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June 2023
Speech as a form of thought control
Speech A naive analysis of speech is that it is a process of giving, where the speaker has some information, and by the process of speaking the speaker…
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Philip Dorrell
Simultaneous singing makes sense, but simultaneous talking doesn't make sense.
If singing was originally a form of communication, it must have been a form of group communication.
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Philip Dorrell
May 2023
The Case for Open Contract Templates
Modern life is full of contracts. Some of these contracts are very important, in the sense that if you make a bad decision to sign a contract, it might…
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Philip Dorrell
Various terms used to describe music science
What do you call the scientific study of music?
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Philip Dorrell
The Meta-Mystery of the Mystery of Music
The mystery of whether or not music is a mystery, and whether the people who are meant to be solving the mystery even think about whether or not it is a…
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Philip Dorrell
What do we know about the long-term reproductive success of people who don't like music?
If music has a biological function, and in particular if listening to music has a biological function, then listening to music must somehow contribute…
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Philip Dorrell
Five questions about music, which are really different versions of the same question
There are a few internet forums where people can ask questions about the basic nature of music and the science thereof. For example…
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Philip Dorrell
Is music a language? Music is very repetitive, so if it is a language, it is not a very efficient language.
Or maybe music was a language. But when a lot of stuff needed to be said, music took too long, because it was so repetitive. So music, as a language…
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Philip Dorrell
Theory: Music is Disappearing
Humans are evolving to be less interested in music, because music used to have a biological function, but that function no longer exists.
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Philip Dorrell
The Anthropic Principle as a Principle of Explanation
The Anthropic Principle is not a theory that explains things. Rather it is a principle which adjusts our idea of when a theory can be considered a…
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Philip Dorrell
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