Death of a Dream

I have long daydreamed about building a electro-magnetic catapault in the Ecuadorian Andes. Went off to do the math this morning and realized that it would need to accelerate its payload to Mach 34 to achieve escape velocity. I can't think of ANY way to break the sound barrier 34 times over on rail system--which pretty much kills the concept.

(Maybe if the railway were airless and a REALLY BIG laser blasted the atmosphere out of the way at the upper end?)

No. I think the giant slingshot approach is dead.

Genetic Improbabilities in Genesis

I'm open to the possibility that the chromosomes of Jesus mattered. This is not a current topic in science or theology, since most Christian theologians since the early 1900s have either embraced science and ignored Scripture (the "modernists") or embraced Scripture and ignored science (the "fundamentalists").

IF the genes of Jesus matter, then the stories of the patriarchs in Genesis are a series of improbable events with clear genetic consequences.

Noah's Flood and Ancient DNA

This breakthrough may allow us to see whether Europe was colonized by refugees from a Black Sea flood.

Freedom of Speech and Religion

The man who drew this survived an attack by an axe-wielding terrorist today. He and his five-year-old granddaughter hid in the house until Danish police arrived and shot their Somali attacker in the leg.

This blog is primarily devoted to science and the truths beyond science. Our ability to discover more about reality depends on our ability to share the information we have. There is exactly one ultimate reality out there, and we aren't going to discover it by attacking cartoonists with axes.

It is better to light one candle than to curse the darkness, so I'm lighting my candle with this image of freedom, today.