
The Black Hills once spoke.
Indians, trappers, explorers, and traders in South Dakota’s Black Hills prior to the 19th century reported that they would occasionally hear unexplained noises — distant booms like huge drums or faraway cannon, quite unlike thunder. This booming was part of the reason that the Indians considered the hills sacrosanct and [...]

This post is the second part of a series on the integration of several theories about the structure of consciousness. I’m going to charge right into the middle of it here, so make sure you’ve read the first part!

Last week I had lots of opportunity to look at a map of South Dakota. Notice the shaded areas that represent the Sioux Indian Reservations. Go ahead, look. I’ll wait here…
Did you notice? A full one fifth of South Dakota belongs to the Sioux. This is an area about the size of [...]

Our family just got back from a drive deep into the midwest — from western Massachusetts to Rapid City, South Dakota. That’s the equivalent of driving from Rome to Tehran (but with more corn). Driving that kind of distance in silence tends to make you think about stuff. Here are some neuron [...]