Zero One

'Nothing' is an absence so absolute that even defining it becomes problematic. We might imagine ‘nothing’ as the void, the empty vacuum of space, but in contemporary physics 'nothing' is nowhere to be found. In quantum field theory, even the vacuum of space is teeming with quantum fluctuations, and in general relativity, empty space still retains a minimum energy. But to be true nothingness, our possible candidate would need to lack time, space, matter, energy, and relation to the rest of the universe. Should we conclude that 'nothing' is an impossibility, and if so, that 'something' is inevitable? Or can we uncover the true nature of nothing, and with it, other mysteries of the universe as well? Pioneering theoretical physicists David Deutsch and Lee Smolin, celebrated science writer Amanda Gefter debate. Tap here to watch now. iai.tv/video/in-search-of-no…

Oxytocin is the "love hormone." Or so the press release said. The actual literature, summarized in a 2014 Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience review, reveals something far more interesting: oxytocin doesn't just increase in-group bonding and trust—it simultaneously increases out-group hostility, aggression, and conformity pressure. The hormone doesn't make you loving. It makes you tribal. It amplifies "us" by amplifying the threat of "them." Every study that found prosocial oxytocin effects was measuring in-group behavior. Every intervention designed to increase social cohesion has this structural property: the stronger the we, the sharper the they. This isn't a side effect of love—it's the mechanism. The communities you feel most warmly toward—who are they implicitly defined against? That's the oxytocin at work. Source: Frontiers - frontiersin.org/journals/beh…

Physics is viewed as the key to understanding everything, but is this fundamentally wrong? | iai.tv/articles/reality-goes… Leading physicist George Ellis argues that reality cannot be predicted by studying simple physical constituents.

Así es la esclavitud en las minas en el este del Congo, de donde sale más del 70% del cobalto del mundo, miles de esclavos diariamente extraen el mineral por apenas 2$ al dia para llenar los bolsillos a las multinacionales capitalistas. El capitalismo que no te enseñan, así es como se sostiene el nivel de vida y de consumo en Occidente, en estas minas al menos hay 40.000 niños esclavizados que pican piedra para que Apple saque 4 modelos de Iphone cada año.

🌌 Roger Penrose’s conformal cyclic cosmology proposes that our universe is not the first and won’t be the last. In his model, as the universe expands and cools over trillions of years, all matter eventually decays until there is no mass left. Without mass, the distinction between very large! and very small..! disappears, and the cold, empty end of one universe becomes mathematically identical to the hot, dense beginning of the next. There is no absolute nothingness...! or final end just endless cycles of cosmic rebirth. This is a purely physical description of spacetime. It does not claim that personal consciousness or a soul survives death. 📌 Source: Roger Penrose, Conformal Cyclic Cosmology (CCC) framework, updated in Cycles of Time and recent papers 2026

Mathematical models wield miraculous power, but mistaking them for reality has trapped science in a destructive quest for a “Theory of Everything.” | bit.ly/4uAp42m Ragner Fjelland argues that this leads to Frankenstein theories kept alive by clumsy amendments, which reduce rather than boost science’s power.

Nothing in physics may be truly fundamental. Questions whether the idea of “building blocks” in nature are increasingly outliving its usefulness, suggesting that our most basic concepts reflect the limits of human understanding rather than the structure of reality itself. Here Physicist Sabine Hossenfelder argues that mathematics isn't real, and rather a tool we use to describe the world. If that’s the case, what would a coherent picture of the world even look like? And can physics progress without appealing to particles, things, or foundations? Watch the full debate via the link, also featuring critic of realism Hilary Lawson and celebrated philosopher of science Tim Maudlin: iai.tv/video/the-substance-o…

Will we ever know how the universe began? Acclaimed theoretical physicist Sabine Hossenfelder @skdh argues that not only is discovering the universe’s origins an impossible task, but one that she doesn't consider worth pursuing at all. Instead, theories for the beginning of the universe are merely stories we tell ourselves. In this debate, she joins theoretical quantum physicist Ivette Fuentes and philosopher of science James Ladyman to explore the various lenses through which we perceive and study the cosmological world of the universe. Click the link to watch more. iai.tv/video/the-one-and-the…

Consciousness goes away with anesthesia and returns when the anesthesia is removed. Anesthesia acts by quantum effects in microtubules. Therefore consciousness depends on quantum effects in microtubules.