Listening to the recent debate between human debating champion Harish Natarajan and IBM’s Watson-derived Project Debater, I was amused to hear the AI conclude her remarks with a Benjamin Disraeli quote.Read more…
Science Book Review: The Revolutionary Genius of Plants Ch 7-9
We’re on our final week discussing the English translation of Stefano Mancuso’s The Revolutionary Genius of Plants, a colorful and wide-ranging survey of recent developments in our understanding of plant biology. Mancuso is particularly interested in what sets plants apartRead more…
Science Book Review: The Revolutionary Genius of Plants Ch 4-6
In chapter 4, [Mancuso] brings up what I thought was the most intriguing difference: plants stay put. OK, maybe that’s obvious, but what’s intriguing are the implications Mancuso teases out from it.Read more…
Science Book Review: The Revolutionary Genius of Plants Ch 1-3
Mancuso has a lot to say about the uniqueness of plants, how they can expand our understanding of life, and how the features of plants can be harnessed to address challenges faced by humans.Read more…
Science Book Review: Programming the Universe
Although Lloyd was not overtly concerned with any religious intersections, I found the discussion of the universe as a quantum computer relevant to a couple of issues that come up in science & faith conversations.Read more…
Science Corner: Nectar of the Plant Overlords
While we don’t have evidence of plant intelligence here on Earth, we may still have underestimated our local flora and overlooked their capacity to communicate.Read more…
Science Corner: Watching the Special Features
…understanding the chemical and physiological reactions that generate emotions can enrich rather than impoverish my relationship to music and art.Read more…
Science Corner: Hacking your Donor List
If your experience is anything like mine, your 2018 wrapped up with a blitz of requests for end-of-year charitable contributions.Read more…
Science Corner: Christmas Reading
If you have some extra time for a holiday or winter break and are looking for something to read, allow me to remind you of the books we’ve discussed over the past year.Read more…
Science Corner: Star Signs in the Space Age
The grandest ambitions of the human race require always more, and so we imagine living out among the stars, or at the very least on other planets.Read more…
Science Corner: The Advent and the Apocalypse
We are imperfect creators, and so not everything about our new world is good. We may still have the ability to mitigate some of the imperfections, but to do so we first need the humility to accept our limitations as creators.Read more…
Science Corner: The Future, Fast and Slow
When Jesus was born as the Son of God incarnate, the future arrived in a very tangible way.Read more…
Science Corner: A Bumper Crop of Science
Some weeks it can be tricky to find a way into the science news that might be of interest to those outside the specific community of investigation. But not this week.Read more…
Science Corner: Prayers and Placebos
Tomorrow is Thanksgiving in the United States, a time for gratitude and community. Intangible qualities like these challenge science, since they don’t lend themselves as readily to quantifying or to controlled investigation.Read more…
Science Book Review: Can a Scientist Believe in Miracles?
The result is a wide-ranging exploration of questions, some specific to the present science-faith conversation and some raised perennially by skeptics and curious seekers.Read more…
Science Corner: A Century of the Flu
Neither humanity’s first nor last widespread encounter with influenza, the 1918-19 pandemic is notable for how quickly and widely it spread: in less than 6 months it was on every continent and ultimately infected as many as 1 out of every 3 people on the planet.Read more…
Science Corner: The Making of a Monster
This week, I want to highlight the science of Frankenstein.Read more…
Science Book Review: Scientism and Secularism
[Scientism and Secularism] is clearly aimed at fellow Christians who agree with Moreland that science is taking influence away from the church and who need help articulating why theology and religion are still relevant.Read more…
Science Corner: Finding Your Way Through Math
Topology is a standard topic in mathematics; topiary less so. That’s why I thought it was pretty cool to read about a mathematician-designed maze in celebration of the Abel Prize.Read more…
Science Corner: Take Me to Your Victrola
Truly universal truths can be more elusive than they seem.Read more…
Science Corner: What the FOXP2 Say
Regardless of how one understands our relationship to the animal kingdom, many of us are interested in what distinguishes us biologically from animals, especially the animals most similar to us: chimpanzees, gorillas, and the like.Read more…
Science in Review: Seeing the Random Forest for the Trees
We talk a lot about science here, but science isn’t just talk. I thought maybe we could roll up our sleeves and try a little science.Read more…
Science Corner: Pack Your Genes for the Cruise
What would it take to preserve all vertebrate life, and to what end?Read more…
Science Corner: The Word for ‘Gene’
I think it’s worth remembering that roughly 100 years ago, no language had a word for ‘gene.’Read more…