Have Scientists Solved Consciousness? Introducing the PCM, a scientific theory of consciousness. Phil Halper (aka Skydivephil) 2026-09-24 | Have Scientists Solved Consciousness? Introducing the PCM, a scientific theory of consciousness.
Cosmologists debate: Was the Big Bang the beginning? Phil Halper (aka Skydivephil) 2024-10-16 | Was the big bang the beginning of time or was there a before the big bang? Here two of the world's leading cosmologists debate whether the universe had a beginning or not. Featuring Thomas Herzog who was one of Stephen Hawking's main collaborators on his No Boundary or Hartle/Hawking model and Robert Brandenberger one of the authors (along with leading string theorist Cumrun Vafa) of Sting Gas Cosmology. Thomas's book One the Origins of Time, can be found here:amazon.co.uk/Origin-Time-Stephen-Hawkings-theory/dp/1911709089and my upcoming book, The Battle of the Big Bang can be pre ordered here:https://press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/book/chicago/B/bo244963115.htmlOur film on the No Boundary Proposal which starred Stephen Hawking, Jim Hartle and Thomas Herzog can be found here:youtube.com/watch?v=Ry_pILPr7B8&t=1569sA timeline is below 00:00 Introduction 1:10 on being Stephen Hawking's PHD student 2:17 Robert's story 4:02 Does the CMB prove a beginning?7:52 Penrose Hawking Singularity 17:15 Inflation and the BGV theory 24:38 The Hartle Hakwing No Boundary Proposal 36:14 Emergent universe 46:14 Holography 58:00 Entropy 65:00 Can we even know if the universe begun?
Atheists Debunk Phillip Goffs Limited God (the Sci Phi Show ). Phil Halper (aka Skydivephil) 2024-10-10 | In this episode of the SciPhi Show, philosophers Alex Malpass and Dan Linford join me to discuss Philip Gofs's conversion to Christianity. We give an atheist perspective on the relevant arguments,s including fine-tuning, the problem of evil, atonement, resurrection, and morality. A timeline of the show is here:00:00 introduction 3:00 fine-tuning and problem of evil 29:07 crazy coincidence 33:32 Goff's theory of the atonement 50:39 the resurrection 59:59 Origins of Christianity 1:01:00 MoralityYou can read Goff's article here: aeon.co/essays/i-now-think-a-heretical-form-of-christianity-might-be-trueand Alexs blog post is here:useofreason.wordpress.com
How to make a Black Hole Bomb #physics Phil Halper (aka Skydivephil) 2024-09-28 | Physicist Vitor Cardoso explain how an alien civilisation could build a black hole bomb
Physicists search for Black Hole Bombs Phil Halper (aka Skydivephil) 2024-09-27 | What is a black hole bomb? Have alien civilizations already made them? Could they form naturally? Can we use them as particle detectors? And how could astronomers find them out there in the cosmos? Two of the world's leading experts, Vitor Cardoso and Niayesh Afshordi discuss these fascinating topics. Our black hole playlist is here:youtube.com/watch?v=smMrjKU7aWc&list=PLJ4zAUPI-qqoP-kAJmaXJwllMtrPpy1cV#science #physics #space #blackholes00:00 Introduction 1:23 Roger Penrose 1:55 How to build a black hole bomb 3:19 Naturally forming black hole bombs 4:53 gravitational waves 5:36 Astronomers hunt for black hole bombs 6:41 The ultimate weapon in the universe
The fine tuning argument debunked by philosopher in 1 minute Phil Halper (aka Skydivephil) 2024-09-08 | Atheist Philsoopher Alex Malpass debunks the fine tuning in less than 60 seconds. Part of a longer discussion here:youtube.com/watch?v=E7DVA1QisZI&t=1666s
String theorys rival: alive & well, YouTubers wrong again. #physics #universe Phil Halper (aka Skydivephil) 2024-09-07 | PBS Space Time, Fermi Lab, and other YouTube physics channels have all said we can test Strng's theory's main rival, Loop Quantum Gravity, by looking for a deviation from something called Lorentz Invaraincne. But what is Lorentz Invariance, and does Loop Quantum Gravity predict this? Do new measurements rule the theory out, as Biran Keating claimed in a new video? Watch here to find out the truth, not the hype. If you want to see what loop theorists say about the theory, watch our documentary starring Carlo Rovelli, Abhay Ashtekar, Lee Smolin, Francesca Vidotto, and Aurelien Barrau. They discuss the history of loop quantum gravity and what it means for big questions like what's inside a black hole and what happened before the Big Bang?youtube.com/watch?v=x9jYH5VIF9E&t=3708sA timeline of this film is below00:00 Introduction, Penrose and the singularity 00:15 Biran Keating's claims re loop quantum gravity and string theory 00:39 PBS Space-time claims 00:52 Fermilab claims 1:10 Carlo Rovelli refutes the YotubersA link to Brian's video is here:youtube.com/watch?v=S5CzrLuCRS4&t=59sA link to PBS Spacetime here youtube.com/watch?v=L2suMPiuog4&t=826sand to Fermi labs video here:youtube.com/watch?v=QMpkFde3euA&t=481s
Atheists Debunk Justin Brierleys Christian TikToks. #atheist #atheism Phil Halper (aka Skydivephil) 2024-09-06 | Atheist philosophers Alex Malpass and Dan Linford joined me in reviewing the apologetic arguments for God from the well-known broadcasters and now TikTok star Justin Brierley. We review arguments from contingency, human worth, fine-tuning, the problem of evil, and much more.00:00 Introduction 1:54 debunking the contingency argument 12:48 human worth 22:31 Voltaire 44:40 debunking the fine-tuning argument 53:25 The problem of evilA link to our fine-tuning film is here:youtube.com/watch?v=jJ-fj3lqJ6M&t=2476sAnd our discussion with Neil Manson on hidden assumptions of fine-tuning is here:youtube.com/watch?v=2NJfASa9Aig&t=130s
Roger Penrose on Stephen Hawkings Phd exam #rogerpenrose #stephenhawking #universe Phil Halper (aka Skydivephil) 2024-09-02 | Sir Roger Penrose won the Nobel Prize in physics for his black hole singularity theorem. But shortly after he derived it, Stephen Hawking adapted it for his Phd thesis with respect to cosmology and the Big Bang . Penrose was Hawking's Phd examiner and here he recalls the story of what happened next.
Roger Penrose: Stephen Hawkings Real Life vs. Hollywood Phil Halper (aka Skydivephil) 2024-08-27 | Oscar-winning movie The Theory of Everything portrayed Stephen Hawkign and his PhD examiner and co-author, Sir Roger Penrose. But what really happened? Here, Roger reviews clips from the movie The Theory of Everything for their accuracy.00:00 Introduction 00:43 Roger Penrose on Singualrities 00:55 Roger Pernose talk on black holes 1:40 Stephen Hawking wasn't there 2:21 Big Bang singularity 2:31 Stephen Hawkings Phd thesis#stephenhawking #universe #rogerpenrose
Evolution Debate: Creationist reply backfires. Subboor Ahmad vs Elliott Sober #evolution #atheism Phil Halper (aka Skydivephil) 2024-08-26 | Suboor Ahmad is a Muslim creationist who likes to quote academics to support his case against evolution. One is Elliott Sober, who thoroughly debunked Subboor's claims in this recent video:youtube.com/watch?v=83oX2Q6LGmA&t=58sHowever, Subboor claimed a victory, as Sober didn't explicitly claim that Suboor misrepresented him. In this video, Elliott Sober replies to that claim, and it is not good news for the creationist Subboor.00:00 introduction 00:26 debunking creationism 1:24 misrepresented 1:45 nature of science 3:40 evolution of aquatic predators #sciencevsreligion #atheism #evolution #pathein
Creationists debunked by his own source. Subboor Ahmad vs Elliott Sober Phil Halper (aka Skydivephil) 2024-08-23 | Subboor Ahmad is a Muslim evolution critic who likes to quote academics to support his case. One in particular is Elliott Sober, whom Subboor described as "one of the leading philosophers, one of the most recognized philosophers in the world, in particular, in regards to the philosophy of biology and the philosophy of science. " But this is perhaps one of the only things Subboor gets right. In this video, Elliott Sober reviews Suboor's arguments against evolution and human/chimp common ancestry. And he shows how utterly fallacious they are.The content Elliott reviews is mostly drawn from a debate I had with Subboor; the full debate can be found here:youtube.com/watch?v=85P4X0K-1cY&t=3589sThe beginning section is taken from Suboor's video here:youtube.com/watch?v=VzFkaPtDDlQ&t=5sThe penultimate clip is from this video:youtube.com/watch?v=_pyXEmKT9UQ&t=215sA timeline can be found here:00;00Introduction 03:05 DNA crime analogy 06:03 Assumption of atheism and naturlsism?12:11 genetic evidence for evolution 18:46 Nothing new?22:41 Ants not chimps 27:32 Elliott's quote 33:47 natural selection36:20 more genetic evidence 40:31 a racist argument?44:36 probabilities 47:36 fossil evidence50:31 debunking creationism #sciencevsreligion #atheist #evolution
Climate change and religion. Are they linked? Phil Halper (aka Skydivephil) 2024-08-08 | Apologists and counter-apologists often debate the utility of religion. But in my experience, they almost never discuss what could be its most important impact of all.Pews research can be found here on climate change pewresearch.org/religion/2022/11/17/religious-groups-views-on-climate-change on evolution pewresearch.org/religious-landscape-study/database
The Fine tuning arguments hidden assumptions with Neil Manson , the Sci Phi show 7 Phil Halper (aka Skydivephil) 2024-08-01 | In this episode of the Sci-Phi show we examine some hidden assumption of the fine tuning argument with Professor Neil Manson a philosopher who specialises in design arguments for God. We consider the claim that multiverse is a logical fallacy and delve into Neils paper"How not be generous to fine tuning skeptics." With myself Phil Halper and Alex Malpass.Neil can be found at this website: https://philosophy.olemiss.edu/neil-a-manson/Timeline 00:00 Introduction1:57 multiverse and the inverse gamblers fallacy 7:58 whats wrong with inverse gamblers fallacy 18:44 survey of cosmologists 22:27 Neils paper 31:20 fine tuning vs God 41:00 fine tuning vs idealism52:20 fine tuning vs miracles 57:00 fine tuning vs science 1:11:00 probability problems
Roger Penrose refutes his critics: defending the singularity theorem Phil Halper (aka Skydivephil) 2024-07-25 | Roger Penrose won the Nobel Prize for showing black holes are real and General Relativity predicts the existence of a singularity at their center. But recently, another black hole pioneer, Roy Kerr, claimed there was a mistake in Penrose's proof. This was hyped widely across the media by the likes of Sabine Hoseenfelder, PBS Spacetime, Anton Petrov, and Ethan Siegel. Sabine Hossenfelder especially praises Kerr's work. However, leading relativists say Kerr makes simple errors, and his conclusion is totally unfounded. Here, we talk to these experts and explain how science popularisers got their physics so badly wrong. Nobody claims that singularities are real, but the singularity theories are powerful signposts to new physics, probably requiring a quantum theory of gravity to resolve. A timeline of the video is here:00:00 introduction 01:20 Need for quantum gravity 02:20 geodesic 5:00 types of geodesics 5:35 types of time 6:20 affine parameter8:16 Kerr's argument 10:37 Highly misleading 12:28 Finding Kerr's core error 15:18 PBs space-time 17:50 The mistake of the Popularisers 20:40 We are not idiots
Atheists Debunk Christian Mathematician John Lennox Phil Halper (aka Skydivephil) 2024-06-27 | Atheist philosophers Alex Malpass and Dan Linford join me, Phil Halper, to thoroughly debunk the claims of Christian Mathematician John Lennox, who has nothing but ill-informed arguments and poor reasoning despite being an Oxford professor. A timeline of topics is here:00:00 Introdcution 02:46 Evolution and the brain 15:54 Did Christianity give us science ? 26:57 Conflict between science and religion 33:28 Genesis 44:05 Dawkins 54:16 Comsology 1:10:47 Problem of evil
Primordial black holes, dark matter and Apollo era technology Phil Halper (aka Skydivephil) 2024-06-12 | Is dark matter primordial black holes? If so, could we find them using Apollo-era technology on the moon?A new paper suggests the answer may be yes to both. I interviewed David Kaiser, one of the paper's co-authors, former student of inflationary cosmology pioneer Alan Guth, and now Professor of Physics and Professor of the History of Science at MIT. For the preprint of the full paper:arxiv.org/pdf/2310.16877and other press about the paper lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v46/n11/david-kaiser/black-hole-flybyhttps://news.mit.edu/2024/exotic-black-holes-could-be-dark-matter-byproduct-0606And some other related papers:journals.aps.org/prl/abstract/10.1103/PhysRevLett.132.231402 arxiv.org/abs/2303.02168arxiv.org/abs/2312.17217a timeline is below 00:00 introduction 00:57 primordial black holes 3:05 particle dark matter and modified gravity 6:33 LIGO and EHT11:03 window of opportunity 15:16 observaitonal signatures 20:30 Apollo era tech 25:19 Star Wars 25:54 the future
Replying to the New Kalam with Joe Schmid, the Sci Phi Show Phil Halper (aka Skydivephil) 2024-06-07 | We've debunked the old Kalam argument presented by William Lane Craig in other videos, see here:youtube.com/watch?v=pGKe6YzHiMEyoutube.com/watch?v=femxJFszbo8&t=1411sBut there is now a "new" Kalam based on Benardete paradoxes such as the Grim Reaper which are meant to establish something called causal finitism. What are these paradoxes ? and how can a critic of the Kalam respond?Well our very own Alex Malpass has teamed up with Joe Schmid of the Majesty of Reason and published a paper in one of the worlds leading philosophy journals Mind. You can find that herephilarchive.org/rec/SCHBPCWe talk about this paper and related issue and see why how to reply to this new Kalam. A timeline is here:00:00 introduction 2:40 Grim Reaper paradox 7:43 The Kalam argument 9:25 Causal Finitism 12:40 The UPD23:05 The Problem with causal finitism 37:20 Physics 44:30 Mysterious Force 57:33 The Patchwork Principle Joe's papers on this topic:“Branching Actualism and Cosmological Arguments”, Philosophical Studies (2023, with Alex Malpass). Here we use branching actualism to criticize the use of patchwork principles in support of the Grim Reaper Kalam.philpapers.org/rec/SCHBAA-22“Benardete paradoxes, patchwork principles, and the infinite past”, Synthese (2024). Here I develop another problem for the use of patchwork principles in support of the Grim Reaper Kalam.philarchive.org/rec/SCHBPP-3#:~:text=Benardete%20paradoxes%20involve%20a%20beginningless,impossibility%20of%20an%20infinite%20past.“The End is Near: Grim Reapers and Endless Futures”, Mind (Forthcoming). Here I criticize the Grim Reaper Kalam by developing a symmetrical Kalam-style parody argument, based on a future-oriented Benardete paradox, for the impossibility of an endless future.academic.oup.com/mind/advance-article-abstract/doi/10.1093/mind/fzad065/7492631?redirectedFrom=fulltext“Grim Reaper Paradoxes and Patchwork Principles: Severing the Case for Finitism”, Journal of Philosophy (Forthcoming, with Troy Dana). Here we develop two problems for the Grim Reaper Kalam. One is a companions in guilt argument based on a new finite Benardete-like paradox. Another relates to a mistaken assumption about the intrinsicality of the Reapers’ realized powers/dispositions.philarchive.org/rec/SCHGRP-4“Benardete Paradoxes, Causal Finitism, and the Unsatisfiable Pair Diagnosis”, Mind (Forthcoming, with Alex Malpass). Here we argue that the unsatisfiable pair diagnosis is the best solution to Benardete paradoxes, and in particular that it is much better than causal finitism. We also raise yet another challenge to the use of patchwork principles on behalf of the Grim Reaper Kalam.philarchive.org/rec/SCHBPC
Evidence for a Multiverse in the CMB? Phil Halper (aka Skydivephil) 2024-05-30 | The European Space Agency launched Planck into deep space to make the most accurate ever maps of the CMB, the oldest light in the universe. George Efstathiou, was the Cambridge scientist chosen to present its results. We interviewed him and he claimed it found evidence of the multiverse!
10 tips to see the Northern lights, an Aurora chasers guide #auroraborealis #northernlights Phil Halper (aka Skydivephil) 2024-05-28 | Make sure you never miss a major display of the Aurora Borealis with Northern Lights photographer Phil Halper. Ive had my space-weather images displayed at the Astro Photographer of the Year Exhibition in London, the Washington Post, BBC and many other outlets. Here are my tips for understanding the space weather forecast so you don't miss the next big Northern Lights display.Useful links :spaceweather.comsolarham.comgoogle.com/search?client=safari&rls=en&q=sapcxeweather+live&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8aurora-alerts.uk
Atheists debunk confused Christian apologist Frank Turek #atheist #atheism Phil Halper (aka Skydivephil) 2024-05-24 | Christian apologist Frank Turek says he doesn't have enough faith to be an atheist, but he really doesn't have enough knowledge. In this video, leading atheist thinkers Alex Malpass and Dan Linford join host Phil Halper to expose Turek's never-ending errors, especially concerning infinity and cosmology. How many mistakes can a Christian apologist make in 8 minutes? Place your bets. Timeline:00:00 Introduction 2:37 infinity 10:12 The SURGE argument and the 2nd law 22:39 expanding universe 28:41 radiation42:08 Galaxy seeds 49:51 Einstein1:02:43 Creation ex nihilo
Whats inside a black hole? Fuzzballs, Echoes & The Big Bang #black hole #science #space Phil Halper (aka Skydivephil) 2024-05-17 | What's inside a black hole? Physicists have been struggling with this question for decades, but recent work in theoretical physics has revealed an exciting new idea. That a black hole should be replaced with a fuzzball. In this film, we talk to the father of Fuzzballs, Samir Mathur, and his close colleague Nick Warner, a former student of Stephen Hawking, who explain how fuzzballs can solve Hawking's greatest mystery, the information paradox. We also talk to astrophysicist Niayesh Afshordi, the father of black hole echoes, who'll reveal how they might enable us to peer inside a black hole and tell if string theory's fuzzballs are really lurikng inside.And if the black hole singularity is resolved, what about the Big Bang ? Might that be gone in the new framework as well?Tmeline:00:00 Intrdocution00:48 I was a Hawking's student 1:49 The information paradox 4:42 string theory 7:16 solving the information paradox10:36 Fuzzballs 12:39 tunneling into a black hole 14:50 Looking inside a black hole 15:49 Echoes 20"07 Blakc hole Imaging 21:07 VECRO energy 22:35 cosmology and inflation 24:41 The Big Bang 26:3 Black Hole Gas
I was Stephen Hawkings student #physics #science #space #cosmology Phil Halper (aka Skydivephil) 2024-05-16 | Before Stephen Hawking got his voice synthesiser , he had tone translated by one of his students into recognisable English. Nick Warner was one of those students who had that task. Here he recounts what is was like.
Northern lights, real time video, beautiful colours #aurora #northernlights #auroraborealis Phil Halper (aka Skydivephil) 2024-05-11 | Incredible real time video with beautiful colours of May11th northern light which saw some of the strongest Aurora Borealis in years .
Northern lights, incredible colours, real time video Phil Halper (aka Skydivephil) 2024-05-11 | On May 10th, an incredible geomagnetic storm led to fierce northern lights over England, and I filmed in real-time video. The colours seen in the Aurora Borealis were out of this world.
Life on Mars? Scientists reveal new evidence for habitability Phil Halper (aka Skydivephil) 2024-05-10 | I speak to lead authors on a new paper describing exciting possibilities for ancient life on Mars. The authors, Patrick Gasd and Nina Lanza used the ChemCam instrument on NASA's Curiosity Rover and found elevated levels of manganese. What does this mean? COuld it be a sing of alien life , what does it say about anient conditions on Mars? Were they Earth like? Lets find out
Astronomers claim cosmic glitch in the universe #physics #science #astronomy #cosmology Phil Halper (aka Skydivephil) 2024-05-04 | A short excerpt from our longer interview with NBiayesh Afshordi one of the astronomers claiming to have found a comic glitch in the universe.
Astronomers claim universe has cosmic glitch Phil Halper (aka Skydivephil) 2024-05-03 | #cosmology #physics #BigBang Science news outlets around the world have reported a possible "cosmic glitch" in the universe. We chatted with one of the authors of the paper that made this claim.Niayesh Afshordi and I discuss what motivates it, how it was tested, and how it might be further tested in the future. Most importantly, what impact it might have on the very origin of the universe. Might we have to rethink cosmology and consider what was before the Big Bang?00:00 Introduction2:23 motivation 5:32 Hubble tension9:15 Return of the ether 12:00 Quantum gravity 13:25 observations 15:40 S8 tension 18:00 Big Bang20:00 future tests
The Sci-Phi Show: Hourglass Universe vs The Kalam Argument Phil Halper (aka Skydivephil) 2024-04-30 | Many contemporary models of the Big Bang from The Hartle Hawking model to Loop Quantum Cosmology to String Gas Comsology, the Janus Universe, Carroll Chen, Aguirre-Gratton, and CPT symmetric universe, can be interpreted as giving the universe an hourglass-like structure. In this episode of the SciPhi Show, leading atheist philosophers Alex Malpass and Dan Linford examine what this might mean for the Kalam Cosmological Argument. In particular, we show that it faces an "interface dilemma" where defenders of the argument, like William Lane Craig, must give up one of the Kalam's fundamental premises. For my videos on the early unvierse, see here:youtube.com/watch?v=Ry_pILPr7B8&list=PLJ4zAUPI-qqqj2D8eSk7yoa4hnojoCR4mFor the Kalam, see here:youtube.com/watch?v=pGKe6YzHiME&t=2798sand here youtube.com/watch?v=femxJFszbo8&t=761sFor Dan's paper, see here:arxiv.org/abs/2006.08890a timecode is below 0:00 Introduction 1:21 What is the Kalam?3:11 Hourglass Universe 6:05 The Interface Dilema 14:55 The Metaculus16:55 Causality 22:30 Simultaneous Causation 25:50 Theories of Time 44:07 Challenging the Causal Principle
Does the universe need a cause? #atheism #athiest #philosophy Phil Halper (aka Skydivephil) 2024-04-30 | Atheist philosopher Alex Malpass replies to the worry that causality might not apply to the universe.
Roger Penrose: theres something wrong with quantum mechanics #science #physics #quantum Phil Halper (aka Skydivephil) 2024-04-25 | Roger Penrose offers a controversial opinion that his fellow physicists have quantum mechanics wrong.
Why Jesus Gets the Golden Rule Wrong #athiesm #athiest #philosophy Phil Halper (aka Skydivephil) 2024-04-20 | Philosopher Alex Malpas's explain whats wrong with The Golden Rule proposed by Jesus . Part of our longer discussion in the SciPhi Show Episode 2 youtube.com/watch?v=lSAaXE4_Prk
The SciPhi Show2: Atheists debunk the Moral Argument for God Phil Halper (aka Skydivephil) 2024-04-16 | A new panel show featuring two of my favorite atheist thinkers, Alex Malpass and Dan Linford. In this second episode, we examine William Lane Craig's deductive version of the moral argument for God, why it fails, and how we can flip it and possibly disprove God. We note how prominent thinkers such as Richard Dawkins, Michael Ruse, and Peter van Inawagen are misquoted to support the moral argument and how it ignores thousands of years of discussion in philosophy. Koons paper is here: https://faculty.georgetown.edu/koonsj/papers/Euthyphro.pdfA timeline is below:0:00 preview0:16 introduction 1:31 The moral argument against God 6:48 PhilPapers survey 11:05 moral compass22:39 misquoting Dawkins 23:35 Jesus gets it wrong 33:49 Euthyro dilemma 41:33 Animals52:23 misquoting Michael Ruse 54:09 moral theories 1:01:40 Neither objective nor subjective ?1:03:53 Swiburn'es criqitue of the moral argument 1:12:48 misquoting Van Inwagen
DESI: New Dark energy survey results can change physics Phil Halper (aka Skydivephil) 2024-04-09 | DESI, the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument, has just released its first results, and they are not entirely consistent with standard cosmology. In particular, we've been told for decades that the universe's fate is a heat death, with the universe expanding forever into the future. But this assumes that dark energy is constant over time. The new DESI results challenge that. It seems dark energy might weaken over time, maybe even allowing the universe to be cyclic. We unpack what this all means with Kyle Dawson, DESI's co-spokesperson. Timeline:0:00 Introduction 0:59 Dark energy 1:57 The DESI instrument 3:47 New results 8:36 I wasn't expecting that 11:26 The Hubble tension 14:16 the fate of the universe 16:08 The future is coming soon
Atheists show the real meaning of the bible Phil Halper (aka Skydivephil) 2024-03-27 | a short clip from our longer discussion with two of the worlds leading atheist thinkers
The Sci Phi Show1: Fine Tuning & Genocide, a reply to Craig Phil Halper (aka Skydivephil) 2024-03-27 | A new panel show featuring two of my favorite atheist thinkers, Alex Malpass and Dan Linford. We aim to discuss science and philosophy and how they intersect in the philosophy of religion.In this, our first episode, we reply to comments made by William Lane Craig on Alex or Connor's show Within Reason. Particularly his claims regarding Richard Dawkins, fine-tuning, the Caannatie genocide, and divine command theory. A timeline is below:0:00 preview0:15 introduction 2:32 Fine-tuning 16:21 Problem of evil 27:24 The Canaanites 38:25 Was it genocide? 51:50 Divine Command Theory
Do Fish Feel Pain? Striking new evidence says yes Phil Halper (aka Skydivephil) 2024-03-22 | Some of the leading scientists in the field explain how they showed that fish feel pain. From the discovery of pain receptors in the early 21st century to finding a rare brain damaged patient that enables us to the dissolve the last objection of fish pain skeptics.Starring Lynne Sneddon, Mathew Parker, Phil Halper, Ken Williford, David Rudrauf, Perry Fuchs A timeline is here:0:00 Introduction 0:43 Nociceptors 1:49 analgesic seeking 4:24 anxiety 4:57 neophobia 5:49 fear contagion 6:47 fish memories 7:30 fish brain FMRI 8:09 A gene for pain 8:43 fish personalities 9:44 self awareness test 11:07 replying to skeptics 11:57 Proving Self awareness without a cortex 14:10 a rare brain damaged patient 17:36 where is pain in the brain? 19:51 leucotomy21:13 Affective Neuroscience22:48 convergent evolution 23:41 pain is ancient 24:26 conclusion
Hawking on the multiverse Phil Halper (aka Skydivephil) 2024-03-15 | In one of the last interviews he gave, Hawking explained why our universe is one of an infinite number of pocket universes in a vast multiverse.
Astronomy Debate: Dark Matter or Modified Gravity? Phil Halper (aka Skydivephil) 2024-01-06 | Two of the world's leading cosmologists debate whether anomalous measurements in astronomy, like the rotation and motions of galaxies, imply we need to involve an invisible substance known as dark matter or a modification of our fundamental laws pf physics. With :Simon White, Emeritus Director at the Max-Planck Institute for Astrophysics and Stacy McGaugh, Professor of Astronomy, Case Western Reserve UniversityFor our other hosted debates see here: youtube.com/watch?v=AUyylR5RPZw&list=PLJ4zAUPI-qqoZl9JuEiLHjVDLkQQ6Y4KBfor Stacy's blog, see here:tritonstation.comA timeline of the film is below. 0:00 Introduction 1:56 Simon's story 4:03 Stacy's story6:30 Evidence for dark matter 21:09 Stacy case for MOND30:40 "I agree with Stacy"41:12 The Lampost effect 52:00 dark matter sub halos1:00:35 missing satellites 1:14:00 bullet cluster 1:22:40 CMB1:30:00 Are both theories right?1:41:04 wide binaries and Gaia 1:45:30 other problems for LCDM 1:50:42 Sociology of science1:57:15 Looking to the future
Has the Big Bounce been ruled out? Phil Halper (aka Skydivephil) 2023-12-15 | Earlier this year, Scientific American published an article with the headline "The Universe Began with a Bang, Not a Bounce," claiming that a new analysis of the European Space Agency's Planck Satellite speaks powerfully against the Big Bounce model from Loop Quantum Cosmology (LQC). LQC is a cosmological model inspired by the mother theory of Loop Quantum Gravity ( a rival to string theory). However, one of the researchers mentioned in the article, Ivan Agullo, argues the story is totally misconceived, and the evidence is consistent with a Bounce. In this film, he explains why. For more on LQC see here:youtube.com/watch?v=x9jYH5VIF9E&t=1740sand hereyoutube.com/watch?v=MgwJmWXoWWI&t=66sFor our Before the Big Bang series:youtube.com/watch?v=Ry_pILPr7B8&list=PLJ4zAUPI-qqqj2D8eSk7yoa4hnojoCR4mA timeline of the film is below. 0:00 Introduction 1:15 Ivan vs Scientific American 5:04 LQC and the Big Bounce7:53 Seeing the Bounce in the CMB11:06 CMB anomalies 12:03 Are the Bang and the Bounce compatible?17:09 What were they looking for?19:44 No Signal, what does it mean? 23:20 Oscillations 24:12 CMB anomalies and the bounce 27:02 Final Thoughts
Atheisms Best Argument? #atheist #atheism #evolution Phil Halper (aka Skydivephil) 2023-10-08 | From a new film about the problem of animal suffering and the neuroscience of pain. This accompanies a new paper on the subject in the academic literature and features the authors and Alex O'Connor (formerly cosmic skeptic), Peter Singer, Joe Schmid (Majesty Of Reaosn ), and other leading philosophers and scientists. The film can be found. here: youtube.com/watch?v=aM3y7AviNU8&t=1224sFor my YouTube channel youtube.com @skydivephil and Twitter twitter.com/skydivephil
Atheisms Best Argument? The Problem of Animal Suffering & The Neuroscience of Pain Phil Halper (aka Skydivephil) 2023-09-29 | The problem of animal suffering (a version of the problem of evil) has recently been described as the biggest problem for Christianity. However, a new paper in the International Journal for Philosophy of Religion suggests that the problem is far worse than imagined. Here, we explain why and counter attempts by theists to reply. The film has 3 sections:Section 1 We meet the authors of this paper and others who explain the EPAS (The Expanded Problem of Animal Suffering). Sections 2 We review various theistic replies to animal suffering and show how atheists, agnostics and other religious skeptics reply.Section 3 We discuss claims made by leading Christian thinkers like CS Lewis, Michael Murray, Richard Swinburne, and William Lane Craig that neuroscience implies we should downplay animal suffering. This is something we tackled many years ago, but since then, a rare patient who had key cortical regions knocked out enables us to do a direct experimental test of the claims of these theologians. Namely testing his pain perception. The results were published in a paper in Philosophical Psychology, and the authors of that paper are in this video explaining why these findings are devastating for the one explanation that might undermine the Expanded Problem of Animal Suffering. This film stars the authors of both of these papers, including lead author Phil Halper (aka skydivephil), philosopher of consciousness Ken Williford, neuroscientist David Rudrauf, pain expert Perry Fuchs, as well ethicists Peter Singer and Mark Bernstein, and philosopher Joe Schmid and Within Reason host Alex O'Connor (the artist formerly known as cosmic skeptic). A timeline of the film is below. 0:00 Introduction 1:16 The problem of time 1:55 The problem of creation 3:00 The problem of divine commands4:15 The problem of divine actions 7:53 The problem of the Anthropocene8:42 Answering theists' replies introduction8:48 Nomic regularity 11:33 Soul making 14:02 Justified genocide? 16:23 After-life compensation 18:29 A Pre-Adamic Fall 20:39 Skeptical Theism 25:32 Other arguments 26:07 The Expanded Problem vs. Theists replies 28:17 Do animals suffer? Neocartesianism 28:51 CS Lewis on Animal Pain 29:35 William Lane Craig's infamous quote 31:21 Replying to Craig and Lewis32:10 Self Awareness32:52 Three bogus levels of pain 33:01 What is pain affect?33:28 The Pre-frontal cortex33:50 The importance of Patient R 35:59 The most critical experiment in theology 38:12 Where does the brain generate pain? 38:51: Sub-cortical regions and the distribution of pain in animals 44:07 The anterior cingulate cortex, another mistake by Theologians45:14 A justification for Neocarteisanism? 45:50 Convergent evolution 46:52 Lobotomy and Craig's contradiction49:10 Summing up and reversing Craig's argument
The fine tuning argument: a theological critique Phil Halper (aka Skydivephil) 2023-08-18 | Hans Halvorson is a Christian and a Professor of Philosophy of Physics at Princeton University. He is skeptical that the universe is fine tuned for life. However , if it is, he thinks it's evidence against God's existence and thus for atheism. This clip is taken from our longer film on the subject, showing a skeptical take on the fine tuning of the universe for life. Featuring Roger Penrose, Carlo Rovelli, Sean Carroll, Alan Guth and many other leading experts. We cover problems of probability, the multiverse, cosmological natural selection and related issues that potentially debunk the fine tuning argument.You can see that film here: youtube.com/watch?v=jJ-fj3lqJ6M&t=1462sa reply to this argument can be found here:youtube.com/watch?v=QJYWkqOzUQ0&t=4036sand our counter reply here:youtube.com/watch?v=zNH-ZgSpBuQWith thanks to Chris (morn1415) for the fabulous images.
Did the Universe Begin? Rethinking the Penrose Hawking & BGV theorems Phil Halper (aka Skydivephil) 2023-07-28 | The Big Bang happened but was it really the beginning of time? Two theorems are often used to suggest it was: The Penrose Hawking Theorem and the BGV Theorem . But new papers out in 2023 have re examined the issue of the beginning and come to a surprising conclusion. We talk to Roger Penrose, Alan Guth, Alex Vilenkin, Ghazal Geshnizjani, Robert Brandenberger, Damien Easson and Niayesh Afshordi to discuss the ultimate question of whether or not the universe had a beginning. A timeline is below. 0:00 Introduction 0:46 Penrose Hawking 2:50 Roger Penrose 4:18 Past eternal Inflation?6:18 Tricked by coordinates7:27 De Sitter Space 9:07 Beyond the BGV10:42 An ambiguity in the BGV11:48 Many things are possible 14:00 Viability of the Bounce 14:56 Beyond Einstein 16: 28 Cuscuton Bounce18:28 G bounce 19:54 Emergent Universe 21:39 What does it mean?
The Fine Tuning Argument debunked by a Jar of Beans Phil Halper (aka Skydivephil) 2023-06-30 | The fine tuning argument for God claims that a fine tuned universe for life is far more likely given God than without God. It's based on the notion that it is extremely unlikely that we could get life permitting values for the constants of nature without a designer. In this short film, Chris Hitchcock, Professor of Philosophy at Caltech and an expert in probability theory and the philosophy of science offers a critique. This clip was taken form a longer film on the subject, you can see here:youtube.com/watch?v=jJ-fj3lqJ6M&t=1221s for a reply from the proponents of the argument see here:youtube.com/watch?v=QJYWkqOzUQ0&t=4036sand for our counter reply see here:youtube.com/watch?v=zNH-ZgSpBuQ&t=2319s
The S8 Tension & the Euclid Satellite : A New Crisis in Cosmology? Phil Halper (aka Skydivephil) 2023-06-02 | In a previous film we covered the Hubble Tension, the fact that measuring the expansion rate of the universe with supernova data yields a significantly different value than with the cosmic microwave background. In the film we report on a new tension called the S8 tension. This has the potential to be even more significant than the Hubble tension. Solutions to it may even change the origin and fate of the universe, describing a time before the Big Bang and dark energy that is not a cosmological constant which may lead to very different fate to the universe. It may also enable us to find signs of quantum gravity theories like String theory or casual sets in the sky. Finally we'll see how ESAs Euclid mission may confirm if the tension is real or just a measurement error. 0:00 Introduction 0:58 Structures in the universe 5:04 what is S8?6:07 measuring S87:08 It doesnt match 10:11 comparison with the Hubble tension12:12 Cosmological constant 13:30 early dark energy15:04 causal set quantum gravity 17:02 string theory to the rescue?20:16 The Euclid Satellite
Before the Big Bang 11: Did the Universe Create itself ? The PTC model Phil Halper (aka Skydivephil) 2023-04-28 | What happened before the Big Bang? In two of our previous films we examined cyclic cosmologies and time travel universe models. Specially, the Gott and Li Model youtube.com/watch?v=79LciHWV4Qs) and Penrose's Conformal Cyclic Cosmology youtube.com/watch?v=FVDJJVoTx7s) . Recently Beth Gould and Niayesh Afshordi of the Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics have fused these two models together to create a startling new vision of the universe. In this film they explain their new proposal, known as Periodic Time Cosmology.0:00 Introduction 0:45 NIayesh's story 1:15 Beth's story2:25 relativity 3:26 Gott & Li model 6:23 origins of the PTC model 8:17 PTC periodic time cosmology 10:55 Penrose cyclic model 13:01 Sir Roger Penrose14:19 CCC and PTC 15:45 conformal rescaling and the CMB 17:28 assumptions 18:41 why a time loop?20:11 empirical test 23:96 predcitions26:19 inflation vs PTC 30:22 gravitational waves 31:40 cycles and the 2nd law 32:54 paradoxes 34:08 causality 35:17 immortality in a cyclic universe38:02 eternal return 39:21 quantum gravity 39:57 conclusionElizabeth Gould has asked to make this clarification in the written text " "Despite the availability of infinite time in the periodic time model, this doesn't lead to thermalization in a typical time-evolution scenario, and therefore doesn't, strictly speaking, solve the problem related to thermalization in the power spectrum. The reason for this is that, unlike bounce models with a net expansion each cycle, our model has an effective contraction during the conformal phases. Periodic time, therefore, has a unique character in which it reuses the power spectrum from the previous cycles, which is confined to a given form due to the constraints of the system, rather than removing the old power spectrum and needing to produce a new one."
The Fine Tuning Argument: the critics strike back Phil Halper (aka Skydivephil) 2023-03-17 | At the end of of 2022, we released a film offering a reply to the fine tuning argument for God from leading physicists and philosophers of physics. This included both those that doubt there is any fine tuning and those that think there is but it can be solved by naturalistic means. Subsequently astrophysicist Luke Barnes and philosopher Philip Goff offered their criticism of our criticism. Here we have assembled some of our original talking heads to review their criticism and offer a reply, defending the original position that fine tuning argument for God does not work. Our original film can be found here: youtube.com/watch?v=jJ-fj3lqJ6MLuke Barnes and Philip Goff’s reply is here: youtube.com/watch?v=QJYWkqOzUQ0&t=4036sand we also recommend this video on Bayes theorem on the Majesty of Reason Channel: youtube.com/watch?v=o1MdtyLL3Uw&t=4423sOur panel consists of Graham Priest , Distinguished Professor of Philosophy at The Graduate Center, City University of New York, well known for his work in logic especially non classical logic, the philosophy of mathematics and science and Buddhist philosophy. Barry Loewer, who is the distinguished professor of philosophy at Rutgers University and director of the Rutgers Center for Philosophy and the Sciences. Barry specialises in philosophy of science and philosophical logic and the foundations of quantum mechanics, statical mechanics and probability .Dan Linford who is one of the rising stars in the intersection of the philosophy of physics and philosophy of religion. He did his Phd in philosophy, under Paul Draper and had well known atheist cosmologist Sean Carroll and theistic fine tuning advocate Rob Collins on his thesis committee. He’s now doing a postdoc at the University of Nebraska and recently authored the book Existential Inertia and Classical Theistic Proofs with Joe Schmidt. Niayesh Afshordi who is an astrophysicist and cosmologist , he’s Professor at the University fo Waterloo and faculty at the Permitter Institute for Theoretical physics. Niayesh won the silver medal at the world physics Olympiad as a teenager, won 1st prize the The Buchalter Cosmology Prize and works in a variety of fields from early universe cosmology, black holes, dark energy and quantum gravityOUTLINE0:00 Intro 3:26 Dan’s opening thoughts 6:43 Graham opening thoughts11:23 Niayesh opening thoughts13:33 Barry opening thoughts20:51Bias28:53 Changing the constants 40:21 Bayes theorem 41:36 Objective Bayesianism 51:13 Principle of Indifference 58:27 Infinities 1:00:00 Infinity again1:06:00 Gob vs God 1:15:08 Probability of life given God 1:20:11 Does god need to fine tune?1:24:10 Boltzmann Brains 1:32:57 Entropy 1:39:54 Cosmic Darwin
Physicists & Philosophers debunk The Fine Tuning Argument Phil Halper (aka Skydivephil) 2022-11-17 | The Fine-Tuning Argument is often seen as the best argument for the existence of God . Here we have assembled some of the world's top physicists and philosophers to offer a reply. Not every critic of the argument comes from the same perspective. Some doubt there is a problem to be solved whilst others agree it is a genuine problem but think there are better solutions than the God hypothesis. Some like the multiverse and anthropics other don’t. We have tried to represent these different approaches and so it should be taken as given, that not all of the talking heads agree with each other. Nevertheless, they all share the view that the fine-tuning argument for God does not work. Nor are all the objectors atheist, Hans Halvorson offers what we think is a strong theological objection to the argument. This film does not try to argue that God doesn’t exist only that the fine-tuning argument is not a good reason to believe in God. Most of the footage was filmed exclusively for this film with some clips being re-used from our Before the Big Bang series, which can be viewed here: youtube.com/watch?v=Ry_pILPr7B8&list=PLJ4zAUPI-qqqj2D8eSk7yoa4hnojoCR4m All of the critics of the fine tuning argument that appear were sent a draft of the film more than a month before release and asked for any objections either to their appearance, the narration or any other aspect of the film. No objections were raised, and many replies were extremely positive and encouraging. A timeline of the subjects covered is below: (We define God as a perfect Omni immaterial mind as for example modern Christians and Muslims advocate, there are other conceptions of God which our video does not address). Just to be clear, this is a polemical film arguing against the fine tuning argument. Timecodes0:00 Introduction 4:11 The universe as a roll of the dice 6:15 what is probability? 7:28 probability problems 9:25 measure problem 15:45 deceptive probabilities 20:23 the flatness problem 22:14 counterfactuals versus probabilities 23:59 fine tuning versus God 37:02 necessity38:53 multiverse and anthropics47:34 Boltzmann brains49:45 Entropy 52:45 Cosmological Natural Selection 59:10 conclusion
Kalam Cosmological Argument 2.Physicists and Philosophers strike back Phil Halper (aka Skydivephil) 2022-07-15 | This is the second film we have made, critiquing the Kalam Cosmological Argument. Our first assembled many leading physicists and philosophers to offer what they think is wrong with the argument. It clearly got the attention of William Lane Craig as he made a four part series responding. In this film we reply to his reply. There are yet agin many leading experts here including Sean Carroll, Carlo Rovelli, Niayesh Afshordi, Adrain Moore, Alex Malpass and others. We also made a 6 hour long response video with Dan Linford ( who also appears in this film ), James Fodor and Digital Gnosis . Find that here: youtube.com/watch?v=txG_iVmtgpo&t=4480sAll opinions expressed are those of the person expressing them and should be taken as a collective opinion. Nevertheless, we sent this to everyone involved to make sure no one objected to it. None did. Timecodes0:00 Introduction 3:10 metaphysical absurdity 6:27 infinite subtraction 11:25 infinite future 14:27 Potential infinity 17:25 angels, God and infinity 18:49 infinite countdown 21:32 Grim Reaper Paradox 23:28 Absence of Evidence 23:49 Big Bang Singularity26:46 Quantum Gravity 27:23 Hartle Hawking Model 29:37 BGV Theorem 32:25 Quantum Eternity Theorem 34:00 Cherry Picking 36:00 Collapsing Universe 40:46 Reversing the arrow of time 41:46 entropy 42:50 Wall theorem44:27 singularities again 45:19 Neo Lorentzianism 54:10 models with a beginning 55:47 causality and QM 1:02:00 causes and cats 1:04:33 metaphysical principle1:06:19 simultaneous causation 1:07:48 time travel 1:08:40 free agent 1:12:47 desperate atheists 1:14:35 summing up Cast:Adrian Moore Graham Priest, Wes Morriston Alex Malpass Daniel Linford Sean Carroll Niayesh Afshordi Carlo Rovelli Barry Lower Chris Hitchock Susanne Schander Abhay AshtekarArif Ahmed Aurelien Barrau Alistair Wilson Alan Guth Alex Vilenkin Simon Saunders
Physicists & Philosophers debunk the Kalam Cosmological Argument featuring Penrose, Hawking, Guth Phil Halper (aka Skydivephil) 2022-01-14 | We have assembled some of the world’s leading physicists and philosophers to reply to the Kalam Cosmological Argument for God (as presented in popular debates by the Christian Philosopher William Lane Craig). The argument says that everything that begins to exist has a cause, the universe began to exist, therefore the universe has a cause, which must be God. We show the flaws in this argument, featuring interviews we conducted with physicists Roger Penrose, Stephen Hawking, Alan Guth, Carlo Rovelli, Alex Vilenkin, Niayesh Afshordi and many others as well as philosophers such as AW Moore (co-editor of the world's leading philosophy journal Mind), Oxford logician Daniel Isaacson, Cambridge philosopher Arif Ahmed, philosopher of science specialising in foundations of quantum mechanics Alastair Wilson, and Alex Malpass and Daniel Linford who have both published multiple articles on the Kalam in leading journals. Most of the footage was shot especially for this film and all of those participants reviewed it carefully before release. All of the other living participants, where we reused interview footage from previous films, were sent a draft of this one in advance and asked if they objected to appearing or wanted changes. None objected and all changes are in the final film you see. Most participants gave extremely positive feedback and we hope you will too.Timecodes0:00 Introduction 1:38 Actual versus Potential Infinity 2:40 Cantor's Infinity 3:06 The Infinite Property 5:42 Hilbert’s Hotel 11:16 Contradiction & not a Contradiction 13:38 Jupiter and Saturn 14:52 Physicists on Infinity 16:38 Counting to Infinity 18:36 The Infinite Future 22:35 Spacetime Singularity 24:50 Carlo Rovelli on Neo Lorentzian Relativity and Cosmic Time 28:29 Hawking, Penrose, Vilenkin, Efstathiou on The Big Bang & Quantum Gravity 29:37 Strings, Loops and the Big Bounce 31:16 Guth and Vilenkin on the BGV 34:00 Is a Collapsing Universe Unstable? 35:31 Wall Theorem, Ashtekar and Afshordi 36:36 Anthony Aguirre on Past Eternal Universe 37:47 Singularities, Magueijo and Vidotto 38:24 Second Law, Guth and Ashtekar40:43 A Universe From Nothing? Vilenkin 42:53 Causality 44:17 Interpretations of QM 48:05 Tigers in Our Living Room, Vilenkin 49:44 Causality and Philosophy 51:25 Simultaneous Causation 54:46 Can The Universe Create Itself? 56:51 Ghazali's Argument 57:53 Closing Arguments
