Why materialism is baloney

What Hacker News says

1. tomhowardMay 2024
   To be clear, I don’t sit there for hours watching videos on YouTube (I have a busy career and a family so that’s not an option these days).

   I do consume a lot of YouTube content as audio-only when driving or exercising.

   I find video particularly satisfying for this topic and these figures, because much of the most valuable insight emerges through discussion and debate.

   I’ve read Kastrup’s book “Why Materialism is Baloney” and found it very satisfying - but I was already amenable to his position; I don’t imagine it would be persuasive to an entrenched skeptic.

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2. namlemMay 2024
   The Master and His Emissary by Ian McGilchrist

   Why Materialism is Baloney by Bernardo Kastrup

   The first one really opened my mind to alternate modes of thought. The first half of the book is especially interesting, the second half is skippable. I don't think I could have appreciated the second book if I hadn't read the first.

   The Dictator's Handbook by Bueno de Mesquita and Smith is another good one. Afaik, the first successful attempt to create a true theory of politics.

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3. alyxMay 2020
   Bernardo Kastrup's - Why Materialism Is Baloney
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4. DennisPJul 2019
   Bernardo Kastrup has written some compelling books arguing that idealism is more rational and skeptical than materialism. The best introduction is probably Why Materialism Is Baloney. A more academic version, consisting mostly of peer-reviewed papers, is The Idea of the World.
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5. alyxSep 2017
   Bernardo Kastrup - Why Materialism Is Baloney

   Has a lot of impact on current AI theory.

   https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/20543665-why-materialism...

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6. mark_l_watsonMay 2015
   I have been a paid practitioner of AI since the early 1980s but I have a fundamental difficulty with the creation of a "real AI" that thinks as we do.

   I follow the Idealism philosophy (which is the opposite of Materialism) that posits that the fundamental property in the universe is universal mind or consciousness and our individual thoughts and ego are derived from a filtering operation: we as individuals filter out a small part of this collective unconsciousness (to use Carl Yung's term) and that is what gives us our identity while we are alive. All of modern physics would be layered on top of the underlying mind or consciousness.

   If these ideas interest you, I suggest reading "Why Materialism is Baloney" by physicist and computer scientist Bernardo Kastrup.

   All this said, I think "real AIs" are inevitable (even if far in the future) but I think they will seem very alien to us.

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