Thursday, February 28, 2013

Papal Infallibility and the Comics

The humor in today's Non Sequitur comic strip depends on a fairly common misunderstanding of Catholic belief:


(from Non Sequitur, Wiley Miller, via GoComics.com, used w/o permission)

I read Wiley Miller's Non Sequitur comic regularly, although I don't always agree with Mr. Miller's personal philosophy. Today's strip plays with an assumption about the Catholic Church that may be more common in the English-speaking world than elsewhere: and that's another topic.(December 5, 2011)

Some of the world's billion-plus living Catholics may believe that the Pope can't make mistakes. That's not what "papal infallibility" means.

I'm not angry or upset about Mr. Miller's joke, by the way. More topics.

Perfect Popes? No Such Thing

Some Popes are recognized Saints. Some were anything but saintly. We hit rough spots in papal quality, about five hundred and a thousand years back, and that's almost another topic.1

I decided to become a Catholic after learning who currently held the authority my Lord gave Peter. I also realized that the Catholic Church had endured, without a break in continuity, for two millennia. Human organizations don't do that.

The Catholic Church has had help. (January 13, 2011)

Infallibility

Very simply,2 infallibility is strictly limited to a particular sort of formal declaration made by the:
  • Pope
    • Comes with being Pope
    • Applies when the Pope
      • Proclaims that a doctrine of faith or morals is to be held
        • By definitive act
        • In his official capacity
    (Code of Canon Law, Book III, 749 §1)
  • College of Bishops
    • Exercising the Magisterium
      • As teachers and judges of faith and morals
    • Speaking for the entire Church
    • Agree that a particular proposition is to be held definitively
    • This authority may be performed
      • In an ecumenical council
      • When dispersed throughout the world
        • But preserving the bond of communion among themselves
        • With the successor of Peter
    (Code of Canon Law, Book III, 749 §2)
No doctrine is infallible unless these conditions are obviously met. (Code of Canon Law, Book III, 749 §3)

Rules and Outside Help

Rules like the Code of Canon Law are important, and serve to define how the Catholic Church works.

But I don't think any set of rules could keep humans from mismanaging an organization into oblivion, given time. As I said before, we've had help.

"Divine assistance" is what holds up the Church, and papal infallibility. (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 888-892)

That's an extreme claim. But after two millennia of wildly improbable survival, I'm inclined to believe what the Church says.

More:
Related posts:

1 The 265 successors to Peter:
2 A tip of the hat to Jordan Henderson, on Google+, for pointing out that my outline leaves out - quite a bit. Books could be - and have been - written about the doctrine of infallibility. My intention was to give a very quick overview of the doctrine. I recommend further reading, starting with resources listed under "More", above: or use the Vatican's Google-powered search function.

Wednesday, February 27, 2013

Vast and Ancient

The universe is vast and ancient, on scales beyond anything imagined in earlier millennia. That seems to upset some folks, but I'm okay with it.

As I've said before, I prefer to take the universe 'as is.' I would much rather learn more about this wonder-filled creation, than insist that the Almighty is limited to what folks knew a few centuries back.

My faith doesn't insist that I learn more about how the universe works: but it isn't threatened by knowledge either. Honest research can't contradict faith, because God made the universe. (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 159)

Living With Change

"Nothing endures but change."
(Heraclitus, Greek philosopher, 540 BC - 480 BC)
Two dozen centuries later, change is still very much a part of this creation. God made a universe that is being created: which is good, and which is moving toward perfection:
"Creation has its own goodness and proper perfection, but it did not spring forth complete from the hands of the Creator. The universe was created 'in a state of journeying' (in statu viae) toward an ultimate perfection yet to be attained, to which God has destined it. We call 'divine providence' the dispositions by which God guides his creation toward this perfection:
"By his providence God protects and governs all things which he has made, 'reaching mightily from one end of the earth to the other, and ordering all things well.' For 'all are open and laid bare to his eyes,' even those things which are yet to come into existence through the free action of creatures.161"
(Catechism of the Catholic Church, 302)
I figure we've got a choice: accept the idea that we live in a changing creation; or not.

On the whole, I think it's prudent to accept reality.

Continental Drift and Personal Preference

A textbook written with 'religious' people in mind was excruciatingly careful about explaining that continental drift was just a theory: and hadn't been 'proven.'

I sympathize with the authors, who may have wanted to provide adequate educational materials while not offending folks who don't want this creation to be particularly big or old.

Not liking the idea that continents move isn't limited to painfully pious folks. About four decades back, I had a geography/geology professor who loathed and despised continental drift. That attitude helped me decide to major in history, and that's yet another topic.

King Cnut and the Limits of Executive Authority

The last I heard, we're still not sure about exactly what forces have been moving continents around, forming new ocean floors along mid-ocean ridges, and recycling old crust along subduction arcs.

That continents move, carried along on tectonic plates: by now, that's an observed phenomenon. A person might prefer that Earth's crust stay put: but that preference has as much effect on reality as King Cnut's ordering the tide to stop.

Thanks in part to improved technology, like the satellite-based Global Positioning System, we're still getting surprises: like when a city in South America jumped westward by about 10 feet. That was a big earthquake. (Apathetic Lemming of the North (March 10, 2010)

Cnut knew the limits of executive power, by the way. My guess is that his command was intended as a reality check for over-enthusiastic courtiers. ("King Canute (= Cnut) and the waves," J. P.Sommerville, Department of History, University of Wisconsin - Madison)

Somewhat-related posts:

Sunday, February 24, 2013

Jesus, God, and Something Thomas Aquinas Said

Readings for February 24, 2013, Second Sunday of Lent 2013:

Second Sunday of Advent 2012

By Deacon Lawrence N. Kaas
February 24, 2013

The great painter Raphael eloquently envisioned the Transfiguration in what is considered his last painting. Jesus floats in midair before softly illuminated clouds, with Moses and Elijah at his left and right. Below Jesus, the disciples cower in terror as the Transfiguration reveals the light flooded promise of eternal life. It is a revelation of Christ's Divine Glory.

In the lower part of the painting. Raphael depicts the apostles attempting to free a possessed boy of demonic possession.

The painting seems to show the Redemptive Power of Christ contrasted with the flaws of mankind. Raphael died in 1520; the work was finished by his pupil Giulio Romano. And today it is housed at the Vatican.

The Transfiguration was an amazing event. It is reported to appear like a person bursting forth into flames from the inside out.

How often do we meditate on the Transfiguration, especially that now we have one of the mysteries of the Rosary dedicated to the Transfiguration.

Then, wouldn't you know, as I was reading in preparation for this homily: I find that there are some modern Scripture scholars who think this never happened! How come it is that our so-called "modern scholars" know more than the people who actually lived through it. Maybe the question should be asked of them, why are you trying to disprove this great happening of the Transfiguration? One account stated that it is just a preview of the resurrection, written after the resurrection to make the latter resurrection more acceptable. Yeah I know, it doesn't make any sense to me either.

Thomas Aquinas wrote that it was a miracle that suspended a previous miracle. That is, when God became human, the divinity would have overpowered the humanity of Jesus every minute of every day. So, God miraculously shaded the divinity to give the humanity space to be itself. Then on that mountain, God suspended that continues miracle for a few moments, and the divinity of Jesus was free to break forth in splendor.

But exactly what broke forth? What would have overwhelmed the humanity of Jesus had it not been suppressed? The infinite compassion of God for all his creatures; the stunning wisdom of God; the dazzling brilliance of God's beauty; the overpowering crush of God's justice; the dissolving tenderness of God's Mercy. All this converged and exploded on that mountain.

Jesus was not a mere channel for Divinity, not just a vehicle for some divine display. Jesus was equally human and he did not simply appear at that moment. He worked his way there from the beginning of time and evolution. And that is when his personal genius took command. He learned a skill, appreciated nature, loved children, became a notable storyteller, attracted friends, discovered a poetic talent, became passionate about God's kingdom, grew in wisdom and grace, became proficient in prayer, called God his own father. And all of that perfect humanity came to a head on that undistinguished hill. The humanity of God met the divinity of a man and exploded in ecstasy.

Lest someone should think we are confusing the issue we should be reminded that God is so far beyond our vocabulary, we get sloppy with words. We say that God became human. But of course, God did not become anything. God cannot become because God simply is. What we mean to say is that God took our humanity; God assumed a particular human nature.

We also can accurately say that Jesus is equally God and man. But of course, nothing is equal to God. Any human person would be shattered like a mirror in the face of God. What we mean to say is that Jesus is fully divine and fully human, that God did not lose any divinity by becoming human and that Jesus did not lose any humanity by becoming divine. Both natures are miraculously protected.

Jesus is not a combination of two persons, or a split personality. Jesus is one Divine Person. Just as you may have a whimsical or tragic personality apart from your essential self, so Jesus had a unique human personality that is expressed as a Divine Person.

It's complicated, I know. We must speak of God in human terms because that's all we really have. But once we arrived at some human notion of God, that tells us something more about ourselves. It says that your essential self is to live in Christ. You spend a life- time forming your personality around the person of Christ. Then you die, imperfect.

But God transforms your mortal life into God's Divine Life. You become living proof of Irenaeus' conviction: "The glory of God is you fully alive."

So do not doubt, but believe!

Be Good, be Holy, preach the Gospel always, and if necessary use words!

'Thank you' to Deacon Kaas, for letting me post his reflection here.

More reflections:
Related posts:

Prayer, Technology, and Looking Ahead

I'm praying a chaplet during this Lent. That's routine for me. (February 17, 2013; February 22, 2012)

While I pray, I usually wear a longish hood-and-collar thing that covers my head and shoulders. It's similar to what my European ancestors probably wore, five hundred to a thousand years ago.

There isn't anything particularly 'spiritual' about that hood, although it looks a little like the top part of the uniform for many monastic orders. It's a practical bit of clothing.

I'm often at my desk when I pray. It's near a north window, a cool and drafty spot during winter. My oldest daughter made the (hood?) to help keep me warm.

Looking Forward, Not Back

Being Catholic doesn't mean trying to live in the 15th century, Or the 11th. Neither of which were particularly tranquil times, and that's another topic.

Some folks, Catholic and otherwise, present the 'good old days' as a model for how we should live. I don't, partly because I remember some of the 'good old days.' (January 27, 2012)

Besides, Matthew 28:18-20 doesn't tell us to maintain the status quo.

Wrenching myself back on-topic: We've seen quite a lot of change over the last fifty years; and over the last two hundred or so. Some of it involved new technology. (January 27, 2013)

It's small wonder that some folks seem to see today's problems as the result of smog replacing manure as an urban pollutant. On the whole, I'd rather have catalytic converters and emission standards. (July 9, 2011)

Technology and Prayer

I could be Catholic without an Internet connection: folks did so for two millennia. But Information Age technology doesn't keep me from following my faith. In some ways, it makes it easier.

For example, the Apostle's Creed is part of that Lenten chaplet. I got the words, in my native language, after a quick search on the Internet. I copied the text and pasted it into a file that I display on my computer's screen while I pray.

The same file has a short list of prayers for the Divine Mercy chaplet, another habit I've started for Lent.

I could writhe in anguish and torment myself for not memorizing the prayers, or using new technology, or not wearing shoes while I pray: but that doesn't make sense. Not to me.

For one thing, there's nothing liturgical about these prayers. I'm doing this at home, by myself. There's a discussion going on about liturgical use of 'prayer apps,' and that's almost another topic.

Being Human, Being Catholic

Learning about this astounding creation, and developing tools, is part of being human. (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 2293) By themselves, science and technology are neither good nor bad: what matters is how we use them. (Catechism, 2292-2295)

If there were no disease, if love of neighbor made crime impossible, and if poverty was unknown, there would be no reason to change the status quo.

That's not the way the world is. Not even close.

A "scandal of glaring inequalities" demands that we change the world. (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1928-1942, 2419-2442)

There's no point in trying to turn back the clock. There is no perfect society in history. We need to face forward, not back: keep what works; change what doesn't; and build a world that's better than today's.


(from http://raredelights.com, used w/o permission)

And that's another topic. (March 14, 2012)

Related posts:
More:

Friday, February 22, 2013

Science, Neural Interfaces, and Electing a Pope

Change happens. Lately, it's been happening a lot. I'm not always comfortable with change, but realize that it's part of living in this creation. (January 18, 2012)

I like the sort of change we call "learning," and that's been happening a lot, too. This week, we learned about another set of planets circling another star; and are on the verge of learning about how we learn:
  1. Kepler-37b: Smallest Exoplanet (So Far)
  2. Proper Channels, Headlines, and Vatican II
  3. Neural Interfaces and Ethics
  4. Mapping the Human Brain

Faith, Science, and Seeking Truth

I think I understand why dedicated secularists say that religion is against science and reason. Folks who are religious at the top of their lungs making the same claim - I know the history behind that quaint notion, but I think they're wrong.

That's because I believe that God wants us to use our brains: and that truth isn't something to fear:
  • God
    • Created/is creating everything
      (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 268, 279, 301, 302-305)
  • We
    • Are supposed to seek God
      (Catechism, 1)
    • Can learn about God
      • By studying what He created
        (Catechism, 31-36, 282-289)
        • This knowledge
          • Gives converging and convincing arguments
          • Is not proof in the scientific sense
          (Catechism, 31)
      • Through divine revelation (37-38)
  • The universe is
    • Good and ordered
      (Catechism, 299)
    • Being completed
      • It is "in a state of journeying"
        (Catechism, 302)
    • Beautiful
      • And may be studied
      (Catechism, 341)
  • Honest research can't contradict faith
    • Because God made the universe
    (Catechism, 159)
I posted that list before, fairly recently. (February 10, 2013)

1. Kepler-37b: Smallest Exoplanet (So Far)


(Karl Tate, via Space.com, used w/o permission)
"The smallest exoplanet yet found orbits Kepler-37, a sun-like star located about 215 light-years from Earth. ..." (Space.com)
"Found! Tiny Moon-Size Alien World Is the Smallest Exoplanet"
Elizabeth Howell, Space.com (February 20, 2013)

" The discovery of a strange new world about the size of Earth's moon has shattered the record for the smallest known alien planet, scientists say.

"The newfound alien planet Kepler-37b is the first exoplanet discovered to be smaller than Mercury. It whips around its parent star every 13 days and has a roasting surface temperature of about 800 degrees Fahrenheit (427 Celsius), researchers said. It not a promising contender for life, they added.

"Astronomers found Kepler-37b and two other, larger planets (called Kepler-37c and Kepler-37d) orbiting a star about 215 light-years from Earth using NASA's prolific Kepler space telescope. Finding such a small exoplanet with the Kepler spacecraft was a stretch, but some attributes of Kepler-37b's parent star made the discovery possible...."
Kepler looks for transiting exoplanets: ones that come between their star and us during their orbit. The orbiting observatory can't "see" the planets: it records how much light is coming from the star. If the star dims by the same amount on a regular schedule: Occam's razor suggests that a planet is getting in the way.

Kepler-37b's star has fewer sunspots than ours, so it shines more steadily than our star: letting Kepler-37's planets stand out more clearly.

More Hot Planets

"... Kepler-37b has a diameter of about 2,400 miles (3,860 kilometers). It takes 13.4 Earth days to orbit its parent star....

"...Two other known planets populate the Kepler-37 system. Kepler-37c has about three quarters the diameter of Earth and orbits its star in 21.3 Earth days. The third planet, Kepler-37d, is about twice the size of Earth and completes an orbit in about 39.8 Earth days. The three Kepler-37 planets all orbit within the radius of Mercury's orbit around the sun.

"Due to its size and high level of surface radiation, tiny Kepler-37b is thought to be a rocky exoplanet like Mercury, with no atmosphere or water.

"The star Kepler-37 formed 6 billion years ago, about 1.5 billion years earlier in cosmic history than the Earth's sun. Kepler-37 is about 97 percent as bright as the sun, and has 0.8 of the mass of the sun...."
(Karl Tate, Space.com)
There could be more planets circling that star, in larger orbits that haven't brought them between Kepler-37 and us. Then again, maybe we've found all the worlds circling that star.

Looking for Another Earth

If or when we do find another planet that supports life, it's likely to be around a star like this: about a old as our star; about as bright, or dimmer; without dramatic variations in brightness.

Who knows? Maybe a few years from now an Earth-like planet will have passed between Kepler-37 and us, and analysis of starlight passing through its atmosphere shows that it has water: and oxygen. At a distance of about 215 light-years, it's not exactly 'in our neighborhood:' but it's not all that far away, either.

Learning more about how vast, ancient, and astounding this universe is doesn't threaten my faith. As I've said before, honest research can't contradict faith because God made the universe. (Catechism, 159)

By the way, if there is an Earth-like planet circling Kepler-47, one that supports life, I don't think that there must be people living there. I don't think that there can't be people there, either. (January 29, 2012)

That star and its planets are about 1,500,000,000 years older than our home: but it doesn't necessarily follow that people started using fire and building robots a more than a billion years before we did. Or maybe it does. That's something we don't know. Not yet, anyway.

On the other hand, maybe people are living there: descendants of folks who traveled between stars while trilobites swam the seas of Earth; and who more recently have been devoting their time to unscrewing the inscrutable. And that's another topic.

2. Proper Channels, Headlines, and Vatican II

"God will help choose next Pope, cardinal stresses"
CNA/EWTN News (February 21, 2013)

"Cardinal Juan Luis Cipriani of Lima, Peru, discouraged a spirit of intrigue surrounding the upcoming conclave and said the new Pope will be chosen with God’s help, regardless of nationality.

" 'I think that geography has nothing to do with it,' the cardinal said on Feb. 16. 'The right person needs to be sought out with the help of God, regardless of where he is from.'

"Responding to media questions about whether the new Pope should be from Latin America, he explained that 'geographical or political considerations are not going to be part of the conclave.'

"While he said that it is 'understandable that there are people who think this way,' he warned that it is not good for the media to promote this understanding or to make bets or create 'intrigue.'..."
I agree that it's "not good" for news media to give the appearance of drama, conflict, and intrigue to reporting of a routine clerical process. But that's the way it is.

Given pressures to finish before deadline, and write a story that'll grab attention, it's probably easier to interview someone from a weirdly extreme political action committee, filling in the gaps with whatever 'the gang' said at the water cooler, than it is to study two millennia of ecclesiastical history.

Besides, newspapers and network news are in the business of selling papers and advertising. Can you imagine an editor running "Due Process and Proper Channels Expected in Papal Election!" as a headline? Even an exclamation mark doesn't make it seem particularly exciting.

I'm expecting some colorful reporting, and even more colorful online discussions, concerning the next Pope. Particularly since Vatican II is indirectly involved.

Fallout from 'In the Spirit of Vatican II'

"New Pope will handle Pius X Society decision"
David Uebbing, CNA/EWTN News (February 21, 2013)

"The effort to reach an agreement between the Church and the Society of St. Pius X will be passed on to the next Pope, Father Federico Lombardi said.

" 'An important point is that these days people have spoken about a deadline for Pius X priests and a conclusion to the situation. The Pope is confiding the decision to the next Pope, and no conclusion will be made on this date,' said Fr. Lombardi, the director of the Vatican press office.

"Archbishop Gerhard L. Muller, the head of the Vatican doctrine office, originally set Feb. 22 as a deadline for the Society of St. Pius X to reach a decision about accepting a doctrinal preamble that was sent to the society.

" 'The purpose of dialogue is to overcome difficulties in the interpretation of the Second Vatican Council,' Archbishop Muller told CNA July 20, 'but we cannot negotiate on revealed faith, that is impossible. An Ecumenical Council, according to the Catholic faith, is always the supreme teaching authority of the Church.'..."
Secular resources sometimes call the Pius X Society a "traditionalist" Catholic organization. I think I understand how upset some Catholics were that headquarters was reviewing how the Church proclaims the Gospel. As I've said before, change can be unpleasant: even if the change is necessary, and good.

I don't think it helped that at the grassroots level, at least here in America, what Catholics got was trendy goofiness done 'in the spirit of Vatican II.' I wasn't a Catholic at the time, and that's yet another topic.

The Real Vatican II

Back then, during the 1970s, some Catholics who liked the way their parish had done things in 'the good old days' apparently decided that the Holy See had gone crazy: and that their friends and some local priest were the only 'real Catholics' left. The Pius X outfit is a particularly large, well-organized, and international, example.

A half-century later, quite a few folks still seem convinced that they're the only 'real' Catholics left. I don't doubt that they're sincere. But that doesn't make them right.

Vatican II wasn't the liturgical joke that 'in the spirit of Vatican II' nonsense might suggest. Happily, folks who don't mind learning about the real Vatican II have the documents available online; in Byelorussian, Chinese, Czech, English, French, German, Hebrew, Hungarian, Italian, Latin, Portuguese, Spanish, and Swahili:
Finally, Vatican II didn't change the rules that matter. Nobody, including the Pope, is allowed to change what God has revealed. (Catechism, 65-67) The Decalogue won't change, we're stuck with loving our neighbor, and I'm okay with that.

No Mourning

"Pope considering changes to papal election rules"
Estefania Aguirre, CNA/EWTN News (February 20, 2013)

"Pope Benedict XVI is considering modifying the laws that govern how a Pope is elected, given the circumstances created by his resignation.

"Father Federico Lombardi, director of the Holy See Press Office, told journalists Feb. 20 that Pope Benedict is thinking about publishing a document to further clarify the conclave section of the Apostolic Constitution.

"This means he would have to issue a motu proprio - a new set of legal regulations - before he steps down on Feb. 28. The Latin title 'motu proprio' is a designation that means the document is personally signed by the Pope and is issued solely under his authority...."
"...'In any case, the question depends on the Pope's judgment and if this document comes about it will be made known through the proper channels,' Fr. Lombardi added."
(Estefania Aguirre)
As Father Lombardi said, whatever Benedict XVI decides, the document will go "through proper channels." Like I wrote in an earlier post, the Pope resigning hasn't happened all that often: but it has happened before. All we might be looking at this time is some fine-tuning of the procedures.

The article pointed out that there's no need for one of the routines we've gotten used to over the last few centuries. Since Benedict XVI will almost certainly be alive when his successor gets chosen, there's no need for the usual nine days of mourning.


3. Neural Interfaces and Ethics

"New bionic hand may let amputees feel again"
FoxNews.com (February 18, 2013)

"Thanks to wiring that connects it directly into the nervous system, a new bionic hand may one day return dexterity and the sensation of touch to an amputee.

"The new prosthetic limb was unveiled by Silvestro Micera of Switzerland's École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) at the 2013 Annual Meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) in Boston.

"Micera and colleagues tested their system by implanting 'intraneural electrodes' into the median and ulnar nerves of an amputee. The electrodes stimulated the sensory peripheral system, delivering different types of touch feelings....
We've had electronic/neural interface devices for some time, like cochlear implants that essentially plug a microphone into the ear's data feed.

Silvestro Micera's neural interface experiment also involved taking data from nerves that control muscles, and sending that out through the interface:
"...Then the researchers analyzed the motor neural signals recorded from the nerves and showed that information related to grasping could indeed be extracted.

"That information was then used to control a hand prosthesis placed near the subject but not physically attached to the arm of the amputee.

" 'We could be on the cusp of providing new and more effective clinical solutions to amputees in the next years,' said Micera, who is Head of the Translational Neural Engineering Laboratory at EPFL...."
(FoxNews.com)

Doing Good: Is It Right?

Let's say that this research leads to prosthetic limbs that not only look and act a bit like the original, but let the person wearing them feel with the artificial fingers, and operate the prosthetic hand the same way he or she operated the one that's missing. Will it be okay to use these prosthetics? Or is helping amputees defying the will of God?

I don't have authority to say what the Church will decide, but I can make an educated guess. Organ transplants have been an established medical procedure for quite a while: and are another case of people swapping out missing or defective parts for something that works. Organ transplants are okay, and donating organs after death "is a noble and meritorious act...." (Catechism, 2296)

Ethics still apply, though, in organ transplants and research. (Catechism, 2292-2296)

My guess is that plug-in limbs with neural interfaces will be treated like organ transplants: a good idea, provided that ethical guidelines are followed.

More about this research:
"World's first artificial hand allows patients to feel touch"
PTI, via Times of Oman (February 19, 2013)

"In a breakthrough, a bionic hand which allows the recipient to feel 'lifelike' touch sensations is to be transplanted on to a patient's arm for the first time in Italy....

"...Being able to feel the hand as if it is their own will allow people to use it in a 'more natural, rich and effective way,' said Micera who developed the device.

"Studies show that up to 50 per cent of hand amputees do not use their prosthesis regularly due to less than ideal functionality, appearance, and controllability.

"But Micera is paving the way for new, smart prosthetics that connect directly to the nervous system. The benefits are more versatile prosthetics with intuitive motor control and realistic sensory feedback in essence....

"...This interface holds great promise because of its ability to create an intimate and natural connection with the nerves, and because it is less invasive than other methods.

"It also provides fast, intuitive, bidirectional flow of information between the nervous system and the prosthetic, resulting in a more realistic experience and ultimately improved function...."

4. Mapping the Human Brain


(from the Human Connectome Project, via BBC News, used w/o permission)
"A side view of brain pathways, from the right. At far left is the visual cortex, connected by a large bundle, green, which connects to the frontal lobes. At centre, the vertical pathways in blue serve voluntary movement, connecting the motor areas of the brain with the spinal cord and muscles. The green path at centre is the right cingulum bundle, here seen from the side. The cerebellum, which controls coordinated movement, can be seen at bottom left." (BBC News)
"Scans reveal intricate brain wiring"
Pallab Ghosh, BBC News (February 16, 2013)

"Scientists are set to release the first batch of data from a project designed to create the first map of the human brain.

"The project could help shed light on why some people are naturally scientific, musical or artistic.

"Some of the first images were shown at the American Association for the Advancement of Science meeting in Boston.

"I found out how researchers are developing new brain imaging techniques for the project by having my own brain scanned.

"Scientists at Massachusetts General Hospital are pushing brain imaging to its limit using a purpose built scanner. It is one of the most powerful scanners in the world...."
I'm excited about this research. Science and technology are fine, as long as they're used in ethical ways. (Catechism, 2292-2296)

I'm fairly sure that someone's going to find a way to use this technology, or the knowledge we gain from it, to hurt people. That doesn't mean the technology is evil, or that science is Satanic. 'It has something to do with free will,' and that's yet again another topic. Topics. (Catechism, 407, 1730-1742) (June 27, 2012; May 23, 2012)

Not Hardwired

"...The brain's wiring diagram is not like that of an electronic device which is fixed. It is thought that changes occur after each experience, and so each person's brain map is different - an ever changing record of who we are and what we have done.

"The HCP will be able to test the hypothesis that minds differ as connectomes differ, according to Dr Tim Behrens of Oxford University, UK.

" 'We're likely to learn a lot about human behaviour,' he told BBC News.

" 'Some of the connections between different parts of the brain might be different for people with different characters and abilities, so for example there's one connection we already know about in people who like taking risks and (a different one) for people who like playing it safe....'..."
(Pallab Ghosh)
We learn - that's fairly obvious. How we learn, remembering experiences and occasionally changing our habits based on what we've learned, has been a puzzle. Scientists think that memory and learning involve changing connections in the brain: but we haven't been able to verify that. Now, it looks like we can.

I'm not worried that learning how our brains work will 'prove' that God or free will don't exist. Again, God made this universe, so honest research will show another facet of God's design. (Catechism, 159)

"...Wouldn't it be Fantastic...?"

"...[One of the lead researchers, Professor Van] Wedeen used visualisation software that enabled him to fly around and through these pathways - even to zoom in to see intricate details....

"...'We don't have imaging methods as we do for the heart to tell what's really going on. Wouldn't it be fantastic if we could get in there and see these things and give people advice concerning what their risks are and how we could help them overcome those problems?'

"The brain imaging technology is being developed for a US-led effort to map the human brain called the Human Connectome Project. ..."
(Pallab Ghosh)
I agree with Professor Weeden. This research may help folks spot problems while they're still minor. I also think that someone's going to find a way to misuse this knowledge: but that's true of anything people do. Again, that's - another topic.

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Wednesday, February 20, 2013

Ethics and Asteroids

Depending on who's describing it, and what the last few years have been like, I live north of North America's tornado alley, or on it's northern fringe. Even so, sirens sound in my town a few times during most summers: after which my family and I wait in a corner of the basement for the all-clear.

I could decide that getting out of the way of a potentially lethal storm would offend God somehow. Or I could decide that God gave me a brain: and expects me to use it. The latter seems more prudent.

We've gotten pretty good at spotting tornadoes, and letting folks know that it's time to head for storm shelters. We've even got a tsunami warning system that usually works, and routinely track icebergs to protect shipping.

But we don't have an 'impact warning system' for telling folks that something's about to fall out of the sky. I think we've got the technology for something like that: and that now would be a good time to start building it.

From the Sky: Dust, Gravel, and the Occasional Mountain

In the last fifty years, astronomers have learned a great deal about Solar system: that collection of planets, dwarf planets, asteroids, comets, and miscellaneous debris orbiting the sun. Quite a few bits and pieces have orbits that come close to Earth's. Most of it's basically dust and gravel:
"Every day about 100 tons of meteoroids -- fragments of dust and gravel and sometimes even big rocks - enter the Earth's atmosphere. Stand out under the stars for more than a half an hour on a clear night and you'll likely see a few of the meteors produced by the onslaught. But where does all this stuff come from? Surprisingly, the answer is not well known...."
(NASA Science (March 1, 2011))
The dust and gravel isn't a problem here on Earth's surface. Once in a while, though, something bigger comes by. That's where holes in the ground like Barringer Crater in Arizona come from.


(From NASA Earth Observatory, via Wikipedia, used w/o permission)
Barringer Crater, also called Meteor Crater, in the American southwest. Taken by the NASA Earth Observatory, August 13, 2009.

Happily, big pieces like that don't come along very often. Barringer Crater is about 50,000 years old, and as far as I know there hasn't been an impact that big since.

Impacts from really big pieces, like what probably helped the dinosaurs die out, are even rarer. On the other hand, smallish lumps fall more frequently. For example, astronomers say that things the size of what exploded over Tunguska in the early 20th century hit Earth every hundred years or so.

Interestingly, a Tunguska-size lump of rock exploded over the Ural mountains last week: about a hundred years after the Tunguska event; and on the same day as Asteroid 2012 DA14's flyby. I put excerpts from news about those events at the end of this post.1

An Asteroid

Astronomers knew about Asteroid 2012 DA14, and had a very good idea of where it would go.

It came very close to Earth, on a cosmic scale, passing inside the orbits of DirecTV-7S, MEASAT-3, Solidaridad-2, Yamal 201, and the hundreds of other satellites in geosynchronous orbit.

A satellite has to be 42,164 kilometers, or 26,199 miles, from Earth's center to complete one orbit in the 23 hours, 56 minutes, and a few seconds it takes Earth to turn once: so those satellites are still more than 20,000 miles up.

Asteroid 2012 DA14 came closer than that: 27,680 kilometers; or 17,200 miles. It was approaching Earth from 'below,' whizzing by us from the general direction of Earth's south pole:


(Karl Tate, via Space.com, used w/o permission)

Meanwhile, a smaller bit of rocky stuff coming from another direction exploded near the Ural Mountains.

A Meteor


(Reuters/Amateur video via Reuters TV, used w/o permission)
"Trail of a meteorite crossing the early morning sky above the city of Kamensk-Uralsky February 15, 2013, is seen in this still image taken from video footage from a dashboard journey recorder...." (Reuters)

Apart from hitting Earth within 24 hours of 2012 DA14's closest approach, and being an object in the Solar system, the Russian meteor had nothing to do with the asteroid. (Mike Wall, Space.com)

By the way, we call this sort of thing a meteor while it's still in the air, a meteorite when it hits the ground, and major trouble if it explodes over a city. Which this one did. I put links to a glossary and some background articles under under Background, below.

As far as I've heard, nobody was killed when the meteor exploded. That's remarkable, considering how much damage the blast caused.


(Reuters//Yevgeni Yemeldinov, used w/o permission)
"Workers repair damage caused after a meteorite passed above the Urals city of Chelyabinsk February 15, 2013." (Reuters)

The Russian Academy of Sciences estimated that the meteor's mass at around 10 tonnes. (as reported by BBC News) I take that to be the one tonne = 1,000 kilograms measure for deadweight tonnage, which is a lot of meteor.

Asteroid 2012 DA14 is a lot bigger, with a mass around about 190,000 metric tones. ("2012 DA14," Wikipedia) I'm very glad that DA14 didn't hit Earth.

Asteroid 99942Apophis, Greenwich Village, and Atlantic City

Another asteroid, 99942 Apophis, was in the news January. Science news, anyway. ("Asteroid 99942 Apophis pass of January, 2013," Sydney Observatory)

That asteroid's claim to fame is that it'll come quite close to Earth in 2029: about 30,000 kilometers, or 18,600 miles. The last I heard, astronomers hope that data from the 2013 flyby will let them make a very precise prediction about the asteroid's position in 2036.

As of January, 2013, we're sure that 99942 Apophis will come very close to Earth in 2036: or hit this planet. If it does, it wouldn't be the end of the world. On the other hand, there could be a lot of damage.

I ran a rough simulation of what would happen if something the size of 99942 Apophis hit New York City's Greenwich Village. (Apathetic Lemming of the North (January 11, 2013))

Briefly, the value of real estate investments on Manhattan Island would drop to zero, millions of people would die, and we'd have a crater more than two miles across near the mouth of the Hudson.

The good news is that the damage would be fairly limited. In that scenario, folks in Atlantic City, about a hundred miles away, would feel the earth shake. Then, a few minutes later, quarter-inch-wide bits of New York City and environs would start falling out of the sky. Think of a hailstorm, with gravel instead of hail.

Globally, the major effect of the impact would probably be a flurry of headlines and television specials: and, of course, the impact of a major seaport and financial center disappearing.

Asteroids, Technology, and Ethics

Hollywood silliness like "Armageddon" and "Meteor" notwithstanding, big rocks and gigantic snowballs really do occasionally hit Earth: and the best way of dealing with them may not be setting off an improbably colorful nuclear explosion.

My guess is that we'll eventually have potentially-dangerous objects cataloged: and routinely give them a nudge away from Earth. Most of the technology needed is available today; I think the hardest part of developing an 'Asteroid Patrol' will be convincing enough national leaders that asteroid impacts really happen, and that's another topic.

I'm quite sure that we can develop a system that will protect us from large impacts: just as we have developed systems to deal with storms, tsunamis, and ice bergs.

I'm also quite sure that we may develop technology for that purpose. We have dominion over creation, and are expected to be human. (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 2293, 2415) (January 27, 2013)

Technology, by itself, like science, isn't 'good' or 'bad.' What we decide to do with technology, and how we decide to learn about this astounding universe, is different. Ethics matter, always. (Catechism, 2294, 2415)

Finally, one of our tasks is handing this world on to future generations: and that's another topic. Topics. (February 10, 2013; January 14, 2013)

Related posts:
In the news:
Background:

1 Excerpts from the news:
"The Search Is on for Meteorite"
Gautam Naik, Alan Cullison, The Wall Street Journal (February 19, 2013, updated from print article of February 19, 2013)

"The meteor that crashed to earth in Russia was about 55 feet in diameter, weighed around 10,000 tons and was made from a stony material, scientists said, making it the largest such object to hit the Earth in more than a century.

"Large pieces of it have yet to be found. However, a team from Ural Federal University, which is based in Yekaterinburg, collected 53 fragments, the largest of which was 7 millimeters, according to Viktor Grokhovsky, a scientist at the university.

"Data from a global network of sensors indicated that the meteor's fiery disintegration as it neared earth near Chelyabinsk, Russia, unleashed nearly 500 kilotons of energy, more than 30 times the energy of the Hiroshima atomic bomb.

"It is the largest reported meteor since the one that hit Tunguska, Siberia, in 1908, according to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. The U.S. agency's new estimate of the meteor's size was a marked increase from its initial one.

" 'We would expect an event of this magnitude to occur once every 100 years,' said Paul Chodas of NASA's Near-Earth Object Program Office. "When you have a fireball of this size we would expect a large number of meteorites to reach the surface and in this case there were probably some large ones."...

"...The search was hampered, Dr. Grokhovsky said, by officials of Russia's Emergency Situations Ministry, which sealed off the area around an 25-foot-wide hole in the ice of Lake Chebarkul, near Chelyabinsk, where a chunk was believed to have fallen. Ministry divers didn't find anything in the lake.

"A top regional official told Russia's Interfax news agency that the hole appeared there for another reason and wasn't caused by the meteor. 'They just don't know what they are looking for,' said Dr. Grokhovsky....

"...As space visitors go, the meteor wasn't especially exotic. It was of a variety known as ordinary chondrites, which make up most meteorites found on Earth. But it is still of scientific interest...."

"NASA-backed meteor tracking system on horizon"
FoxNews.com (February 15, 2013)

"In the wake of the meteorite explosion over Russia's Ural Mountains on Friday, a meteor tracking system could be on its way.

"KHON in Honolulu reports that a professor at the University of Hawaii's Institute for Astronomy is developing what he calls an Asteroid Terrestrial-impact Last Alert System.

" 'It struck me that there was this kind of hole, that this imminent impacter risk is real and it comes from very small things,' said Dr. John Tonry said to the Fox affiliate. '“It's gonna involve small telescopes about the size of a good garbage can, but very wide fields of view and the intent is to basically scan the whole sky a couple times a night and that makes it possible for things to sneak through.'

"Tonry's ATLAS project has also recently received funding to the tune of $5 million from NASA and will be developed to precisely detect when and where a meteorite would hit...."

"...The meteorite that streaked across the Russian sky ... was estimated to be about 10 tons and 49 feet wide and entered the Earth's atmosphere at a hypersonic speed of at least 33,000 mph before shattering into pieces about 18-32 miles above the ground, the Russian Academy of Sciences said in a statement on Friday."

"Meteorite explodes over Russia, more than 1,000 injured"
Andrey Kuzmin, Reuters (February 15, 2013)

"A meteorite streaked across the sky and exploded over central Russia on Friday, raining fireballs over a vast area and causing a shock wave that smashed windows, damaged buildings and injured 1,200 people.

"People heading to work in Chelyabinsk heard what sounded like an explosion, saw a bright light and then felt the shock wave, according to a Reuters correspondent in the industrial city 1,500 km (950 miles) east of Moscow.

"The fireball, travelling at a speed of 30 km (19 miles) per second according to Russian space agency Roscosmos, had blazed across the horizon, leaving a long white trail that could be seen as far as 200 km (125 miles) away...."

"...The meteorite, which weighed about 10 metric tons and may have been made of iron, entered Earth's atmosphere and broke apart 30-50 km (19-31 miles) above ground, according to Russia's Academy of Sciences.

"The energy released when it entered the Earth's atmosphere was equivalent to a few kilotonnes, the academy said, the power of a small atomic weapon exploding.

"No deaths were reported but the Emergencies Ministry said 20,000 rescue and clean-up workers were sent to the region after President Vladimir Putin told Emergencies Minister Vladimir Puchkov to ease the disruption and help the victims.

"The Interior Ministry said about 1,200 people had been injured, at least 200 of them children, and most from shards of glass...."

"Asteroid Buzzes Earth in Record-Breaking Flyby"
Mike Wall, Space.com (February 15, 2013)

" An asteroid half the size of a football field buzzed Earth in a historic flyby today (Feb. 15), barely missing our planet just hours after a much smaller object exploded above Russia, injuring perhaps 1,000 people.

"The 150-foot-wide (45 meters) near-Earth asteroid 2012 DA14 cruised within 17,200 miles (27,000 kilometers) of Earth at 2:24 p.m. EST (1924 GMT) today, coming closer than many communications satellites circling our planet....

"...The flyby marked the closest approach by such a large asteroid that astronomers have ever known about in advance. But it wasn't even the most dramatic space-rock event of the day.

"That distinction goes to a brilliant fireball that exploded early this morning in the skies over Russia's Chelyabinsk region, which is about 930 miles (1,500 km) east of Moscow. The blast damaged hundreds of buildings and wounded perhaps 1,000 people, according to media reports. [Fireball Explodes Over Russia (Video)]..."

"Meteor strike injures hundreds in central Russia"
BBC News (February 15, 2013)

"A meteor crashing in Russia's Ural mountains has injured at least 950 people, as the shockwave blew out windows and rocked buildings.

"Most of those hurt, in the Chelyabinsk region where the meteor fell, suffered cuts and bruises but at least 46 remain in hospital.

"A fireball streaked through the clear morning sky, followed by loud bangs.

"President Vladimir Putin said he thanked God no big fragments had fallen in populated areas.

"A large meteor fragment landed in a lake near Chebarkul, a town in Chelyabinsk region.

"The meteor's dramatic passing was witnessed in Yekaterinburg, 200km (125 miles) to the north, and in Kazakhstan, to the south...."

Sunday, February 17, 2013

Still Learning to Pray

As a Catholic, I have to do some things; and I'm not allowed to do others. For example, I'm:
Being told to pray, but not be superstitious, isn't as contradictory as some folks may believe. (March 25, 2012)

If I thought I could make God do what I want by prayer - that would be a very bad idea, and that's another topic. I've written about prayer, Catholic style, before. (July 21, 2012)

Prayer and Me



I became a Catholic after growing up in a nice mainstream Protestant household. As I was learning about Catholicism, I discovered that I'm really bad at prayers like the Rosary.

I could make excuses, or pretend that I'm too spiritually mature to need formal prayer. The fact is, I've had a hard time learning how to stay focused during the prayers. I don't think it helps that I grew up without learning that sort of spiritual discipline.

That's why I'm mildly surprised that I remembered to pray a Lenten chaplet, and a Divine Mercy chaplet, each day since Ash Wednesday. Even more remarkable, staying 'on task' throughout the prayers seems to be easier now.

It's a long time before Easter, though: so getting complacent doesn't seem sensible. Not that it ever does, and that's another topic or two.

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Marian Apparition: Champion, Wisconsin

Background:Posts in this blog: In the news:

What's That Doing in a Nice Catholic Blog?

From time to time, a service that I use will display links to - odd - services and retailers.

I block a few of the more obvious dubious advertisers.

For example: psychic anything, numerology, mediums, and related practices are on the no-no list for Catholics. It has to do with the Church's stand on divination. I try to block those ads.

Sometime regrettable advertisements get through, anyway.

Bottom line? What that service displays reflects the local culture's norms, - not Catholic teaching.