Word: thumb
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...memorable discussions generated by this year's presidential election--a theme close to his heart in recent weeks--he can point to his own record of sharp political commentary. Few other prominent critics of the campaign between Gov. Michael Dukakis and Vice President George Bush have offered a thumb-nail sketch of their own publicly held political convictions, let alone a four-panel cartoon...
...Gift of Gaffe. Nothing frightens the candidates like a debate flub comparable to Jerry Ford's claim that Eastern Europe was not under Moscow's thumb. But it is dangerous to exaggerate the significance of these small slips, especially since both Bush and Dukakis are stronger on factual knowledge than they are on vision. Ignore all the post-debate babble of commentators who like to pounce on gaffes. Turn the tables by giving 2 points to any candidate who catches his own error and offers a graceful correction...
...grooved his Viper jet through a long, graceful arc in the late summer sky, his forefinger and thumb caressing the plane's stick as if it were a violin. The aircraft's needle nose pointed toward the runway below at the U.S. Navy's Fentress Air Field near Norfolk, Va. Engine open and screaming, gulping in the thick air, the Viper reached max speed of 264 ft. per sec. 20 ft. above the concrete and leveled out for its pass. A faint touch of aileron and the ship rolled on its back. The crowd gasped. Heads swung in unison...
...toughest competition that neural networks will face in the field of artificial intelligence comes from the so-called expert systems used in medicine, banking, navigation and other fields. Instead of looking for patterns, computerized expert systems distill the decision-making process used by human experts into rules of thumb. Neurocomputer researchers argue that neural networks will eventually prove superior, however, because they can adjust more easily to changes in the nature of the problem to be solved...
...when P.R.I. officials physically ejected opposition representatives who were supposed to observe the ballot count. Elsewhere, there were charges that "galloping brigades" of up to 80 people had charged polling stations to stuff ballot boxes. Some poll watchers claimed that the indelible ink applied to each voter's right thumb was washable, allowing for multiple voting...