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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It seems that PZ Myers and I are in almost total agreement.
Almost. In
his response to my post on the
non-conflict between philosophy and science, he takes exception with my claim that scientists have a rather poor track record when it comes to doing philosophy:
After stating that scientists are philosophers … Continue Reading ››
Science, art, philosophy: rational appreciation of the natural world
