Fifteen hundred years ago everybody knew the Earth was the center of the universe. Five hundred years ago, everybody knew the Earth was flat, and fifteen minutes ago, you knew that humans were alone on this planet. Imagine what you'll know tomorrow. - Men in Black In the film, Tommy Lee Jones' Kay wants to make Will Smith's Jay consider what else he might be wrong about (beyond the existence of aliens). In doing so, Kay reinforces two related ideas: knowledge only ever accumulates, and by extension those who came … [Read more...] about Science Corner: You’ll Kill More S. aureus with Honey AND Vinegar
medieval history
How Can the History of Science Encourage the Church? Part 2: Medieval Christianity (STEAM Grant Series)
ESN is currently creating a Faith/Science curriculum for young adult small groups. We've partnered with InterVarsity graduate student discussion groups to identify faith/science questions that are important to emerging scholars, and we're commissioning thoughtful Christians in science or theology/philosophy/history of science to explore those questions in this series at the ESN blog. We will then publish these posts as a booklet curriculum for campus groups. You can find previous posts in the series and related posts … [Read more...] about How Can the History of Science Encourage the Church? Part 2: Medieval Christianity (STEAM Grant Series)
Science Book Club: When Science & Christianity Meet Ch 1
"And that, my lord, is how we know the Earth to be banana-shaped." "This new learning amazes me, Sir Bedevere. Explain again how sheep's bladders may be employed to prevent earthquakes." I couldn't help but think of that quote from Monty Python and the Holy Grail as I read David Lindberg's essay on medieval science. Beneath the characteristic Python silliness lies a hint of what actually transpired among western European scholars of the Middle Ages. A New Learning was arriving in the form of classical texts and Arabic … [Read more...] about Science Book Club: When Science & Christianity Meet Ch 1
Science Corner: Uncracked Codes
A good mystery offers many pleasures: the allure of secret knowledge, the hints of reality beyond what we already know, the neurochemical satisfaction of solving a puzzles. Of course, some mysteries are appealing because they have resisted solving for so long. From grand questions like the nature of dark matter and dark energy to ancient riddles like the Antikythera mechanism, unanswered questions stir the imagination, perhaps holding out some small measure of hope that we will have the uncommon insight to discover the … [Read more...] about Science Corner: Uncracked Codes