Sean Carroll argues forcefully for the Many Worlds interpretation of Quantum Mechanics, first articulated by Hugh Everett. The formalism of quantum mechanics, in this view, consists of quantum states as described above and nothing more, which evolve according to the usual Schrödinger equation and nothing more. The formalism predicts that there are many worlds, so …
Author Archives: Rob
Lisa Jardine on Her Father, Jacob Bronowski
One of my favourite broadcasters on the history of science, Lisa Jardine, happens to be the daughter of Jacob Bronowski, one of the strongest intellectual influences on my teenage years. One of my teachers diagnosed correctly that I wanted to be another Bronowski. I haven’t managed that but my adoration continues. Yesterday I found …
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How Many Colours in the Rainbow?
In the course of reading an interesting article by Andrew Crumey, ‘The Sun Does Not Rise‘, about science, religion, and magical thinking I learned an interesting ‘fact’. The scare quotes are just because I only have Crumey’s word for it. For what? How many colours are there in the rainbow? My answer was seven: red, …
The Imagination Institute
One of my theological interests is in the theology of creation — creation understood both as noun and verb — and through that, the theology of imagination. Imagination ties together my theological and spiritual interests. I believe it is crucial to giving a rich account of discernment. I wrote a piece some time ago for …
Space without the Space
Hot on the heels of the periodic table of fictional elements: an infographic of ‘the solar system’s solid surfaces stitched together’ from the guys at xkcd. I like the tiny spot on the ‘western’ border of Titan best.
Praying Your Personal Psalm
This suggestion for prayer comes from the old Loyola Hall website. It was penned by Edel McClean and grew out of her retreats for people with chronic illness. The psalms have always been used in communal or liturgical ways but they also seem to evoke very intense feelings that can resonate powerfully with us as …
“It’s the Diltihium Crystals Captain!”
Ever wondered where Dilithium is related to Flubber or Unobtanium? Someone has put together a ‘periodic table’ of fictional elements that is worth a chuckle.
The Best in History of Science on the Internet
Just launched: Whewell’s Gazette: a weekly digest of all the best of Internet history of science, technology and medicine. Full of good stuff. Curated by The Renaissance Mathematicus.
The Differences between Terminal and Chronic Illness
D. G. Myers writes a very frank article, The Mercy of Sickness before Death, about some aspects of his experience of end stage metastatic prostate cancer. You may, for instance, become more conscious of time. What once might have seemed like wastes of time—a solitaire game, a television show you would never have admitted to …
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The Sacred as Discussed by Roger Scruton
Philosophy Bites has an interesting podcast with Roger Scruton discussing his understanding of the sacred. In particular he draws upon our experience of each other to help us grasp a sense of the sacred.