Category: Science
Uncertainty Requires Courage: Adam and Eve, Strange Allies, and the Quest for Common Ground
An atheist, a Christian, and a Jew start talking about science and faith. This might seem like it is either the lead up to joke or the beginning of a fight. Instead, it was the setting of a meeting I...
Beyond Gunpowder: A Rational Perspective on Cloning
Hunting is either a discipline or a confused slaughter. Walking home this morning I thought first, not of hunting, but of my usual route along the road. I was also thinking about writing a paper on Johannes Kepler and emerging...
Lessons from the Wreckage: Notes on Hurricanes Harvey, Irma, and Maria
Lessons from the Wreckage, Pt. I: A Voice from the Whirlwind He lays the beams of his chambers on the waters; he makes the clouds his chariot, he rides on the wings of the wind; he makes his messengers winds,...
This Demon Only Comes Out By Prayer and Prozac
“It’s a chemical imbalance.” You may have heard or said those words before in reference to mental illness. I have done both myself a number of times in my practice as a primary care doctor. One good example of opening...
The Contest Between Evolution and Christianity is a Duel to the Death
Editor’s note: Peter Blair is editor of Fare Forward, one of the best new sites to hit the interwebs in a while. I’m on record saying that it’s like us at Mere-O, only better. I’m thrilled to steal him away...
Modernity and Medieval Science
Like Matt Milliner, I’m impressed by David Schaengold’s post over at the League of Ordinary Gentlemen, wherein he relates observation decks, science, and the joy of observation: Being happy merely to see and to understand, as scientists are, is the...
An Evolutionary Defense of Dogma and Religion
Criticizing organized religion is easy to do. In fact, it is a favored pastime for many evangelical and post-evangelical Christians who can only see institutionalized religion as “dead.” George Valliant is providing such critics some scientific firepower to go along...
Evolution does not apply to evolutionists
In a recent comment, the formidable Mr. Falk said, “The noteworthy thing about the universe is that everything appears to be explainable by immutable laws. As Einstein said, ‘the miracle is that there are no miracles'” Everything indeed appears to...
Goodness, Evil, and Darwinian Science
Noah Millman, in commenting upon the Derbyshire dust-up, writes: I continue to believe that both sides of the Darwin vs. Christianity battle are missing the most telling point. We should all agree that religious dogma has no bearing on the...
Fasting For Joy
There’s hidden sweetness in the stomach’s emptiness. We are lutes, no more, no less. If the soundboxes stuffed full of anything, no music. If the brain and belly are burning clean with fasting, every moment a new song comes out...