Monthly Archives: June 2012

Kepler and SETI

Posted on June 30, 2012 by

The Kepler Space Telescope was launched in 2009. Since then, it has aimed its giant mirror at one small spot in the sky. Its instruments are examining the light from about 145,000 main sequence stars, a tiny fraction of the … Continue reading →

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John W. Campbell

Posted on June 29, 2012 by

The first science fiction book I ever read was Robert Heinlein’s first published novel, Rocket Ship Galileo, the story of a scientist and some teenagers who built a rocket, flew to the moon, and fought Nazis there. As a third … Continue reading →

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Justice

Posted on June 28, 2012 by

Do not pervert justice; do not show partiality to the poor or favoritism to the great, but judge your neighbor fairly. –Leviticus 19:15 (TNIV) Some say “the rich are evil” or “the rich must pay.” Others announce “the poor are … Continue reading →

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Norman Borlaug

Posted on June 27, 2012 by

According to an article in the Wall Street Journal by Gregg Easterbrook, Norman Borlaug was “arguably the greatest American of the 20th century.” Why? By conservative estimates, he saved the lives of over one billion human beings. And yet most … Continue reading →

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Misinformed

Posted on June 26, 2012 by

Last year it was reported, to the shock of many, that the astrological signs they imagined controlled their destinies were all wrong: in fact, they were about a month off. Those who had always thought they were a Libra suddenly … Continue reading →

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Turing Test

Posted on June 23, 2012 by

On May 15, 2012 the annual Loebner Prize contest was held at the University of Reading, England. It is a contest held each year that awards prizes to the computer program considered by the judges to be the most human-like. … Continue reading →

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The Teaching Experience

Posted on June 22, 2012 by

“What am I going to do?” The unhappy words emanated from the mouth of one of my students after class. It wasn’t the first time I had heard such words, and they had nothing to do with studying, assignments or … Continue reading →

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Translation

Posted on June 21, 2012 by

There is an old Italian saying: “Translators? Traitors!” The meaning behind this short couplet (the two words actually sound even more similar in Italian than they do in English) is that no matter what a translator accomplishes, he or she … Continue reading →

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Teaching Languages

Posted on June 20, 2012 by

I don’t just write books. I also teach in a small, church-based seminary, where besides lecturing on systematic theology, the Bible, logic, and research methodology, I have been known to regularly teach a foreign language. For more than twenty-five years … Continue reading →

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Knowledge is Power

Posted on June 19, 2012 by

One of the unfortunate and inevitable realities of watching the news on television is that the newscasters too often are just pretty people who read well; they are not experts in much of anything else. They are no brighter, no … Continue reading →

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