Discovery Institute's Blog, page 19

Is Evolution Falsifiable? Doug Axe Versus Biochemist Keith Fox on Premier Radio

In the U.S., we don't have anything quite like the U.K. talk show Unbelievable? with host Justin Brierley. Over the course of a little more than an hour on Premier Radio, Brierley conducts a dual interview with proponents of competing views. While clearly identifying himself as a Christian, he turns a polite skepticism on both guests so that you really feel you're drilling down to the core issue on which they disagree, rather than being distracted by peripherals.

In the past Brierley has led...

Why the Royal Society Meeting Mattered, in a Nutshell

We devoted considerable attention to last month's Royal Society meeting in London. Otherwise, the three-day conference on "New Trends in Evolutionary Biology" was kept rather quiet in the media.

Oh, there were a few reports. Writing for the Huffington Post, science journalist Suzan Mazur complained of a lack of momentousness: "[J]ust what was the point of attracting a distinguished international gathering if the speakers had little new science to present? Why waste everyone's time and money?...

What Drives the Center for Science & Culture? John West Explains

Here is an excellent discussion by Center for Science & Culture associate director John West of what makes Discovery Institute's CSC go. What drives us to pursue research and argument exploring the evidence for intelligent design? That question has fueled much dark speculation over the years, but the truth is pretty straightforward.

From the kernel planted in the form of a 1993 Wall Street Journal article by Stephen Meyer, to the founding of the CSC by Meyer and West in 1996, to the publica...

Fact-Check: Reporter John Austin Misrepresents TX Science Standards, Refuses to Correct the Record

A journalist working for a national newspaper chain has fabricated a claim about the Texas science standards, and now he and his editor are refusing to correct the record.

In late September, three Texas newspapers owned by Community Newspaper Holdings, Inc. (CNHI) published an article by reporter John Austin claiming that a science standard adopted by Texas in 2009 authorizes the teaching of "non-scientific explanations." That claim is false.

Austin asserted that conservatives on the Texas...

Michael Skinner on Epigenetics: Stage Three Alert

On the topic of epigenetics, which I've written about extensively for many years, I was interested to read Washington State University biologist Michael Skinner's recent article for Aeon. Skinner's piece reminds us of the old maxim that truth passes through three stages. First, it is ridiculed. Second, it is violently opposed. Third, it is accepted as self-evident. If we can slightly modify these three stages as follows, then we have the history of how evolution has struggled oppose the scie...

France Censors Down Syndrome Ad Over Abortion

Conscience is a good thing. It is the path to repentance, forgiveness, and healing. Take Project Rachel, the compassionate pro-life project that aids women overcome the grief and guilt some experience from having had an abortion.

But France doesn't want women to feel badly for having aborted a Down syndrome baby. Accordingly, it censored an advertisement to air that shows the positive side of parenting a child with Down. From the Wall Street Journal:

Abortion is legal in most of Europe, but...

Dr. Strange Introduces the Multiverse to the Masses

This month's blockbuster Marvel comic book movie Dr. Strange will serve as many people's introduction to the exotic idea of the multiverse, the notion that besides our universe there are a host -- maybe an infinity -- of unseen other universes, some radically different from our own, some highly similar but distinct in crucial ways.

The film is a worthy and thought-provoking entertainment, but an idea that serves as a good plot device for imaginative counterfactual play in the realm of fictio...

Paul Nelson Is Headed to Florida

CSC Senior Fellow and philosopher of science Paul Nelson has several interesting events in Florida coming up, starting tomorrow. Take a look at his schedule below for information and locations.

Dr. Nelson will give an introduction and Q&A at two showings of Illustra's newest documentary, Origin: Design, Chance and the First Life on Earth. The first will be Saturday, December 3, at First United Church of Tarpon Springs (501 E. Tarpon Ave,. Tarpon Springs, FL), starting at 7 pm. The second sho...

Leap Before You Look: Reflections on the Mission and "Evolution" of Discovery Institute

Editor's note : As noted earlier, we were in the nation's capital to mark the anniversary of the founding of Discovery Institute. Co-founder George Gilder delivered these remarks at the Ritz-Carlton, McLean, VA.

I helped Bruce Chapman form Discovery Institute some 25 years ago and over that period, if I may use the term, it has evolved.

Bruce and I believe that this evolution expresses an intelligent design, a unified vision that transcends the various programs at Discovery Institute. We do n...

Celebrating Bruce Chapman, George Gilder, and 25 Years of Discovery Institute!

It's been a year of special anniversaries. We have marked the 20th anniversary of the founding of the Center for Science & Culture, and the 20th anniversary of the publication of Michael Behe's book Darwin's Black Box, which helped to launch the intelligent design revolution, as we document in the new hour-long video Revolutionary.

Equally significant, 2016 marks the 25th year since a pair of daring visionaries and onetime Harvard roommates, Bruce Chapman and George Gilder, founded our inst...