Evolutionary Algorithms surpass human math

The next step in math involves evolutionary algorithms that use brute force to solve problems. This idea is similar to Stephen Wolfram's "New Kind of Science" http://www.wolframscience.com/...whereby a simple rule can breed a complex system. What this sometimes breeds is a proof that has been proven by a computer but unexplainable by humans. ie: the four color theorem: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Four_color_theorem

Hyperdrive!

Cool article about hyperdrive.. check it out.. star treck is not far away!

Atheism vs. the world

Atheists under attack on Paula Zahn prompted one atheist to strike back in defense: check it out here:

Another atheist defends his beliefs here:http://atheistwager.blogspot.com/2007/04/first-post.html in a blog post entitled The Atheists Wager.  He or She sites a list of times in history when religion has fueled atrocities by separating humanity into tribes and blames religion for these atrocities.  I would argue that due to humanity's tribal nature, it is not the religions that are too blame but humanity itself.  Unfortunately it is much easier to stand behind manifest destiny than to own up to your own actions.  Many people have claimed lives in the name of religion, but many people have also done many great things in its name as well.  How about something called the: Renaissance .  

Another point in the blog posting which is one that is common amongs atheists is that the nonbelief in an afterlife is used as the rejection point for religion.  Is it not possible to be religious as a way of improving the world around us now? Is all of religion designed to improve ones afterlife? I would hope not.

Einstein and Faith

Einstein and Faith in Time Magazine is a fascinating piece that explores Albert Einstein's relation to religion. In the article they quote Einstein at 50 saying:



"Try and penetrate with our limited means the secrets of nature and you will find that, behind all the discernible laws and connections, there remains something subtle, intangible and inexplicable. Veneration for this force beyond anything that we can comprehend is my religion. To that extent I am, in fact, religious."


Another great quote:
"We are in the position of a little child entering a huge library filled with books in many languages. The child knows someone must have written those books. It does not know how. It does not understand the languages in which they are written. The child dimly suspects a mysterious order in the arrangement of the books but doesn't know what it is. That, it seems to me, is the attitude of even the most intelligent human being toward God. We see the universe marvelously arranged and obeying certain laws but only dimly understand these laws."

Believing in G-d and Science

Believing in G-d and Science is an interesting article about the point of view that finds a happy ground between science and faith... "I am a scientist and a believer, and I find no conflict between those world views."

If one can prove the inexsistance of G-d it is just as plausible to prove the opposite. Dawkins tries to say that with that logic it is just as plausible to claim that a flying spagehti monster exists...well yes and no.... it is two very different things to assert that G-d exists .. and then to assert that you know what form G-d takes and what he expects from the universe.... the details of G-d is where the flying spagheti monster becomes usefull. in simply proving or disproving that there is a design to the universe is much more open to debate and study.. and study is where science comes in .. because science helps us understand and interpret the unknown.. and what is G-d ... the unknown.

Predicting beyond the next 50 years:

Here is a cool article on what might not happen and how singularity may not take place:
http://www-rohan.sdsu.edu/faculty/vinge/longnow/

Artificial Intelligence from Google?

Google's working on developing artificial intelligence   to add to their vast array of services from Google Earth to Google Calendar to Google Blogger to application that can make 3-D models online and store documents and video and music.. Go here to see a complete list of current Google apps


With the addition of AI added to Google's wide range of services we could really start to see things get interesting.  Google's personalized search which taps my previous searches to narrow my search results and prepare more accurate results seems to be one step in the direction towards AI:   This article talks more about Google's next steps

Another direction that is exciting is the use of humans to evaluate images on Google images.  Through tagging, users aid the Google brain by helping to categorize information.  A brain's basic function is to learn from the input of the users surroundings and apply that information to make decisions.  A brain does this by categorizing information and storing it in hierarchies and then outputting decisions based on that information.

Here is a video that describes some of this way of thinking of the web a sort of collective conscious or mass brain:

“The kingdom of heaven is within you,”

Campbell: This is a crucial problem today. Every mythology—and by mythology I include religions—every religion has grown up within a certain social order. And today these social orders have come into collision with each other. All you have to do is look at what’s going on in the Near East now, and it’s a horror. There are the three major monotheistic religions of the world, creating havoc. I’ve been in Beirut; it was once a glorious, beautiful, darling little city, and now it’s just hell, because each of these units of religion thinks it has all the values on its side, and it doesn’t know how to open up and recognize those are human beings also....

... the main thing for people today are these religions of contemplation and meditation—recognizing within you the powers that are those of the gods. You know, all the gods are simply projections of human potentialities. They’re not out there. They’re in here. That word, “The kingdom of heaven is within you,” is a good word. And who’s in heaven? God is. So where is he? Look in here. You have two kinds of religion—that which is addressed outward like that, and that which is turned inward, here.

THINKING ALLOWED
Conversations On The Leading Edge
Of Knowledge and Discovery
With Dr. Jeffrey Mishlove

Understanding Mythology
with Joseph Campbell
For the full text go here

Do Humans have free will?

Check out this article from the nytimes.com published in the science times Free Will: Now You Have It, Now You Don’t
By DENNIS OVERBYE
Published: January 2, 2007