Rants & Raves
Science + Religion
Dare to talk about religion, as we did in December, and you'll be praised to high heaven or damned straight to hell. Everyone bowed down to design god Kenn Brown, whose cover illustration won him a new army of converts. Our greatest sin, by consensus, was Gregg Easterbrook's report, "The New Convergence." Two typical condemnations: "Science - based on reasoning and observations - is totally at odds with the concept of faith." "You advocate reconciliation when you're under attack!" Some critics adopted a more confessional tone: "Any scientist worth his test tube will admit there are an infinite number of things we don't understand yet." "Muons or Martians, God or Gondwanaland, it all requires a certain degree of faith." We couldn't agree more - the truth is out there.
Look - Up in the Sky!
In"The New Convergence" (Wired 10.12), Gregg Easterbrook relies on often-used false reasoning - what is not understood by science implies something supernatural. Of course there are things we don't understand, and that's why we do research! We'll never know everything (whatever that might mean), but we do expect to know tomorrow more than we knew yesterday.
As for the theory of intelligent design: Such a designer must itself have been designed by a super designer. And the super designer must have been designed by a super-duper designer. Ad infinitum.
__Edgar Pearlstein
Lincoln, Nebraska __
Gregg Easterbrook makes the claim that science has a "case-closed attitude toward the transcendent unknown." How can there be such a thing in science? If new evidence appears, of course theories will have to be changed. To claim otherwise is to be ignorant of what science is about.
__David Martin
Limerick, Ireland __
Evolutionary theory proves there is a spiritual foundation to existence. If something has the will to survive, then it must possess something more than the matter that composes its body, for the matter would survive anyway. This desire to survive in that organized/organizing state is evidence of a spiritual cause. Darwinists are proving creationism - maybe not the creationism of fundamentalist Judeo-Christians, but creationism nonetheless.
If we know there is more to us than the matter that makes up our bodies, perhaps we can stop being tied to the dogmas of both science and religion.
__Gary McDaniel
Los Angeles, California __
If seekers of harmony between science and religion have a defining flaw, it is in digging into the murky area where current science is unknowable. The problem with that approach is you wind up with moral values dependent on a description of the world which may in time turn out to be false. I am not going to give up my faith just because somebody someday will be able to describe the physical laws governing a singularity.
So our universe has some improbably favorable conditions. There is no way to tell whether that's because it was created by a god, many gods, one of a billion-gazillion big bangs, or anything else. Similarly, Michael Behe, who Easterbrook cites, claims that organisms are perfectly optimized, an outcome that could be predicted only by design. Still wondering why guys have nipples?
There is hope for a harmony between science and religion, but it's not coming from the fringes of scientific discovery. If you want certainty that your religion is the right one, look within.
__John Limouze
Sapporo, Japan __
Gregg Easterbrook puzzles over "why the universe is hospitable to living creatures." It's not. The universe is an overwhelmingly hostile environment, brimming with explosive energies, deadly gases, and lethal radiation. Compare the thin layer around Earth with the size of the universe. Any child could easily design a terrarium that's 10 billion trillion times more efficient at supporting life.
__Jim Bechtel
Omaha, Nebraska __
Lost Innocence
The tragic story of Elisabeth Targ ("A Prayer Before Dying," Wired 10.12) does not prove anything except that she came under the influence of belief in the paranormal at an early age, and reason could not wipe it out when she grew up.
__Arno Arrak
Dix Hills, New York __
For Personal Service, Push 1 Now
J. Bradford DeLong implies in "The Slow Countries" (Wired 10.12) that Europe got it wrong by missing out on productivity boosts in the services sector. Why don't those dumb Europeans just automate like us?
Aside from the traditional differences between our approaches to automation and labor (maximize profits versus maintain employment), Americans have given up on customer service. We've all encountered infinite voicemail loops, automated sales calls, and billing systems that even company reps claim no responsibility for or power over.
When I need actual service from a US business, I fall back on the only form of communication companies seem legally responsible for: the written letter. Pity I can't do with my phone service what I've done with my Internet hosting service - switch to a European company.
__Christopher Hoadley
State College, Pennsylvania __
The Big Picture
Netflix's business model sounds like a winning formula ("The Netflix Effect," Wired 10.12), but the company's efforts to keep Paramount movies out of its CineMatch lists undermines the whole concept of recommendation engines. An alternative: MovieLens (movielens.umn.edu), developed at the University of Minnesota, is an exceptionally accurate engine that uses collaborative filtering to generate its suggestions. It is comprehensive, free, and untainted by revenue-sharing agreements.
__A. R. Eguiguren
Heathsville, Virginia __
Don't tell Netflix, but I know a place on the Internet where I can get DVDs for free: the Multnomah County Library. I just put my selection on hold at the library Web site, and they send an email when it is delivered to my local branch. Don't want to pick it up? No problem. I can have it sent directly to my home for $2 a title. What if the 742,000 Netflix customers donated $240 a year - roughly 12 months of Netflix service - to their public libraries? Now that would be a blockbuster.
__Douglas E. Smith
Portland, Oregon __
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