Showing posts with label magic. Show all posts
Showing posts with label magic. Show all posts

Friday, August 23, 2013

Beads from an Asteroid's Heart, and Badgers

It's been 91 years since Howard Carter saw "wonderful things."

Movie studios produced "The Mummy," (1923, 1959, and 1999) - and "Abbott and Costello Meet the Mummy." (1955)

More recently, archeologists learned that someone made beads from meteoric iron: more than five thousand years ago.
  1. Knowledge from Jewelry
  2. Barrow-Burrowing Badgers

Archeologists, Treasure Hunters, Tomb Robbers

It's sometimes hard to tell archeologists from treasure hunters, and tomb robbers: in the movies, anyway. Dramas like "Raiders of the Lost Arc," "Charlie Chan in Egypt," or "The Mummy's Curse" can be entertaining: and that's another topic.

Up to the 19th century, excavating a tomb was an occupation for folks with wealth and social position who enjoyed finding buried treasure: or folks who simply wanted wealth. I'm oversimplifying the situation, of course.

Homeric Epics and a German Grocer

Folks like Heinrich Schliemann, a grocer, changed that. Schliemann was convinced that Troy was real, not just the fictional setting of Homer's "The Iliad" and "The Odyssey." The last I heard, archeologists have found nine major layers of Troy.

Trade routes, technology, and global economics change. These days, the major city in that region is west of Kadıköy. Byzantium took off as a major trade center, has been called Constatinople and Istanbul: and that's yet another topic.
  • Troy
    UNESCO World Heritage Centre
Where was I? Archeology, tomb robbers, and Troy. Right.

Scholars and Garbage Dumps

Before Schliemann uncovered physical evidence of a long-lost city on the Dardanelles, folks in Europe assumed that Homer's Troy was no more real than places in George Lucas' Star Wars movies.

Although his methods were crude by 21st century standards, Schliemann helped convince folks that systematic study of an earlier era's debris made sense. We call it archeology today. Ironically, he may or may not have obliterated evidence of Homer's Troy while digging into the mound.

Today's archaeologists have tools like ground penetrating radar that allow study of a site without digging, but getting a good look at artifacts still involves - actually looking at them.

Eye-catching objects from ancient tombs tend to get more news coverage than what archeologists find in garbage dumps. That's understandable, since most folks like seeing shiny things.

For an archeologist, though, broken crockery and kitchen leavings can be treasures. Stuff we throw away tells what we ate, who we traded with, and other details of everyday life.

Beads? Big Deal

Diamonds may be "a girl's best friend," but archeologists are more likely to get excited over finding a simple bead.

That's because folks around the world and throughout history have made and worn beads. Materials and tools folks use when making beads change with place and time.

Finding a particular sort of bead alongside some broken pots could be evidence that whoever used the pots either made that bead - or traded something in exchange for it.

More than you may want to know about some old beads:

1. Knowledge from Jewelry


(From UCL Petrie Museum/Rob Eagle, via LiveScience, used w/o permission.)
"Meteoric iron beads (center) are pictured between ancient Egyptian necklaces that are strung with tube-shaped lapis lazuli (blue), carnelian (brownish/red), agate, and gold beads."
"Far Out: Ancient Egyptian Jewelry Came from Outer Space"
Denise Chow, LiveScience (August 19, 2013)

"Ancient Egyptian beads found in a 5,000-year-old tomb were made from iron meteorites that fell to Earth from space, according to a new study. The beads, which are the oldest known iron artifacts in the world, were crafted roughly 2,000 years before Egypt's Iron Age.

"In 1911, nine tube-shaped beads were excavated from an ancient cemetery near the village of el-Gerzeh, which is located south of Cairo, said study lead author Thilo Rehren, a professor at UCL Qatar, a Western Asian outpost of the University College London's Institute of Archaeology. The tomb dates back to approximately 3200 B.C., the researchers said.

"Inside the tomb, which belonged to a teenage boy, the iron beads were strung together into a necklace alongside other exotic materials, including gold and gemstones. Early tests of the beads' composition revealed curiously high concentrations of nickel, a telltale signature of iron meteorites...."
I'll get back to meteoric iron, jewelry, and badgers, in a bit.

The LiveScience article focuses on what researchers are learning from ancient jewelry. That's important, but I think remembering that someone was buried with those objects is important, too.

Respect

We're supposed to show respect for folks who are living, and treat bodies of the dead with respect.

Autopsies are okay if required for judicial reasons, or for scientific research: and donating organs after death is considered an act of charity. I'd even be allowed to have my remains cremated, as long as it wasn't intended as a denial of the Resurrection. (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 2299-2301)

I don't know how the family and friends of Egyptian teenager would feel, or what they would think, about archeologists disturbing his tomb five millennia later.

Maybe someone will dig up my grave in the year 7226, pull out whatever implants survived, and study my remains. I probably wouldn't mind the idea of my grave being disturbed nearly as much as not being able to ask about the technology they were using. But that's me.

I'll admit that I'm a little more uneasy about the idea of my daughter Elizabeth's grave getting that treatment, or my parents' cremated remains. But it's the sort of uneasiness I sometimes experience when thinking about an upcoming medical exam.

I hope that folks will treat my remains, and those of my family, with some measure of respect. But I also realize that researchers get valuable knowledge from the objects - and bodies - we leave behind. Sometimes the knowledge is important for 'practical' reasons:

Neutrons, Gamma Rays, Exclamation Mark

"...'Even 100 years ago, [the beads] attracted attention as being something strange,' Rehren told LiveScience.

"But without definitive proof of the beads' cosmic origins, questions persisted over whether similar amounts of nickel could be present in human-made iron. By scanning the iron beads with beams of neutrons and gamma rays, the researchers found high concentrations of cobalt, phosphorous and germanium; these elements were present at levels that only occur in iron meteorites.

" 'It's really exciting, because we were able to detect sufficient cobalt and germanium in these beads to confirm they're meteoritic,' Rehren said. 'We had assumed this was the case for 100 years, but it's nice to be able to put an exclamation mark on the label, rather than a question mark.'..."
(Denise Chow, LiveScience)
I share professor Rehren's excitement. There's a huge difference between thinking something might be; and knowing something is.

Meteoric Iron, Blacksmithing, and What's 'Hot'

"...The X-ray technology also revealed that the beads had been hammered into thin sheets before being meticulously rolled into tubes.

" 'This meteoritic iron, it's very hard material that you find in lumps, and yet here we see it in thin beads,' Rehren said. 'The real question is, how were they made?'

"Unlike softer and more pliable metals like gold and copper, working with solid iron required the invention of blacksmithing, which involves repeatedly heating metals to red-hot temperatures and hammering them into shape.

" 'It's a much more elaborate operation and one that we assumed was only invented and developed in the Iron Age, which started maybe 3,000 years ago - not 5,000 years ago,' Rehren said.

"The researchers suggest the iron meteorites were heated and hammered into thin sheets, and then woven around wooden sticks to create 0.8-inch-long (2 centimeters), tube-shaped beads. Other stones found in the same tomb displayed more traditional stone-working techniques, such as carving and drilling...."
(Denise Chow, LiveScience)
I'm not sure why professor Rehren said what he did about blacksmithing, Egypt, and those beads. Other researchers found that the beads had been cold-worked into their current shape.

Apparently, cold working means: "the shaping of metal at temperatures much lower than the metal's molten state. Steel is often cold worked at room temperature." (Tooling U)

The Historical Metallurgical Society defines "cold working" iron as smithing iron at temperatures below 600 degrees Centigrade:
600 degrees Centigrade is 'hot,' but well under iron's melting point, 1538 degrees Centigrade: and distinctly cooler than your usual wood fire or candle flame. We've had access to that sort of heat for at least a million years, so it'd be astonishing if folks in Egypt didn't use fire five millennia back.

Same Beads, Different Researchers


(From Open University, via LiveScience, used w/o permission.)
"An analysis of this Gerzeh bead showed it was crafted from a space rock."
"Ancient Egyptians Crafted Jewelry From Meteorites"
Megan Gannon, LiveScience (May 30, 2013)

" An ancient Egyptian iron bead found inside a 5,000-year-old tomb was crafted from a meteorite, new research shows.

"The tube-shaped piece of jewelry was first discovered in 1911 at the Gerzeh cemetery, roughly 40 miles (70 kilometers) south of Cairo. Dating between 3350 B.C. and 3600 B.C., beads found at the burial site represent the first known examples of iron use in ancient Egypt, thousands of years before Egypt's Iron Age. And their cosmic origins were suspected from the start.

"Soon after the beads were discovered, researchers showed that the metal jewelry was rich in nickel, a signature of iron meteorites. But in the 1980s, academics cast doubt on the beads' celestial source, arguing that the high nickel content could have been the result of smelting...."
If the beads had been fabricated with smelting tech, then either they were a lot newer than the tomb was supposed to be: or folks in that part of the world had smelters earlier than we thought. Maybe both.

As it turns out, a really close look at the beads shows that they're from space.

Long before Earth's continents began moving into familiar patterns, metal slowly cooled in an asteroid's heart. As our world continued its state of journeying, some of this metal fell to Earth.

Only moments ago, on a cosmic scale, someone formed it into beads: which lay in a tomb while empires rose and fell. Pharaohs, prophets, emperors, philosophers, and 'ordinary' folks added to the sum of humanity's accumulating experience: and that's yet again another topic.

'Magic' is in the Eye of the Beholder

"...Scientists from the Open University and the University of Manchester recently analyzed one of the beads with an electron microscope and an X-ray CT scanner. They say the nickel-rich chemical composition of the bead's original metal confirms its meteorite origins.

"What's more, the researchers say the bead had a Widmanstätten pattern, a distinctive crystal structure found only in meteorites that cooled at an extremely slow rate inside asteroids when the solar system was forming, according to Nature. Further investigation also showed that the bead was not molded under heat, but rather hammered into shape by cold-working.

"The first record of iron smelting in ancient Egypt comes from the sixth century B.C., and iron artifacts from before that time are quite rare, Nature reported.

" 'Today, we see iron first and foremost as a practical, rather dull metal,' study researcher Joyce Tyldesley, an Egyptologist at the University of Manchester, said in a statement. 'To the ancient Egyptians, however, it was a rare and beautiful material which, as it fell from the sky, surely had some magical/religious properties.'..."
(LiveScience)
I don't doubt that folks in ancient Egypt thought meteoric iron was special stuff. We still do. Stories about David Bowie's famous knife, claiming a celestial origin, have power in today's world: whether or not it was made from meteoric iron. ("Thunderbolt Iron," tvtropes.org)

That does not mean that I think the original Bowie knife was "magic" in the supernatural sense. My point is that folks have an emotional reaction to objects whose origins are unusual or unique. In that limited sense, they're "magic."

I've posted about magic, technology, and getting a grip, before. Basically, stage magic is harmless entertainment: a skill involving applied psychology, manual dexterity, and the occasional obliging rabbit.

Unfamiliar technology may seem like "magic," but it's no more supernatural than a cooking fire. On the other hand, the simplest campfire is supernatural, since the only critters with cooking fires are those made "in the image of God," and that's even more topics.

Then there's 'real' magic: making deals with non-physical entities who are not following God's law. That sort of magic is real: and an exquisitely bad idea. It's also one of the few things the Church really does forbid. (Catechism, 2115-2117)

2. Barrow-Burrowing Badgers


(From BBC News, used w/o permission.)
"All the burials at the mound, which was under attack from burrowing badgers, were excavated by soldiers from The Rifles"
"Soldiers uncover 27 ancient bodies on Salisbury Plain"
BBC News (August 6, 2013)

"Soldiers have unearthed 27 bodies during an archaeological dig on Salisbury Plain.

"Troops from The Rifles, injured in Afghanistan, were excavating the 6th Century burial site at Barrow Clump, as part of a programme of rehabilitation.

"The bodies, including Anglo-Saxon warriors, had been buried with a range of personal possessions.

"Rifleman Mike Kelly said: 'As a modern day warrior, unearthing the remains... fills me with overwhelming respect.'..."
The 'rehabilitation' involved injuries suffered in Afghanistan. I've discussed respect and the dead before.

Attack on Barrow Clump

"...Barrow Clump, a 40m (131ft) barrow, is sited on the Defence Training Estate on Salisbury Plain near the village of Figheldean.

"According to county archaeologist, Melanie Pomeroy-Kellinger, it is the only remaining 'upstanding Bronze Age mound' of a group of 20 mounds.

" 'All the others were ploughed flat but this one managed to survive,' she said.

" 'But there are at least 70 badger sets - and badgers have been attacking the barrow and chucking things out.

" 'So a decision was taken to completely excavate what's left of it.'..."
(BBC News)
Not everyone was buried in a barrow, those old mounds dotting Europe. It was an honor, sort of like the mausoleums and memorials we make for outstanding individuals today.

I think that digging out what was left of Barrow Clump made sense: since the alternative was to let badgers do the same thing.

Related posts:
Posted by No comments:
Labels: , , , , ,

Friday, May 17, 2013

Statues, Magic, and Juggling Plutonium

There are folks who ring the changes on 'prosperity gospel' goofiness. The idea that faith, and giving to the 'right' spiritual outfit, guarantees wealth is a bad idea.1

There's also the persistent notion that burying a statue of St. Joseph will magically make your house sell faster or for more money. Snopes.com has a pretty good backgrounder on that bit of folklore. And that's almost another topic.

Despite what you may have heard, Catholics don't worship statues. That's idolatry, and a very bad idea. (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 2097, 2112-2114)

As for burying a statue, or doing anything else 'magical:' the best-case scenario would be that nothing much happens. The 'pulling a rabbit out of a hat' variety of magic is harmless entertainment. The sort of magic that actually works is not safe. I'd much rather try juggling plutonium in my skivvies. (March 13, 2013)

What the Church says about doing the 'practical' sort of magic is, basically: Don't. (Catechism, 2115-2117)

Driving back from seeing an industrial robot demonstration this week, I let my mind wander: a little. Driving and daydreaming mix about as well as driving and drinking, and that's yet another topic.

Related posts:
1 Individual Catholics can, and have, believed stuff that the Church says is a bad idea. The prosperity gospel is one of them. Bottom line, it's a bad idea. Here's some background:
"...The Renaissance and the Reformation have shaped the modern western individual, who is not weighed down by external burdens like merely extrinsic authority and tradition; people feel the need to 'belong' to institutions less and less (and yet loneliness is very much a scourge of modern life), and are not inclined to rank 'official' judgements above their own. With this cult of humanity, religion is internalised in a way which prepares the ground for a celebration of the sacredness of the self. This is why New Age shares many of the values espoused by enterprise culture and the 'prosperity Gospel' (of which more will be said later: section 2.4), ..."
("Jesus Christ The Bearer Of The Water Of Life," 1.1) [emphasis mine]

"...In a New Age perspective, illness and suffering come from working against nature; when one is in tune with nature, one can expect a much healthier life, and even material prosperity; for some New Age healers, there should actually be no need for us to die...."
("Jesus Christ The Bearer Of The Water Of Life," 2.2.3)

"...New Age training courses (what used to be known as 'Erhard seminar trainings' [EST] etc.) marry counter-cultural values with the mainstream need to succeed, inner satisfaction with outer success; ... some New Age devotees are involved not only to become more authentic and spontaneous, but also in order to become more prosperous (through magic etc.). 'What makes things even more appealing to the enterprise-minded businessperson is that New Age trainings also resonate with somewhat more humanistic ideas abroad in the world of business....they are likely to appeal to those businesspeople who have already been involved with more (secular) humanistic trainings and who want to take things further: at one and the same time for the sake of personal growth, happiness and enthusiasm, as well as for commercial productivity.(46)"
("Jesus Christ The Bearer Of The Water Of Life," 2.4) [emphasis mine]
More:
Posted by No comments:
Labels: , , ,

Friday, March 15, 2013

Getting Lost, a Seismometer in Space, and Viking 'Magic'

Articles comparing us to other animals often emphasize how we aren't as strong or fast as some other creatures. That's true, as far as it goes. We are, however, smart: very smart.

Our intelligence is a sort of 'good news/bad news' proposition.

On the one hand, we have learned how to deal with nearly every environment that's near the surface of Earth: and a few that aren't.

But since we don't have the built-in responses and trick senses that many other creatures have, bad things can happen if we don't use our brains.
  1. Getting Lost, Being Human
  2. First Seismometer in Space
  3. Viking 'Magic?'

Surrounded by Beauty and Wonders

I've been depressed, literally, for decades. Major depression isn't being gloomy, it's a neurochemical glitch, one that's controllable. (February 25, 2010)

But I don't remember being bored: ever. Even waiting in line, although potentially frustrating, is an opportunity to examine fine details of wherever the line forms.

I've got an insatiable thirst for knowledge; and suspect that having ADHD-Inattentive, Aspergers, or something else, helped. That's another topic. Topics. (November 25, 2012)

When I became a Catholic, I didn't have to give up my fascination with the workings of this universe. Instead, I learned why so many folks seem driven to study the physical world. Turns out, it's part of being human. (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 2293)

I see no conflict between seeking truth and seeking God:
  • God
    • Created everything
      (Catechism, 268)
  • Creation is
    • Good
    • Ordered
      (Catechism, 299)
    • Being completed
      • It is "in a state of journeying"
        (Catechism, 302)
  • We're supposed to seek God
    (Catechism, 1)
  • We can learn about God
    • By studying what He created
      (Catechism, 31-36, 282-289)
    • Through Divine revelation
      (Catechism, 37-38)
  • The universe is beautiful
    • And may be studied
    Catechism of the Catholic Church, 341)
  • Honest research can't contradict faith
    • Because God made the universe
    (Catechism, 159)
  • It's faith and reason
    (Catechism, 50, 156-159)

1. Getting Lost, Being Human

"Why Humans Get Lost"
Tia Ghose, LiveScience (March 11, 2013)

"In 1996, a ranger flying a helicopter over Death Valley, Calif., spotted a minivan in a wash near Anvil Canyon. That was ominous for several reasons: There was no road leading up to the spot, and the area wasn't passable without a four-wheel vehicle...."
The story doesn't have a particularly happy ending. Tom Mahood found the German family's bodies about 15 years later. It's easy to miss landmarks and get disoriented in remote corners of a foreign country: which is what they apparently did, with fatal consequences.

Even folks who live in an area can get careless. Here in Minnesota, search and rescue sometimes turns into search and recovery: winter is a particularly bad time of year to get lost.

A suggestion, by the way: it's easier for search crews to find a ton or so of metal, than a hundred or so pounds of human. 'Stay with your vehicle' is very good advice.

Ancient Ways and the Hippocampus

"...The story reveals how easy it is for people to become hopelessly lost in the wilderness. Humans get lost in part because we don't pay attention and have lost ancient ways of reading the environment to navigate. But humans' way-finding abilities are also less precise than the abilities of other animals.

"While innate navigational ability differs, 'just about everyone can get better,' said Daniel Montello, a geographer and psychologist at the University of California Santa Barbara....

"...Human mental-mapping stems in part from a brain region called the hippocampus, and studies suggest it can be strengthened with practice. For instance, one study found cab drivers in London have bigger and thicker hippocampi than the average person, said Colin Ellard, a psychologist at the University of Waterloo in Canada and author of the book 'You Are Here' (Doubleday, 2009)...."
(Tia Ghose, LiveScience)
Having "lost the ancient ways of reading the environment" doesn't bother me too much, at least where most Americans are concerned. Very few of us live in the wilderness. I'm more concerned about folks not paying attention: what's called 'situational awareness' sometimes.

Not paying attention can mean getting lost and missing a meeting; or wandering into a dangerous area and missing the rest of your life. I think it's a shame that so many folks seem to use their eyes to keep from running into walls, and little else: and that's yet another topic.

I have Mr. Walton, my high school art teacher, to thank for that observation about eyes, by the way. It helped me learn to see the world: not just look at it.

'Other Animals?!'

It's been a while since I heard an angry response from the reminder that human beings are animals. Maybe I haven't been paying attention to the 'right' folks.

I don't have a problem with the idea that I'm an animal. More about that after this excerpt:
"...It's also true that the human sense of direction is simply less precise than that of many animals. For instance, migratory birds can use internal magnetic compasses or sonar maps to create incredibly detailed mental maps. And many animals' sense of direction is instinctual and is genetically hard-wired.

"In addition, humans have faulty internal senses of direction. For instance, several studies have found that people walk in circles when blindfolded or disoriented (for instance, in an unfamiliar, heavily forested area), Ellard said. African desert ants, by contrast, can march in a straight line for miles...."
(Tia Ghose, LiveScience)
When I look in a mirror, an animal looks back. It would be downright disturbing if I saw any other sort of creature. I'm a human being, and we're animals. We're also equipped with reason and free will: the ability to decide what we will do. (Catechism, 1700-1706, 1730, 1951) (August 31, 2011)

I suspect that some of the 'spiritual' revulsion from the idea that human beings are physical creatures comes from very old notions about spirit and matter. I don't think God made a mistake by designing us with bodies, and that's yet again another topic. (August 31, 2011)

"...Vastly More Places..."

"...'They [African desert ants] have this prodigious ability to keep track of where they are with respect to their initial starting point,' Ellard told LiveScience. 'They have a very accurate internal odometer.'

"But while animals' sense of direction is more precise, we have a much more flexible way-finding ability, Montello said. For instance, migrating animals travel thousands of miles but usually go to specific, pre-determined locations. But humans use landmarks, directional cues, a sense of how far they've traveled, as well as myriad other cues to go vastly more places, often with no prior knowledge.

" 'We travel much wider and farther than a lot of other animals,' Montello said...."
(Tia Ghose, LiveScience)
As Montello pointed out, we travel: a lot. We seem to have been optimized for the climate of eastern Africa, but by now we live or work on every continent, including Antarctica. Granted, Earth's southernmost continent doesn't have permanent residents, yet. But about 4,400 of us work there each local summer, 1,100 stay for the winter, plus about 1,000 folks on ships in Antarctic waters.

A few of us even walked on the Moon for a few days.

2. First Seismometer in Space


(from ESA/IRAP/CNES/TU Delft/HTG/Planetary Visions, vis space.com, used w/o permission)
"Japan's Tohoku earthquake in 2011 was felt by the GOCE satellite...."
"Japan's Huge Tohoku Earthquake 'Heard' From Space"
Becky Oskin, OurAmazingPlanet, via Space.com (March 11, 2013)

"Earthquakes rattle the ground, vibrating Earth's surface like the skin of a drum and sending low-frequency sound waves into the sky.

"The tremendous shaking from Japan's Tohoku earthquake in 2011, the fourth-biggest temblor on record, was so powerful the sound traveled into space, a new study reports...."
Nobody on the International Space Station could have heard that 'sound.' It's pitch was too low for human ears to detect. The sound was recorded by a satellite that's designed to measure Earth's gravity field.

Sound Science and a Jiggling Satellite

"...The acoustic waves, called infrasound, jiggled the European Space Agency's GOCE satellite, which measures tiny variations in Earth's gravity field. The satellite was designed to maintain an ultra-stable orbit by automatically adjusting for such variations. Researchers used a computer model to analyze and extract the satellite's response to the infrasound waves and compute their frequency.

"The satellite tracked the acoustic waves twice, passing through the atmospheric disturbance over the Pacific Ocean about 30 minutes after the quake and over Europe at about an hour later. The GOCE satellite was 140 miles (225 kilometers) above Earth. This is the first time a satellite has directly recorded infrasound in space, the European Space Agency said in a statement. The findings will appear in an upcoming issue of the journal Geophysical Research Letters. [See how the satellite tracked the infrasound.]..."
(Becky Oskin, OurAmazingPlanet, via Space.com)
The European Space Agency designed GOCE to measure Earth's geoid, the surface where Earth's gravity is exactly equal. A geoid isn't 'real,' the way the surface of an apple is real: it's a mathematical model, sort of like the equator or lines of longitude.

Knowing Earth's geoid, and tracking it over time, is useful, though: for measuring ocean currents, estimating the size of Earth's ice caps, and exactly where the ocean's surface is.

"Hitched to Everything Else in the Universe"


(ESA, used w/o permission)
"...'Seismologists are particularly excited by this discovery because they were virtually the only Earth scientists without a space-based instrument directly comparable to those deployed on the ground,' Raphael Garcia, lead study author, said in a statement. 'With this new tool, they can start to look up into space to understand what is going on under their feet,' said Garcia, a physicist with the Research Institute in Astrophysics and Planetology in France...."
(Becky Oskin, OurAmazingPlanet, via Space.com)
I'm as excited by learning about the universe as some folks are by the sports page. Discovering that satellites like GOCE can serve as seismometers adds more data to what seismologists already know about how Earth's crust moves. Eventually we may be able to predict earthquakes. That could save lives, just as storm warnings do today.

In a more philosophical vein, learning that earthquakes send waves into space reminds me of one of my favorite quotes:
"When we try to pick out anything by itself, we find it hitched to everything else in the Universe."
John Muir, "My First Summer in the Sierra" (1911)
(Apathetic Lemming of the North (October 17, 2010)

3. Viking 'Magic?'


(from Alderney Museum, via LiveScience and FoxNews.com, used w/o permission)
"Researchers say this crystal found at the Alderney shipwreck near the Channel Islands could prove fabled Viking sunstones really did exist. (© Alderney Museum)"
"First Evidence of Viking-Like 'Sunstone' Found"
Megan Gannon, LiveScience (March 10, 2013)

"Ancient lore has suggested that the Vikings used special crystals to find their way under less-than-sunny skies. Though none of these so-called "sunstones" have ever been found at Viking archaeological sites, a crystal uncovered in a British shipwreck could help prove they did indeed exist.

"The crystal was found amongst the wreckage of the Alderney, an Elizabethan warship that sank near the Channel Islands in 1592. The stone was discovered less than 3 feet (1 meter) from a pair of navigation dividers, suggesting it may have been kept with the ship's other navigational tools, according to the research team headed by scientists at the University of Rennes in France.

"A chemical analysis confirmed that the stone was Icelandic Spar, or calcite crystal, believed to be the Vikings' mineral of choice for their fabled sunstones, mentioned in the 13th-century Viking saga of Saint Olaf. ..."
A block of calcite crystal in an Elizabethan-era shipwreck doesn't prove that Viking sunstones were made of Icelandic spar. On the other hand, it's likely enough that an English captain knew about sunstones in 1592. That's about five centuries after the 'Viking age,' but knowledge of 11th century navigation tech would still have been useful.

Lindisfarne, Vikings, and Me

Parts of the British Isles were Viking territory a thousand years ago. From the English point of view, the 'Viking age' lasted from 793 to 1066. I probably had relatives on both sides of the Lindisfarne incident, by the way: and that's still another topic.

'Magic,' Science, and Technology

" 'Magic' Viking Sunstone Just Natural Crystal"
Jennifer Welsh, LiveScience (November 1, 2011)

"Before the invention of the magnetic compass, navigating with a sundial would have been difficult, particularly on overcast days. Ancient Viking lore suggests that they had a magical tool to find the sun, even when the star was hidden.

"Researchers have now discovered the crystal that would have made such a magical apparatus possible. The Vikings could have used a common calcite crystal, called an Icelandic spar, to find the sun in the high latitudes where they would have had to battle long twilights and cloudy skies to navigate. This special 'sunstone' could find the direction of the sun even when it was out of view because it plays a trick with the light.

" 'The Vikings could have discovered this, simply by choosing a transparent crystal and looking through it through a small hole in a screen,' study researcher Guy Ropars wrote in an email to LiveScience. 'The understanding of the complete mechanism and the knowledge of the polarization of light is not necessary.'..."
I think 'magic' is sometimes in the eye of the beholder.

Technology that my kids grew up with, like computers and the Internet, might seem like 'magic' to someone my age.

The AI that handles some telephone services isn't all that smart: but machines I can talk with simply didn't exist when I was growing up. These days, I sometimes have to ask whether I'm speaking to another human.

A thousand years ago, someone seeing a viking trader determine his heading by looking into a crystal might think 'magic.' Then again, maybe not.

More of my take on magic, technology, and all that:

Diplomacy, Viking Style

By the way, vikings seemed to appreciate diplomacy. About a dozen centuries back, quite a few vikings had moved their families to part of the Kingdom of Siagrius called Neustria. It had a nicer climate than their homeland, which didn't take much.

I gather that eventually so many vikings lived in Neustria that the King of the Franks had to take decisive action. He told them that they'd have to take over defense of that border of the Frankish Kingdom. The vikings were happy to oblige.

Before long, they were speaking a version of French, acting like good Frankish citizens: and eventually invaded a nearby island. 1066 and all that.

Finally, another of my favorite quotes:
"Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic."
(Arthur C. Clark, "Profiles of The Future")
Related posts:
1 Vikings weren't the ravening marauders we heard about up to a generation or so back. Yes, raids did happen: but vikings were also traders, and often settled in other parts of the world. More about that side of my family:
Posted by 3 comments:
Labels: , , , , , , , , ,

Wednesday, March 13, 2013

Getting a Grip About: Technology and Magic

What I said earlier about idolizing science applies to technology, too. Treating anything that's not God as if it's divine is a really bad idea. (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 2112-2114)

Technology

Humanity is made "in the image of God." We have awesome responsibilities, including stewardship of this creation. (Genesis 1:26-31) (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 355-361)

We're "in the image of God," but we're not God, so we need tools to get most work done. Developing tools and using them to maintain or improve what we can, comes with being human. It's the sort of creature we are.

We've had some technology, like cooking fires, for so long that they seem quite 'natural.' Newer tech, like steam locomotives and the Internet, has made some folks uneasy. (January 27, 2013; Apathetic Lemming of the North (April 9, 2012))

Like science, technology is a "precious resource."1 By itself, technology isn't bad: or good. It's how we decide to use technology that makes a difference. (Catechism, 2293-2295)

Harmless Entertainment

As I said in the first post, I've got three sorts of 'magic' in mind today:
  • Harmless entertainment
  • Unfamiliar technology
  • A really bad idea
The first sort is 'stage magic,' prestidigitation, "manual dexterity in the execution of tricks." (Princeton's WordNet) It's the sort of 'watch me pull a rabbit out of my hat' thing that I've enjoyed.

I suppose stage magic could be harmful, if used to distract folks while a pickpocket exercises another sort of manual dexterity: but so could many other activities.

Unfamiliar Technology

There isn't anything 'magical' about telephones, television, computers, or the Internet. But these new technologies might seem 'magical' to someone who had grown up without them. I think that may explain the dislike or fear of new tech that I've seen.

A few generations ago, watching events on the other side of the world as they're happening, and talking with folks who are miles away, might have seemed like 'magic.'

I remember when my family got our first television set, and the first public transatlantic television feed. Today, we've gotten used to seeing crystal-clear live television from almost anywhere on the planet.

By the way, I might take dire warnings about the malefic influence of the Internet on the nation's youth: if I hadn't heard the same sort of thing about television; and telephones. Sure, we've got social ills today: but I don't think technology is to blame, any more than letting teens use telephones caused social upheavals in the '60s.

I've quoted Job 5:7 before, and that's almost another topic.

A Really Bad Idea

The third sort of 'magic' involves making a deal with a fallen angel. It's a very bad idea. Satan isn't nice, and can't be trusted. The same goes for the other angels who followed Satan's lead. (Genesis 3:5; Luke 10:18; Peter 2:4) (Catechism, 391-395)

For folks who learned about exorcism and the Catholic Church from dramatic offerings such as "The Last Exorcism Part II" and "Catholic Ghoulgirls," the real thing might seem rather dull.

Hollywood histrionics notwithstanding, Satan is quite real. I agree with the chief exorcist of Rome:
"The world must know that Satan exists...."
(CNA/EWTN News)
The Catholic Church has quite a few words to say about unauthorized efforts to control or communicate with "occult powers," but they boil down to "don't." (Catechism, 2116-2117)

Divination isn't a good idea, either. (Catechism, 2115-2116)

I suppose someone had a fit back in the day when meteorology was a new science, and weather forecasts became possible.

That's not divination: we get weather forecasts by studying physical conditions. Data from weather satellites helps, a lot: and that's yet another topic.


(from Reto Stöckli, via NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, used w/o permission)

Exorcism

"When the Church asks publicly and authoritatively in the name of Jesus Christ that a person or object be protected against the power of the Evil One and withdrawn from his dominion, it is called exorcism...."
(Catechism, 1673)
Unlike divination or magic, exorcism is authorized contact with the Evil One. A simple sort of exorcism is performed during Baptism. (Catechism, 1673)

A major exorcism is a very serious matter, and may only be performed by a priest with specific approval of the bishop. It is emphatically not a 'do-it-yourself' proposition. Preparations for a major exorcism include making sure that it's the Evil One, not some illness, causing the problem. (Catechism, 1673)

Somewhat-related posts:
1 Science and technology are "precious resources:" provided that we use them ethically:
"Basic scientific research, as well as applied research, is a significant expression of man's dominion over creation. Science and technology are precious resources when placed at the service of man and promote his integral development for the benefit of all. By themselves however they cannot disclose the meaning of existence and of human progress. Science and technology are ordered to man, from whom they take their origin and development; hence they find in the person and in his moral values both evidence of their purpose and awareness of their limits."
(Catechism of the Catholic Church, 2293)
Posted by 1 comment:
Labels: , , , , , ,

Getting a Grip About Science, Religion, Technology, and Magic

"Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic."
(Arthur C. Clark, "Profiles of The Future")
I think the same might be said of any 'sufficiently unfamiliar' technology.

Sparkly Things and Coffee

I remember when some folks were buying 'magic crystals.' Maybe some still do. I like sparkly things, and have a geode on my desk occasionally. I'm more likely to get 'creative energy' from coffee and concentration, though.



That geode is sparkly, but not 'magic.' On the other hand, the crystal block in the next photo probably is 'magic,' sort of:

Viking Sunstones, Lodestones, and Cell Phones


(from Alderney Museum, via LiveScience and FoxNews.com, used w/o permission)
"Researchers say this crystal found at the Alderney shipwreck near the Channel Islands could prove fabled Viking sunstones really did exist. (© Alderney Museum)" (FoxNews.com)
"...if you were to look at someone's face through a clear chunk of Icelandic spar, you would see two faces. But if the crystal is held in just the right position, the double image becomes a single image and you know the crystal is pointing east-west...."
(Megan Gannon)
Gazing into a crystal block to tell direction on an overcast day might seem 'magical,' or might be accepted as an unexplained but useful phenomenon: like a suspended lodestone's tendency to point in one direction.

During the last few centuries, we've been finding new uses for things like Icelandic spar and lodestones at an increasingly rapid rate. Part of what's increased the pace is 'science:' the systematic study of this universe pioneered by folks like Copernicus, Galileo, and Mendel.

Knowledge gained from scientific research has led to technologies like solar cells and the liquid crystal clock display on my desk. Cell phones, computers, and other gadgets we use every day might seem like 'magic' to someone who wasn't familiar with them.

Science, Religion, Technology, and Magic

Some folks don't like science, technology, religion, or magic. I suspect that's partly because it seems easy to get them confused. 'Dictionary definitions' aren't necessarily helpful. I put some at the end of this post, anyway.1

Science, technology, and religion are part of being human. As for "magic," I'll get back to that in another post. Here's an over-simplified look at how I use the words:
  • Science
    • What things are
    • How they work
  • Religion
    • Why things are
    • How we should deal with them
  • Technology
    • Applied science
    • Tools we use
  • Magic
    • Harmless entertainment
    • Unfamiliar technology
    • A really bad idea

Sorting Out Jumbled Notes

I don't see a problem with honestly seeking truth in the visible world and seeking God, and post about both fairly often.

As posts about faith and reason accumulated, I put a short explanation of my position and a link list on one of this blog's 'pages:'
While writing notes about that block of Icelandic spar and Viking sunstones, I wandered off on a tangent. By the time I realized what was happening I'd quoted Arthur C. Clark and the Code of Canon Law.

Eventually I sorted out the mess, and had three more-or-less related posts: including this one.

The next post is a fairly brief look at why science isn't religion: and why I think both can be reasonable. The third one's about technology and three sorts of 'magic.'

Next:
Other related posts:
1 Definitions
  • Science
    • Systematic knowledge of the visible world gained through
      • Observation
      • Experimentation
      (Dictionary.com)
    • Technology
      • Practical applications of knowledge
      • Tools
      (Princeton's WordNet)
  • Religion
    • A particular system of faith and worship
    • A pursuit or interest followed with great devotion
    (OxfordDictionaries.com)
  • Magic
    • Any art that invokes supernatural powers
    • An illusory feat
      • Considered magical by naive observers
    (Princeton's WordNet)
Posted by No comments:
Labels: , , , , , , ,

Friday, July 20, 2012

Tennessee Mosque, Fundamental Rights, and a Mission to Mars

This isn't a 'political' blog: I don't claim that one person or party is always right, and that everybody who doesn't agree is icky.

But my faith won't let me ignore civic responsibilities, so I discuss 'political' issues sometimes. Fairly often recently, since there's an election coming in November.

As a practicing Catholic, I have to think that we need some sort of government. (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1897-1904)

I also am quite certain that a government can't decide to change fundamental ethical standards. I'm even required to apply ethical standards to what I do, if a ruler tells me to do wrong: 'I was only following orders' isn't an excuse. (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 2242)

I've been over this sort of thing before. (June 27, 2012,
March 12, 2012)

My take on the week's news:
  1. 'My End of the Boat Isn't Sinking?'
  2. Opinions, and an Impending Election
  3. Fundamental Rights, Democracy, and the Pope
  4. Mars Mission, Robots, and "...a Grownup's God"
One more thing: I think that religious freedom is important. (Catechism, 2104-2109) I also think that forcing a person to act against his or her conscience is wrong: any person. (Catechism, 2106)

1. 'My End of the Boat Isn't Sinking?'

"Judge grants Tennessee mosque's petition, orders county to move ahead with opening new building"
Associated Press, via FoxNews.com (July 19, 2012)

"Muslims in a Tennessee congregation prepared Thursday for the holy month of Ramadan a day after a federal judge ruled they have a right to occupy their newly built mosque, overruling a county judge's order that was keeping them out.

"The Islamic Center of Murfreesboro sued Rutherford County on Wednesday and asked U.S. District Judge Todd Campbell for an emergency order to let worshippers into the building before the holy month of Ramadan starts at sundown Thursday.

"Federal prosecutors also filed a similar lawsuit...."
You're not likely to hear 'the only good Indian is a dead Indian' these days. America finally got around to recognizing that the folks living in North America when Leif Ericson and that other dude arrived are people, too: and started recognizing some 19th-century treaties. That's the good news.

The bad news is that the 'dead Indian' attitude is still with us, with a different focus:

'Good Guys,' 'Bad Guys,' and Assumptions

Denver News (1921), from The Library of Congress (American Memory Collection), http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/, via wikipedia.org, used w/o permissionIt's easy to assume that 'Muslims are terrorists,' or 'Christians burn crosses:' but that doesn't make the assumptions true. Not in all cases.

Yes, a particularly violent brand of Islam led the death of thousands of folks on September 11, 2001. And some Americans still use burning crosses to express their intolerance of others.

That doesn't mean that every Christian group is a lynch mob, just waiting to happen. I'm quite sure that the same principle can be applied to Muslims, Democrats, Republicans, and Kiwanis.

Love: Everyone

Since Two thousand years ago a man said that we should love God, and love our neighbor. (Matthew 22:36-40, Mark 12:29-31, Luke 10:25-30) He also indicated that everybody is our neighbor. (Matthew 5:43-44), Luke 10:29-37)

That idea spread, slowly. A thousand years ago, my ancestors were still conducting routine human sacrifice. Today I follow the man who wouldn't stay dead, and that's another topic

'We Don't Want Your Kind Around?'

Back to that house of worship:
"...The future of the mosque had been in question since May, when a local judge overturned the county's approval of the mosque construction. This month, he ordered the county not to issue an occupancy permit for the 12,000-square-foot building....

"...The contentious fight over the mosque stems from a 2010 lawsuit filed by a group of residents who made repeated claims that Islam was not a real religion and that local Muslims intended to overthrow the U.S. Constitution in favor of Islamic religious law.

"Those claims were dismissed, but....
(Associated Press, viaFoxNews.com)
The notion that 'foreigners' follow a faith that's "not a real religion," and "intended to overthrow the U.S. Constitution" is nothing new.

America has a pretty good track record for tolerance. But my country's history has quite a few examples of Americans who want to keep 'foreigners' out. (March 25, 2012)

Coming from folks whose ancestors were immigrants not all that long ago: that's yet another topic.

Even if my faith didn't demand that I respect everyone's right to exercise their conscience, I think I'd be uncomfortable about denying newcomers the same rights that 'real Americans' have.

Freedom: For Everybody

"...In court Wednesday, U.S. Attorney Jerry Martin said the chancery court judge, in essence, created a separate 'mosque standard' applicable only to someone who wants to build a mosque.

"Citing acts of 'vandalism, arson and a bomb threat against the Islamic Center of Murfreesboro, Martin said, 'The Muslim community in Rutherford County has been under siege for the last two years. Now, after doing everything right, they are told that they can't move in.'...

"...The congregation is being represented by The Becket Fund for Religious Liberty and local civil rights attorney George Barrett. The lawsuit filed in federal court in Nashville alleges violations of federal law and the constitutional guarantees of freedom of religion and equal protection.

" 'If ICM were a Christian church, it would have been granted a certificate of occupancy and would be worshipping in its new facility today,' a memorandum to the federal court reads, citing 20 instances of Christian churches that have been allowed to build since 2000. ' ... The discriminatory treatment of the mosque also sends a powerful message to the Muslim community that they are second-class citizens, not worthy of the same rights or protection as Christian churches.'..."
(Associated Press, viaFoxNews.com) [emphasis mine]
Freedom doesn't mean 'everybody do what I say.' Religious freedom doesn't mean 'everybody believe what I do.' 'My end of the boat isn't sinking' simply isn't a sensible attitude.

If I don't speak up for the rights of others: and that's yet again another topic. (April 7, 2011)

The Becket Fund is named after Thomas Becket, who got in trouble with the government. That was about nine centuries ago: and we've still got national rulers who want to control religion. (June 23, 2012, September 6, 2011)

The Becket Fund is much newer, of course. It's only been around for about 17 years:

2. Opinions, and an Impending Election

"Fox News poll: Nearly two-thirds of voters say government is the problem"
Dana Blanton, FoxNews.com (July 18, 2012)

"By nearly three-to-one, American voters see government as the problem as opposed to the solution in today's economy. Meanwhile, a majority believes President Obama’s policies are expanding the government.

"A Fox News poll released Wednesday shows that 55 percent of voters believe Obama's policies are making the government 'bigger and more expensive.' That's more than five times as many as say 'smaller and less expensive' (10 percent). Another 28 percent say Obama's policies haven't changed the size of government.

"Most Republicans (88 percent), a majority of independents (55 percent) and a quarter of Democrats (25 percent) say Obama is increasing the size of government.

"The poll asks voters which phrase best describes their view of the government's role in the economy given current economic problems. About one in four says 'government is the solution to the problem' (23 percent). Sixty-four percent say government is the problem.'...."
(Associated Press, viaFoxNews.com)
I'm rather strongly inclined to believe this, since I think that one of the best things America's national government could do for this country is get out of our way, and let us do our jobs.

I also think that that 'the masses' in America are nowhere near as stupid and incompetent as our leaders seem to assume we are.

I'll admit to a bias: I grew up near the eastern border of North Dakota, where the culture is probably different from what you'll find near the coasts.

Still: even when I lived in San Francisco, most of the 'ordinary folks' seemed quite sensible.

Assumptions, Bias, and Points of View

I've read opinions about Fox News: that it's a tool of the Republican Party, that it's in league with reactionary counter-revolutionists (no, the person didn't put it quite that way), and that they're utterly unreliable.

I can see how someone could form that opinion: Fox News hasn't been consistently praising the American president. Applying the 'America: love it or leave it' attitude of the 'good old days,' how can you trust someone who 'doesn't support the president?'

I've posted about 'the establishment', past and present, before:
As for media bias, I've been over that, too:

3. Fundamental Rights, Democracy, and the Pope

Pope to speak on 'crisis of democracy'"
CNA/EWTN News (July 16, 2012)

"Pope Benedict XVI will use his annual message for the 46th World Day of Peace this Jan. 1 to examine the 'worrying crisis of democracy,' the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace said July 16.

"The pontiff will examine 'fundamental rights' including freedom of conscience, expression and religion. He will also reflect upon the measures taken to contain contemporary financial and economic crises and 'the crisis of the institutions and politics.'

"The pontifical council said that this institutional crisis is in many cases a 'crisis of democracy.'..."
There's a bit more, about folks taking responsibility for building peace. That's important, too, and I may get back to it: in another post.

Benedict XVI's message will come on the 50th anniversary of the Second Vatican Council - and Pope John XXIII's 1963 "Pacem in Terris."

I think it's important to remember that the Catholic Church 'isn't American.' We're everywhere, and general announcements like this are for the world: not just one country that sits between the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans.

That remark about a "crisis of democracy" may not be directed at the United States. There are countries where folks have it worse than we do, in terms of responsible national governments: Somalia and Belarus come to mind.

On the other hand, I think America can do better. As I've said before, there's an election coming in November: we're overdue for change, and that's a good opportunity.

4. Mars Mission, Robots, and "...a Grownup's God"

"News of Huge Mars Rover's Landing Could be Delayed by Spacecraft Glitch"
Denise Chow, Space.com (July 16, 2012)

"NASA is just 20 days away from landing a car-size rover on Mars, but mission managers might have to wait a little longer than anticipated to learn whether the challenging touchdown succeeds or not.

"NASA's 1-ton Curiosity rover, the centerpiece of the Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) mission, is slated to land on the Martian surface on the night of Aug. 5 to investigate whether the planet is, or ever was, capable of harboring past or present microbial life...."
I gather that Curiosity is doing well: the trouble is in communication links between the robot spaceship and Earth. Curiosity is seems quite capable of landing on its own. Or should be.

Not all ships sent to Mars survive.

21st Century: Flying Cars, Not Yet; Robots, Yes

When I was growing up, the assumption was that exploration of Mars would have to wait until human beings could travel there in person. The idea that robots could handle that sort of task was - literally - science fiction.

Then transistors, integrated circuits, and microprocessors came along: along with industrial robots and Fenway, the robot hospital helper, and the Robovie series of personal assistants.

Also, getting back to Curiosity, robot spaceships. Here's a reduced version of a sort of infographic I found on NASA's website:


(from NASA/JPL-Caltech, used w/o permission)
"Artist's concept of Mars Science Laboratory entry, descent and landing."

More about the Curiosity mission:
What's news about a Mars mission doing in a 'religious' blog? I'll get to that.

Orbital Outpost, News, and Waiting

"...In early June, a NASA spacecraft in orbit around the Red Planet, called Mars Odyssey, suffered a malfunction on one of its reaction wheels, an instrument that helps control the probe's attitude in space.

" 'Odyssey looks like it may not be where we expect it to be,' McCuistion said.

"The glitch does not pose a risk to Curiosity's impending arrival at the Red Planet, officials said. But Mars Odyssey's original orbit would have given it a complete view of Curiosity's landing, so the probe had been pegged to act as an orbiting outpost to relay communications and data back to mission managers on Earth.

"With Odyssey in the picture, mission managers may be able to confirm Curiosity's touchdown by 10:31 p.m. PDT on Aug. 5 (1:31 a.m. EDT Aug. 6). Without Odyssey, however, mission controllers may not know the outcome of the landing maneuver until 10:35 p.m. PDT or later...."
(Denise Chow, Space.com)
So: this glitch may delay Curiosity's 'I made it' signal by four minutes? Or, more ominously, the lack of such a signal.

Maybe a four minute delay doesn't seem like much. Think about it this way, though: you're watching the Super Bowl, World Cup, or whatever. The score is tied, with only four minutes left on the clock. Then, just as the teams start a last, desperate, effort for the winning score: networks cut to four minutes of toothpaste and dental floss commercials.

A thousand years from now, I don't know whether the landing of another robot explorer on Mars will seem as important as the New Orleans Saints 2009 Super Bowl victory. The point is that four minutes can be a long time to wait for news of success or failure.

Science: In a 'Religious' Blog?!

I've been interested in science, the systematic study of this universe, since childhood. On the other hand, I've never been one of those dreamy, vaguely-smiling, 'spiritual' folks, which isn't the same as not caring about God:
I could be a 'good Catholic,' and think that all of creation is a few thousand years old, a few thousand miles across, and that the Sun moves around a flat Earth.

But my faith doesn't require me to ignore what folks have learned since Aristarchus of Samos suggested that Earth goes around the Sun, not the other way around.

Taking Creation 'as is'

I might not have opted to make a universe so immense, one which is now estimated to be around 13,730,000,000 years old. But God's God, and I'm not. I think it's prudent to take God's creation 'as is,' and not tell the Almighty how big it's supposed to be:
Would discovery of "past or present microbial life" on Mars affect my faith?

For starters, learning that there's life elsewhere wouldn't cause a 'crisis of faith.' Discussion of extraterrestrial life has been going on for some time. Catholics have been prohibited from saying that God couldn't have planted life on another world: since 1277. (January 29, 2012) So, no: I wouldn't be shocked and horrified at proof of extraterrestrial life.

My faith isn't the 'narrow-minded' sort that shows up in some television shows. (January 29, 2012) More about that sort of thing, under "Related posts - Science and faith."

"Your God is Too Small"

I think it's a huge mistake to insist that God is like Jiminy Cricket and Santa Claus, with a bit of Harry Houdini thrown in, as a songwriter put it.

A recent post on the USCCB Blog, maintained by the Media Relations staff of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, discussed ideas - goofy and otherwise - involving the Higgs-bosun subatomic particle. It's a good discussion of science, religion, and common sense. This excerpt gives some of the main points:
"Faith, Science and a Grownup's God"
USCCB Blog (July 17, 2012)

"...In a July 9 Newsweek article, a physicist says this nickname for the Higgs is particularly unfortunate because, he argues, its discovery might actually help eliminate the need for God:...

"...Like the author of the Newsweek piece, Brother Consolmagno sees the importance of the discovery of the Higgs particle. He explains in an interview with Catholic News Service that 'It indicates that reality is deeper and more rich and strange than our everyday life.'...

"...Father Thomas Weinandy, OFM Cap., head of the U.S. bishops' Secretariat on Doctrine, cites another issue: While the Higgs particle may help us in understanding the relationship between mass and matter, it does not explain why the Higgs particle itself exists....

"...In both the origins of the universe and the species, the Catholic Church affirms the important work of science and, implicitly, calls on everyone, Catholic or not, to a more mature understanding of who God is and how God works. It's easy for physicists (and just about anyone, for that matter) to write off religion as somewhere between outdated and laughable when its adherents insist on presenting God, in the words of singer-songwriter Regina Spektor, 'like a genie who does magic like Houdini or grants wishes like Jiminy Cricket and Santa Claus.'

"With this perception, there is nothing surprising about a lopsided commentary that couples an advanced grasp of science with an elementary grasp of God. It should challenge believers to approach their faith in such a way that, the next time something as tiny as a subatomic particle has universe-defining implications, no one will be able to say, in the the words of the Anglican scholar J.B. Phillips: 'Your God is too small.' "

"Stronger than the Ancient Mountains"


"...the things of the world
and the things of faith
derive from the same God..."
(Catechism of the Catholic Church, 159)

"...Science and technology are ordered to man, from whom they take their origin and development; hence they find in the person and in his moral values both evidence of their purpose and awareness of their limits."
(Catechism, 2293)

"The heavens declare the glory of God; the sky proclaims its builder's craft."
(Psalms 19:2)

"3 Terrible and awesome are you, stronger than the ancient mountains."
(Psalms 76:5)
I do not think the awe with which I regard God is diminished, now that we've got a better idea of just how old the "ancient mountains" are.

Related posts:
Posted by No comments:
Labels: , , , , , , , , , , ,
Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)

Like it? Pin it, Plus it, - - -

Pinterest: My Stuff, and More

Visit Brian H.'s profile on Pinterest.

Advertisement

Unique, innovative candles


Visit us online:
Spiral Light Candle  • Find a Retailer
• Spiral Light Candle Store

Popular Posts

  • A 'Saint Brian,' Sort of
    My name is Brian Gill. In keeping with the customs of my culture, the first name is one which my parents chose for me, the last is the name ...
  • Mass Murder in Orlando
    I'd be writing a longer, more detailed, post about this; but still haven't resolved some technical issues. ( May 6, 2016 ; updated M...
  • Blind Mice; Heroism During the 'Batman' Killings
    The London 2012 Olympics start today: but instead of analyzing the significance of a South Korean flag being displayed with a North Korean...
  • Elijah and Pushing a Rock
    10th Sunday in Ordinary Time, 2016: 1 Kings 17:17 - 24 Galatians 1:11 - 19 Luke 7:11 - 17 Third Sunday of Easter, 2016 by Deacon L...
  • A Catholic Citizen in America: New Location
    The good news is still that Blogger's changes haven't made images in my posts here unviewable. ( May 6-16, 2016 ) Instead of jumpi...

Label Cloud

1277 abortion ADD ADHD-Inattentive Adoration Chapel Advent Afghanistan Africa America Amoris Laetitia angels animals annulment Annunciation anti-catholicism Antichrist apocalyptic ideas apparitions archaeology architecture Arianism art Asperger syndrome assumptions asteroid astronomy Australia authority balance and moderation baptism being Catholic beliefs bias Bible Bible and Catechism bioethics biology blogs brain Brazil business Canada capital punishment Caritas in Veritate Catechism Catholic Church Catholic counter-culture Catholicism change happens charisms charity Chile China Christianity Christmas citizenship climate change climatology cloning comets common good common sense Communion community compassion confirmation conscience conversion Corpus Christi cosmology creation credibility crime crucifix Crucifixion Cuba culture dance dark night of the soul death depression designer babies despair detachment devotion discipline disease diversity divination Divine Mercy divorce Docetism domestic church dualism duty Easter economics education elections emotions England entertainment environmental issues Epiphany Establishment Clause ethics ethnicity Eucharist eugenics Europe evangelizing evolution exobiology exoplanets exorcism extremophiles faith faith and works family Father's Day Faust Faustus fear of the Lord fiction Final Judgment First Amendment forgiveness Fortnight For Freedom free will freedom fun genetics genocide geoengineering geology getting a grip global Gnosticism God God's will good judgment government gratitude great commission guest post guilt Haiti Halloween happiness hate health Heaven Hell HHS hierarchy history holidays Holy Family Holy See Holy Spirit holy water home schooling hope humility humor hypocrisy idolatry image of God images Immaculate Conception immigrants in the news Incarnation Independence Day India information technology Internet Iraq Ireland Israel Italy Japan Jesus John Paul II joy just war justice Kansas Kenya Knights of Columbus knowledge Korea language Last Judgment last things law learning Lent Lenten Chaplet life issues love magi magic Magisterium Manichaeism marriage martyrs Mary Mass materialism media medicine meditation Memorial Day mercy meteor meteorology Mexico Minnesota miracles Missouri moderation modesty Monophysitism Mother Teresa of Calcutta Mother's Day movies music Muslims myth natural law neighbor Nestorianism New Year's Eve New Zealand news Nietzsche obedience Oceania organization original sin paleontology parish Parousia penance penitence Pentecost Philippines physical disability physics pilgrimage politics Pope Pope in Germany 2011 population growth positive law poverty prayer predestination presumption pride priests prophets prostitution Providence Purgatory purpose quantum entanglement quotes reason redemption reflections relics religion religious freedom repentance Resurrection robots Roman Missal Third Edition rosaries rules sacramentals Sacraments Saints salvation schools science secondary causes SETI sex shrines sin slavery social justice solar planets soul South Sudan space aliens space exploration Spain spirituality stem cell research stereotypes stewardship stories storm Sudan suicide Sunday obligation superstition symbols technology temptation terraforming the establishment the human condition tolerance Tradition traffic Transfiguration Transubstantiation travel Trinity trust truth uncertainty United Kingdom universal destination of goods vacation Vatican Vatican II veneration vengeance Veterans Day videos virtue vlog vocations voting war warp drive theory wealth weather wisdom within reason work worship writing

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.