For as long as I have been aware of political goings-on, lawmakers have used scientific research in an attempt to score points about government waste. It's a pretty easy game to play; any robust array of research funding will include some grants for high risk projects, niche studies, or ambitious moon shots. And if your audience has an implicit assumption that funding science basically amounts to buying obvious practical applications of utility to many, it's that much easier to find projects that will fail that … [Read more...] about Science Corner: Scrutiny of the Bounty
Science Corner: Loving Systematically
Disclosure: A copy of A Systematic Theology of Love was provided to me by the author and/or the publisher. No expectation of a review or specific comments therein accompanied that gift. The theology of Thomas Jay Oord has intrigued me since I encountered The Uncontrolling Love of God. I appreciate his desire for logical consistency, his engagement with science, and his reluctance to appeal to mystery if other options are available. His approach to the problem of evil makes more sense to me than any other I've come … [Read more...] about Science Corner: Loving Systematically
Science Corner: One Button, Two Button, Red Button, Blue Button
Right now, there are generally two types of people on social media: those awash in red button/blue button discourse, and those blissfully unaware of it. For those second types, at the heart of the conversation is the following thought experiment. Everyone in the world has to privately choose to press a red button or a blue button. If a majority of people press blue, everyone lives. If a majority of people press red, only red-pressers live. The current conversation apparently kicked off a few weeks ago with this X poll; … [Read more...] about Science Corner: One Button, Two Button, Red Button, Blue Button
Science Corner: Life Victorious
Last Wednesday, the world's eyes looked to the skies (well, via streaming, natch) as the four astronauts of the Artemis II mission departed Earth to swing around the moon at a distance farther than any Terran has been from home. It's pretty remarkable what humans can do when we put our minds to it and collaborate. So what's next? There's talk of moon bases, trips to Mars, asteroid mining, and more. Or we can stay here and focus on terrestrial matters. … [Read more...] about Science Corner: Life Victorious
Science Corner: Suitable Help Math
Everyone has thoughts on artificial intelligence and large language models (LLMs) these days, so it can be tough to cut through the noise. Personally, the novelty applications that make the rounds on social media don't really grab me. Caricature portrait of myself? I'm sure I'll like what my wife can draw better. Pop culture mashup? I'll just wait for Avengers Doomsday. A knowledgeable person has found a practical use case that solves a real problem they had? Now we're talking. So I perked up when I saw that Donald … [Read more...] about Science Corner: Suitable Help Math