Discovery Institute

^{Michael J. Behe

February 20, 2020

Intelligent Design}

Philosophical-ish Objections to Intelligent Design: A Response to Paul Draper

_{Michael J. Behe

February 20, 2020

Intelligent Design}

Recently I was asked by several people whether I had ever responded to an old review of Darwin’s Black Box by Purdue University philosopher of religion Paul Draper. I had not done so, but will use the occasion to respond now and to clear up a couple of philosophical-ish objections that have been raised against intelligent design over the years. In 2002 Read More ›

^{Discovery Institute

February 11, 2020

Economics}

Discovery Institute Research Fellow Gale Pooley Launches “The Simon Project”

_{Discovery Institute

February 11, 2020

Economics}

Are we running out of resources? Many scholars, including Thomas Malthus and Paul Ehrlich, believed that population growth would result in the exhaustion of resources and a global catastrophe. University of Maryland economist Julian Simon rejected their ideas. In his 1981 book The Ultimate Resource, Simon argued that humans were intelligent beings, capable of innovating their way out of shortages through greater efficiency, increased supply, and the development of substitutes. In 1980, Simon and Ehrlich bet on the future price of $1,000 worth of five metals (copper, chromium, nickel, tin and tungsten). If the aggregate price of the five metals rose above $1,000, Simon would pay the inflation-adjusted difference to Ehrlich. If it fell below $1,000, Ehrlich would pay Simon. In spite of a population increase of 873 million over those 10 years, the five metals declined in price by an average of 57.6 percent. In 1990, Ehrlich mailed Simon a check for $576.07 (read more). The Simon Project aims to continue to explore the relationship between population growth and resource availability using four new concepts: Time Price, Price Elasticity of Population, the Simon Abundance Framework and Simon Abundance Index. Read More ›

^{Discovery Institute

January 29, 2020

Human Exceptionalism}

The Fourth Reich

_{Discovery Institute

January 29, 2020

Human Exceptionalism}

Discovery Institute Senior Fellow and bioethicist, Wesley J. Smith, writing in The American Spectator warns of the dangers of the world turning a blind eye to China’s human rights abuses. Smith suggests that major corporations operating in China could bring pressure on Beijing that might ameliorate some of the worst instances of injustice. Read More ›

^{Discovery Institute

January 29, 2020

Cascadia, Discovery Institute, Technology}

Discovery Founding Chairman Receives Lifetime Achievement Award From Seattle Business Magazine

_{Discovery Institute

January 29, 2020

Cascadia, Discovery Institute, Technology}

Discovery Institute founding board chair Tom Alberg, who served on the board from 1991 to 2004, has been given a lifetime achievement award by Seattle Business Magazine for what they call his “uncanny knack for anticipating tech’s next blockbuster hit.” You can watch a video of his acceptance speech at this link. In addition to his tech senses, he also Read More ›

^{Evolution News

January 29, 2020

Intelligent Design}

Mystery of Life’s Origin Authors Reunite

_{Evolution News

January 29, 2020

Intelligent Design}

There was a wonderful turnout this past Saturday for the 2020 Dallas Conference on Science & Faith, with more than 1,400 in attendance. A highlight was the reunion of the three scientists who sparked the modern intelligent design revolution. That was in 1984 with the publication of The Mystery of Life’s Origin. The pioneering authors, biochemist Charles Thaxton, materials scientist Walter Bradley, and geochemist Roger Olsen, are pictured above (from right to left, Thaxton, Bradley, Olsen), being interviewed by Stephen Meyer about the paradox-filled intellectual world of origin-of-life researchers.

Bringing Past Articles Current to 2020: Butterflies, Hummingbirds, More

_{Evolution News

January 23, 2020

Intelligent Design}

Here are items reported in 2019 that have made news in 2020: more on butterflies, hummingbirds, and the Cambrian explosion. Structural Color in Butterflies Past articles at Evolution News have discussed the phenomenon of structural color, in which colors are intensified not by pigments but by optics. In a variety of animals, light interference from microscopic ridges and other structures can intensify and Read More ›

Sad girl pupil trying to solve an example. Schoolgirl stands with her forehead on the blackboard.

^{Donald Nielsen

January 14, 2020

Education}

We Are Failing Our Children

_{Donald Nielsen

January 14, 2020

Education}

n 1983, the famous report, “A Nation at Risk” concluded that our country was failing to effectively educate our children. The authors were so critical of our schools that the preamble of the report summarized their findings by saying that; “if an unfriendly foreign power had imposed our schools upon us, we would have considered it an act of war.” That was 1983. In 1991, President George H.W. Bush held an education summit, called “Goals 2000.” Bill Clinton was the chair of that summit. After days of deliberation, another report was issued stating that, “by 2000, all children will enter school ready to learn and 90% of our children will graduate from high school.” Many other goals were listed, none of which were achieved. In 2001, President George W. Bush and Congress passed a bill called the, “No Child Left Behind Act.” This legislation was designed improve accountability and to help schools meet the needs of every student. It failed to make any meaningful difference in student performance. Read More ›

^{Discovery Institute

January 6, 2020

Artificial Intelligence, Discovery Institute}

A Moral Argument for Killer Robots: Why America’s Military Needs to Continue Development of Lethal AI

_{Discovery Institute

January 6, 2020

Artificial Intelligence, Discovery Institute}

Doomsday headlines warn that the age of “killer robots” is upon us, and that new military technologies based on artiﬁcial intelligence (AI) will lead to the annihilation of the human race. In his new, short book The Case for Killer Robots: Why America’s Military Needs to Continue Development of Lethal AI (Discovery Institute Press 2020), artiﬁcial intelligence expert Robert J. Marks investigates the potential military use of lethal AI and examines the practical and ethical challenges. Dr. Marks directs the Walter Bradley Center for Natural and Artiﬁcial Intelligence at Discovery Institute, and he is a Distinguished Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Baylor University. Marks also heads up the Center’s daily news website, Mind Matters News and hosts the Mind Matters Podcast. This short monograph is published in conjunction with the Walter Bradley Center for Natural and Artiﬁcial Intelligence and the Center is making if freely available as a digital book at the Mind Matters website. Physical copies are available through Amazon.com. “Marks makes a lucid and compelling case that we have a moral obligation to develop lethal AI,” said Jay Richards, philosopher and author, The Human Ad-vantage: The Future of American Work in an Age of Smart Machines. “He also reminds us that moral questions apply, not to the tools that we use to protect ourself, but to how we use them when war becomes a necessity.” Read More ›

^{Discovery Institute

January 6, 2020

Discovery Institute, Human Exceptionalism}

Discovery Institute Announces New Fellow Tom Shakely Joining its Center on Human Exceptionalism

_{Discovery Institute

January 6, 2020

Discovery Institute, Human Exceptionalism}

Discovery Institute is pleased to announce Tom Shakely , who serves as Chief Engagement Officer at Americans United for Life, has joined the Institute’s Center on Human Exceptionalism as a Research Fellow where he will focus on human dignity, human rights, and law and policy. Read More ›

^{David Klinghoffer

January 1, 2020

Intelligent Design}

#1 of Our Top Stories of 2019: Informed by Discovery Authors, Yale’s David Gelernter Rejects Darwinism

_{David Klinghoffer

January 1, 2020

Intelligent Design}

This is important. Yale University computer scientist David Gelernter is a polymath, a brilliant writer, artist, and thinker. Famed both for his specific scientific expertise, and for his cultural, political, and historical reflections, he’s also now a confessed Darwin skeptic. More than a skeptic really. In a wonderful essay in the new issue of The Claremont Review of Books, “Giving Up Darwin,” he credits reading Stephen Meyer’s book Darwin’s Doubt as the primary cause of his rejecting neo-Darwinian evolution, a “brilliant and beautiful scientific theory” but one that’s now been overtaken by science. Read More ›