SPONSORED BY  | | | | May 20, 2024: Free will might be an illusion, beluga whales communicate by changing their head shape, and is CBD safe for your pet? —Andrea Gawrylewski, Chief Newsletter Editor | | | Are there episodes or events in your life that you sometimes think back on and wonder what would have happened if you'd acted differently or made another choice? Some physicists argue that, as intriguing as these "what-ifs" are, they aren't possible in our universe, and the events of the cosmos are pre-established, or fully determined, down to the details of a single human's life (and indeed down to the arrangement of atoms in that human's body).
The details: Such "strong determinism" is worth taking seriously, Eddy Keming Chen, a philosopher of physics at the University of California, San Diego, argued recently in the journal Nature. If a multiverse exists, where one event/decision/choice has occurred in one universe, but hasn't occurred in another universe, then the entire history of each of those specific universes is set in stone. "If I tell you there's only one single possibility, then there are no counterfactuals," says Chen." Counterfactuals are the possibilities, or alternatives that might exist within the classical laws of physics. "All counterfactuals become meaningless or trivial or vacuous." And if there are no counterfactuals, he says, there's no freedom.
The counterpoint: Not all physicists and philosophers agree. Around 60 percent of philosophers identify as "compatibilists," according to polls. They argue that human freedom can still exist because we live our lives in the macroscopic world, where very different rules apply, as compared with the fundamental particles and forces at work at the subatomic level.
Read more: Here's Why We Might Live in a Multiverse | 6 min read Free Will Is Only an Illusion if You Are Too | 5 min read | | | Scientists tracked four beluga whales at Connecticut's Mystic Aquarium for more than 200 hours and observed roughly 2,500 instances of these mammals morphing their melons–the mass of fat tissue on their forehead that helps project sounds for echolocation (and yes, "melon" is the technical term). The team documented five distinct ways that the whales intentionally change the shape of their melons.
What they found: The whales morphed their melons almost exclusively during social interactions – that is, their heads were within the line of sight of a recipient during 93.6 percent of observations. A jiggly "melon shake" appears to be used primarily by males to flirt with females during courtship. An elongating "melon push" seems to occur among both males and females and may be a display of aggression, as it makes the whales look larger.
What the experts say: "I certainly think they are able to use their melons in a communicative fashion," says comparative psychologist Heather Hill, who studies marine mammal behavior at St. Mary's University in Texas. "But whether the beluga movements are specific to all belugas or just that population, we don't know that information yet." | | | Amanda Montañez; Source: "Belugas (Delphinapterus leucas) Create Facial Displays during Social Interactions by Changing the Shape of Their Melons," by Justin T. Richard et al., in Animal Cognition, Vol. 27, No. 7; March 2, 2024 (reference) | | | • Is CBD safe for cats and dogs? | 5 min read | | | A CUSTOM PUBLICATION SPONSORED BY DAVOS ALZHEIMER'S COLLABORATIVE | The Ten Trillion Dollar Disease | A new model of Alzheimer's predicts a staggering economic burden and justifies substantial investments in research, testing, treatments and public-health outreach. Read more. | | | • Strawberries are delicious, yes (and peak season is upon us). But they also have quirky genomes (polyploidy, hybridization) that make them unique subjects for genetic researchers looking for fresh insight into how organisms evolve new and innovative features, says Kevin Bird from the University of California, Davis, who, with colleagues, published the first high-quality genome of the strawberry plant in 2019. "The evolutionary significance of polyploidy extends far beyond strawberry. The ability to create massive amounts of additional genetic material sets the stage for future adaptations to novel environments or the ability to persist in unusually harsh conditions," he says. | 4 min read | | | How does it make you feel to think that every choice you've made in your life was not yours to make after all and was, in a sense, pre-selected? I imagine some might feel a great indignation that their behaviors are irrelevant, while others are breathing a sigh of relief that they are exonerated from certain decisions they made. Whatever might be true in a quantum sense (our decisions are both ours and not), doesn't take away from the experience of our behaviors, which is inarguably human. | Thank you for deciding to read Today in Science! Email me your thoughts and feedback anytime: newsletters@sciam.com. Same time tomorrow. | —Andrea Gawrylewski, Chief Newsletter Editor | | Subscribe to this and all of our newsletters . | | | | Scientific American
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