Sailing the Last Voyage with Newton and Pascal
Today is the feat of Christ the King, and it's right to consider the title "King of Kings": From his mouth comes a sharp sword, with which 'to smite the nations; and he will rule them with an iron rod.' He 'treads the grapes in the press' of the maddening wine of the Wrath of …
Continue reading "The Persian Origin of the Title "King of Kings""
It happened in Paris: Just a day after her death, family and acquaintances gave extraordinary accounts of a young woman with a 'bad reputation' who was known for her love of alcohol and cigarettes rather than devotion to Islam. Her brother Youssouf Ait Boulahcen said that she had had no interest in religion, never read …
Boomers whose brains have not been completely fried by the mind-altering substances (and that number is small) will remember the game show To Tell the Truth. In it three contestants were lined up, all were supposed to be a single person but (usually) only one was. The panel, by quizzing the contestants, were supposed to …
David Fowler's generally incisive piece on the current mess our institutions of "higher" learning are in repeats, unfortunately, a misconception that needs to be challenged. Down in the article he states the following: Relativism, by definition, must question anything that purports to be authoritative, and, of course, nothing can be authoritative if there is no …
Continue reading "Ending Authority Has Never Been the Problem"
When starting out on a major research project in science or engineering, the first thing to do is to go through "the literature" (which usually means the peer-reviewed body of articles and published books, although internet stuff is becoming increasingly important) and try to figure out the current "state of the science" (we used to …
Continue reading "The Problem with "Going Dark" in the Technical Literature"
Oliver Pritchett's piece on dumping brunch and bringing back the English breakfast has me thinking of many things English, American and otherwise. That's especially true with the upcoming Anglican Primates' meeting and Justin Welby's last throw at getting everyone to play nice. In particular, this statement from the Curmudgeon piqued my interest: And it can …
Continue reading "The Anglican Communion and the English Breakfast"
In this midst of his critique of current Roman Catholic academic "theology", Adam deVille makes the following observation: As someone trained in the Anglo-Canadian academic system, I note certain curiosities about Americans and academics. Americans turn degrees and “credentials” into an absurd fetish and repository for all kinds of misplaced faith. Holders of these degrees …
From the end of his Conflict of Religions in the Early Roman Empire: By his expression of Christian ideas in the natural language of Roman thought, by his insistence on the reality of the historic Jesus and on the inevitable consequences of human conduct, by his reference of all matters of life and controversy to …
We're coming upon Halloween, that time of year when things get scary. (I'll throw in the fact that Martin Luther posted the 95 Theses and started the Reformation on Halloween, something that Bossuet could appreciate.) In any case "ghost stories" make their way to the surface. In Cleveland, TN, that means "Tall Betsy," a story …
Continue reading "It's Time for Cleveland to Lose "Tall Betsy""
While on a recent trip to Nashville, we stopped at the Lane Motor Museum and viewed their French car exhibit. For most Americans, French cars are a total abstraction. For people in other parts of the world, it's another story. One of the most famous--perhaps the most famous--French car ever produced was the Citroën 2CV. …
Positive Infinity 