Skip to main content

Of Quarks and Man



One of the areas the US still excels in is theoretical physics, at least in terms of providing formidable research departments.  So, when a retired physicist learns that his theory on "cosmic inflation" is no longer just a theory, it is an immense reward for Andrei Linde.

Of course, this doesn't sit well for advocates of "intelligent design" who continue to discount the "Big Bang" theory and hold onto their belief that all things sprang from the hands of God in a divinely inspired moment.  Most of these ecclesiastical physicists (for lack of a better description) no longer hold to the straight creation story advocated by Ken Ham, but see the earth and the universe as stretching back millions if not billions of years.  In part, they do accept scientific findings, but prefer to fill in the gaps with divinely inspired notions.

This is particularly true of evolution.  These divine geneticists simply refuse to accept man evolved from apes, and were particularly upset with Neil deGrasse Tyson's recent episode of Cosmos where he delved into the theory of natural selection.

Tyson has been ruffling feathers for years and has taken it a step further by reviving Carl Sagan's Cosmos, on Fox television no less.  Seems Murdoch and friends don't mind adding fuel to the fire of the so-called "debate" by having the science side presented without the intrusion of "creationist" hecklers.

Tyson is charismatic and brash, not afraid to brawl with the deniers.  He also has the ability to reduce complex scientific theories to layman terms, manning the helm of his cosmic voyager like Captain James T. Kirk of the Starship Enterprise as he takes viewers on a bold new voyage.


Like Sagan, Tyson also feels it is important to pitch the big ideas, seizing on young persons' imaginations.  I'm not sure if the simple cartoons work very well given the CGI movies kids watch these days.  The show should definitely beef up the graphics if it plans on holding teenagers' attention.  However, it was an excellent introduction using the artificial selection of dogs over the millenia since the Ice Age to illustrate how breeding is a form of evolution.

Most important Tyson appears to be making an impact, judging by the strong reactions to his show.  Nice to see "intelligent design" on the defensive for a change.  Here's Tyson pitching Cosmos on Colbert Reports.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

O Pioneers!

It is hard not to think of Nebraska without thinking of its greatest writer.  Here is a marvelous piece by Capote, Remembering Willa Cather . I remember seeing a stage production of O Pioneers! and being deeply moved by its raw emotions.  I had read My Antonia before, and soon found myself hooked, like Capote was by the simple elegance of her prose and the way she was able to evoke so many feelings through her characters.  Much of it came from the fact that she had lived those experiences herself. Her father dragged the family from Virginia to Nebraska in 1883, when it was still a young state, settling in the town of Red Cloud. named after one of the great Oglala chiefs.  Red Cloud was still alive at the time, living on the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota, in the aftermath of the "Great Sioux Wars" of 1876-77.  I don't know whether Cather took any interest in the famous chief, although it is hard to imagine not.  Upon his death in 1909, he was eulogi

The Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire

  Welcome to this month's reading group selection.  David Von Drehle mentions The Melting Pot , a play by Israel Zangwill, that premiered on Broadway in 1908.  At that time theater was accessible to a broad section of the public, not the exclusive domain it has become over the decades.  Zangwill carried a hopeful message that America was a place where old hatreds and prejudices were pointless, and that in this new country immigrants would find a more open society.  I suppose the reference was more an ironic one for Von Drehle, as he notes the racial and ethnic hatreds were on display everywhere, and at best Zangwill's play helped persons forget for a moment how deep these divides ran.  Nevertheless, "the melting pot" made its way into the American lexicon, even if New York could best be describing as a boiling cauldron in the early twentieth century. Triangle: The Fire That Changed America takes a broad view of events that led up the notorious fire, noting the gro

Colonel

Now with Colonel Roosevelt , the magnum opus is complete. And it deserves to stand as the definitive study of its restless, mutable, ever-boyish, erudite and tirelessly energetic subject. Mr. Morris has addressed the toughest and most frustrating part of Roosevelt’s life with the same care and precision that he brought to the two earlier installments. And if this story of a lifetime is his own life’s work, he has reason to be immensely proud.  -- Janet Maslin -- NY Times . Let the discussion begin!