Technology and Regulation

September 09, 2008

Patent manipulation

As I’ve said before, some of the most interesting debates are those that break down along atypical lines: for example, by splitting dedicated limited government advocates rather than pitting them against statists. Continue Reading...

July 08, 2008

Review: Civilization IV

It took awhile, but after its release in 2005, the latest installment of the popular computer game Civilization IV was received warmly by many cultural commentators. Civilization IV, or CivIV for short, was hailed alternatively as “a video game for the ages,” and “a kind of social-sciences chessboard that blends history and logic into a game that demands a long, long attention span.” Continue Reading...

May 09, 2008

European Commission attacks its own scientists

On Wednesday the European Commission again delayed a decision on whether European farmers may grow more genetically modified (GM) crops. The commission claimed that more scientific analysis is needed before three new crops can be approved. Continue Reading...

April 10, 2008

Bibles, profits, and technology

When John concluded his gospel, he supposed that if all of Jesus’ doings were written down, “that even the whole world would not have room for the books that would be written.” Continue Reading...

March 19, 2008

Tempering predictions of progress

I was reading about Bill Gates’ speech to the Northern Virginia Technology Council last week, which received a lot of media coverage (PDF transcript here). In the speech about software innovation, Gates “speculated that some of the most important advances will come in the ways people interact with computers: speech-recognition technology, tablets that will recognize handwriting and touch-screen surfaces that will integrate a wide variety of information.” Continue Reading...

November 29, 2007

Follow-up on Stem Cells

In my Acton Commentary this week, I argued against government funding for stem cell research. The developments that served as my springboard have unsurprisingly prompted a lot of other reflections from various quarters as well. Continue Reading...

October 24, 2007

Biotechnology, Morality, and Human Dignity

I watched the 2006 film The Prestige (based on the 1995 book of the same name) over the weekend. The film does an excellent job of portraying the complex relationship between the two main characters, Robert Angier (Hugh Jackman) and Alfred Borden (Christian Bale). Continue Reading...

September 19, 2007

Minds that Matter

In his recent and fascinating book Five Minds for the Future, Harvard professor Howard Gardner outlines the 5 basic types of intelligence people have: 1. The Disciplinary Mind: the mastery of major schools of thought, including science, mathematics, and history, and of at least one professional craft; 2. Continue Reading...

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