Gene Edward Veith Jr.'s Blog, page 214
October 8, 2015
How cells repair their own DNA
Here I am in Oslo, Norway, so I should take the occasion to post about one of the new Nobel Prizes, which are a joint project of Norway and Sweden and which are being announced this week. Three scientists won the prize for chemistry by making a remarkable discovery. They found that DNA, though determining [Read More...]
October 7, 2015
Vengeance, competition, and Christianity
Some time ago, I stumbled upon a discussion of Christian anthropologist Rene Girard and Pay Pal founder Peter Thiel. It had to do with vengeance, competition, new technology start ups, and why both Girard and Thiel came to embrace Christianity.From Michael Toth, “Competition Is for Losers” | Online Library of Law & Liberty: Girard, the [Read More...]
Electromagnetic Propulsion Drive?
A device has been invented that generates much more propulsion than a rocket. The electromagnetic propulsion drive (EM Drive) works by bouncing microwaves around, and it could conceivably get us to Mars in only 70 days, as opposed to 260 days with current technology. But it violates the known laws of physics, and scientists cannot [Read More...]
Is the 5-second rule valid?
When we drop a piece of food, we often invoke the “5-second rule,” the principle that if you pick it back up before five seconds, it’s all right to eat. That sounds pretty bogus, as if bacteria took awhile to travel, but two studies show that there is some validity to the rule. From Matthew [Read More...]
Liberal News
One of the web’s biggest news sites is the unabashedly liberal Huffington Post. Review today’s issue. Can you deduce anything about contemporary liberalism from the kinds of stories you find here? Did you find anything that you would like to take issue with? Did you learn anything that you found enlightening?
October 6, 2015
Aussie Lutherans vote not to ordain women
The Lutheran Church of Australia once again voted NOT to ordain women.From General Synod 2015 Ordination: Synod says ‘no’ – General Synod 2015: General Synod has said ‘no’ to the ordination of women in the Lutheran Church of Australia (LCA). At 11.25 this morning, Saturday, 3 October, LCA Bishop John Henderson declared the result of [Read More...]
What Christians and atheists have in common
In the ancient Greco-Roman persecutions, Christians were put to death on the grounds of atheism; that is, they did not believe in the gods. They believed in one God, but they rejected the pantheon of all other religions. Catholic journalist John L. Allen discusses some similarities between Christians and atheists today, particularly in a global [Read More...]
A better way to wait in line?
Waiting in line, whether to buy tickets or to talk to a customer representative on your phone, wastes time. The way it works now, it’s first-come, first served. Those who camp out 24 hours before the ticket window opens will get their tickets, but they will have wasted 24 hours. Researchers using game theory have [Read More...]
One of my favorite online newspapers
That would have to be The Federalist. One of the minds behind it is Lutheran journalist Mollie Hemingway. But it’s all good. I find it to be unfailingly fresh, iconoclastic, penetrating, original, funny, and thought-provoking. Check out the latest issue. What did you learn? What articles would you recommend to the rest of this blog’s [Read More...]
October 5, 2015
Greek soteriology?
I stumbled upon this post from 2012 on The Old Jamestown Church, a “Classical Anglican” blog, written by an ex-Orthodox, now Anglican, priest on the issues Westerners considering Orthodoxy would need to deal with. I don’t want to stir anything up with my Orthodox friends and readers, but the author made an intriguing point–bolstered by [Read More...]
