"When you study robotics, it forces you to rethink, in a very quantitative way, the attributes we hold close and consider unique in our definition of what it means to be human," Hod Lipson, director of Cornell University's Computational Synthesis Laboratory and a leader in bio-inspired robotics, tells Forbes.
"For example, what is creativity? If machines can create new things and ideas that infringe on patents, which humans have traditionally defined as being creative, what does that mean about creativity? When we have computers that can generate experiments and ask questions, what does that mean about curiosity? Traditionally, we use terms like creativity and self-reflection in a very loose way to cloak something we don't understand very well, but when you actually work with robots trying to emulate these very characteristics, it forces you to think about them in a very precise and quantitative way. Ultimately, I think it leads to deeper questions and better understanding of these concepts."

Check out this drawing, on the back of a page from the original manuscript of Darwin's On the Origin of Species. The sheet will go on public display Monday as part of "A Voyage Round the World," a new exhibit at Cambridge University Library that will explore Darwin's experiences on the Beagle. (The library is reported to have another 23 sheets from the manuscript, and it's believed there are about 10 more out there.)
But there seems to be a bit of confusion over who drew the picture and whether the drawing, which library staff is said to be calling the "Battle of Vegetables," has been on display before. According to the Telegraph:

It is not known which of Darwin's 10 children drew the picture but it is thought the child would have been between eight and 10 years old.

A spokesman at Cambridge University said it was believed that this is the very first time the drawing had been put on display to the public.

Contrary to the stereotype of the dispassionate scientist, however, Darwin was a man to whom family and friends mattered profoundly, and many poignant objects in the exhibition remind us of his humanity. On the back of a rare manuscript page of the Origin, we find a drawing, "The Battle of the Fruit and Vegetable Soldiers," by Darwin's young son Francis.

There are just thirty or so of these original sheets in existence and the vast majority have a child's drawing on the back. It's quite amazing to think these priceless historical exhibits have only survived because of a child's drawings on the back. It demonstrates the importance of his family and brings it home that he surrounded himself with family, and friends, as he worked.

Vatican Official Says Catholic Church Can Learn From Science—and History With Galileo
At a news conference presenting a new volume of documents on the Galileo case, Monsignor Sergio Pagano, head of the Vatican's secret archives, said today's Church and Vatican officials can learn from past mistakes and shed their diffidence toward science. "Can this teach us something today? I certainly think so," he said, in a rare display of self-criticism for the Vatican. "We should be careful, when we read the Sacred Scriptures and have to deal with scientific questions, to not make the same mistake now that was made then," he said. (Philip Pullella, Reuters)

Potential For Life on Mars
The findings of NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander, announced throughout the mission, are now detailed in a set of four papers in Friday's issue of the journal Science. They are the first to describe the northernmost reaches of the Red Planet and shed light on the history of water on Mars, as well as the planet's potential habitability. (Andrea Thompson, Space.com)

Has God Been Exiled From Judaism?
Rabbi Yaakov Menken: I think all three of these factors—a reluctance to highlight divisions, ambiguity about religion, and a reluctance of the educated class to express religious feelings—combine to explain why Jews outside the Orthodox community are apt to avoid mention of G-d, His Word, and our religion. (In Good Faith, The Baltimore Sun)

TELEVISION
Faiths Compete to Convert Atheists on Turkish TV Show
Penitents Compete will bring together an Islamic imam, a Jewish rabbi, a Buddhist monk, and a Greek Orthodox priest seeking to convert the atheists. The prize for any converted contestants is an expenses-paid pilgrimage to a holy site of their chosen faith. But the producers say the show will also help contestants "find serenity" and raise awareness of the faiths. (BBC News)

BOOKS
The Tangled Bank
Carl Zimmer: My publisher has been sending out copies of The Tangled Bank: An Introduction to Evolution to some leading biologists for possible endorsements when it comes out in October. Here’s what we’re hearing back so far. (The Loom, Discover)

Earlier this week, the British Council released the results of its international survey on people's attitudes toward evolution. (With help from a market research company, the organization talked with more than 10,000 people in 10 countries).
Here's what they found (click on images for larger view):



But there are some problems with the polling, as PZ Myers points out: According to the survey, people in the United States have the highest levels of awareness and understanding of evolution (84 percent), but, he says, "this survey did not measure actual competence." As Myers notes, "more than half disbelieve evolution, but more than 80 percent think they're knowledgeable about it. There's a problem."
Want to voice your opinion? Take part in the online survey. —Heather Wax

Science & Religion on the Big Screen
Even if you haven't been paying very close attention lately, the chances are that you could not help but notice the increasing degree to which the relationship between religion and science is being featured in recent popular films. At its best—so the story goes—religion gets in the way of scientific discovery, innovation, and human progress. At its worst, religious belief may ultimately lead to the cataclysmic and violent destruction of all life on planet earth. (Joshua Moritz, Theology and Science)

YouTube No Longer Blocked at Brigham Young University
BYU's Honor Code requires students and faculty to avoid Internet content that is not "virtuous, lovely, or of good report or praiseworthy," material that certainly can be found on YouTube. Yet the site is increasingly a vehicle for quality cultural, religious, scholarly and political material. (Brian Maffly and Donald Meyers, The Salt Lake Tribune)

Why We React to Dangers Deemed Immoral—and Ignore Other Threats
Evidence is accumulating that the human brain systematically misjudges certain kinds of risks. In effect, evolution has programmed us to be alert for snakes and enemies with clubs, but we aren’t well prepared to respond to dangers that require forethought. (Nicholas Kristof, The New York Times)

Comic-Book Creator Writes Letter Explaining Islamic Superheroes to his Sons
Dr. Naif al Mutawa: At the age of 32, I uncapped my pen to create a concept that could be popular in the East and the West. I would go back to the very sources from which others took violent and hateful messages and offer messages of tolerance and peace in their place. I would give my heroes a Trojan horse in the form of THE 99. Islam was my Helen. I wanted her back. THE 99 references the 99 attributes of Allah—generosity, mercy, wisdom and dozens of others not used to describe Islam in the media when you were growing up. But if I am successful, by the time you read this, you will not believe that such an era could have ever existed. (BBC News)

POLLS
How Do You Treat People of Other Faiths?
Recent polling by Gallup tried to determine the amount of what they call “interfaith cohesion” around the world, by asking respondents how they treat and are treated by members of other faiths—whether they would object to someone from a different faith moving next door, for example. Respondents were then classified as either “isolated,” “tolerant,” or “integrated.” Among countries in western Europe and North America, only the United States had more respondents who rated as “integrated” (and fewer who rated as “isolated”) than Canada. (Michael Petrou, Maclean's)

A team of researchers has a new paper that looks at how we choose information about an issue when several options are available. The researchers studied the results from 91 past studies (like this one) and found that when we're presented with alternatives, we're two times more likely to select information that supports our pre-existing point of view than information that challenges it.
They also found that people are more resistant to new points of view when it comes to issues that are associated with political, religious, or ethical values. In these cases, "about 70 percent of the time you will choose information that corresponds with your views, versus about 60 percent of the time if the issues are not related to values," says University of Illinois psychologist Dolores Albarracín, who worked on the study.
"For the most part," she adds, "it seems that people tend to stay with their own beliefs and attitudes because changing those might prevent them from living the lives they're living. But it's good news that one out of three times, or close to that, they are willing to seek out the other side."
It comes as little surprise that we tend to seek out opposing viewpoints when it helps us reach a goal or we have to defend our opinions in public. On the other hand, we're less likely to entertain opposing views when we're unsure of our own beliefs than when we're very confident, since choosing information that supports our view helps us validate our opinion and maintain a stable view of the world.
According to the researchers, we appear to be guided by two different motivations—a desire to feel validated and a desire to know the truth—both of which are important. As they explain in their paper:

Darwin's On the Origin of Species comes in at 27 on Newsweek's meta-list of "The Top 100 Books of All Time." The Holy Bible, Revised Standard Version, is ranked 41.
Also of note: John Milton's Paradise Lost (47) and William James' The Varieties of Religious Experience (89).