Why do we sleep?

By marco-masi | September 17, 2021 |

People are usually surprised to know that, despite decades of research, science has no clear answer to the above question. The real function and evolutionary origin of sleep remain a mystery. Here I would like to offer two perspectives. The scientific and the spiritual ones are not mutually exclusive but might well complement each other (even though…

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The downfall of the philosophy of mind

By marco-masi | July 4, 2021 |

A very interesting debate between the philosopher of mind David Papineau and neurosurgeon Michael Egnor. I would love to see more of these exchanges instead of philosophers and scientists retiring in their ideological niche. But, considering that Papineau is one of the most renewed philosophers of mind, what this video really reveals is not so…

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Is slime conscious?!?

By marco-masi | February 26, 2021 |

A not so elegant but quite remarkable example one could present about cellular intelligence is the abilities of the ‘Physarum polycephalum’, a large amoeba-like slime mold ‘plasmodium’–that is, a fungal cytoplasm containing several nuclei but enclosed in a single membrane–that can be considered as a single giant cell. It is a slimy creature reminiscent of the ‘The…

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