The juvenile sea squirt wanders through the sea searching for a suitable rock or hunk of coral to cling to and make its home for life. For this task, it has a rudimentary nervous system. When it finds its spot and takes root, it doesn't need its brain anymore, so it eats it! (It's rather like getting tenure.)* * The analogy between the sea squirt and the associate professor was first pointed out, I think, by the neuroscientist Rodolfo Llinas.

Philosophers are never quite sure what they are talking about - about what the issues really are - and so often it takes them rather a long time to recognize t…

I find it breathtaking [...] that when musical composition competitions are held, the contestants often do not submit tapes or records (or live performances) o…

The trouble with the canons of scientific evidence [...] is that they virtually rule out the description of anything but oft-repeated, oft-observed, stereotypi…