Why is there something rather than nothing? About this storied question we challenge the commonly accepted main assumption: the existence of something. Starting from Nothing only, we explain how our perceived reality emerges as an illusory self-referential interpretation of Nothing and build a framework to give precise definitions to fundamental concepts such as existence, reality, nothingness and somethingness. We then explore the consequences of this framework and we discover an explanation for the existence of laws of physics in our illusory (...) reality. By aiming to describe reality starting with Nothing, we provide the first instance of an assumption-less theory. (shrink)

According to the most common interpretation of the simulation argument, we are very likely to live in an ancestor simulation. It is interesting to ask if some families of simulations are more likely than others inside the space of all simulations. We argue that a natural probability measure is given by computational complexity: easier simulations are more likely to be run. Remarkably this allows us to extract experimental predictions from the fact that we live in a simulation. For instance we (...) show that it is very likely that humanity will not achieve interstellar travel and that humanity will not meet other intelligent species in the universe, in turn explaining the Fermi's Paradox. On the opposite side, experimental falsification of any of these predictions would constitute evidence against our reality being a simulation. (shrink)

Abstract There appears to be very close link between globalization and imperialism. Both seem to have domineering character. Globalization could be likened to a new wave of imperialism as it could be adjudged the process by which the so called superior powers of the West dominate and influence developing countries like Nigeria. They are expansionist in nature. Christianity has the same expansionist features as globalization and imperialism. The imperialist nature of globalization could be assessed from the expansionist activities of Christianity (...) that equally originates from the West. This paper is an attempt to discuss globalization, imperialism and Christianity as expansionist realities from the Nigerian perspective. Information is gathered from content analyses of the concepts of globalization, imperialism and Christianity and simple observation of what Nigeria experiences with regard to Christianity. It is observed that much of what Christianity favours are materials from the West. The paper concludes that Christianity more than ever before rides on the crest of globalization to further imperialism. It suggests that Christianity in the twenty-first century should be more inculturated than hanging on the apron strings of the West especially with regard to religious wares. (shrink)

Secara khusus tujuan penelitian ini adalah untuk mengetahui pemahaman kaum muda dalam pengelolaan sampah organik skala rumah tangga menjadi produk bernilai jual dan mengetahui determinan minat berwirausaha berbasis ekologi kaum muda daerah 3T (Terdepan, Terluar, Tertinggal) dalam mengimplementasikan tujuan pembangunan berkelanjutan. Masalah yang dihadapi adalah bagaimana menumbuhkan minat berwirausaha kaum muda, kondisi sampah organik rumah tangga yang dibuang sia-sia, dan tingginya penggunaan pupuk kimia. Sasaran penelitian ini adalah kaum muda daerah 3T dengan latar belakang keluarga petani bukan sebagai wirausaha. Penelitian (...) ini menggunakan metode kualitatif dengan rancangan project based learning. Obyek penelitian bersifat purposefully select dengan teknik pengumpulan data Focus Group Discussion (FGD), wawancara terbuka, observasi partisipatif dan dokumentasi. Teknik analisis data dilakukan dengan cara reduksi data, penyajian data dan verifikasi data. Faktor yang menpengaruhi minat berwirausaha adalah faktor kepribadian, faktor sosiologis dan faktor lingkungan. Hasil penelitian menyatakan bahwa minat dan intensi kewirausahaan ditentukan oleh kebebasan, self-efficacy, dan lebih banyak manfaat jika kita hanya karyawan, kreativitas. Wirausaha berbasis ekologi memiliki potensi yang menarik untuk dikembangkan, namun dalam proses produksinya ada kecenderungan para pemuda ini untuk tidak sabar (budaya instan) dalam menjalankannya dan masih kurang pengetahuan tentang cara mengemas dan memasarkan produk mereka dengan baik. (shrink)

“Substance-in-relation” is W. Norris CLARKE’s own contribution to the thought of Aquinas on the metaphysics of the human person. Clarke argues that a dynamic notion of the human person with an intrinsic dynamic substance and a primordial relation is implicit in the thought of Aquinas and he wants to make them explicit. His approach was to “creatively retrieve” this intrinsic dynamic notion in Aquinas and to “complete” it with the rich relational notion that was well-developed by some contemporary existential phenomenologists, (...) personalists and psychotherapists. He argues that the human person possesses dyadic structures of substance and relation that are equally primordial. So, for him, “to be” a human person is to be a “substance-in-relation.” This implies that substance alone, even though dynamic, is insufficient to constitute a human person. In this way, Clarke seems to differ from Aquinas who argued that the human person is a substance composed of body and soul. In fact, the conclusions reached by Clarke on the basic seminal ideas of the human person leaned more towards the thoughts of the above contemporary thinkers than that of Aquinas, suggesting that he must have departed significantly from St. Thomas. This raises doubt about to what extent he retrieved the thought of Aquinas. This research, therefore, is an attempt to furnish some elements that would help the reader to evaluate whether Clarke’s work could be considered more as a “creative retrieval” or more as a “creative completion” of the thought of Aquinas. The method employed here is to trace the background to the formation of Clarke’s thought. There is also an analysis of his thought. This is followed by a critical analysis of his notion of human substance and of relation. Finally, certain elements are furnished to help the reader in this evaluation. (shrink)

Technology has the power to break the limitations of traditional passive learning and innovate almost all aspects of everyday life with the power of connecting things of the world to the Internet, “Internet of Things (IoT).” IoT is no longer a phenomenon, but it has become a prevalent system in which people, processes, data, and things connect to the Internet and each other. This paper ‘Enhanced Campus Automation System and the emerging need of IoT integration: an automation perspective’ [eCAS-IoT] is (...) an outcome of case study undertaken at St. Aloysius’ College, Jabalpur, India, wherein the automation challenges are taken into consideration that has been integrated in the existing ERP and related tools such as RFID based attendance and monitoring system in real-time, digital library, API integration and implementation of Optical Network. In this paper we have tried to bring out ideas to achieve the campus automation challenges and awareness of greater need of technical expertise, promotion and training on the effective use of ICT and related devices to make teaching, learning and administration more impacting. (shrink)