Sunday, December 22, 2024

Podcast for Inquiry S03E24: Paco Calvo considers the possibility of plant intelligence

Paco’s thesis is a provocative one: plants are, in a meaningful sense, intelligent. Paco discusses what intelligence is, and how we might recognize it in other beings. People used to believe that only humans are intelligent. Over time, other mammals were deemed to also think and feel. Today, most people grant that many animals, such as birds and octopi, exhibit intelligent behaviours. Paco extends this to  plants by detailing what science has to say - both theoretically and empirically - about the hypothesis of plant intelligence. The conversation concludes with some thoughts about the moral and philosophical implications if plants are found to be truly intelligent.

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Wednesday, December 04, 2024

Stab Everyone You Love with Rocky Mountain Atheists

Last week I had the pleasure to host a webinar for Rocky Mountain Atheists last week. It's an updated version of the Stab Everyone You Love talk I gave at Nerd Nite back in February 2020 (which YouTube has censored for containing "medical disinformation"). It was a fun presentation to revisit, and the attendees were engaged and seemed to enjoy. If you haven't already heard this talk, this version is a good one to see. 

Podcast for Inquiry S03E23: Heresy: Jesus Christ and the Other Sons of God, with Catherine Nixey

Why do scholars now refer to early Christianities instead of early Christianity? How has the meaning of the word “Heresy” changed from its original definition to taking on its current connotations? Why did Christianity grow from a fringe cult with few followers and disdained by the intelligentsia and people in power to becoming the largest religion in the world today? What did humanity lose with Christianity’s rise? 

Catherine Nixey answers all these questions and more as she discusses her new book, Heresy, on Podcast for Inquiry. 

Support Podcast for Inquiry on Patreon, subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts (Spotify Apple Google Deezer Player.fm), or listen here:  

A video recording is also available: