Back in 1956, when I spent a summer there as a high school student, Mexico really was “the land of eternal spring,” beautiful, though poor, and full of hope. The population, then at 34 million, was already growing fast and shifting from the countryside to the cities. Mexico City held 4.5 million. Today, the population of Mexico is nearing an Read More ›
I’ve been asked to respond to criticisms of my paper “Converting Matter into Mind” (PSCS, Dec 90). My reaction to these criticisms is this: “Yes, I could have been more careful in some details and choice of terminology, but the substance of my position is unaffected.” The critics were guilty of two faults. First was a failure to read my Read More ›
The controversy between Christianity and Darwinism involves a number of complex issues. One of these is a conflict over design. According to the received view, the root of the conflict is that Darwinism undermines the argument that God’s existence can be proved from design in living things. It seems to me that there is a basic conflict between Christianity and Read More ›
Neither Christopher Columbus nor his contemporaries thought the earth was flat. Yet this curious illusion persists today, firmly established with the help of the media, textbooks, teachers ― even noted historians. Inventing the Flat Earthis Russell’s attempt to set the record straight. He begins with a discussion of geographical knowledge in the Middle Ages, examining what Columbus and his contemporaries actually Read More ›
Everybody knows these days that one of Seattle’s advantages in the recession is the relative health of the Northwest economy as a whole. Boeing and Microsoft pull in dollars from both coasts and from overseas, but it is also nice to have a regional market that is still strong enough to want our products close to home. But what “everybody Read More ›
Introduction In the Foundations of Cognitive Science Herbert Simon and Craig Kaplan offer the following definition: Cognitive science is the study of intelligence and intelligent systems, with particular reference to intelligent behavior as computation. Since this definition hinges on the dual notions of intelligence and computation, it remains scientifically unobjectionable so long as one declines to prejudge the relation between Read More ›
George Gilder’s Microcosm is the crystal ball of the next technological era. Leading scientists, engineers, and entrepreneurs provide vivid accounts of the latest inventions, revealing how the new international balance of power really lies in information technology. Ranging from computer chips to the greatest minds of Silicon Valley, George Gilder explores every aspect of today’s unprecedented technological and entrepreneurial revolution. Microcosm contains Read More ›
