science
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Reading Open Problems in Mechanistic Interpretability: A Call for a Complex-Systems Perspective
The recent review Open Problems in Mechanistic Interpretability (arXiv:2501.16496) is one of the clearest snapshots of where the field of mechanistic interpretability (MI) stands today. It’s thorough, honest about its limitations, and refreshingly forward-looking. But while the review is excellent on its own terms, reading it also made something else crystal clear to me: Many Continue reading
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Religions and Science
In the beginning, human beings tried to make sense of the world around them. They observed, guessed, discussed, and formed explanations for the things they didn’t understand–like the stars, the weather, life, and death. These early efforts became what we now call religions. They weren’t just belief systems; they were thoughtful attempts to understand the Continue reading
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Reading A Universe of Consciousness
I’ve just finished reading A Universe of Consciousness by Gerald Edelman and Giulio Tononi. Rather than focusing heavily on experimental data, the book offers a high-level conceptual framework for how the brain gives rise to consciousness. That approach resonates with me—once we understand the overarching structure, we can begin to interpret experimental findings as either Continue reading
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A very short explanation of Wolfram’s Physics Project
Einstein believed that the apparent “randomness” in quantum mechanics was due to incomplete knowledge of underlying factors. His famous quote, “God does not play dice”, rejected the idea of true randomness. After Einstein, the mainstream Copenhagen interpretation prevailed, accepting the randomness and uncertainty as fundamental features. Wolfram’s Physics Project was launched in 2020, aiming to Continue reading
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My Notes on ‘On the Nature of Time’
Stephen Wolfram recently posted an essay ‘On the Nature of Time’: https://writings.stephenwolfram.com/2024/10/on-the-nature-of-time/ There are five sections: (1) The Computational View of Time, (2) The Role of the Observer, (3) Multiple Threads of Time, (4) Time in the Ruliad, and (5) So What in the End Is Time? In order to understand it more thoroughly, I Continue reading
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Reality+ by David Chalmers: A Chapter-by-Chapter Review
Introduction: When we think of philosophy, we might picture ancient philosophers disconnected from modern science. However, philosophy is the reconciliation of existing knowledge, and modern science and technology have brought us enormous amount of new knowledge, it’s now philosophers’ job to digest them. This is what the author, David Chalmers, calls ‘technophilosophy’: generating new questions Continue reading
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Science on the Ground, Philosophy in the Air
Science can be thought of as firmly grounded—it operates close to the earth, where everything is tangible and can be directly observed or measured. It is constrained by the scientific method, focusing on precise exploration and concrete conclusions based on evidence. Philosophy, on the other hand, is like something floating above the ground, encompassing a Continue reading
Sida Liu 