Denyse O’Leary

Denyse O’Leary is a freelance journalist based in Victoria, Canada. Specializing in faith and science issues, she is co-author, with neuroscientist Mario Beauregard, of The Spiritual Brain: A Neuroscientist's Case for the Existence of the Soul; and with neurosurgeon Michael Egnor of The Immortal Mind: A Neurosurgeon’s Case for the Existence of the Soul (Worthy, 2025). She received her degree in honors English language and literature.

Archives

Are Different Colors Associated With Varied Near-Death Experiences?

_{Maybe, but perhaps the real significance of a recent study is not the research itself but the relatively low-threat response to it}_{Denyse O'Leary
November 8, 2026}

Nothing in Starr’s article, intended for a broad science-minded audience, assumes that there is a simple physiological explainaway for near-death experiences.

Back to the Future with Jean-Baptiste Lamarck

_{Denyse O’Leary
November 4, 2026}

Lamarck believed that “all living beings are constantly transforming themselves” and thus life forms shape their own evolution.

Change: Jean-Baptiste Lamarck Is No Longer a Figure of Fun

_{It is suddenly becoming acceptable for mainstream academics to platform alternatives to Darwin’s theory}_{Denyse O'Leary
November 3, 2026}

History professor Jessica Riskin sees neo-Darwinism as starting to give way to awareness of a variety of paths for evolution.

Some Tech Bros Want To Found States That Exist Mainly Online

_{Trust folks in Silicon Valley to dream big. Some are flirting with abandoning nations and starting a Network State (or States)}_{Denyse O'Leary
November 1, 2026}

The internet is making location much less important than it used to be. The current decline in big urban centers is easier seen in that context.

Decline and Fall of Dawkins’s Meme Concept

_{Denyse O’Leary
November 1, 2026}

The term eventually became a general handle for the manipulation and transmission of images on the internet.

Whatever Happened to Dawkins’s Famous Darwinian “Memes”?

_{His materialist theory of information transmission was wildly popular but, after a couple of decades, it has disappeared, almost without a trace}_{Denyse O'Leary
October 31, 2026}

The main problem with the concept of the “meme” was that it did not explain anything that actually needed explaining.

Legal Liability for the AI Geniuses? It’s So Far Largely Undiscussed

_{Denyse O’Leary
October 31, 2026}

AI can become a serious social pest without rogue superagents or cyberDoomsday. Human stupidity could do all the heavy lifting.

Should We Trust the Tech Bros as Far as We Can Throw Them?

_{Or not quite that far? A dose of legal liability might make the discussion more realistic}_{Denyse O'Leary
October 30, 2026}

It's becoming clear that AI can become a serious social pest without rogue superagents or cyberDoomsday. Human vices will do the heavy lifting.

For Dawkins, a Second Sour Publishing Anniversary

_{Denyse O’Leary
October 29, 2026}

Nathaniel Comfort stops just short of saying that Dawkins’s ideas should be pensioned off, along with himself.

Top Science Mags Are Backing Away From Dawkins’ Selfish Gene Why?

_{On the 50th anniversary, the book and its central thesis are met with brickbats, not bouquets}_{Denyse O'Leary
October 28, 2026}

Dawkins’s Selfish Gene was a pillar of modern Darwinism. If it is tottering, there will be plenty of mopping up — and room for new ideas.

Top Science Writers Are Trashing Scientific American?

_{Founded in 1845, SciAm was long synonymous with the scientific revolution. We sense ferment in the air}_{Denyse O'Leary
October 26, 2026}

On the bright side, the fact that materialists feel threatened by all this that means that they really do believe that some things can be objectively true, not just politically convenient.

“Decolonize” Science? Wokeness Scrambles Scientific Journals and Writers

_{Denyse O’Leary
October 26, 2026}

Yes, “decolonization” does mean accepting legends in place of evidence, in order to show respect for the legends’ tellers and believers.

Teddy Roosevelt Erred on Those “Thick-Skulled Savages,” the Neanderthals

_{Denyse O’Leary
October 25, 2026}

Just recently, paleontologists have found Neanderthal wooden tools (62-40 kya) preserved in stone.

From the Rewrite Desk: Neanderthal Man Was Not a Stupid Brute

_{No, no. Not from OUR rewrite desk; from National Geographic's. But why this? Why now?}_{Denyse O'Leary
October 24, 2026}

Most of the technological advances by which we usually measure human intelligence awaited the discovery of metal working.

Jay Bhattacharya: For a Second Scientific Revolution

_{Denyse O’Leary
October 23, 2026}

Most published research findings are still false, and AI is making things worse. What changes would help? Dr. Bhattacharya dreams big.

Information?: Fake Pollster Offers a Real-Life Lesson

_{The tendency to err in a consistent direction is probably due to average industry bias. For that at least, the data seem reliable}_{Denyse O'Leary
October 22, 2026}

If information consumers allow a modest correction for consistent pollster bias, we might get a fairly good idea of what might happen in an election.

Publishers Are Fighting Hard Against AI Slop — or Are They?

_{Recent news stories suggest that some are trying to sneak it in, hoping to cut staff and reduce dependence on writers}_{Denyse O'Leary
October 21, 2026}

Many people can write well without AI but the publisher must pay them. They are slashing staff and using AI instead because people aren’t reading as much.

Author Bites Bullet: What If AI Does Write Good Novels?

_{Without getting hung up on definitions, we need to start by establishing what we mean by a good novel. What are we trying to do?}_{Denyse O'Leary
October 21, 2026}

Could a modern writer come along and produce Orwell’s work, using AI? Possibly, but someone actually had to be Orwell first — to experience those events and write them down.

Could Orwell’s Novel-Writing Machine Actually Write a Good Novel?

_{Denyse O’Leary
October 21, 2026}

If masses of data could be collected and organized according to rules, formula fiction could be automated.

Could Faith, Science, and Simulation Theory Be Mutually Reinforcing?

_{Denyse O’Leary
October 19, 2026}

MIT-trained Rizwan Virk says something that is surprising: that his approach to cosmology is a branch of intelligent design.