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Jewish Brain Power Fuels Israeli Technology

This article, published by CBN News, quotes Discovery Institute Senior Fellow George Gilder: In his new book, The Israel Test author George Gilder said Israel is hated because it is successful, free, and good. Jews throughout history have contributed to humanity disproportionately. For example, Jews make up a miniscule proportion of the world’s population but have produced more than 20 Read More ›

A landmark book about intelligent design has hit the bookstore shelves

But this is a profound, hugely important book for anybody interested in the scientific debate of our times—the origins of life. I feel it’s so important that we have posted an excerpt of the book at our website, BreakPoint.org, along with links to materials that will help you understand the main points of Signature in the Cell. Read More ›

Signature in the Cell

In Signature in the Cell: DNA and the Evidence for Intelligent Design, Director of Discovery Institute’s Center for Science and Culture, Dr. Stephen C. Meyer, shows that the digital code embedded in DNA points to a designing intelligence and helps unravel a mystery that Charles Darwin did not address: how did life begin? Meyer tells the story of the successive attempts to explain the origin of life and develops a case for intelligent design (ID) based on new evidence using the same scientific method that Darwin himself pioneered. Read More ›

Conservation of Information in Search

Abstract: Conservation of information theorems indicate that any search algorithm performs, on average, as well as random search without replacement unless it takes advantage of problem-specific information about the search target or the search-space structure. Combinatorics shows that even a moderately sized search requires problem-specific information to be successful. Computers, despite their speed in performing queries, are completely inadequate for resolving even moderately sized search problems without accurate information to guide them. We propose three measures to characterize the information required for successful search: 1) endogenous information, which measures the difficulty of finding a target using random search; 2) exogenous information, which measures the difficulty that remains in finding a target once a search takes advantage of problem-specific information; and 3) active information, which, as the difference between endogenous and exogenous information, measures the contribution of problem-specific information for successfully finding a target. This paper develops a methodology based on these information measures to gauge the effectiveness with which problem-specific information facilitates successful search. It then applies this methodology to various search tools widely used in evolutionary search.

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Simulations of the Alaskan Way Replacement Options

Cascadia Center for Regional Development has long supported a deep-bored tunnel option to replace the aging Alaskan Way Viaduct. The approach will open up the waterfront, improve views, and provide new public parks and open spaces, all while maintaining the necessary capacity for through-traffic and freight. The Washington State Department of Transportation has recently produced two simulations to demonstrate the impact the project could have thousands of people who live and work downtown or travel through the corridor. The following excerpt is drawn from the WSDOT web site and the videos are available below. "Trying to convey the changes that will result from a large transportation project is a challenge. For smaller projects – repaving a road, adding a roundabout – it’s easy for people to picture what the end result will be. For a project like the SR 99 bored tunnel that will replace the Alaskan Way Viaduct, it’s a little more complicated. Not only does the proposed replacement include an almost two-mile-long bored tunnel beneath downtown, we also plan to rebuild the surface street along the waterfront. People ask – What will the tunnel look like? How will I be able to access it? How will the new waterfront street be different than what exists today? Well, we now have some new tools to help provide answers. *** You can visit the Alaskan Way Viaduct program Web site at www.alaskanwayviaduct.org to learn more about these and other improvements that are part of the viaduct’s replacement. Read More ›

What’s Needed For An Oregon-B.C. High Speed Rail Link

This article, published by The Vancouver Sun, mentions Discovery Institute’s Cascadia Center:

The Cascadia Rail Week event was organized to focus and co-ordinate the bid for new funding on the Pacific Northwest route identified as a leading candidate for support in Obama’s April announcement.

U.S. state and municipal officials made it clear during the two-day rolling seminar, which travelled from Seattle to Portland and back on Amtrak’s modern, Spanish-designed trains, that the Obama announcement is viewed as a turning point in American transportation policy on par with the creation of the national freeway system.

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