain consciousness.

The latest example comes inThe Conversationfrom a professor of game designing who knew that was an academic discipline? named Richard A. Bartle, at the University of Essex. He believes that we may one day create virtual worlds with creatures as intelligent as ourselves. From, How to Be a God:

I believe wewillhave virtual worlds containing characters as smart as we are if not smarter and in full possession of free will. What will our responsibilities towards these beings be? We will after all be the literal gods of the realities in which they dwell, controlling the physics of their worlds. We can do anything we like to them.

Actually, that would not be a problem because they would be neither alive nor real. No matter how sophisticated these avatars or cyber creatures, it would all be mere programming, in a fictional universe of our own conjuring. That would not make us gods, but gamers.

But Bartle believes we would have a concrete moral obligation to these non-existent beings:

If we create our characters tobefree-thinking beings, then we must treat them as if theyaresuch regardless of how they might appear to an external observer.

That being the case, then, can we switch our virtual worlds off? Doing so could be condemning billions of intelligent creatures to non-existence. Would it nevertheless be OK if we saved a copy of their world at the moment we ended it? Does the theoretical possibility that we may switch their world back on exactly as it was mean were notactuallymurdering them? What if wedont have the original game software?

Sorry, but this isnt worth the loss of any sleep. To begin, only human beings can be murdered. Moreover, something that isnt alive cant be killed. The worst thing that would be happening is that non-existent beings would remain non-existent.

And heres a non-problem:

Accepting that our characters of the future are free-thinking beings, where would they fit in a hierarchy of importance? In general, given a straight choice between saving a sapient being (such as a toddler) or a merely sentient one (such as a dog), people would choose the former over the latter. Given a similar choice between saving a real dog or a virtual saint, which would prevail?

The dog. It is alive.Lifeshould be the first prerequisite of inherent moral value. To which, I add, a dog can experience pain, love, joy, hunger, and contentment. In direct contrast, a virtual saint isnt really a saint. Its merely a computer program.

Bartle asks whether we should create such creatures at all. I dont think we can or ever will, but if we are worried about such non-existent moral dilemmas, just dont play.

Finally, Bartle seems to be saying out ofThe Matrix that we live in such a manufactured universe:

Humanity doesnt yet have an ethical framework for the creation of realities of which we are gods. No system of meta-ethics yet exists to help us. We need to work this outbeforewe build worlds populated by beings with free will, whether 50, 500, 5,000,000 years from now or tomorrow. These are questions foryouto answer.

Be careful how you do so, though. You may set a precedent.

We ourselves are the non-player characters of Reality.

No, we are not characters. We are real people, living in an actual universe whether created, intelligently designed, or evolved in which the actions we take are consequential and truly do matter morally.

If we want to make a better world in the here and now, perhaps we should focus more on the rights and duties that arise out of human exceptionalism and not concern ourselves with the fate of fictional non-beings that not who will never really exist.

Cross-posted at The Corner.

See the rest here:
Professor Explains How to Be a God - Discovery Institute

The laws of physics makes it impossible for the vaccines to eliminate or affect the Higgs Boson particle, known in media as the God Particle

A Facebook post published on January 11 by Facebook page Filipino Future falsely claims that COVID-19 vaccines remove the God Particle in the body.

The posts caption has a line that reads: More variants, more shots. Para ano? Para makumpleto ang pag eliminate ng God Particle sa katawan mo, at trabahuin ng mRNA ang pag create ng new strains of tissues na magpapangyari upang ihanda ka sa transhumanism goal ng mga Elitista.

(More variant, more shots. For what? To complete the elimination of the God Particle in your body and to allow mRNA to create new strains of tissues that will prepare you for the transhumanism goal of the elitists.)

The post also defined the God Particle in the line that reads: What is the God Particle? Ito yong mark of God sa DNA ng tao, yong conscience mo, yong naka tanim sa bawat hibla ng tissues ng katawan mo. (What is the God Particle? Its the mark of God in the DNA of humans, your conscience, its in every fiber of the tissues of your body.)

The post has over 300 reactions, 150 comments, and 250 shares on Facebook, as of writing.

This claim is false.

COVID-19 vaccines cannot do anything to eliminate or even affect particles like the Higgs Boson, known in media as the God Particle, due to the limitations of the laws of physics.

The term God Particle was coined by Nobel Laureate for Physics Leon M. Lederman in his book The God Particle: If the Universe is the Answer, What is the Question? originally published in 1993.

The term is used to refer to the sub-atomic particle that gives all particles their mass, which is technically called the Higgs Boson, named after theoretical physicist and Nobel Laureate Peter Higgs. The Higgs Boson was first observed on July 4, 2012.

The European Center for Nuclear Research says that sub-atomic particles are so small that they are governed by either the strong or the weak nuclear force and are described by the quantum theory. Meanwhile, any matter that is larger than atoms is governed by gravity and is described by the general theory of relativity.

These differences do not allow sub-atomic particles to interact with the macro world, and physicists have not yet fit the two into a single framework. The difference in models also explains why sub-atomic particles cannot interact with normal matter.

Dr. Don Lincoln, a senior scientist at the Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory, told Rappler that there is no credible link between the sub-atomic world and vaccines.

Lincoln explained that removing the Higgs Field from an object or a body would instantly make its atoms infinitely large because it is responsible for the mass of every matter in the universe. The Higgs Field is the associated field of the Higgs Boson particle.

No Higgs field means that atoms become infinitely large.If the Higgs field disappeared in the body, youd evaporate or explode, depending on how fast the Higgs field disappeared. Given that there are no reports of post-vaccine explosions or disappearances, I think we can dispel this claim, Lincoln said.

According to the World Health Organization, vaccines work by triggering an immune response in the body to fight a specific virus.

Rappler has fact-checked posts from Filipino Future multiple times in the past. Here are more fact-checks on Filipino Future:

Lorenz Dantes Pasion/Rappler.com

Lorenz Dantes Pasion is a Rappler volunteer. This fact check was reviewed by a member of Rapplers research team and a senior editor. Learn more about Rapplers internship program here.

Keep us aware of suspicious Facebook pages, groups, accounts, websites, articles, or photos in your network by contacting us at factcheck@rappler.com. Let us battle disinformation one Fact Check at a time.

Read the original:
FALSE: COVID-19 vaccines eliminate 'God Particle' in the body - Rappler

Ashley Carter (Editor) -Paulie & Henry: The End of a Goodfellas Era(Release date TBC)

I strongly suspect Im not the only one refreshing my local cinemas booking page on an hourly basis to check when tickets for this highly-anticipated gem finally go on sale. Yes, thats right, Goodfellas 2 has finally been confirmed. Well, kind of. Theres no Scorsese, De Niro, Pesci, Liotta, or anyone else involved in the original film. But someone has cobbled together some (probably shit) documentary footage of former friends and mafia associates Paul Mazzei and Henry Hill to make Paulie & Henry: The End of a Goodfellas Era. Mercenary cash-grab using a popular films clout, or potential Best Documentary Academy Award nominee? Only time will tell. But one things for sure, its definitely the first one.

Multiverses seem to be all the rage right now. Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse. Loki. Spider-Man: No Way Home. Yet Everything Everywhere All at Once appears to take the already mind-blowing concept to even weirder places. Starring Michelle Yeoh as an unlikely hero dragged into a bizarre quest to save the world, the films trailer gained a lot of attention when it dropped online and, despite having almost three minutes of footage to dive into, no one could quite figure out what the hell is going on. But Ill be damned if I aint excited.

Directed by the brains behind the one-of-a-kind Swiss Army Man,this is going to be a hell of a ride. I dont care about being everywhere all at once I just want to be watching this film as soon as it comes to cinemas.

How do you follow up the greatest animated film of the past several years? Well, making a two-part, universe-hopping sequel starring a time-travelling Spidey from the future voiced by Oscar Isaac, no less is certainly one way to do it. While the first film saw amateur webslinger Miles Morales being visited by fellow Spider-folk from other worlds, this time Miles is the one taking part in inter-dimensional travel, with the two-minute teaser depicting him quite literally being flung from one stylised cityscape to the next.

Surpassing 2018s Into the Spider-Verse will be no easy task, but with Joaquim Dos Santos (director of the memorable final episodes of both Justice League Unlimited and Avatar: The Last Airbender) and Kemp Powers (co-director of Pixars Soul) on board, this film could well push the limits of animation even further.

I have always been a fan of a period drama, so when the series of Downton Abbey came out all those years ago and took the world by storm, I was straight on to it. And while some shows that spawn cinematic spin-offs do not do so well, Downton nailed it with its first big screen release back in 2019.

What is most exciting about A New Era, though, is the returning cast. A stand-out is, without a doubt, Dame Maggie Smith as Lady Crawley, but seeing others such as Hugh Bonneville as Lord Grantham and Michelle Dockery as Lady Mary Talbot is something I definitely wont be missing. The dresses, the dinners and, of course, Carsons bossiness despite being retired - I am here for all of it!

With the release of Spider-Man: No Way Home, Marvel has fully realised the concept of the multiverse that the prior Spider-Man film and Loki only hinted at. Marvels next film, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, will fully explore exactly what it means. Directed by none other than the legendary Sam Rami - enough reason alone to anticipate the film, I might add - this is bound to be another mind-warping experience, featuring more kaleidoscopic visuals.

The trailer shows a range of elements, but the most exciting of these is the inclusion of another Doctor Strange. Reminiscent of the variant in What If (expertly tying the property even closer to the films), this idea flips the friendly, alternate version of the hero seen in NWH to explore what would happen if Strange were evil, which is bound to create great action and drive great conflict.

The sequel to one of the MCUs best efforts, Black Panther,is slated for release this year, and no-one really knows anything about it. Since the passing of lead star Chadwick Boseman, there has been a lot of speculation around the potential recasting of the titular role. Yet earlier in 2021 it was announced that the role would not be recast, and another character would be stepping up to the mantle.

Whether or not this will be Letitia Wrights Shuri, Lupita Nyongos Nakia or another character remains to be seen. What's not in doubt, however, are the credentials of the films cast and its director. Ryan Cooglers first Black Panther was culturally significant, and a superb film in its own right, and if the follow up handles its former stars passing sensitively which Im certain it will and emulates the success of its soundtrack, then there is no reason to doubt its potential.

David Cronenberg is finally back after eight years since his last release, 2014s Maps to the Stars. It is said this film will be a return to his classical body horror style something which he moved away from in the 2000s. With a star studded cast of Kristen Stewart, Vigo Mortsessen, Lea Seydoux and more, plus a veteran director at the helm, this film is bound to be, at the very least, exhilarating and fascinating.

Although this shares the name of Cronenbergs 1972 feature film, it is not a remake or a reimagining. The plot has not been fully revealed yet but it is rumoured to feature biological augmentation, transhumanism and a so-called world without pain themes that are all frequent in his films. While most releases today feel safer and we see fewer and fewer made for adult audiences, Crimes of the Future looks to truly disturb.

Killers of the Flower Moon sees the 79-year-old maestro Martin Scorsese tackle his most expensive production yet (estimated at around $200 million), with a cast that includes his two favourites, Leonardo Di Caprio and Robert De Niro. Obviously the prospect of this trifecta of talent working together for the first time as a collective is enough to make any cinephile's mouth water. But its the story, centring on the infamous serial killings of various members of the Osage Tribe a group of extremely wealthy Native Americans that really grabs our attention.

Set in 1920s Oklahoma, it will see Scorcese have a crack at making a film in the spirit of a genre that has influenced him so much: the Western. We can expect a bloody affair that will probably come in at a cool 180 minutes and not a minute less!

Follow this link:
8 of the Best Films Coming Out in 2022 - LeftLion