Improv to improve: the importance of philosophy in the university

The status of philosophy is contingent upon the civilizations that embrace or undermine its importance. Such status is never fully understood, nor clear, due in part to its inutility. In a goal-oriented world, philosophizing is pointless if it does not produce material results. One point of philosophy though is not only to recognize, but promote activities which are uniquely human and which therefore artificial intelligence could not possibly simulate. Improvisation, as one such activity, can reveal the importance of philosophy as a discipline by maintaining the relevance of subjectivity. In order to justify the presence of philosophy in the university, one important way is to have philosophy maintain the notion that the mental cannot be reduced to the material or physical. Consequently, phenomenology in philosophy’s defense becomes more relevant the more we realize that philosophy is threatened by the interdependency of materialism, A.I. research, and the corporatization of the university.The status of philosophy is contingent upon the civilizations that embrace or undermine its importance. Such status is never fully understood, nor clear, due in part to its inutility. In a goal-oriented world, philosophizing is pointless if it does not produce material results. One point of philosophy though is not only to recognize, but promote activities which are uniquely human and which therefore artificial intelligence could not possibly simulate. Improvisation, as one such activity, can reveal the importance of philosophy as a discipline by maintaining the relevance of subjectivity. In order to justify the presence of philosophy in the university, one important way is to have philosophy maintain the notion that the mental cannot be reduced to the material or physical. Consequently, phenomenology in philosophy’s defense becomes more relevant the more we realize that philosophy is threatened by the interdependency of materialism, A.I. research, and the corporatization of the university.El estatus de la filosofía nunca llega a ser completamente comprendido debido, en parte, a su inutilidad. En un mundo enfocado hacia las metas, filosofar no sirve si no produce resultados materialistas. Un aspecto del pensamiento filosófico es promover actividades que son exclusivamente humanas y por lo tanto imposibles de simular por una inteligencia artificial. La improvisación es capaz de revelar la importancia de la filosofía manteniendo la relevancia de la subjetividad. Con el fin de justificar la presencia de la filosofía en la universidad, una manera importante es que ésta mantenga la idea de que lo mental no puede ser reducido a lo material o a lo físico. Por lo tanto, la fenomenología, en defensa de la filosofía, llega a ser mas relevante cuanto más conscientes somos de que la filosofía está amenazada por la interdependencia del materialismo, la Inteligencia Artificial y la corporativización de la universidad.

Deciphering the Atmospheric Composition of WASP-12b: A Comprehensive Analysis of its Dayside Emission

WASP-12b was the first planet reported to have a carbon-to-oxygen ratio (C/O) greater than one in its dayside atmosphere. However, recent work to further characterize its atmosphere and confirm its composition has led to incompatible measurements and divergent conclusions. Additionally, the recent discovery of stellar binary companions ~1" from WASP-12 further complicates the analyses and subsequent interpretations. We present a uniform analysis of all available Hubble and Spitzer Space Telescope secondary-eclipse data, including previously-unpublished Spitzer measurements at 3.6 and 4.5 microns. The primary controversy in the literature has centered on the value and interpretation of the eclipse depth at 4.5 microns. Our new measurements and analyses confirm the shallow eclipse depth in this channel, as first reported by Campo and collaborators and used by Madhusudhan and collaborators to infer a carbon-rich composition. To explain WASP-12b's observed dayside emission spectrum, we implemented several recent retrieval approaches. We find that when we exclude absorption due to C2H2 and HCN, which are not universally considered in the literature, our models require implausibly large atmospheric CO2 abundances, regardless of the C/O. By including C2H2 and HCN in our models, we find that a physically-plausible carbon-rich solution achieves the best fit to the available photometric and spectroscopic data. In comparison, the best-fit oxygen-rich models have abundances that are inconsistent with the chemical equilibrium expectations for hydrogen-dominated atmospheres and are 670 times less probable. Our best-fit solution is also 7.3*10^{6} times more probable than an isothermal blackbody model.Comment: 8 pages, 7 figures, accepted for publication in Ap

Defining Landscape Resistance Values in Least-Cost Connectivity Models for the Invasive Grey Squirrel: A Comparison of Approaches Using Expert-Opinion and Habitat Suitability Modelling

Least-cost models are widely used to study the functional connectivity of habitat within a varied landscape matrix. A critical step in the process is identifying resistance values for each land cover based upon the facilitating or impeding impact on species movement. Ideally resistance values would be parameterised with empirical data, but due to a shortage of such information, expert-opinion is often used. However, the use of expert-opinion is seen as subjective, human-centric and unreliable. This study derived resistance values from grey squirrel habitat suitability models (HSM) in order to compare the utility and validity of this approach with more traditional, expert-led methods. Models were built and tested with MaxEnt, using squirrel presence records and a categorical land cover map for Cumbria, UK. Predictions on the likelihood of squirrel occurrence within each land cover type were inverted, providing resistance values which were used to parameterise a leastcost model. The resulting habitat networks were measured and compared to those derived from a least-cost model built with previously collated information from experts. The expert-derived and HSM-inferred least-cost networks differ in precision. The HSM-informed networks were smaller and more fragmented because of the higher resistance values attributed to most habitats. These results are discussed in relation to the applicability of both approaches for conservation and management objectives, providing guidance to researchers and practitioners attempting to apply and interpret a leastcost approach to mapping ecological networks.This project was funded by the Forestry Commission GB and the National School of Forestry at the University of Cumbria. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript

Using GPS telemetry to validate least-cost modeling of gray squirrel ( Sciurus carolinensis) movement within a fragmented landscape

In Britain, the population of native red squirrels Sciurus vulgaris has suffered population declines and local extinctions. Interspecific resource competition and disease spread by the invasive gray squirrel Sciurus carolinensis are the main factors behind the decline. Gray squirrels have adapted to the British landscape so efficiently that they are widely distributed. Knowledge on how gray squirrels are using the landscape matrix and being able to predict their movements will aid management. This study is the first to use global positioning system (GPS) collars on wild gray squirrels to accurately record movements and land cover use within the landscape matrix. This data were used to validate Geographical Information System (GIS) least-cost model predictions of movements and provided much needed information on gray squirrel movement pathways and network use. Buffered least-cost paths and least-cost corridors provide predictions of the most probable movements through the landscape and are seen to perform better than the more expansive least-cost networks which include all possible movements. Applying the knowledge and methodologies gained to current gray squirrel expansion areas, such as Scotland and in Italy, will aid in the prediction of potential movement areas and therefore management of the invasive gray squirrel. The methodologies presented in this study could potentially be used in any landscape and on numerous species

New Analysis Indicates No Thermal Inversion in the Atmosphere of HD 209458b

An important focus of exoplanet research is the determination of the atmospheric temperature structure of strongly irradiated gas giant planets, or hot Jupiters. HD 209458b is the prototypical exoplanet for atmospheric thermal inversions, but this assertion does not take into account recently obtained data or newer data reduction techniques. We re-examine this claim by investigating all publicly available Spitzer Space Telescope secondary-eclipse photometric data of HD 209458b and performing a self-consistent analysis. We employ data reduction techniques that minimize stellar centroid variations, apply sophisticated models to known Spitzer systematics, and account for time-correlated noise in the data. We derive new secondary-eclipse depths of 0.119 +/- 0.007%, 0.123 +/- 0.006%, 0.134 +/- 0.035%, and 0.215 +/- 0.008% in the 3.6, 4.5, 5.8, and 8.0 micron bandpasses, respectively. We feed these results into a Bayesian atmospheric retrieval analysis and determine that it is unnecessary to invoke a thermal inversion to explain our secondary-eclipse depths. The data are well-fitted by a temperature model that decreases monotonically between pressure levels of 1 and 0.01 bars. We conclude that there is no evidence for a thermal inversion in the atmosphere of HD 209458b.Comment: 8 pages, 5 figures; accepted for publication in Ap