Plenty of water on the moon if we run out here
Researchers recently claimed to have found water in the top layer of moon soil. Sounds promising … except that the concentration is lower than you find in the Sahara!
Cultured Aussies
We recently watched the finals of the local rugby league competition. Berowra v. Manly at Berowra. Real Aussie culcha, especially the Berowra victory chant (to the tune of “For he’s a jolly good fellow”) — “We gave ’em a bloody good hiding …” Makes one proud.
Appreciation and Generosity
With my two kids constantly competing with each other, being ungrateful and selfish, I wanted to help them to appreciate what they have and act more generously. So over a week or so, here was my three-part sermon: 1. What is appreciation? Appreciation can mean both understanding (e.g. “I appreciate what you say, but I…
Three lenses of a Christian worldview
Michael Goheen spoke on Hope 103.2 Open House recently about how we can evaluate the modern world based on a Christian worldview. He claimed that three principles characterise the Christian worldview: The world was created good by God The world is fallen God is redeeming the world We can turn these into three questions when…
contra Singer
John Wyatt presented a neat introduction to Peter Singer’s moral philosophy on Hope 103.2 Open House recently. He summarises the foundation of Singer’s ethics thus: Instead of treating all human life as equal, recognise that the worth of human life varies. Value depends on an ability to choose. Take responsibility for the consequences of your…
The demise of the Church
In Science and religion revisited, Larry Buttrose voices an extremely unbalanced criticism of the Christian Church. Nevertheless, I thought this bit was well worded: Around four centuries ago, the church began a gradual decline in power against the nation-states and the rising entrepreneurial class, against increasing literacy and the reason of the Enlightenment. From the…
Carrier Pigeon
A news report highlights the slow speed of broadband in South Africa. The data transfer from PMB to Durban took 2 hours 6 min via pigeon, during which time only 4% of the file had been transferred over the Internet. Impressive as a publicity stunt, but … There is always some point at which sending…
Effective Motivators
Dan Pink spoke at TED about the disparity between what science knows about human motivation and what techniques business uses to motivate employees. There is overwhelming scientific evidence that higher rewards lead to lower performance, except in the most non-cognitive tasks. The carrot-and-stick approach only works for tasks where the solution is obvious — e.g….
Can homosexuals change their sexual orientation/identity?
On Hope 103.2’s Open House, Stanton Jones discusses the efficacy of the Exodus Foundation program for changing people’s sexual orientation. He presented research to the American Psychological Association recently that sought to demonstrate: That at least some people can change sexual orientation from homosexual to heterosexual. That conversion programs are not necessarily psychologically damaging. Jones…
Stephen Clarke on Conservatives and Liberals
Stephen Clarke proposes a neat distinction between Conservative and Liberal attitudes towards morality on the ABC’s Philosopher’s Zone. Liberals place high moral value on: Individual freedom/autonomy Fairness, equal opportunity Conservatives, while still holding to the above, place greater moral value on: Respect for authority Respect for sanctity / purity => typically some religious system Protecting…