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Thursday, September 20, 2007

Concept: Schizophrenia?



So I've mentioned off and on that I'm working on The Encyclopedia of Schizophrenia and Other Psychotic Disorders at work, and am also developing an outline for a novella Notes For Students (and/or) White Swan. (I decided that combining the two titles might mitigate their negatives in an interesting/funny way). Well, the two subjects have become intertwined. So this is the part where I ask if anyone has had personal experience, or experience in the family with 1) schizophrenia or 2) any other psychotic disorder. If you don't want to reply in the comments you can send me an email or contact me here.

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Tuesday, September 18, 2007

Event: A Break from Politics.



Check this out. It's crazy.

National Radio Astronomy Observatory: Astronomers Find Enormous Hole in the Universe.

This isn't quite as much of a break, but it's still interesting:

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Segregation in U.S. schools rising.

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Tuesday, July 24, 2007

Body: Driveby on Newton, Evolution, and the Boston Globe.



Sam sent me this Op-Ed from the Boston Globe and this more coherent rebuttal.

Here's what I contributed to the discussion:

You are 100% correct. And here's the real irony. Newton would surely have rejected today's creationism both with and without the benefit of today's better science.

I say "with" because as a scientist Newton understood the need to look at evidence impartially and objectively. In his day there was compelling evidence that the earth revolved around the sun, though the Bible essentially states the opposite. Newton accepted this, however religious he may have been. There was, however, little of the compelling evidence available today that suggested evolution or the age of the Earth, which is why he (and pretty much everyone) was a comfortable creationist.

I say "without" because the premise of a "young-earth" today is not what it was a few hundred years ago. Taking every word of the Bible literally is largely a product of the 20th century - most typically the latter 20th century, and has more to do with politics than with an honest wrestling with the word of God. In the 1600s, a lot of the Bible was accepted as metaphorical and allegorical, as invested with truth and not necessarily fact: camels through the eyes of needles and all that. Todays' creationism is an abomination that flies in the face not only of accepted science but also of respectable and rigorous theology. I think that Newton would be repulsed by creationism today.


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