Schenk Forest and Orchards

By , on January 1st, 2009%

As I contemplate the New Year, I’ve been thinking about manmade semi-wild places and what they mean to me. I’m about to teach a class called Religion and the Environment. I’ve watched with interest the debates this year about protecting wild places. And while I love the wild places, lately I’ve been thinking about the sort-of wild places: parks, orchards, and places the canal on which I take my daily jog. Continue reading Schenk Forest and Orchards

9 comments   Faith, Religion, The Environment   , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,  

Dueling Dualists: In which I use the word screwywompous

By , on November 23rd, 2008%
    “Ah, good, Data. At least you’re functioning.”
    “Fully, Captain.”
    “Data, intoxication is a human condition. Your brain is different, not the same as–”
    “We are more alike than unlike, my dear Captain. I have pores, humans have pores. I have fingerprints, humans have fingerprints. My chemical nutrients are like your blood. If you prick me, do I not .. leak?”
    • Picard and Data in Star Trek the Next Generation “The Naked Now”

    • The easy answer is that Mormons believe that our spirit that gives us consciousness. Continue reading Dueling Dualists: In which I use the word screwywompous

    18 comments   Philosophy of Science, Religion   , , , , ,  

    ‘Why my shoes are mad at me’ or ‘Can a person ever really get along with the number nine?’

    By , on September 16th, 2008%

    J. Robinson (Nature 454 p.1054)

    picture from: J. Robinson (Nature 454 p.1054)


    In a recent issue of Nature is a fascinating article about a tug-of-war between male derived genes and female derived genes, which may play out in cognitive disorders like autism. Evo-devo is a relatively new science that explores not only how evolution plays out in terms of our DNA expressing genes, but how genes interact in embryonic development, under environmental conditions, and in warring it out with each other for supremacy. Continue reading ‘Why my shoes are mad at me’ or ‘Can a person ever really get along with the number nine?’

    6 comments   Evolution, Philosophy of Science   , , , , , , , , , , , ,  

    The Shrew in my Brain: Snakes and the Evolved Body—Part II

    By , on September 13th, 2008%

    Hopefully, you are now convinced by the evidence in Part I, that I am not afraid of snakes. The point being, not that I am fearless and brave, but this: I am jogging along the banks of the Danube, I turn into Danau Park with it’s green grasses, large old trees, strolling couples, and a smell and feel of wild things (even though it is quite tame). It’s a beautiful day, the sun is shining. I am tired. I am glad to be almost done with a long (for me) run. Suddenly, and without any premonition that this was about to happen, I find my knees at eyelevel. Continue reading The Shrew in my Brain: Snakes and the Evolved Body—Part II

    6 comments   Evolution, Faith   , , , , , , , , , ,