Darwin and Lost

Lisa and I just finished watching “Darwin’s Darkest Hour”, a new PBS docu-drama on Darwin’s struggle to publish his theory. The actor who portrays Darwin is one of the actor’s from “Lost” (plays Desmond- it’s no six degrees of separation, but it makes for a catchier blog entry title). It’s very well done, relying heavily on Darwin’s own writings-letters and such. It’s gives a very personal account of his struggle to be fair to Wallace, be sensitive to the religious implications, as well as the personal struggles he faced. Does a pretty good job of summarizing the issues as well. Recommend catching it next time it airs.

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/darwin/

Help with decisions.

I just had to share this, passed on from a good friend of mine.  With so much information, the internet can be overwhelming, but sometimes it really helps simplify some things.

Wonderfully made…

I was reading an article in Discover magazine (unfortunately not available online) this morning by Douglas Fox about the work of Kwabena Boagen’s work on computer chips – he’s trying to re-architect the concept of how a computer chip should work.  The problem is efficiency: computer chips are amazingly fast and accurate, but in order to do that, they have to consume relatively huge amounts of power to overcome ‘noise’ that produces errors.  The really fascinating thing about his work is that he is looking to the brain as a model.  Consider –

Improvisation

Alex Ross, classical music critic for The New Yorker, has a nifty article on improvisation, or lack of, actually, in classical music.  Most people think of classical music (not big-C Classical music, the 18th century stuff, but little-c, generic – meaning it’s got violins ‘classical’) as staid, stuffy, and snobby.  Well, it is, in large part, but 1) it doesn’t have to be; 2) it wasn’t always – or at least not as much.  Until the early 19th century, classical music was comprised of a great deal of improvisation, and performers were expected to embellish a fair amount.  Now, improv is the specialty of jazz musicians. 

Two Visions of Jesus

Lisa and I are reading The Meaning of Jesus: Two Visions together, which is a conversation, really, between Marcus Borg and N.T. Wright.  I first read the book several years back, and it was actually my first introduction to both authors; we thought this would be a good way to pick through some of the questions and issues we have been pondering.  The way the book is structured, it’s like getting to listen in on a conversation between two well-informed experts: you might not agree with everything, but hearing them counterpoint off one another is like listening to a Bach (2-voice) invention.  It’s engaging, fun, and makes you think.

Giberson’s New Project

A friend of mine passed on an article from USA Today by Karl Giberson and Darrell Falk.  I blogged on Giberson’s book here; Falk I don’t know.  In the article, they point to their new website: The Biologos Foundation.  Looks like a nice resource to add to the conversation of faith and science.

How much?!

Great article in the Washington Post (thanks to a friend at work for sharing) on the relative value of art.  Joshua Bell – one of the greatest living violinists – dressed quasi-incognito, and played Bach in a Metro station on a $3M dollar violin.  He made $32 after 1000 people passed by; a couple nights earlier, he sold out a concert at $100 per seat.  Enjoy – it makes you think.

*Update* – thanks to my father-in-law for this link.

Atticus – An ambiguous hero?

Malcolm Gladwell has a new article in the New Yorker re-examining To Kill A Mockingbird, which I just read for the first time last summer.  Of course, I was very impressed with the story and Finch’s character as well – the everyman’s hero, the patience and long-suffering.  Gladwell calls that into question somewhat by looking at the example of James Folsom, governor of Alabama in the 50’s.  His point is that it’s not enough to have people like Folsom and Finch who are advocates of minorities, but who are also still genteel and polite in the face of racism. 

The Dark Side

My transformation to The Dark Side is mostly complete: I now have a Macbook.

Work: iMac
Home: Macbook
Pocket: iPhone

Too many forces pulling me to Macside; the Emperor, Darth Jobs, is pretty persuasive. The educational discount helped, too- oh, and the free iPod Touch.

Zen 2

Picked up The Art of Happiness at the library, by the Dalai Lama and Howard Cutler.  Cutler, a Western trained and practicing psychiatrist, actually wrote the book after extensive interviews and time spent with the Dalai Lama (with the Dalai Lama’s approval, review, etc).  It’s not that I’m interested in adopting Buddhist religion, rather I am, admittedly, cherry-picking overlapping philosophical points (I first became aware of more specifics of Eastern thought while studying Tai-Chi a few years ago). Practically, I’m also borrowing aspects of praxis that seem effective and beneficial (like meditation techniques) – I’ll touch on points along the read.