I've had the chance to watch more baseball this season than usual, specifically New York Mets games. Baseball lends itself to extensive data collection and precise situational adjustments. For example, teams can record where each individual hitter tends to hit the ball when thrown different types of pitches. When a given hitter has strong tendencies in one direction, the other team can shift their defense to that side and possibly adjust their pitching to favor that tendency. Opposing teams were making those kinds of … [Read more...] about Science Corner: A “Have-Done” Attitude
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Science Corner: Awe and Wonder Through a Microscope
Earlier this month, we had the privilege to see magnificent pictures of our universe that were taken by the new James Webb Space telescope. For the first time we were treated to pictures of a region of the Carina Nebula where young stars are forming. We also saw Stephan's Quintet, a cluster of five galaxies that you are probably familiar with if you have watched the movie, "It's a Wonderful Life." This updated picture, constructed from ~1,000 separate images, provides new information about interactions between galaxies … [Read more...] about Science Corner: Awe and Wonder Through a Microscope
Science Corner: It’s a Great Big Universe and We’re All Really Puny
Physicists: "We find that we live on an insignificant planet of a humdrum star lost in a galaxy tucked away in some forgotten corner of a universe in which there are far more galaxies than people." Also physicists: *Spend billions of dollars and untold person-hours searching for the tiniest, shortest-lived particles.* … [Read more...] about Science Corner: It’s a Great Big Universe and We’re All Really Puny
Science Corner: One Person’s Trash Could Be Another Person’s Earthship
You've probably noticed that the world is a bit of a mess. Every day it seems that there is some new problem that requires our attention and/or provides some new topic for people to argue about discuss and debate. Some of the issues that spawn arguments discussions are trivial matters like whether pineapple belongs on pizza (yes, it absolutely does). Other topics, like global climate change, the impact people are having on the planet, and our responsibility as Christians to care for the Earth, are much more serious. The … [Read more...] about Science Corner: One Person’s Trash Could Be Another Person’s Earthship
Science Book Review: Being You – A New Science of Consciousness
At various times while reading Anil Seth's engaging and accessible Being You, I was reminded of the people in Helen Thomson's Unthinkable, the subject of a previous blog post. Thomson was documenting the distinct experiences of people whose perception of themselves and/or the world around them depart substantially from what is typical: people who think they are tigers or dead or who can have their orientation to the world flipped instantaneously. Seth is giving an account more generally of why perception works the way … [Read more...] about Science Book Review: Being You – A New Science of Consciousness