"Isn't it enough to see that a garden is beautiful without having to believe that there are fairies at the bottom
of it too?" —Douglas Adams
People often write heartfelt pieces about the personal history of a certain belief of theirs. Virginia Heffernan recently attempted just that on her blog, when she felt an urge to explain …
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One of my (many) favourite exchanges in Carl Sagan’s magnificent novel
Contact is that between the book’s protagonist, radio astronomer Dr Ellie Arroway, and charismatic preacher, Palmer Joss, about faith.
“Here, take a look out of that window,” says Ellie. “There’s a big
Foucault pendulum out there. The bob must weigh five …
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Science, art, philosophy: rational appreciation of the natural world
