Discovery Institute's Blog, page 148

Mimicking Seahorse Tails Could Lead to Better Robots

An article at Live Science, "Seahorse's Amazing Tail Could Inspire Better Robots," describes a paper in Science on the unique shape of the tail of the seahorse. Researchers propose that its shape could provide improved architecture for robotic appendages:

Seahorses are of special interest to robot researchers because of their unusual skeletal structure, which scientists say could help them design bots that are hardy and strong yet also flexible enough to carry out tasks in real-world setting...

Join John West, George Gilder in Las Vegas for a Discussion of Biology, Racism, and Militarism

FreedomFest is a libertarian-themed confab each year that draws a huge following -- in 2014, there were 2500 participants. This year, Discovery Institute co-founder George Gilder and Center for Science & Culture associate director John West will be on hand for a screening and discussion of the award-winning documentary film The Biology of the Second Reich: Social Darwinism and the Origins of World War I, which Dr. West wrote and directed.

The venue is the Planet Hollywood Resort. The screen...

Lawrence Krauss, Influential Physicist and Atheist, on "Creationism" as "Child Abuse"

Richard Dawkins has famously called it a form of child abuse to teach your child about your religion. I was not aware till now that his buddy and fellow atheist Lawrence Krauss takes that notion to an enhanced level of specificity by arguing that teaching "creationism" to your children is a kind of child abuse.

Actually Dr. Krauss, theoretical physicist and author of popular science books, has made the charge several times in public forums. Previously, he admitted that creationist parents on...

Is Artificial Intelligence Possible?

Over the past half-century, Artificial Intelligence has been all the rage among computer scientists, and among many other scientists and philosophers and the general public. Can machines think? Is it possible that a computer could have intentions and desires and understanding of its own?

Many otherwise well-informed people have taken it for granted that machines are capable of thought, particularly if a substantial level of complexity is reached. Several philosophers and scientists have arg...

Putting Animals over Babies, PETA Pushes Dangerous Vegan Diet for Young Children

Humans are omnivores and our young need the nutrients readily supplied by meat and other animal-based products, which are among our natural foods. That's why veganism can be dangerous to very young children.

But animal rights fanatics still push the "meat is murder" line, across the board. And sometimes young children get hurt. From the story in the Telegraph:

The vegan parents of an 11-month-old Italian baby are under investigation after their son was rushed to hospital suffering severe ma...

You Have to Be Conscious to Deny Consciousness, and Other Conundrums

Would you have a rational discussion with a zombie? Materialists are forced into the position of discussing philosophy and science with the walking dead, since under their terms we are all that. Unless rationality is a mindful concept -- unless we are more than atoms in motion -- that's the logical result of denying mind and intelligence.

To deny that we are mindful creatures, the materialist also has to deny the existence of any realm of abstract concepts that a mind can access. Yet materia...

Listen: Serendipity and Exaptation, Circular Arguments for Darwinian Evolution

On an episode of ID the Future, Casey Luskin and guest Cornelius Hunter talk about the issue of serendipity and what it means for the modern theory of evolution. Dr. Hunter discusses how Darwinian evolutionists have relied heavily on serendipity and exaptation -- or, as Hunter calls it, "sheer dumb luck" -- to explain complex features in biology and prop up their theory.

Cornelius Hunter holds a PhD in Biophysics and Computational Biology and is an Adjunct Professor at Biola University, as...

Intelligent Design Is "Based on Religion"? Tell That to Thomas Jefferson

Next time someone tells you intelligent design is "based on religion," you might point him to American Founder Thomas Jefferson, author of the Declaration of Independence. As I explain in a special July 4th edition of ID the Future, Jefferson not only believed in intelligent design, he insisted it was based on the plain evidence of nature, not religion:

Ironically, the critics of intelligent design often think they are defending the principles of Jefferson. The National Council for the Soci...

Chicken or Egg? More Flirting with Lamarck

Here's a cute paper, "The Lamarckian chicken and the Darwinian egg," in Biology Direct, by a couple of Israeli researchers. It's open access so you can read the whole thing.

The Abstract is concise:

"Which came first, the Chicken or the Egg?" We suggest this question is not a paradox. The Modern Synthesis envisions speciation through genetic changes in germ cells via random mutations, an "Egg first" scenario, but perhaps epigenetic inheritance mechanisms can transmit adaptive changes initiat...

In His Dissent on Obergefell, Clarence Thomas Defends Human Exceptionalism

I am not involved in the same-sex marriage debate. I want both sides on that contentious issue to agree with me on human exceptionalism -- and the best way to be heard by all is to let others comment on domestic relations jurisprudence. But I was struck by the clarion defense of equal and intrinsic human dignity issued by Justice Clarence Thomas in his Obergefell v. Hodges dissent.

The heart of his opinion begins by quoting the immortal phrase "all men are created equal" from the Declaration...