Dominic Dawes

Communications professional by day; guitar slinger and rabid bookworm by night; devoted husband and step-dad; proud Londoner; Arsenal fan; evolutionist.

[Dominic Dawes @domdawes]

@seanhannam Totallly vile, agreed. But then, maybe that’s just what you get for willingly going to see fucking MOBY.

[New York Magazine @NYMag]

Michael Levin did not expect to reach middle age and still be making a living as a biology professor. He figured his life trajectory would likely involve getting kicked out of the academy, as the academy is fond of people asking narrow questions, not boundary-crashing, precariously close-to-woo-sounding paradigmatic thinkers whose ideas strain the limits of language. Yet the opposite has happened — he’s become a foremost expert in his field, and to many, a cult hero.

Levin has been releasing his ideas slowly his entire adult life. Five years ago, he was at 50 percent. Now he’s at 80 percent. A big jump came last year when Levin published a preprint paper called “Ingressing Minds.” In it, he argues that intelligence comes from a nonphysical realm and flows (“ingresses”) into bodies. That nonphysical realm, he says, is where mathematical ideas like pi and e reside. We already accept there is some stuff in that realm. Why would we assume there is not more?

Critics accuse Levin of all kinds of teleological crimes — making unfalsifiable claims, using words in ways that render those words meaningless. Levin is unfazed. His true retort is his wet lab. There, at the bench, he’s working to prove his metaphysics by running old-school (in a way) biological experiments. He studies flatworms with two heads. Frogs with eyes on their stomachs. Little round creatures called xenobots, synthesized from frog skin cells. They swim like tiny Pac-Men. They do not exist in nature.

Elizabeth Weil spends time with the biologist who argues that your body has many minds: https://t.co/TaeRjReQLi

[Dominic Dawes @domdawes]

@maria_wats8492 Claude

[Dominic Dawes @domdawes]

@maria_wats8492 Claude

[Dominic Dawes @domdawes]

@Manu_Sisti Doc

[Dominic Dawes @domdawes]

@AIandTechh87 Master

[Dominic Dawes @domdawes]

@NainsiDwiv50980 AI

[Dominic Dawes @domdawes]

@itmagiber 4.6

[Dominic Dawes @domdawes]

@r0ck3t23 It’s emblematic of the parlous state we’re in that people thumb such utter, irredeemable nonsense into their phones and believe they’re being clever. SO relieved to see intelligent comments, refuting the infantile errors that make up the entirety of this post.

[Dominic Dawes @domdawes]

@_motherslug An excellent contemporary choice would be:
Endlessness, by Nala Sinephro.

https://t.co/o9jZOaZgi2

[Dominic Dawes @domdawes]

Sean Ono Lennon being very nearly unique on the internet, in having a view that’s not in itself a part of the problem.

[Seán Ono Lennon @seanonolennon]

I am against violence. I am against celebrating violence. I’m praying for peace. I’m praying for healing. I’m praying for the family, especially the children. I know what they’re going through. I’ve been through it.

I’m deeply scared for this country. The way some people are reacting on both sides is dangerous. If I had one wish right now it would be for everyone to please just step back and take a breath and remember we are all just sophisticated apes trying to coexist on a rock hurtling through space.

If we cannot tolerate polite and reasoned disagreement then there is no hope for our society.

There is a famous quote falsely attributed to Voltaire that however does sum up a principle of enlightenment philosophy, ‘I disagree with what you say, but I would die to defend your right to say it.’

The ideas of people like John Locke and Voltaire and Thomas Paine are what lead to the American Revolution which then inspired the French Revolution. They introduced the World to the idea that individual rights were important and should be protected from Monarchs (tyrants and dictators), and ultimately led to the idea that a country should be governed by its people NOT by the Church and NOT by a King.

If citizens don’t protect and respect each other’s right to disagree, then we cannot have a democracy. If we do not protect our right to disagree then we’ll get violence.

We do NOT want a society where violence is the way we win arguments, because then nobody wins. Everyone loses.

We are ALL losing right now. The whole society is losing together. Losing to violence. It’s unbelievably sad. It took so much work to get us here. We can’t throw it all away like spoilt children.

I did NOT agree with Charlie Kirk’s views on MANY important topics. I know he helped get Trump elected and people hate him for that. But he was a conservative Christian. What do you expect a conservative Christian to believe? How can those views surprise you? He argued those views calmly, reasonably, and considerately as far as I’ve seen.

But no matter what he did not deserve this. His wife did not deserve this. His kids did NOT deserve to have their world torn apart!

The way some people are being so cold and uncaring and even celebrating is disturbing and repugnant to me. It is making me physically ill. If you are celebrating the murder of a non-violent man for his opinions then you are NOT the better person. Look in the mirror. Imagine telling his kids how you feel. Step back. Take a breath. Remember we are all humans. We are all just flickers of consciousness in an endless eternity. Love IS the answer. I really mean it.

We are quite literally ALL in this together. If this ship sinks we ALL drown. Look around you. Everyone you see is a shipmate. We have to figure this out. We have no other choice.

[Dominic Dawes @domdawes]

@TomCantonMedia hi Tom, your tirade this morning against the ‘fans’ being abusive toward players on social media was honourable, brilliant and perfectly articulated. All real fans appreciate it a great deal - thank you.

[Dominic Dawes @domdawes]

@SVG__Collection Time - Tom Waits

[Dominic Dawes @domdawes]

@seanhannam Congrats mate xx

[Dominic Dawes @domdawes]

The below is for angry #Arsenal fans going in on #arteta, from an expert who knows more about football than you do.

The progress is obvious: calm yourself.

[Guillem Balague @GuillemBalague]

Six years away from the Champions League

Second season in a row in the competition that defines the biggest teams and careers, and reaching semis

If you don't see #Arsenal's progression is because you don't want to

Seven regulars return, 4/5 new starters and back to be one of the best teams in Europe

That's what I see @m8arteta is doing with his team

[Dominic Dawes @domdawes]

@KingBalliwog @heroguy360 Ah yeah, nice.

[Dominic Dawes @domdawes]

@SVG__Collection Herbie Hancock’s Speak like a Child doesn’t get shouted about as much as it deserves but stands with the great mid/late-60s jazz records

[𝖦𝗋𝗂𝗆𝖾𝗌 ⏳ @Grimezsz]

What if lord of the rings is actually a science fiction novel set a million years in the future in a de industrialized society after an extended dark age, amongst various genetically modified organisms that have lost their history ?

[Dominic Dawes @domdawes]

Just for fellow Arsenal fans, but this is exactly and precisely 100% correct.

[Gooner Chris @ArsenalN7]

Just remember that Arne Slot inherited a squad assembled by a legendary manager. Arteta took over a club that was rotting from within and going nowhere, he turned us from eighth-placed finishers into title contenders, he made our club relevant again. We have been decimated by injuries this season, but we will get it right! I have faith in Arteta