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Alva Noë Alva Noë is a contributor to the NPR blog 13.7: Cosmos and Culture.

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Can Consciousness In Brain-Injured Patients Be Restored?

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Opinion

13.7: Cosmos And Culture

Can Consciousness In Brain-Injured Patients Be Restored?

September 29, 2017 • Facing unresponsive brain-injury victims is a real-world example of the fact that we are locked out of the minds of others — but new research shows promise in restoring consciousness, says Alva Noë.

What, Really, Is A Monument?

City workers drape a tarp over the statue of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee in Emancipation park in Charlottesville, Va., on Aug. 23. Steve Helber/AP hide caption

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Steve Helber/AP

Opinion

13.7: Cosmos And Culture

What, Really, Is A Monument?

September 24, 2017 • Monuments play a different cultural role than do other kinds of artworks: To let a monument stand, or to take it down, is to take a political stand on its subject matter, says blogger Alva Noë.

Do Letters Show You How They Sound?

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13.7: Cosmos And Culture

Do Letters Show You How They Sound?

September 22, 2017 • It is a principle of most modern thought about language that the relation between signs and meanings is arbitrary. But a new study finds a connection between sounds and ink on "paper," says Alva Noë.

Can A Machine Tell Whether You Are Gay?

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13.7: Cosmos And Culture

Can A Machine Tell Whether You Are Gay?

September 15, 2017 • A new study shows that deep neural networks, DNNs, can determine sexual orientation from facial photos with high accuracy. Blogger Alva Noë examines what this might mean — and the potential pitfalls.

Can We Eliminate The Human Element?

Taxis park along the footpath in Adelaide, Australia. Alva Noe asks: Do taxi apps make people interact less — or better — with their drivers? sasimoto/Getty Images/iStockphoto hide caption

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sasimoto/Getty Images/iStockphoto

Opinion

13.7: Cosmos And Culture

Can We Eliminate The Human Element?

September 1, 2017 • Musician David Byrne invites us, in an MIT Technology Review essay, to see that we have a choice: We don't need to opt for more isolation. Alva Noë asks: As humans, is more isolation even an option?

Science 'Gone Wrong' Can Teach Us

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13.7: Cosmos And Culture

Science 'Gone Wrong' Can Teach Us

August 25, 2017 • Pandora's Lab stresses that for science to work, it needs to base claims on data, studies need to be replicable, and scientists must be more attached to science than to their own ideas, says Alva Noë.

Is AI More Threatening Than North Korean Missiles?

In this April 30, 2015, file photo, Tesla Motors CEO Elon Musk unveils the company's newest products, in Hawthorne, Calif. Ringo H.W. Chiu/AP hide caption

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Ringo H.W. Chiu/AP

Opinion

13.7: Cosmos And Culture

Is AI More Threatening Than North Korean Missiles?

August 18, 2017 • Tesla CEO Elon Musk last week warned that AI is an enormous threat. There can be no doubt that the advent of smart, rather than smart-ish, machines, is a long way off, though, says blogger Alva Noë.

Success In Placing Shelter Dogs Takes More Than Temperament Tests

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Opinion

13.7: Cosmos And Culture

Success In Placing Shelter Dogs Takes More Than Temperament Tests

August 11, 2017 • Blogger Alva Noë talks with a dog trainer who says the need to give shelters, handlers and adopters the resources required to keep dogs and people supported and safe is critical in the process.

Technology Gets Under The Skin

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13.7: Cosmos And Culture

Technology Gets Under The Skin

August 4, 2017 • Last week, a Wisconsin company offered its employees the option to have a chip inserted into their bodies in an effort to help them navigate the workplace. Alva Noë asks: What's the big deal?

Using Numbers To Comprehend And Control Human Behavior

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Opinion

13.7: Cosmos And Culture

Using Numbers To Comprehend And Control Human Behavior

July 28, 2017 • Blogger Alva Noë considers the proposition of stats in baseball, reviewing a book by Keith Law that suggests irrational tradition shackles progressive thinking in the sport.

More Bad News For Brain-Training Games

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Opinion

13.7: Cosmos And Culture

More Bad News For Brain-Training Games

July 14, 2017 • In a new study, neither control subjects nor those who used Lumosity games showed improvement beyond getting better at the specific games they were playing, says blogger Alva Noë.

Aesthetic Evolution In The Animal World

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Opinion

13.7: Cosmos And Culture

Aesthetic Evolution In The Animal World

July 7, 2017 • Blogger Alva Noë reflects on Richard O. Prum's new book, Darwin's "other" idea, and the connection between the natural world and art.

We May See Color So We Can Understand Each Other

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Opinion

13.7: Cosmos And Culture

We May See Color So We Can Understand Each Other

June 30, 2017 • Blogger Alva Noë explores a study on vision finding that the narrow separation of bandwidth sensitivities of long- and medium-wave cones may be the best way for us to discriminate facial hues.

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