in-sightjournal

[in-sightjournal]

Ask A Genius 1361: The Limits of Science, Time, and Understanding AI

Rick Rosner: On-time first: I do not think time itself has to have a limit. Time, as we understand it, needs a universe to exist within. A universe can continue indefinitely into the future. However, you never actually reach infinity. You keep extending further and further without ever arriving at an infinite point. You can have a universe that is any finite age, no matter how old it gets. Every…

[in-sightjournal]

Ask A Genius 1360: Falling Birth Rates, Relationship Trends, and the Decline of Sex Scandals

Scott Douglas Jacobsen: When you are talking here, this can be a topic… Rick Rosner: It is a brief topic. When Carole and I are talking about some ridiculous sex scandal, my standard glib response is: Guys have to get the jizz out.  Jacobsen: Louis C.K. once described men as having “jizz on demand.” The idea is that the average man, over a lifetime, might ejaculate about 10,000 times. Rosner:…

[in-sightjournal]

Ask A Genius 1359: UFOs and UAPs: Debunking Common Misconceptions 

Scott Douglas Jacobsen: This is UFOs, Part Two. Any quick points before we start? Rick Rosner: The basic mathematics regarding the number and timing of civilizations argues against us being visited. The speed of light presents a significant barrier. With our current technology, you cannot even travel at 10% of the speed of light, and doing so even hypothetically would involve massive energy…

[in-sightjournal]

Ask A Genius 1358: Are UFOs Evidence of Alien Life? Scientific Plausibility and Public Belief

Scott Douglas Jacobsen: Between June 14 and June 24, 2021, the Pew Research Center surveyed 10,417 U.S. adults. The survey found that 65% believe intelligent life exists on other planets. Additionally, 51% consider UFO sightings reported by military personnel as probable or definite evidence of extraterrestrial life. Specifically, 40% said “probably,” 11% said “definitely,” while 47% believe…

[in-sightjournal]

Ask A Genius 1357: Cryptozoology Debunked: Rick Rosner on Why Bigfoot Likely Doesn't Exist

Scott Douglas Jacobsen: Any initial thoughts on Bigfoot, or just doing my usual shtick? Let us talk about cryptozoology in general. Rick Rosner: Cryptozoology is the study of animals rumoured or reported to exist but not recognized by mainstream science. These include creatures like the Yeti and, in your case, Sasquatch. They are essentially regional variations of the same myth—significant,…

[in-sightjournal]

Ask A Genius 1356: Fact-Checking Belief in Ghosts, Flat Earth, and the U.S. War in Afghanistan

Scott Douglas Jacobsen: I have something prepared that I can read. This is part two, continuing from the discussion about the not-insignificant minority of Americans who believe in a flat Earth. We already covered every relevant angle. Who actually enjoys watching every one of these arguments play out? Today, I’ll introduce another factor. Around seven or eight years ago, I came across surveys…

[in-sightjournal]

Ask A Genius 1355: Flat Earth Beliefs and the Psychology Behind Conspiracies

Rick Rosner: I’m not going to spoil it. The first episode of the seventh season of Black Mirror, featuring Rashida Jones, is about enshittification. Look it up—it’s a term coined by Cory Doctorow. It describes how tech services often start great but gradually worsen over time. This episode focuses on a personal tech service that increasingly takes advantage of people. I will not say more because…

[in-sightjournal]

Ask A Genius 1354: Southern Sayings, Rural Performances, and the DIY Genius of Adam Carolla

 Scott Douglas Jacobsen: Did you ever get into Dr. Phil’s ridiculous Southern or Texas sayings? Like, “We got a lady here, and she’s been pissing in a bucket with a hole in it”? Rick Rosner: I like to talk rural. I mean, I don’t necessarily use the sayings like “Don’t piss on my leg and tell me it’s raining,” but I’ll lean into rural dialect—especially if there’s a movie where the characters are…

[in-sightjournal]

Ask A Genius 1353: GPT-5, AI Consciousness, and Crossover Country

Scott Douglas Jacobsen: You have been listening to a country song designed for people who do not usually enjoy country music—not the traditional kind aimed at long-time fans, but rather a version that tries to appeal to outsiders. Rick Rosner: There is crossover country, of course. However, in Albuquerque, I could only find stations playing formulaic country music on the radio. There is…

[in-sightjournal]

Ask A Genius 1352: Gumption and Talent: The Creative Drive of JD Mata and Lance Richlin

Scott Douglas Jacobsen: What do you think are the best attributes of JD Mata and Lance Richlin? Rick Rosner: Yeah. I know it sounds like we’re talking behind their backs, but… I mean, they’re both talented. JD is a really good musician — performance-wise, vocally, as a composer. And they both have this level of gumption — way more than I do — where they just keep going, no matter what. Lance is…

[in-sightjournal]

Ask A Genius 1351: Intercessory Prayer Studies Show No Evidence of Divine Intervention

Scott Douglas Jacobsen: So, four studies often come up in the discussion on the inefficacy of intercessory prayer. In some cases, prayer not only fails to help, but even backfires. When people found out they were being prayed for, their stress levels went up — likely due to performance anxiety about recovery. That stress may have suppressed immune function, and across a large enough sample — like…

[in-sightjournal]

Ask A Genius 1350: Political Fear, Free Speech, and Satirical Resistance in the Trump Era

Rick Rosner: So, Carole doesn’t want me tweeting about Trump anymore. She doesn’t want me doing Lance versus Rick anymore either, because she saw a report today involving the U.S. Attorney General and the head of the FBI — Pam Bondi and Kash Patel — going after people. Now, the deal with the Attorney General and the FBI is that they’re supposed to be independent organs of government — not…

[in-sightjournal]

Ask A Genius 1349: Aging, Billy Connolly, and Misconceptions About Quantum Entanglement

Scott Douglas Jacobsen: So, I tapped the bar. Rick Rosner: I said, “Go to okay.”  Jacobsen: You said, “Go to okay,” and the first thing that popped into my mind was Billy Connolly. I think this was even well before he was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease. Basically, the joke was that, as you get older, things just become more vague. When you’re young, you’re specific: “Yeah, it’s two blocks…

[in-sightjournal]

Ask A Genius 1348: Debunking Quantum Myths: Misused Science in Pop Culture

Scott Douglas Jacobsen: I’ve got an idea—we will discuss quantum mechanics misinterpretations. Rick Rosner: I’m down. I just cracked open the book again, and it was so dusty that it triggered a sneeze.  Jacobsen: And I’m not talking about mistakes professionals make—I’m talking about the New Age-y, crystal-alignment, “quantum healing” stuff. Rosner: Yeah. All right. Jacobsen: So what do you…

[in-sightjournal]

Ask A Genius 1347: Misconceptions in Quantum Mechanics and the True Nature of Photons

Rick Rosner: So, I took out my old quantum mechanics textbook—which, honestly, I never got all the way through. I made it partway, I guess. I don’t even remember if I passed the course that used this book. But I’ve been thinking—there’s still a ton I don’t know about quantum mechanics. And, as you know, people who don’t study it seriously—who just hear bits of it in magazine articles or online…

[in-sightjournal]

Ask A Genius 1346: Final Thoughts on Panpsychism: Unpack Consciousness and Its Naturalistic Philosophical Roots

 Scott Douglas Jacobsen: Okay, so, panpsychism. The opening question is: what foundational definition does panpsychism propose? So, panpsychism posits that consciousness is a fundamental and ubiquitous feature of the physical world. In this view, all forms of matter—from elementary particles to complex organisms—possess some form of consciousness or proto-consciousness. There are six major…

[in-sightjournal]

Ask A Genius 1345: The Future of Family: Declining Birthrates, Artificial Wombs, and Elon Musk’s Reproductive Legacy

Rick Rosner: Look at the population curve. It is not heading toward zero anytime in the next 800 years. If we have that long to adapt, it is not a crisis—or at least not an existential one. You asked whether we’ll see more healthy single-parent families, adopted kids, and similar setups—especially with the rise of automation. Not exactly. We will see a broader mix of arrangements alongside…