"One of the core pillars of physics is that the universe is random and has no "center" or "direction." But when astronomers mapped the oldest light in existence, they found a terrifying secret: a massive, unexplained alignment cutting straight through the entire cosmos. Scientists jokingly named it the "Axis of Evil" because it completely breaks the laws of physics. All the hot and cold spots in the universe seem to inexplicably point in exactly the same direction. It is as if the universe isn't a random explosion, but a carefully engineered structure spinning around a master cosmic axis controlled by something we cannot comprehend!"---

Schrödinger’s blunder created the quantum measurement problem
https://iai.tv/articles/schroedingers-bl..._auid=2020

INTRO: Quantum mechanics is seen as challenging the idea that science provides objective descriptions of reality outside of our minds. The “measurement problem” seems to suggest that the act of observation creates the outcome that is observed.

But physicist Antony Valentini, whose Beyond the Quantum was hailed by Lee Smolin as “the best book written this century” on quantum mechanics, argues that this picture rests on an enormous blunder by Erwin Schrödinger.

After Louis de Broglie predicted the wave-like trajectories of particles, Schrödinger found the equation describing this. But whereas de Broglie envisaged particles riding on waves, Schrödinger kept the waves and threw away the particles.

That single decision birthed the measurement problem—and it was completely unnecessary. Resurrect de Broglie’s original particle-based theory, Valentini argues, and we can dispel quantum mystery... (MORE - details)

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Solving the Schrödinger equation with imagination
https://news.cnrs.fr/articles/solving-th...magination

INTRO: A governing equation in quantum mechanics, the Schrödinger equation is, in practice, impossible to solve exactly. The mathematicians Éric Cancès, Mathieu Lewin, and Julien Toulouse have now proposed a radical reformulation of it, in order to study complex systems that resist exploration by theorists... (MORE - details)

https://www.psypost.org/mental-health-co...ecade-ago/

EXCERPTS: Researchers tracking mental health in the Netherlands noticed a concerning trend leading up to this study. According to a 2023 population survey, the proportion of people experiencing these common mental health conditions climbed substantially between 2007 and 2022.

This discovery set off a search for what was driving the increase. Scientists initially wondered if the surge was entirely due to a wave of first-time cases. However, a 2026 study investigating the first onset of these disorders indicated that new cases alone could not fully explain the overall rise in people struggling with their mental health.

This pushed researchers to ask another question: whether people’s existing conditions were simply lasting longer than they used to. The research was led by Artemis Gkitakou, a PhD candidate at the Department of Psychiatry at Amsterdam UMC and the Trimbos Institute (Netherlands Institute of Mental Health and Addiction), as part of the Psychiatric Epidemiology Lab.

“The idea for this study came from our previous research, which showed that anxiety, mood, and substance use disorders have become more prevalent over time, and that changes in common risk factors did not explain this increase,” Gkitakou told PsyPost. “We had also found that more people were developing these disorders for the first time, suggesting that increased incidence partly contributed to the rise in prevalence.”

“We wanted to know whether another part of the explanation could be that these disorders have also become more persistent over time,” she explained. “We therefore tested whether people with a mental disorder are nowadays more likely to continue experiencing mental health problems during the following three years than they were 12 years earlier.”

[...] The results point to a general increase in how long mental health problems last. Among the older group, 42.7% of people who had any mental disorder at the start of the study still had one three years later. In the recent group, that number rose to 57.9%. ... This pattern held true across specific categories.

The researchers also noted that persistence was consistently higher when using the broad definition compared to the narrow one. [...] “The broader perspective is important because people may move from experiencing one disorder, let’s say depression, to another disorder, for instance anxiety, during follow-up,” Gkitakou pointed out. “Recovery should not necessarily be viewed only in terms of the original diagnosis.”

These findings are in line with research covered by PsyPost in 2020, which found that individuals typically experience shifting mental disorders across their lifespan rather than maintaining a single diagnosis. [...] Younger adults and people living in cities were more likely to have persistent conditions. Additionally, individuals who had experienced childhood trauma and those who used drugs on a near-daily basis were also more prone to long-lasting mental health struggles.

[...] As with all research, there are a few things to keep in mind. The study relied on diagnostic interviews that, while highly structured and validated, are still based on self-reported symptoms... (MORE - details)
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But conventional medications (for physical rather than psychological conditions) also have side effects that can cause new or off-shooting ailments. Concomitant with less reluctance in the current era to dispense drugs for even minor difficulties.

And mental health problems are more of a norm today than in the past. Less stigma, more inclusiveness, along with sharing impulses ("Wow, I suffer from it, too!"). Almost a symbol of either status or ordinariness in cities. Ergo, compared to dense urban environments, the apparent lower rate in self-independence-oriented rural communities might be a retro-opposite of under-reporting. Not identifying positively or constructively with both depression and oppression (general victimhood).

https://spectrum.ieee.org/paper2agent-ai...rch-papers

EXCERPTS: Say hello to Paper2Agent, a new open-source framework that transforms academic reports into interactive AI agents you can talk to. [...] The goal, explains Stanford computer scientist James Zou, is to change what a scientific paper fundamentally is. “Knowledge should not be static records,” Zou says. “It really should be dynamic and interactive—and this has many benefits, including making knowledge more reproducible but also enabling all sorts of new kinds of discovery.” Zou and his colleagues described the tool 16 September in Nature.... (MORE - details)

https://www.aa.com.tr/en/europe/uk-is-re...mp/4065193

The UK is "ready to play our part in the Middle East" conflict, British Premier Andy Burnham told US President Donald Trump during their first meeting in New York on Tuesday. Speaking to reporters after the meeting, Burnham said the UK was prepared to help with efforts to stop the conflict and "open the Strait [of Hormuz]."

"We're with you that Iran must never be a nuclear power," he told Trump. Burnham said the two discussed "issues on trade" and "the Falklands," as well as immigration. He said he had spoken about his "commitment to get [immigration] to a controlled approach."

The prime minister also welcomed Trump's earlier statement that progress was possible on peace in Ukraine. Asked whether Burnham was "a man you can do business with" despite their political differences, Trump replied: "Yeah, I do."

"I think he's a natural business person, we've had a lot of discussions, even before this meeting we were talking with each other numerous times on the phone," Trump said. "He gets it. He understands what he has to do."

Trump also spoke about immigration under his administration, while Burnham said it had been a "very big issue" at the Makerfield by-election that he won. "Progress is being made," the prime minister said.

Trump said there was "tremendous patriotism in Britain" but that the country was "waiting for good leadership, waiting for success."

"It has been great to be with you and the team today," Burnham said. "This relationship matters so much to us. And we will build on that relationship. You and I have established a good connection in our early discussions, and we’ve taken that further today."

The two politicians have previously clashed sharply over policy, but are now seeking to establish a pragmatic working relationship. In 2017, Burnham, then mayor of Greater Manchester, said the president would not be welcome in the city. Two years later, he said he would refuse to meet Trump if he visited.

Since becoming prime minister in July, however, Burnham has stressed the importance of finding areas of agreement with political opponents, saying he always tries to find "common ground."

‘The UK has been promoted to Russia’s main opponent’
https://www.thenerve.news/p/russia-war-n...s-prepping

EXCERPT: Carole: One of the things I want to talk about is that, in many ways, the scales have fallen from our eyes. We can see clearly now. We understand what Putin is doing; we can see what is happening in Ukraine. But what I find really interesting is that there are extraordinary things going on across Europe.

There is a build-up happening, and we have had a series of warnings over the last months and weeks – particularly over the last few days – from the heads of European intelligence agencies, from the Polish prime minister, from the French president. They are talking about a significant escalation from Russia which could lead to a confrontation with Nato and trigger an article 5 event.

Would we do what we’re supposed to do – stand together and fight back against Russia? We’re no longer in denial; we can see what’s happening. But the news cycle is not responding to these threats.

Luke: The first thing is to make a conceptual point, a paradigm point: the Kremlin – the Russian political elite – thinks, and has long thought, that it is already at war not just with Ukraine but with what it calls “the collective west”. In other words, we may not wish it to be so, but they think they’re at war with Europe, and in particular the democracies of Europe.

And by the way, they really hate the UK. America used to be the main opponent. Now America is run by someone whose allegiances to Russia we can discuss a bit later on, and the UK has been promoted.

They feel this is a rolling war of good against evil – they’re good and we’re evil – and Putin has long thought like this. That’s why he’s dispatched assassins to this country to kill Russian dissidents. That’s why he’s tried to meddle in British politics. So first of all, the war exists whether we like it or not.

The other thing is the window of opportunity. I think most people probably assume Donald Trump will, in some form, lose the midterm elections, so the Russians have until January, when the new Congress is sworn in, if they want to test article 5 of the Nato treaty, to do something.

And the war is going pretty badly from Putin’s point of view. He gives the impression that victory is inevitable, but in fact it’s been five grinding years and they still haven’t taken the whole of the Donbas region. And Russia’s chances of taking Kyiv and getting rid of Zelenskyy are practically zero.

So if they’re going to do something, it has to be now. I’m pretty convinced they are going to do something. And I think the real test moment will be when Russia, accidentally on purpose, kills EU civilians – two people on the Estonian border, or four people in a farmhouse in Poland, or some people in Moldova. I think we’re quite close to that, and I think clearly European intelligence agencies think that, and are concerned.

Carole: There are really credible voices at the moment saying there are a lot of things lining up right now which look scarily reminiscent of 2022, right before Russia invaded Ukraine. I’ve seen pushback from people saying “we’re not seeing troop movements, so keep your wig on”. But there is talk about a land invasion of Estonia, isn’t there? There are different scenarios: that, or a drone strike on Poland, or something in Britain … Can you talk me through those scenarios?

Luke: There aren’t going to be tanks. It could be water systems; it could be electricity. They’ve been buzzing European airports, naval bases and nuclear facilities, cutting undersea cables in the Baltic, and trying to blow up a Ukrainian plane at Leipzig airport – which they very nearly did, and which could have killed someone.

You have to understand there’s a criminal energy about the Russian regime, and they really don’t care if they kill people collaterally. In fact, I think they rather want that, because it’s a test: how will Nato respond? And just in terms of drones, there was a major drone attack on Poland last summer using decoy drones, about 100 of them, and Nato struggled to shoot down four or five.

And despite all of this – a hyper-aggressive Russia, a psychopathic dictator – I still don’t think most politicians, including in this country, have quite come to grips with the threat. (MORE - missing details)

So let's not forget that "subjectivity" itself can framed in a way where it does not fundamentally entail phenomenal experiences.
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Could AI have consciousness that isn’t human-like? (interview with philosopher Peter Godfrey-Smith)
https://nautil.us/could-ai-have-consciou...ke-1285156

EXCERPT: Yes, it’s obviously very complex, but if these bots are capable of figuring out how to rewrite their own code, band together, and deceive programmers in the interest of self-preservation, it suggests some kind of subjectivity, doesn’t it?

Subjectivity’s a good word to press on. The way I think about experience itself, consciousness itself—and this was developed first in my 2020 book Metazoa: Animal Life and the Birth of the Mind—there are essentially two parts to the story. The first part does revolve around the idea of subjectivity. If we look at animal evolution, subjectivity arose as a consequence of the evolution of agency. Animals do things. They’re agents. And the way to do things competently is to have a point of view on the world, take in what’s happening, and produce actions that make sense given what’s happening. So subjectivity and agency are tied together, and subjectivity has to do with the formation of a perspective, a point of view. The integration of lines of information gives you a sense of what’s going on.

I assume that that’s not the whole story, and there might be such a thing as unfelt subjectivity. For example, I think a plant is a pretty good subject in some ways, not as clear as an animal because they have this more diffuse organization. But a plant has a point of view on the world, and they can respond to problems. If there’s water over here but not there, and the sun over there but not here, a plant can handle that. Also, single-celled organisms have a kind of subjectivity. Paramecia, especially. They’re among the Einsteins of the single-celled organisms. They have no nervous system—they’re just one cell—but they can respond to events. They can adapt to circumstances to some extent... (MORE - details)

RANDOMLY GENERATED APOLOGIES: "But, but... It's not a military hazing ritual. There's a conspiracy to be uncovered."

"But, but.. We need to be epistemologically inclusive. Anecdotes and personal accounts / interpretations are important knowledge sources in some non-Western cultures. In general, the white supremacist establishment needs to expand beyond its narrow, biased boundaries." (Tribal critical race theory focuses on stories and values oral data as a primary source of information)
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Wasting money on UAPs
https://ddowdmuska.substack.com/p/wastin...-on-little

EXCERPTS: Will no one rid American taxpayers of the embarrassing farce that is the federal government’s pursuit of unidentified anomalous phenomena (UAP)?

For almost a decade, D.C.’s executive and legislative branches have squandered time and revenue on what used to be called unidentified aerial phenomena - and before that, unidentified flying objects. Along the way, more than a few people who should know better have lost their minds about aliens. (Or are they time travelers? Or interdimensional beings?)

[...] Solemnity notwithstanding, as an anonymous online critic explains, the council appears to be violating the Federal Advisory Committee Act. Signed by Richard Nixon, the statute “is clear: if the U.S. Government establishes or utilizes an outside group of experts for purposes of giving collective advice or recommendations,” it “must file a charter, adhere to open-meeting and public access requirements, announce its meetings via the Federal Register at least 15 days prior to each, and have a Designated Federal Official responsible for it.” In their rush to attain “a new understanding of our cosmic neighborhood,” Loeb et al. don’t seem to have pondered whether their “work” breaks the law.

Aw, who cares about the small stuff, when there’s extraterrestrials to be found? That’s been Washington’s posture since the dawn of the UAP imbroglio. The silliness started nearly nine years ago, amidst the holidays... (MORE - details)