A Catholic Citizen in America

Getting a Grip About Politics and Principles

2013-06-18T15:27:00.002-05:00

Right now, in America, it's fairly easy to see most positions on social issues as being either "conservative" or "liberal."

I've been called a conservative. Some of what I think needs changing makes me look like a liberal. My views are too definite to let me seem 'moderate.'

Responsibility: Social and Personal

Growing up in the '60s colored my sense of social responsibility. I was, and am, concerned about how we manage the environment. I was even in a peace march, although I wasn't your standard-issue peacenik.

As a Catholic, I have to participate in my society and contribute to the common good: particularly where I have personal responsibility, like in my family and work. (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1913-1917)

Remembering 'the Good Old Days'

I endured the end of 'the good old days,' and they weren't.

My memory is too good to let me imagine that we'd all be better off if 'she's as smart as a man' was seen as a compliment, and folks who didn't look Anglo had an unreasonably hard time finding decent jobs or housing.

I'm hardly a "conservative," certainly not the sort who seriously believes that turning the clock back is either prudent or possible.

On the other hand, I don't think that supporting the new status quo is a good idea. Replacing contempt for 'the poor,' 'minorities,' and a few other blocks of individuals with a sincere if misguided concern was a step in the right direction.

However, we've tried treating social ills by dividing people along ethnic, economic, and psychological lines. It doesn't work. My opinion.

I am not a "liberal:" not the sort who doesn't seem to realize that 1967 is history, not current events.

Local Standards, Unchanging Principles

I'm an American, living in the 21st century. I drive on the right-hand side of the road, often use forks but seldom eat with chopsticks, and wear pants instead of a kilt.

Those are accepted standards of behavior: today; here. Customs like those change, and that's okay.

Some things don't change. Natural law, ethical principles woven into creation, is constant. Exactly how we apply it changes: but not the principles. (July 11, 2012)

Laying Foundations For Generations to Come

Some folks seem unable to sort out personal preference, community standards, and unchanging principles. Insisting that a mid-20th-century style is the unchanging dress code of God can leave a regrettable impression: and that's another topic. (August 20, 2012)

The permanent rules are simple: Love God, love your neighbor; everyone is your neighbor.¹

They'll still matter, when folks see Democrats, Republicans, Whigs, Tories, Optimates and Populares as roughly contemporary.

The society our descendants live in won't be perfect, but it could be an improvement on today's. I'm cautiously hopeful that we'll pass on a world that's a little better than the one we received: and that's yet again another topic.

I put together a very short summary of what the Catholic Church says how we should run things. Authority, by the way, doesn't mean that 'the boss is always right.' It's exercised legitimately only when acting for the common good. (Catechism, 1903)

Authority
- Is necessary in a community
  (Catechism, 1897)
- Must act for the common good
  (Catechism, 1902)
(Catechism, 1897-1904)
The common good
- Involves effects of
  - The community on individuals
  - Individuals on the community
    (Catechism, 1905)
- Requires
  - Respect for each person
    (Catechism, 1907)
  - The well-being of the group
    (Catechism, 1908)
  - Peace
    (Catechism, 1909)
(Catechism, 1905-1912)
Government
- Should promote the good of
  - The community
  - Individuals in the group
  (Catechism, 1910)
- Form and method of selecting rulers
  - Should be freely chosen by the citizens
  - Must follow ethical standards
  (Catechism, 1901)

"Dust, Wind, Stress, and Getting a Grip"
(April 26, 2013)
"Life, the Universe, and Badminton"
(August 3, 2012)
Particularly
- When 'Legal' and 'Right' Don't Match
"The Status Quo Must Go"
(July 30, 2012)
"Marching Through Time"
(April 1, 2012)
"Conservative? Liberal? Democrat? Republican? No, I'm Catholic"
(November 3, 2008)

¹ One or two simple rules: Love God, love your neighbor; everybody's your neighbor.
(Matthew 5:43-44; 22:36-40; Mark 12:29-31; Luke 10:25-27; 29-37; Catechism of the Catholic Church 1822, 1825; 1825)

God's Family

2013-06-16T08:00:00.000-05:00

We're called brothers and sisters at Mass, which might seem odd, since I'm not related to many of the folks there. Granted, not long ago almost everyone here in Sauk Centre Minnesota belonged to one of two families, and that's another topic.

"That's Cool"

The reason we're 'brothers and sisters' is that we're children of God: by adoption. I ran into that idea in something the archbishop of Washington DC wrote:

"...'Why do you call us brothers and sisters?' a youngster asked ... [Cardinal Wuerl] after Mass. 'You're not my brother.' 'Ah, but I am spiritually. Because we are all members of God's family,' ... [the Cardinal] responded. After ... [the boy] received a nod of affirmation from his mother and father who stood behind him, he said, 'Wow, I didn't know that.' Then he added, 'That's cool,' offering his youthful declaration of approval..."
("The Church, Our Spiritual Home,"¹ Cardinal Wuerl)

Our being children of God isn't the archbishop's own idea. It's what the Catholic Church says. (1 John 3:1-2; Galations 4:4-7; and Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1, 1243, for starters)

Body Parts

We're also the Body of Christ. Again, that's not a new idea. (Colossians 1:18, 24; Catechism, 753)

Like parts of a body, we're not all alike. We've got different jobs to do: not that I'm on the parish payroll. My vocation is being a married member of the laity. (December 11, 2011)

We're issued different abilities, too. Some of them are the high-profile gifts like speaking in tongues, some are anything but glamorous. Administration makes the list, right after healing and assistance. (1 Corinthians 12:28)

I've sometimes wondered if I'm more like a spleen, funny bone, or appendix: and that's yet another topic.

The Right Church, Suit, Country Club - - -

Maybe you've heard folks say that they're spiritual, but not religious.

Something between indifference and dislike of 'organized religion' has been part of American culture for several decades. I took the idea seriously myself, in the '60s.

That was just after the 'good old days,' when going to the right church was as important to an ambitious young company man as wearing the right suit and belonging to the right country club. I do not miss the 'good old days.'

In a way, I'm still not 'spiritual' or 'religious.' I don't walk around with a vaguely blank smile, or think that God has to reward me if I go through some 'religious' routines. And that's yet again another topic: topics.

Vaguely-related posts:

"The Gospel According to Chicken Man"
(July 1, 2012)
"Love, Hate, and Lady Gaga"
(May 27, 2012)
"Vocations for Everyone"
(December 11, 2011)
" 'In the World, But Not of the World' "
(December 7, 2011)
"Humans are Animals: But Not Just Animals"
(August 31, 2011)

¹ Cardinal Wuerl's letter:

"The Church, Our Spiritual Home"
A Pastoral Letter on the Church to the Clergy, Religious and Laity of the Archdiocese of Washington
Donald Cardinal Wuerl, Archbishop of Washington (September 14, 2012)
(from http://site.adw.org/pdfs/PAg-1-Pastoral%20letter.pdf (June 14, 2013))

A Remote Control Cockroach, Organ Transplants, and Renting People

2013-06-14T08:00:00.000-05:00

'The future' hasn't brought us a short work week and leisurely lifestyle, but we do have cyborg cockroaches.

Living in 'The Future:' and Loving It

"...The future wasn't tomorrow, next week, next year, or next century. It was a place with a form, a structure, a style. ... It was for all intents and purposes a different land where people dressed differently, talked differently, ate differently, and even thought differently. It was where scientists were wizards, where machines were magically effective and efficient, where tyrants were at least romantically evil rather than banal...."
(Tales of Future Past, David S. Zondy)

Today certainly isn't a "technocratic, atomic-powered, computer-controlled, antiseptic, space-travelling Jerusalem" without "the curse of Eden and original sin:" but on the whole I like living here.

I don't expect science and technology to solve all our problems, but I think they're wonderful tools: which we can use to do good, or not. (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 2293-2294)

Living in 'the future,' we have all the power and responsibility that we had in my youth: plus high speed internet; prosthetics with neural interfaces; and robot spaceships. Original sin still makes our job harder, and I've been over that before. (March 17, 2013; July 11, 2012)

1. Robot Cockroaches: Really

"TEDGlobal welcomes robot cockroaches"
Jane Wakefield, TEDGlobal, via BBC News (June 10, 2013)

"A project aimed at creating cyborg cockroaches is being launched at the TEDGlobal conference in Edinburgh.

"The insects, intended as a neuroscience learning tool, are controlled via a mobile phone....

"...The cyborg insect is created by attaching a backpack that communicates directly with neurons in the cockroach's antennae.

"The neurons convey information back to the insect's brain using electricity.

"The cockroach needs to undergo what ... [neuroscientist Greg] ... Gage calls 'short surgery under anaesthetic' in order to have wires placed inside the antennae.

"Then the backpack can be placed on the insect and its movements controlled via a mobile phone or other device.

"The backpack communicates directly with neurons in the cockroach's antennae, allowing users to set the direction in which the insect moves...."

There might be a market for remote-control cockroaches, maybe as a game called Roach Race?

More to the point, this cockroach cyborg demonstrates how cochlear implants work and other gadgets with neural interfaces. Greg Gage says that the cyber-roach is useful for research, too.

Roach Rights

"...He said that the team had thought a lot about the ethics of using insects in this way.

" 'We are pretty certain that this doesn't impose pain on the insect and they still have free will because they adapt very quickly and ignore the stimulation,' he said.

"However the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RSPCA) has now told the BBC it has concerns...."
(Jane Wakefield, TEDGlobal, via BBC News)

I'm concerned about how cockroaches get treated. As a Catholic, I have to. Cockroaches, and all animals, are under our dominion: but they're God's property. (Catechism, 2415-2418)

Our dominion over this world comes with responsibilities. Using animals is part of our job as stewards. We're even allowed to enjoy leisure time with critters: provided that we don't misuse creatures placed in our care.

'Loving animals' is fine, as long as it doesn't replace love for people:

"God entrusted animals to the stewardship of those whom he created in his own image.¹⁹⁸ Hence it is legitimate to use animals for food and clothing. They may be domesticated to help man in his work and leisure. Medical and scientific experimentation on animals is a morally acceptable practice if it remains within reasonable limits and contributes to caring for or saving human lives.

"It is contrary to human dignity to cause animals to suffer or die needlessly. It is likewise unworthy to spend money on them that should as a priority go to the relief of human misery. One can love animals; one should not direct to them the affection due only to persons."
(Catechism, 2417-2418)

Cockroaches and Free Will

I take what Greg Gage said about cockroaches and free will with a grain of salt. ("...they still have free will because they adapt very quickly and ignore the stimulation.")

Humans have free will. We can decide to act, or not to act. This is great, but again comes with responsibilities. (Catechism, 1730-1738)

I don't think that cockroaches are people. They don't have our sort of "free will." On the other hand, they apparently have enough neurons to identify irrelevant sensory input and learn to ignore it.

2. New Lungs: Waiting for Good News

"Sarah Murnaghan gets lung transplant"
BBC News (June 12, 2013)

"A severely ill 10-year-old girl to whom a US judge granted a prime spot on the adult transplant list despite her youth has received a new set of lungs.

"Sarah Murnaghan's family said they were 'thrilled' the six-hour surgery to implant adult lungs went smoothly and that she had done 'extremely well'.

"The family had challenged a US policy relegating under-12s to the bottom of the adult organ donation list....

"...Children under 12 have priority for paediatric lung donations, but far fewer paediatric lungs are donated than adult lungs...."

I'm very happy for Sarah Murnaghan and her family. It's good that she has a chance of surviving childhood.

I also think her parents did the right thing, trying to change the rules so that their daughter could have a chance for survival.

That said, I recognize that this isn't a simple situation. Back to the BBC article.

"...About 30 children under the age of 11 are on the waiting list for a lung transplant, according to the Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network, out of a total of 1,650 potential lung recipients.

"Last week, US District Judge Michael Baylson, who is independent of the Obama administration, ruled Sarah and another child at Children's Hospital in Philadelphia, 11-year-old Javier Acosta, eligible for a better spot on the adult list...."
(BBC News)

Health and Hard Decisions

Putting organ transplants in perspective, here's about how many folks were waiting for organs in the United States this week:

Kidney: 96,555
Pancreas: 1,180
Kidney/Pancreas: 2,089
Liver: 15,736
Intestine: 264
Heart: 3,506
Lung: 1,650
Heart/Lung: 46
(Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network, via BBC News)

If I could, I'd just wave my hand and have all those folks be cured: right now. I can't. That's not the way things work. Right now, we are have to make hard decisions.

"...Some analysts warned the intervention of politicians and judges in the cases would set a dangerous precedent.

"Dr Arthur Caplan, a bioethicist at New York University Langone Medical Center, said children fared worse than adults after lung transplants, one of the reasons for the existing policy.

" 'In general, the road to a transplant is still to let the system decide who will do best with scarce, lifesaving organs,' Dr Caplan said.

" 'And it's important that people understand that money, visibility, being photogenic... are factors that have to be kept to a minimum if we're going to get the best use out of the scarce supply of donated cadaver organs.'..."
(BBC News)

Again, I think Sarah Murnaghan's parents did the right thing, trying to get a new set of lungs for their daughter. That's what parents are supposed to do: care for their children.

I even think changing the rules for matching organ donors and recipients may have been a good idea. Offhand, I can't see ethical problems with people under 12 getting considered as recipients for organs from folks who are over 12.

However, I agree that "money, visibility, being photogenic" do not seem like good reasons for deciding who gets an organ transplant and who doesn't. Balancing risk to the donor with potential benefit to the person getting the transplant is important is important, and I'll get back to that. (Catechism, 2296)

Remembering 'the Good Old Days'

"Dying girl intubated as she awaits lung transplant"
FoxNews.com (June 10, 2013)

"Sarah Murnaghan, the dying 10-year-old Pennsylvania girl awaiting a lung transplant, was intubated on Saturday after she experienced additional trouble breathing.

"A federal court judge granted a temporary order on June 5 that will allow Sarah, who has cystic fibrosis and desperately needs new lungs, to join an adult organ transplant list...."

I remember the 'good old days' when organ transplants were literally science fiction. I don't mind living in 'the future:' at all. Today's world isn't perfect, but I remember the 'good old days.'

As I've said before, donating organs on or after death is a good idea, and organ transplants are fine: as long as we don't kill one person to help another. As usual, ethics apply. (Catechism, 2296)

Ventilators, Rules, and Waiting Lists

"...Sarah required intubation on Saturday due to difficulty breathing, but since then, her condition has improved, according to a statement from her mother, Janet Murnaghan.

" 'Sarah's heart has been the biggest win since intubation. Her pulmonary hypertension, caused by lung disease, has greatly improved with the ventilator,' Janet stated. 'All her other organs are fairing well. She is a great, strong candidate for transplant still. Come on lungs!'

"Judge Michael Baylson made his ruling after hearing oral arguments on a federal lawsuit filed by Sarah's parents, challenging the 'Under 12 Rule' that was keeping the 10-year-old off the adult transplant list...."

I'm happy for Sarah and her family: even though her being on the 'adult' waiting list may reduce the odds of someone else getting a replacement lung. Folks may eventually be able to get made-to-order replacement organs, and that's another topic. (May 3, 2013, March 8, 2013)

3. Renting Women: Problems With Surrogate Pregnancy

"Surrogate pregnancy bill in DC draws criticism"
Mary Reza, CNA/EWTN News (June 8, 2013)

"A lack of information about the dangers of surrogate pregnancy could soon allow the practice to become legal in Washington, D.C., warned the founder of one bioethics organization.

" 'These issues aren't on anyone's radar,' said Jennifer Lahl, president of the Center for Bioethics and Culture. 'By and large people have accepted third party reproduction. It's not seen as controversial…because people are woefully misinformed.'

"Lahl told CNA that the average person sees nothing wrong with surrogacy, which is the practice of a woman carrying and delivering a baby for someone else. This could explain the lack of opposition to a new bill in that nation's capital, she said.

"Legislation introduced June 3 by D.C. Councilman David Catania would legalize surrogacy in the district. If passed, it would wipe away current local legislation prohibiting surrogacy contracts, which carry penalties of up to $10,000 in fines or a year in jail...."

Adoption can be a very good idea. (Catechism, 2379)

On the other hand, nobody has a "right" to own a child. For starters, children are people, not property. (Catechism, 2378)

I'm not terribly surprised that hiring women to be a sort of second-class temporary wife isn't raising many eyebrows. Americans have other economic, social, and political issues that are also important: and I strongly suspect that quite a few of us haven't thought through what paying a woman for the use of her body implies.

Mother and Child

"...Lahl, who worked as a pediatric nurse for 20 years, said most people are unaware of the negative repercussions of surrogacy. She noted that concerns with legalized surrogacy include a lack of research in the field and a failure to consider the impact on the child and the woman whose womb is being 'rented.'

"One of the biggest concerns, she warned, is that the relationship between a mother and a child in her womb is ignored.

" 'So much is going on in that womb,' Lahl explained. 'The surrogate mom and child will be linked genetically, and there's so much we're learning about genetic diseases and how much the womb plays into that child's health.'..."
(Mary Reza, CNA/EWTN News)

There's more going on in our first nine months of life than physical growth. We're people, at any age: and we're never away from our mother until we're born.

Rent-a-Body: Money Talks

"...'Newborns know one thing - they know who their mother is,' she said. 'I've known of mothers who sing to their children in the womb or read them books - what happens when you tell a mother to intentionally not bond with a child in their womb?'..."

"...However, as part of a new documentary for the Center for Bioethics and Culture, Lahl has interviewed numerous women who were surrogate mothers. By and large, she said, surrogate women 'are women who have financial need - wealthy women are going to be buying the surrogacy contract.'

"...Raising concerns over the practice of paying women in order to 'rent' their bodies and produce children, Lahl argued that women and children end up being exploited...."
(Mary Reza, CNA/EWTN News)

Being wealthy, or poor, isn't a problem. Using wealth to buy or rent people: That's a problem.(Catechism, 1936-1938, 2414)

Treating People as Property

"...Surrogacy comes in two forms: traditional surrogacy, when the surrogate mother's own egg is fertilized and implanted in her womb, and gestational surrogacy, when the commissioning woman's egg is fertilized and then implanted into the surrogate mother's womb.

"The bill proposed in D.C. allows for both kinds of surrogacy, though there is a legal tendency to favor gestational surrogacy, Lahl said.

" 'That is the way most surrogacy is moving,' she [Lahl] cautioned. 'They don't want the birth mother to claim any rights to the child, they want her to just be the "oven." They keep deconstructing who "owns" that child.'

"Lahl said this language of surrogacy laws should be enough to cause people to pause.

" 'This is a contract, we're discussing who "owns it" - even though we're dealing with a child,' she said.

" 'They're only thinking about goods and services,' she warned. 'Nobody's thinking about the child.' "
(Mary Reza, CNA/EWTN News)

I could quibble about Reza's saying that "nobody's thinking about the child," since she's obviously doing so: but that would be, well, quibbling.

An important point here is that America is very quietly getting back to the 'good old days,' when some sorts of people were property. Like I've said before, I don't miss the 'good old days.'

Surrogate pregnancy isn't a particularly new idea, by the way. Abraham and Sarah used Hagar that way. (Genesis 16:1-12; 21:9-21)

We're still dealing with the domestic disturbance that the Abraham/Sarah/Hagar/Ishmael/Isaac situation started, and that's yet another topic:

"Arabs, Jews, Israel, Islam, and More: 11,000 Years of History In 800 Words"
(October 8, 2007)

Families and Adoption

My wife and I had no trouble conceiving children. Keeping them alive was another matter: we lost two of our six in the first nine months, and nearly lost my wife when the second one died.

Not everyone has as happy a situation as we do. Some couples who want to have children can't conceive. That's a very difficult situation, but is not a case of God punishing someone. (footnote 3, Luke 1)

Research aimed at reducing human sterility is a good idea. So is adoption. But, as with anything else we do, ethics apply. (Catechism, 2373-2379)

Related posts:

Science
- "EEK! Mice With Breakaway Skin!"
  Apathetic Lemming of the North (June 13, 2013)
- "Popes; Earth's Past; and a High-Tech Eye Implant"
  (March 1, 2013)
- "Tornadoes, Trusting God, and Planning Ahead"
  (May 22, 2013)
- " '...The Man With the X-Ray Eyes,' the Tuskegee Experiment, and Seeking God"
  (February 10, 2013)
- "A Flu Epidemic, Common Sense, and Mathew 22:36-40"
  (January 12, 2013)
Medicine
- "Courtney Nash, Organ Transplants, and Bingo"
  (August 15, 2011)
- "Another Face Transplant: Yes, it's Okay"
  (June 11, 2011)
- "Christina Green, Organ Transplants, and Rules"
  (January 16, 2011)
- "Organ Transplants, a Boy's Life, and Japanese Laws and Customs: This Catholic's View"
  (June 14, 2009)
- "Face Transplant: We Can Do it, But is it Right?"
  (May 6, 2009)
Family
- "Authentic Development, Kids, and the Hypothetical Case of Yougaria"
  (August 15, 2012)
- " 'The Beauty of Marriage and the Family' "
  (August 27, 2012)
- "Natural Family Planning and Future Generations"
  (July 29, 2012)
- "Population Explosion, Birth Dearth, and a Changing World"
  (June 9, 2012)
- " 'Without Children there is no Future' "
  (February 19, 2012)

"A Writer Who is Catholic"

2013-06-09T08:00:00.000-05:00

My #3 daughter has some of my qualities: and attitudes. For example, a few days ago she vented frustration about writers, faith, and assumptions.

When folks learn she's a writer, they'll often say something like 'oh, good: we need more Catholic writers.'

That's when she says something like, "I'm a writer who is Catholic, not a 'Catholic writer.' "

I know what she means. She isn't writing another 'lives of the Saints,' or book of prayers. She's a Catholic who writes.

"The Book has Not Been Baptized"

The bulk of what she writes is a series of speculative fiction stories.

These stories are not, by any reasonable standard, "Catholic." Religion of any sort isn't a part of the stories. Like the fellow said, "the book has not been baptized."

That doesn't bother me a bit.

Telling the Truth

The 'good guys' in her stories may mean well, but sometimes do bad things: even by their standards. Her 'bad guys' do emphatically bad things, but at least one of them had been forced to behave badly.

This doesn't bother me, either.

She's writing about human (more or less) beings who are not perfect. Her fictional characters cope, or fail to cope, with that ancient wound we call original sin.¹

I think there's value in telling stories where people act like people, decisions influence actions, and actions have consequences. Stories can show how reality works without getting 'preachy.'

I think there's also value in discussing original sin, God, and cultural quirks, and that's another topic. (July 11, 2012)

Torment, Angst, and Me

I won't torment myself because labels like 'Catholic writer' or 'Christian author' don't quite fit me.

That sort of angsty approach works for Narcissus-X, a wannabe (and fictional) artist with entirely too much self-esteem. I don't, however, recommend it for real people.

Doing What Seems Reasonable

I also won't claim that being a 'Catholic writer' is wrong. That would be as silly as saying everybody has to speak in tongues.

1 Corinthians 12 makes it pretty clear that we're not supposed to be cookie cutter Christians, and I've been over that before. (June 1, 2011)

There's probably still a need for 'Catholic writers.' Some folks seem to like nice imitations of old-fashioned books, or collections of pithy and edifying sayings.

If I thought that's what I should do, I'd be a 'Catholic writer.' What I'm doing now seems like a better use of my abilities.

It's not that I had some dramatic revelation where the skies opened and a squadron of angels flew by, trailing a banner reading "Brian, Thou Shalt Be A Writer." I love language, enjoy digging up facts, and want to share what I'm learning about God and this wonder-filled creation. Writing seems like the reasonable thing to do.

I could sit around and wait for a 'road to Damascus' experience, but those don't come very often, and that's yet another topic.

Somewhat-related posts, about being:

Creative
- "Still Shining in the Darkness: or, Be Not Afraid of Geekness"
  (August 22, 2012)
- "Art and Being Catholic"
  (July 15, 2012)
- "The Important Idea, Charisms, and Working With What I've Got"
  (June 24, 2012)
- "Art, Catholic Teachings, and This Catholic"
  (August 9, 2010)
- " 'The Body of This' - Short Story Collection by a Catholic Writer"
  (June 15, 2009)
Catholic
- "A Billion Ways to be Catholic, and the Spiderman Principle"
  (December 9, 2012)
- "Faith and Obedience"
  (March 25, 2012)
- "Singing Nuns, Catholic Ghoulgirls, Stereotypes, and Me"
  (January 15, 2012)
- "Horses, Gothic Cathedrals, and a Faith That Matters"
  (July 9, 2011)
- "Speaking in Tongues and Getting a Grip"
  (June 1, 2011)

Background, sort of:

"Instrumentyum laboris"
The New Evangelization for the Transmission of the Christian Faith
Synod of Bishops XIII Ordinary General Assembly (June 19, 2012)
(from http://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/synod/documents/rc_synod_doc_20120619_instrumentum-xiii_en.pdf (June 8, 2013))
"Living the Gospel of Life: A Challenge to American Catholics"
A Statement by the Catholic Bishops of the United States (1998)

¹ Original sin is a fact of life. Each of us is basically good, but deal with fallout from a really bad decision. We're out of harmony with creation and God. (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 374, 396-412)

Planets, Space-Time Bubbles, and Turtle Shells

2013-06-07T08:00:00.000-05:00

I'm focusing on what we're learning about creation again: planets circling other stars; our part of this galaxy; how this universe works; and how turtles got shells.

Still Learning

I like living in a world where we're discovering new planets on a regular basis, and learning that we may not live in the only universe. (May 30, 2013)

The idea that folks didn't have all the answers a thousand years ago, or in 1800, doesn't bother me. My faith doesn't depend on knowing that Titan has hydrocarbon lakes, but it isn't threatened by truth, either:

"Seeking Truth, Accepting Vastness"
(April 2, 2013)
"Designed as Stewards"
(March 17, 2013)
"Taking Life a Thousand Years at a Time"
(June 10, 2012)
"Genesis, Optimus Prime, and Victorian America"
(April 10, 2012)

As far as the Catholic Church is concerned, faith and reason get along just fine: and seeking truth is a good idea. (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 35, 2104)

1. Getting a Better Look at Kepler's Planets

"Planets Found by Kepler Spacecraft Likely Larger Than Thought"
Miriam Kramer, Space.com (June 4, 2013)

"A large number of worlds found by NASA's Kepler alien planet-hunting space telescope are probably significantly larger than scientists previously estimated, a new study suggests.

"The Kepler Space Telescope has spotted more than 2,700 potential exoplanets since its launch in 2009, and scientists using the Kitt Peak National Observatory Mayall 4-meter telescope have categorized the home stars of many of those planet candidates for the past three years. In particular, the researchers made detailed follow-up observations of 300 of the stars Kepler found likely to be harboring exoplanets.

" 'One of the main findings of this initial work is that our observations indicate that most of the stars we observed are slightly larger than previously thought and one quarter of them are at least 35 percent larger,' astronomer and leader of the study Mark Everett said in a statement. 'Therefore, any planets orbiting these stars must be larger and hotter as well. By implication, these new results reduce the number of candidate Earth-size planet analogues detected by Kepler.' [Gallery: A World of Kepler Planets]..."

The Kepler Space Telescope is what the National Optical Astronomy Observatory's David Silva calls a "discovery machine." Its main job in this case is to find planets.

Astronomers using other telescopes will follow up with observations and analysis to learn more about the newly-discovered planets, and the stars they circle.

I'm a little disappointed that the new data means there are fewer Earth-size planets in the current roster from Kepler. On the other hand, I like knowing more about Earth's 'neighborhood,' and we're discovering lots of new planets.

2. Bubbles of Space-Time

"Multiverse or Universe? Physicists Debate"
Marshall Honorof, Space.com (June 4, 2013)

"Whether you believe our universe is unique or one of many coexisting realities, there's a scientific model that backs up your views. Cosmologists on both sides debated the issue June 1 here at the 'Multiverse: One Universe or Many?' panel at the World Science Festival.

" 'Is the multiverse idea something that's implied by deficiencies in existing cosmological theories, or is it something some scientists need to help them explain certain unresolvable problems in existing theory?' journalist John Hockenberry asked, acting as moderator to scientists Andreas Albrecht, Alan Guth, Andrei Linde, and Neil Turok, who took the stage at New York University's Skirball Center for the Performing Arts.

"The possibility of a multiverse is raised by the theory of cosmic inflation. This idea posits that the universe grew exponentially in the first fraction of a second following the Big Bang, expanding even faster than the speed of light. Some versions of this theory suggest that certain areas of the universe expanded faster than others, creating separate bubbles of space-time that might have developed into their own universes. [5 Reasons We May Live in a Multiverse]..."

"Bubbles of space-time" reminded me of this old song:

"I'm forever blowing bubbles,
Pretty bubbles in the air,
They fly so high,
Nearly reach the sky,
Then like my dreams,
They fade and die...."
("I'm Forever Blowing Bubbles," chorus, James Kendis, James Brockman, Nat Vincent (1919))

I've never seen the musical that "Bubbles" was written for, have seen "The Public Enemy," where it was used as theme music, and none of the above have much to do with cosmology, the study of this universe's development.

Making Sense

This is where I could write something morose about entropy, Ecclesiastes, and the futility of pretty much everything. Granted, this creation is a temporary affair: and that's almost another topic.

Or I could try a 'sophisticated' approach and say how silly Christianity is, since Christians (presumably) believe the world is a hollow dome submerged in a vast ocean: Genesis 1:6-7 and all that. I checked earlier this week: and ran into several apparently-serious discussions of this 'Biblical' belief.

Like I've said before, I can see why born-again atheists claim that Christians are Luddite dolts.

Christians apparently striving to prove the same thing just doesn't make sense. Not to me.

Blowing Bubbles and the Big Picture

Being the sort of person I am, reading "bubbles of space-time" started me thinking of an old sentimental tune and a Cagney gangster movie. Then I imagined the Almighty: blowing bubbles.

Not that there's much of a comparison between the song's dreams and what God does, and I've been over that already. (March 5, 2012)

3. Lots More Room in the Local Arm

(Robert Hurt, IPAC; Bill Saxton, NRAO/AUI/NSF, via Space.com, used w/o permission)
"Old picture: Local Arm a small 'spur' of Milky Way...."

(Robert Hurt, IPAC; Bill Saxton, NRAO/AUI/NSF, via Space.com, used w/o permission)
"...New picture: Local Arm probable major branch of Perseus Arm..."

"Milky Way's Local Arm Larger Than Previously Thought"
Miriam Kramer, Space.com (June 3, 2013)

"Our home in the Milky Way could be much larger than ever thought before, according to a new study.

"Astronomers using the National Science Foundation's Very Long Baseline Array (VLBA) found that the area of the galaxy that holds Earth and the rest of the solar system is a prominent feature of the spiral galaxy.

"The solar system exists in a part of the galaxy known as the Local Arm. Until now, scientists thought that this particular part of the Milky Way was just a tiny spur between two large branches known as the Sagittarius and Perseus arms...."

The article gives a pretty good description of how parallax works, says that the Local Arm is probably around 16,000 light years wide, and probably won't make a bit of difference in how much your electric bill will be next month.

A few centuries or millennia from now, maps of stellar density in our part of this galaxy might be important for real estate developers and travel agencies: or whoever is interested in places people haven't moved into yet.

Then again, maybe by then our descendants will have decided that they know everything, and shouldn't ever check out what's 'over the next hill.' Somehow, I don't think that's likely: at all. There always seem to be a few curious folks.

4. Another Photo of a New Planet

(from ESO/J. Rameau, via Space.com, used w/o permission)

"Never-Before-Seen Alien Planet Imaged Directly in New Photo"
Miriam Kramer, Space.com (June 3, 2013)

"A newly discovered gaseous planet has been directly photographed orbiting a star about 300 light-years from Earth. Imaging alien planets is difficult, and this world may be the least massive planet directly observed outside of the solar system, scientists say.

"A sharp new photo released by the European Southern Observatory (ESO) today (June 3) depicts the suspected gas giant (called HD 95086 b) circling its young star (named HD 95086) in infrared light. The star has been removed from the image to allow the planet - shown as a bright blue dot at the bottom left of the picture - to shine through.

"HD 95086 b was sighted by ESO's Very Large Telescope in Chile. Based on the planet's brightness, scientists estimate that it is only about four or five times more massive than Jupiter...."

Getting a photo of HD 95086 b is a big deal from the technical point of view. Being able to get an image, however fuzzy, of any planet that's not circling our star is still a big deal. (November 22, 2012)

From a researcher's point of view, that fuzzy dot represents an opportunity to study the light HD 95086 b reflects: which can tell us what's its surface or atmosphere is made of. Sooner or later, someone may find a planet with a mix of nitrogen and oxygen with traces of water vapor.

Discovering life elsewhere in the universe would be exciting. Meanwhile, I'm having fun trying to keep up with what's being discovered about everything else.

5. The Turtle Shell Puzzle: Another Piece

"How the turtle got its unique hard shell"
Melissa Hogenboom, BBC News (May 31, 2013)

"How the turtle shell evolved has puzzled scientists for years, but new research sheds light on how their hard shells were formed.

"Scientists say the ancient fossil skeleton of an extinct South African reptile has helped bridge a 30 to 55-million-year gap.

"This ancestor of the modern turtle, Eunotosaurus, is thought to be around 260 million years old.

"It had significant differences to a recently found fossil relative.

"Eunotosaurus was discovered over a century ago but new research in the journal Current Biology has only now analysed its differences to other turtle fossils...."

Nobody's going to use a turtle soup recipe that calls for fresh Eunotosaurus, so why bother about some critter that's been dead for 260,000,000 years?

It turns out that these early turtles illustrate a new-to-us step in how the turtle shell evolved. For folks who study how life develops, that's important.

Living in the Real World

Eventually, I hope that most folks will get over the silly notion that faith demands ignorance. Since that hasn't happened yet, here's why I'm okay with science.

Ever since the 19th century, some folks have realized that Earth has been around for a very long time: and that quite a bit has changed. Others didn't like the idea that God's creation is vast and ancient, and have been zealously ignoring facts ever since.

I figure that God is smarter, stronger, and more patient than I am: and think living in the real world makes sense.

Learning about God by studying what the Almighty has done makes sense, too: to me, anyway. (Catechism, 282-289)

Don't expect some weird 'turtle shells prove the existence of angels' claim, by the way: and that's another topic. Topics.

"An Evolutionary Novelty"

The Smithsonian Institution and Yale University's Dr Tyler Lyson says "Eunotosaurus is a good transitional fossil which bridges the morphological gap between turtles and other reptiles."

Looks like turtle shells didn't just pop into existence. The Eunotosaurus shell also narrows down the time during which species that preceded today's turtles developed the contemporary bony shell.

This is important, because turtles have been hard to explain.

"...Judith Cebra-Thomas, assistant professor from the department of biology at Millersville University in Pennsylvania, who was not involved with the study, said the research was very important in terms of understanding the turtle shell's evolution.

" 'The turtle shell is considered an evolutionary novelty, which means that there are no closely analogous structures in related animals.

" 'That leads to the notion that such things cannot occur through normal evolutionary processes. But, when you examine it in detail, you can see the series of steps, each of them explainable through small changes that gradually add up to the novel structure.' "
(Melissa Hogenboom, May 31, 2013)

The only 'Biblical' angle I can think of offhand that involves turtles is Ephesians 6:11-17: particularly Ephesians 6:15: "hold faith as a shield." Picturing myself using a turtle shell as a shield seems odd, so I'll skip that.

A bit more seriously, what happened with turtles seems to fit quite well with the modularity we're discovering in critters. I've mentioned interchangeable parts before. (March 22, 2013)

Variations on a Theme

Turtles are vertebrates: critters like us, with a skeleton inside, then muscles and organs, and finally skin with optional scales, feathers, or hair/fur. Turtles are a variation on that theme; with bone inside, then muscles and organs, and a combination of skin, scales, and bone on the outside.

Newly-discovered details in how Eunotosaurus bones worked are helping paleontologists piece together how turtles evolved into the unique creatures they are today.

Music, Poetry, and Turtle Shells

As to why God seems to like repeating the same patterns, like circles, spheres, and chemical 'machinery' in our cells: I don't know.

Maybe it's slightly equivalent to the rhythms and rhymes we like to put in music and poetry. That may not be a goofy comparison, though: we're made in the image of God, and that's yet another topic.

Related posts:

"DNA, Voyager 1, Habitable Worlds, and the Universe"
(March 22, 2013)
Particularly
"Reason, Evidence, and Searching for Truth"
(February 3, 2013)
"Recovering from a Hurricane; Defending Freedom; Studying the Cosmos"
(November 22, 2012)
Particularly
- 'Super-Jupiter' Photographed: Kappa Andromedae b
"Life, the Universe, and Badminton"
(August 3, 2012)
Particularly
- Other Worlds?
" 'In a State of Journeying' "
(January 18, 2012)

"Follow Me:" A Simple Decision, Not an Easy One

2013-06-02T08:00:00.000-05:00

I've quoted these lyrics before (May 24, 2011):

"By the light of burning martyrs, Christ, Thy bleeding feet we track...."
(Once to Every Man and Nation; Lyrics by James R. Lowell, in the Boston Courier, December 11, 1845. Music by Thomas J. Williams)

Love and Other Radical Ideas

Saying that we should love God and love our neighbors sounds nice. (Matthew 22:36-40)

Saying that loving God and neighbors applies to everybody, even foreigners and criminals: that doesn't always go over too well.

Suggest that loving the sinner but hating the sin means not hating homosexuals, folks in the other political party, or the bum next door? you'll probably get a chilly response, at best.

I've sometimes wished that more folks would take God, love, and reason seriously. It would be nice to get praise and perks from the 'right sort' for repeating what Jesus said. But on the other hand: do I really want their approval?

No Problems? That's a Problem

"Pope: when Christians lack difficulties, 'something is wrong' "
Kevin Jones, CNA/EWTN News (May 28, 2013)

"Faithful Christians will always face difficulties, said Pope Francis on Tuesday, warning that a worldly, career-based approach to faith avoids the suffering and persecution inherent in following Christ.

" 'Many Christians, tempted by the spirit of the world, think that following Jesus is good because it can become a career, they can get ahead,' the Pope said.

" 'When a Christian has no difficulties in life - when everything is fine, everything is beautiful - something is wrong.'

"He suggested this temptation is common for a Christian who is 'a great friend of the spirit of the world, of worldliness.'

"You cannot remove the cross from the path of Jesus, it is always there,' he added...."

What Francis talked about isn't 'jerks for Jesus' stuff, where evangelical teams go around using the Bible as a blunt instrument.

We're expected to spread the news: Jesus stopped being dead; we should love God and our neighbors; we have hope. The last orders my Lord gave before leaving were to "... make disciples of all nations ... teaching them to observe all that I have commanded...." (Matthew 28:19-20)

Folks who like the status quo typically don't respond favorably to the sort of unconditional love that Jesus teaches. We're supposed to love them anyway.

Following Jesus

Every day I have choices: follow Jesus, or not. It's a simple decision but not an easy one, I fail to make the right choice too often, and that's another topic.

It doesn't help that turning away from the path often feels good, in the short term. More topics.

Here's what Francis said about priorities and goals:

"...'Following Jesus is just that: going with him out of love, behind him: on the same journey, the same path. And the spirit of the world will not tolerate this and what will make us suffer, but suffering as Jesus did,' he said.

" 'Let us ask for this grace: to follow Jesus in the way that he has revealed to us and that he has taught us. This is beautiful, because he never leaves us alone. Never! He is always with us. So be it.'"
(Kevin Jones, CNA/EWTN News)

Jesus said "follow me."¹ Then my Lord marched through Hell.

I think I can put up with a spot of unpleasantness now and then.

Related posts:

"Elijah, Disappointing Election Results, and Getting a Grip"
(November 14, 2012)
Particularly
- Worry-Free, No; Final Victory, Yes
"Still Shining in the Darkness: or, Be Not Afraid of Geekness"
(August 22, 2012)
"Loving Neighbors: No Matter What"
(May 10, 2011)
"Hating People? Not an Option"
(December 9, 2010)
"The Catholic Church and Homosexuals: Harsh and Soft, Judgmental and Understanding"
(March 13, 2009)

Getting a Grip about Genesis, Gamma Ray Bursts, and (Maybe) a Multiverse

2013-05-30T10:40:00.000-05:00

I decided to focus on science again for my 'in the news' post this week: a star that's going to explode; detailed information about this universe's early years; and the first topographic map of Titan.

Genesis, an Elementary View

A fellow told that his eight year old daughter is very bright: after reading the first chapter of Genesis she said that six days of creation didn't make sense. The universe is lots older than that.

He may have hoped to start the folks he told ranting and raving about 'Bible truths' and the evils of science. Instead, his (Catholic) targets discussed God, metaphor, literary styles, and reality.

About the Bible: as a Catholic I have to take Sacred Scripture, the Word of God, very seriously. (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 101-133)

But fallout from a Victorian-era snit notwithstanding, I do not have to cultivate ignorance about this creation.

This is a pretty good 10-point list that outlines what the Church says about the Bible:

"Understanding the Bible"
Mary Elizabeth Sperry, Associate Director for Utilization of the New American Bible

Although I believe what the Bible says, I don't look to Sacred Scriptures for all the answers:

"When to Call Tech Support, When to Read the Bible"
(January 14, 2011)

Seeking Truth, Seeking God

I see no conflict between seeking truth and seeking God. I also accept the idea that creation is bigger and older than folks thought when this was written, 27 centuries back:

"Thus says the LORD, the Holy One of Israel, his maker: You question me about my children, or prescribe the work of my hands for me!

"It was I who made the earth and created mankind upon it; It was my hands that stretched out the heavens; I gave the order to all their host."
(Isaiah 45:11-12)

Living in a universe where we're still finding new horizons doesn't diminish the grandeur of creation, or my belief that God is infinite and eternal. (Catechism, 202)

Accepting Reality

I'm quite sure that God could have made a cozy little universe, a few thousand miles across and a few thousand years old. It's becoming increasingly obvious that the world we live in isn't like that: at all.

It seems prudent to take reality as it is.

Sadly, some Christians seem determined to prove that ignorance is a requirement for faith. Since I'm a Catholic, I recognize that we can learn about God by observing the beauty and order of creation. (Catechism, 32)

More of my take on faith, reason, and getting a grip:

"Vast and Ancient"
(February 27, 2013)
"Reason, Evidence, and Searching for Truth"
(February 3, 2013)
"Eden - and - Adam and Eve Weren't German?!"
(May 16, 2012)
"Science isn't a Four-Letter Word"
(January 29, 2012)
" 'In a State of Journeying' "
(January 18, 2012)

Catholics aren't perfect, by the way. I've run into some of us who seem convinced that the world must be a few thousand years old: 'because the Bible says so.' One of these days I'll write about 'going native,' but that's another topic.

One more thing: normally I'd post this Friday morning. This week isn't normal, so I'm getting this out a day early.

1. WR 104: Again

Earth May Still Lie In Path Of Potential Gamma-Ray Burst (GRB), Say Astronomers"
Bruce Dorminey, Forbes (May 27, 2013)

"Fifteen years after its discovery, two astronomers say earth may still lie within the sights of a potentially lethal progenitor of a stellar gamma-ray burst (GRB).

"Although WR 104, a Wolf-Rayet star some 8000 light years distant, has thus far remained largely quiescent, it is ripe to undergo a core-collapse supernova of the sort that could generate a seconds-long burst of gamma-rays that, in turn, might potentially wipe out a quarter of earth's protective atmospheric ozone.

" 'We could see it go supernova anywhere from tomorrow to 500,000 years from now,' said Grant Hill, an astronomer at the W.M. Keck Observatory in Hawaii. 'For all intents and purposes, the gamma-ray burst and optical photons from the supernova would arrive simultaneously.'

"The question of whether a GRB from WR 104 - which lies in the direction of our Milky Way's galactic center - would actually cross earth's path has been the subject of debate for years now. But Grant says that given the continuing uncertainty about the star's alignment with our own, such a scenario can't be ruled out...."

This isn't, quite, 'news:' although I suppose another astronomer saying 'we don't know' is enough to warrant another article. I've written about WR 104 fairly recently:

"Guns, Gamma Ray Bursts, and Roller Coasters"
(January 4, 2013)
Particularly
- Getting a Grip About WR 104
- Scared Silly

The bottom line is that WR 104 is 'close' by cosmic standards: only about 8,000 light years away. It's a double star. One of the pair will almost certainly explode 'soon,' again by cosmic standards: in the next few tens or hundreds of thousands of years.

Living With Uncertainty

If WR 104's north or south pole is pointed at us, we'll see a gamma ray burst: up 'close.' At the risk of sounding alarmist, that could be bad news:

"...But if such a GRB did hit earth's atmosphere, says Adrian Melott, a physicist at the University of Kansas in Lawrence, it would likely cause a 50 percent increase in solar UVB radiation which would not only disrupt photosynthesis among marine and freshwater plankton, but also likely precipitate some sort of broader extinction event.

" 'You would first notice a 10-second blue flash in the upper atmosphere,' said Melott, 'but then the damage would be done.'"
(Bruce Dorminey, Forbes)

If WR 104 is aimed at us, and if the core-collapse supernova happened eight thousand years back, so that the radiation will reach us next week: we'd find out how much of Earth's plant and animal life got disrupted. We'd also have to start being very, very careful about sunburn. Particularly folks who look more or less like me.

There's no point in worrying about WR 104. Either it is pointed at us or it's not. There's probably a much greater risk that someone will lose control of a truck and crash into my house.

We live in a world where the unexpected happens. Learning to tell the difference between what we can prepare for, and what we can't, seems prudent.

Disasters: Handy Reminders

Assuming that God won't let bad things happen to good people may feel good, for a while: but that's not the way things work.

I could get morbid about Luke 12:18-20 and Luke 13:1-5, or ignore the reminders that we don't know when our life will end. A better idea, I think, would be to remember that we may go through our particular judgment at any time. (Catechism, 1021-1022)

It's sort of like being prepared for a pop quiz: with my eternal status at stake. 'No pressure.' (May 21, 2013)

Large and In Charge

Like I've said before, God is large and in charge:

God
- Cares about His creation
  - From the smallest detail to the largest events
- Does what He wants
  - Regardless of whether it fits our plans
  (Catechism, 303)

All creatures matter, and have a part in how the universe works. We've got a particularly critical job, and that's yet another topic. (Catechism, 306-308)

It's obvious that the universe, as it exists, isn't always a nice place. God decided to make this world "in a state of journeying," and that's yet again another topic. (Catechism, 309-314)

Finally, Jesus has some good advice:

Trust God
Don't be anxious about what we
- Need
- Want
(Catechism, 305)

2. Cosmic Microwave Background: Best Map So Far

(from ESA and the Planck Collaboration, via Space.com, used w/o permission)
"This map shows the oldest light in our universe, as detected with the greatest precision yet by the Planck mission. The ancient light, called the cosmic microwave background, was imprinted on the sky when the universe was 370,000 years old. It shows tiny temperature fluctuations that correspond to regions of slightly different densities, representing the seeds of all future structure: the stars and galaxies of today. Image released March 21, 2013.
CREDIT: ESA and the Planck Collaboration"

"Exquisite Map of Cosmos Hints at Universe's Birth"
Clara Moskowitz, Space.com (May 24, 2013)

"A map of the universe based on its oldest light is giving astronomers hope that they may be able to answer some of the deepest questions of the cosmos, including how it got started.

"Scientists met this week at the University of California, Davis to pore over the treasure trove of data published two months ago from the European Planck spacecraft. The observatory measures what's called the cosmic microwave background - light spread across the sky that dates from soon after the Big Bang that kick-started the universe.

" 'We have the best map ever of the cosmic microwave background, and that shows us what the universe was like 370,000 years after the Big Bang,' said Charles Lawrence, a scientist at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California who is the lead U.S. scientist on the Planck project. Lawrence and other researchers summed up the consequences of the meeting, called the Davis Cosmic Frontiers Conferences, in a call to reporters Friday (May 24)...."

This is another 'been there, done that' news item, sort of. The new map was released in late March. (April 2, 2013)

On the other hand, I don't mind reading about what researchers think about it, about two months later.

What's exciting about this new cosmic microwave background (CMB) map is its fine detail. For one thing, it looks like some odd features in the CMB are real.

Astronomers and cosmologists had a pretty good idea of what they'd find in the CMB. Some of what they expected to see is there: but some of what they're seeing doesn't fit the relatively simple models they've been using.

Observation confirming theory is nice: observation showing something unexpected is exciting, since it means we have more to learn.

Multiple Universes, Maybe

Reality may be a whole lot bigger than we thought it was:

"...getting to the bottom of the other anomalies in the Planck data may point to even more radical conclusions, such as the idea of multiple universes and bubble universes created by areas of the primordial universe that inflated at different rates.

"It turns out that collisions between these bubbles of space-time are one possible explanation for why inflation might not have proceeded uniformly in all directions.

" 'The fact that these anomalies not only exist but exist on the very largest scales gives us some hope that we may be actually able to say something in the future about a multiverse,' [astrophysicist Marc Kamionkowski of Johns Hopkins University] Kamionkowski said."
("New Map of Big Bang Light Hints at Exotic Physics," Clara Moskowitz, Space.com (March 21, 2013))

Physicists and cosmologists have known for quite a while that other universes - space-time continua that aren't connected to ours - might exist. This isn't the sort of goofiness that shows up in the movies, and I've been over that before. (April 2, 2013)

3. Mapping Titan

"Cassini Shapes First Global Topographic Map of Titan"
Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology press release (May 15, 2013)
Jia-Rui Cook, Jet Propulsion Laboratory; Michael Buckley, Johns Hopkins, Applied Physics Laboratory, Laurel, Maryland

"Scientists have created the first global topographic map of Saturn's moon Titan, giving researchers a valuable tool for learning more about one of the most Earth-like and interesting worlds in the solar system. The map was just published as part of a paper in the journal Icarus.

"Titan is Saturn's largest moon - with a radius of about 1,600 miles (2,574 kilometers), it's bigger than planet Mercury - and is the second-largest moon in the solar system. Scientists care about Titan because it's the only moon in the solar system known to have clouds, surface liquids and a mysterious, thick atmosphere. The cold atmosphere is mostly nitrogen, like Earth's, but the organic compound methane on Titan acts the way water vapor does on Earth, forming clouds and falling as rain and carving the surface with rivers. Organic chemicals, derived from methane, are present in Titan's atmosphere, lakes and rivers and may offer clues about the origins of life.

" 'Titan has so much interesting activity - like flowing liquids and moving sand dunes - but to understand these processes it's useful to know how the terrain slopes,' said Ralph Lorenz, a member of the Cassini radar team based at the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, Laurel, Md., who led the map-design team. 'It's especially helpful to those studying hydrology and modeling Titan's climate and weather, who need to know whether there is high ground or low ground driving their models.'..."

Titan's atmosphere is murky, so the map was made with imaging radar. Saturn's largest moon seems to have two 'continents:' distinctly higher areas. I'm intrigued by the four roundish high points in an arc, about 45 degrees south of the equator: and more-or-less corresponding dents on the other side of the southern hemisphere:

(from NASA/JPL-Caltech/ASI/JHUAPL/Cornell/Weizman, used w/o permission)

"Global Topographic Map of Titan"
Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology (May 15, 2013)

"Using data from NASA's Cassini spacecraft, scientists have created the first global topographic map of Saturn's moon Titan, giving researchers a 3-D tool for learning more about one of the most Earthlike and interesting worlds in the solar system. The map team used a mathematical process called splining -- effectively using smooth curved surfaces to 'join' the areas between grids of existing topography profiles obtained by Cassini's radar instrument. The estimations fit with current knowledge of the moon -- that its polar regions are 'lower' than areas around the equator, for example. But connecting those points allows scientists to add new layers to their studies of Titan's surface, especially those modeling how and where Titan's rivers flow, and the seasonal distribution of its methane rainfall.

"The radar data were collected between 2004 and 2011...."

"Earthlike" in this case doesn't mean what it did in Star Trek episodes. Nobody's going to walk on Titan without a spacesuit. It's not just the unbreathable air: it's cold there.

But we finally have another world to study that has weather, rain, rivers, and lakes: just like Earth, except it's methane and probably ethane instead of water. There's a lot to learn.

Related posts:

"Robots, a Martian Dune, and Mapping a Billion Stars"
(May 10, 2013)
"Studying the Builder's Craft"
(April 5, 2013)
"Seeking Truth, Accepting Vastness"
(April 2, 2013)
Particularly
"DNA, Voyager 1, Habitable Worlds, and the Universe"
(March 22, 2013)
"Seriously Searching for Life in the Universe"
(February 8, 2013)

The Vatican and SCIENCE?!

2013-05-30T10:07:00.000-05:00

"Thus says the LORD, the Holy One of Israel, his maker: You question me about my children, or prescribe the work of my hands for me!

"It was I who made the earth and created mankind upon it; It was my hands that stretched out the heavens; I gave the order to all their host."
(Isaiah 45:11-12)

We've learned quite a bit about "the heavens" in the 27 centuries that rolled by since Isaiah's time: much of that in the last hundred years or so.

I don't have to be interested in this wonder-filled universe to be a Catholic. But a lively interest in God's creation doesn't get in the way of my faith, either.

The Catholic Church was getting involved with what 'serious thinkers' were discussing long before we knew about stem cells.

For example, there was a lively debate a bit over seven centuries ago about whether we're standing on the only world, or if there could be others. Predictably, some folks didn't like the newfangled ideas.

Eventually the Church had to remind us that personal preference and Aristotle don't outrank God. Ever since, Catholics haven't been allowed to say there can't be other worlds. And that's another topic. (January 29, 2012)

In 1603, the Accademia dei Lincei was the first academy in the world that studied science: and nothing else. That academy didn't last long, but Pope Pius IX re-founded it as the Pontifical Academy of the New Lynxes in 1847. Pope Pius XI restarted it in 1936, and changed the name to what we've got now.

And that's yet another topic:

"History"
Pontifical Academy of Sciences

Honest Research and God

The Church gets along fine with honest research. I've been over this before:

"...the things of the world and the things of faith derive from the same God..."
(Catechism of the Catholic Church, 159)

"...The beauty of creation reflects the infinite beauty of the Creator and ought to inspire the respect and submission of man's intellect and will."
(Catechism, 341)

"...Science and technology are ordered to man, from whom they take their origin and development; hence they find in the person and in his moral values both evidence of their purpose and awareness of their limits."
(Catechism, 2293)

The down side, if you can call it that, is that the Church also insists that people pay attention to ethics: even if they're important people like doctors and scientists.

(Mostly from "Stem Cell Research, Mapping Mercury, and Alpha Centauri's Cool Layer " (March 8, 2013))

Related posts:

"Vast and Ancient"
(February 27, 2013)
"Ethics and Asteroids"
(February 20, 2013)
" '...The Man With the X-Ray Eyes,' the Tuskegee Experiment, and Seeking God"
(February 10, 2013)
"Reason, Evidence, and Searching for Truth"
(February 3, 2013)
"News, Good and Otherwise: and Billions of Worlds"
(January 11, 2013)
Particularly
- Asteroid 99942 Apophis Missed Us
- Planets Like Earth: Billions of Them

Trinity Sunday: Our God is a Sharing God

2013-05-26T12:11:00.001-05:00

Readings for May 26, 2013, Trinity Sunday:

Trinity Sunday 2013

By Deacon Lawrence N. Kaas
May 26, 2013

Keep in mind that God is family. As we begin in the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, Amen.

How often we have done this probably not giving it much thought, it's sort of like saying good morning to someone, it's quite automatic.

But that's the reason that today we celebrate the Holy Trinity Sunday. Today is a day set aside by the Church to remind us why we say these particular words.

The bottom line reasoning, is that, because that's who we are as a family of Faith. We need to be reminded of this reality because we easily forget that in all of human history, we are the unique Religious Community.

What makes our Faith so exceptional, so unique is the belief that our God is a family! Our God is a community of persons, a fellowship of Love that has burst forth in ecstasy to the point that St. Paul can say in the reading we heard today. "The love of God has been poured into our hearts by the Holy Spirit which has been given to us."

But this tells us about the God we believe in, that He is One, who is constantly communicating infinite love between the Father and the Son and Holy Spirit. Our God is a sharing God. A God who wants to invite us into becoming a similar community of love among ourselves. Our God, then, is a model for how we are to be, in relationship with one another.

The whole history of God loving us, wanting to save us from the worst of our own selves and bringing us into his Trinitarian family of love, is best highlighted by one word that is, communication.

In order to communicate, you and I speak. We use words. And more than ever, we come to realize that words mean something. God says in the Hebrew Scriptures, "I will be your God, and you will be my people." Then God comes to us in a new way in the New Testament, He speaks to us in a most definitive way possible: "The Word became flesh and dwelt among us." Finally, then, he spoke to us through the Holy Spirit. After the resurrection, Jesus promised to send a Paraclete, Who will "lead you into the complete truth," as the gospel we heard today told us.

He will do that through the Church, through the Sacraments, through the Scriptures, through the love we show one another in our common pursuit of justice and compassion, through the Eucharist we are celebrating today as a family at this very Holy Sacrifice of the Mass.

God is calling us as a church community, a family of faith, to be like him -- to be like the family that is the Trinity.

That's why we began every Mass and most of our prayer time, "In the name of the father, and of the son, and of the Holy Spirit."

This weekend too: we call to mind all those who have gone before us with the hope that peace may be ours. Of course we know that the work of Christ is to bring peace for he laid down his life to reconcile us to one another and to the Father. He is the bridge, as C.S. Lewis's words remind us that Christ crosses the chasm between who we are and who God wants us to be. "Winston Churchill was honoring members of the Royal Air Force, guarded England during the Second World War. He recounted their brave service and he declared, "Never in the History of mankind have so many owed so much to so few."

A similar sentiment appears on a memorial plaque in Bastogne, Belgium. That is the location of the famous Battle of the Bulge, one of the bloodiest conflicts of World War II. The inscription, in honor of the US 101st Airborne Division, reads: "Seldom has so much American blood been shed in the course of a single action." "Oh, Lord, help us to remember!"

We need to remember the sacrifices of the soldiers, especially on this Memorial Day weekend, but even more important that we remember the Sacrifice that Christ made to earn permanent peace with ourselves with our neighbors and with our God. Paul writes, "Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by Faith into His Grace in which we now stand."

In closing: a brief story about a man named Kurtis. He worked as a stock boy in the grocery store and fell in love with the young woman named Brenda he was 22 she was 26. He finally asked her for a date, she refused, so he asked her again. Coming to her home, once again, she says we cannot go out because I do not have a babysitter, but she lets him in and finds her with her little daughter and a son in a wheelchair, a paraplegic and with down Syndrome. He said, 'Well can't the four of us go out?'

He learned how to help care for the little boy, even how to take him to the bathroom. Time will not permit to tell the whole story but Kurt is better known as Kurt Warner who became the star quarter-back for many years for the St. Louis Rams. Kurt was declared most valuable player awarded by the NFL, as well as the MVP awarded by Super Bowl XXXIV. He is now retired but he is not retired from being a follower of Jesus Christ. If you ask Kurt Warner where he learned to love his family like this, he would unabashedly tell you that it is the Holy Spirit working in his life! Can we too, respond with, AMEN.

So you too, be Good, be Holy, preached the Gospel always and if necessary use words.

'Thank you' to Deacon Kaas, for letting me post his reflection here.

More reflections:

"Reflections from Sauk Centre's Our Lady of Angels Church"

"Being Catholic on Memorial Day Weekend"
(May 27, 2012)
"How Could God Floss His Teeth?"
(July 2, 2011)
"I Don't Understand the Trinity: No Surprise There"
(May 6, 2011)
"Rambling About What 'Spirit' Means"
(February 22, 2011)
"Rambling on About Memorial Day, the Flag, and Snake Oil"
(May 28, 2010)

Married to a Black Belt

2013-05-26T08:00:00.000-05:00

My wife and one of our daughters have a black belt in Soo Bahk Do, a Korean martial art. (April 15, 2012)

Does my wife having a black belt bother me? Honestly, yes: a little.

I was born in the Truman administration. It would be surprising if I hadn't picked up some of that era's cultural baggage.

But I'm 'bothered' only in the sense of having conflicts between old emotional responses and what I know to be true.

One of my wife's lifelong dreams was to earn a black belt, and I am glad that she realized that dream.

Those Dreadful Days of Yesteryear

I remember when telling a woman 'you're as smart as a man' was supposed to be a compliment. Some of the changes my generation worked for were desperately needed and long overdue. Although some of our reforms didn't turn out as I had hoped, I do not miss the 'good old days.'

Today's view of women, men, and marriage also needs correction. That does not mean that I sympathize with folks who like Ephesians 5:22, but seem oblivious to the rest of that chapter. (May 1, 2012)

Not a Doormat

Like many folks, I learned from my parent's example. Sometimes I learned the wrong lesson, and that's another topic.

Something I learned correctly, though, was the idea that women, and men, are people who matter.

My mother was far from being a doormat: willing or otherwise.

Her strength wasn't physical. She was five-foot nothing with a disinclination for physical activity that I, unhappily, inherited. I also seem to have inherited an echo of that diminutive black-haired daughter of the Vikings' capacity for intimidating others.

No bragging there, by the way. I also have blue eyes and dark hair: it's part of the equipment I have to work with.

Knowing my father, he was probably drawn to her indomitable spirit. She did not like it when someone said 'you don't look Norwegian,' and that's still another topic.

My wife is, I think, a bit like my mother was before a debilitating stroke: and that's yet another topic.

'It's in the Bible'

Some folks may still think that if something's 'in the Bible,' it's a good idea. That's not necessarily so.

Don't get me wrong: I take Holy Scripture very, very seriously. I have to. I'm a Catholic, and it's 'in the rules. (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 101-133)

Crackpot notions about what the Bible says are (what else?) another topic. (November 16, 2010)

Folks we find in the Bible aren't necessarily good role models. Jezebel, for example, didn't end well; and Sampson isn't known for his common sense. (Judges 14:4; 16:1-17; 2 Kings 9:7, 35)

Europe's artistic and cultural preferences during the last few centuries can give folks a somewhat distorted notion about being 'spiritual,' and being a woman: or man, for that matter. (February 20, 2011; February 15, 2010)

Women in the Bible are not necessarily wimps. There's Deborah, judge of Israel; and Jael, wife of Heber, who is chiefly known for nailing a general's head to the floor. (Judges 4:4-5; Judges 4:17-22, Judges 5:24; and see Footnote 2 of Judges 5)

A Mother's Advice

Proverbs ends with a mother's advice to her son. (Proverbs 31:1-31)

Here's part of her description of a "worthy wife:" (Proverbs 31:10)

"She obtains wool and flax and makes cloth with skillful hands.

"Like merchant ships, she secures her provisions from afar.

"She rises while it is still night, and distributes food to her household.

"She picks out a field to purchase; out of her earnings she plants a vineyard.

"She is girt about with strength, and sturdy are her arms."
(Proverbs 31:13-17)

Besides managing the household, manufacturing cloth and clothing, investing in real estate and operating a vineyard, this lady "is girt about with strength, and sturdy are her arms." (Proverbs 31:17)

- - - and not one word about being 'as smart as a man.'

Related posts:

" 'My Wife has to do Anything I Tell Her?!' "
(May 1, 2012)
"Martial Arts and the Battle for Purity"
(April 15, 2012)
Particularly
- Martial Arts and Me
- Ethics, Rules, and the Catholic Church
"Vocations for Everyone"
(December 11, 2011)
"Yoga, Ephesians, and Getting a Grip"
(May 30, 2011)
"Marriage, Catholic Beliefs, and This Catholic"
(September 24, 2009)
Particularly
- Read the Book! It says be Subordinate to Each Other!

Warp Drive: Imagined and Real (Maybe, Eventually)

2013-05-24T08:00:00.000-05:00

This week I'm mostly looking at not-quite-yet applied physics: Alcubierre's 'warp drive' equations.

Travel to the Stars

I might live long enough to read about a prototype warp drive. On the other hand, maybe faster than light travel actually is impossible. There could be a flaw that physicists haven't found yet in Alcubierre's math: although that seems less likely each year.

Using what happened after Konstantin Tsiolkovsky's 1903 publication as a model, we could have faster-than-light starships in a half-century.

That's probably much too optimistic. We don't have anything even close to the necessary technology today. But in 1903 the closest we had to a spaceship was the zeppelin: and we don't seem to have stopped developing new tech.

Maybe the first human beings will return from the stars a hundred years from now.

Or maybe Tsiolkovsky is the wrong place to start. Rockets were developed more than two thousand years before the he was born: if you count Archytas of Tarentum's steam-powered bird. I'm not making that up.

China developed solid fuel rockets in the 1200s. A bit over seven centuries later, folks were walking on the moon.

Maybe it will take us nearly a thousand years to develop practical star-hopping transportation systems. I think it's a trifle more likely that we will start traveling to other stars 'soon:' a century or so from now.

Unlike folks living during the Song Dynasty, many of the world's 7,000,000,000 or so citizens have Internet access. Granted, most of us chat about movie stars, sports, and what we do or don't like. But folks with the interest and background necessary can discuss warp drives, quantum physics, or any other topic: fast. We don't even have live on the same continent.

I like the Information Age, and that's another topic.

Science, Technology, and Doing Our Job

Recapping what I've said before, we're not supposed to worship science, technology, or anything else. Idolatry, treating anything that's not God as if it's divine, is a really bad idea. (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 2112-2114)

On the other hand, we're expected to take care of this creation: and need technology to get just about anything done.

Happily, we're able to study this creation and develop new technologies. That's okay, although ethics apply. 'Because we can' isn't an excuse for bad behavior. (Genesis 1:26-31; Catechism, 355-361, 2293-2295)

Finally, we can learn about God by studying what God created. Again, this is okay. (Catechism, 31-36, 282-289)

1. Weird Physics, Warp Drive, News, and NASA

The first sensible question for an op-ed like this is - who's writing it? For example, it's one thing when someone with a PhD in English Literature says that interstellar flight is possible - or impossible. It's something else when the opinion comes from someone with a background in science or a technical discipline.

As it turns out, this opinion piece is written by someone who should have an informed opinion:

"Marc G. Millis headed NASA's Breakthrough Propulsion Physics Project and took an early retirement to continue this work as part of the interstellar research activities of the Tau Zero Foundation. He contributed this article to SPACE.com’s Expert Voices: Op-Ed & Insights.
..."(Space.com)

Here's what he wrote

"Warp Drive and 'Star Trek': Physics of Future Space Travel (Op-Ed)"
Marc G Millis, Tau Zero Foundation, via Space.com (May 22, 2013)

"...Another 'Star Trek' film just hit the screen - featuring the venerable Starship Enterprise. To enable such fantastical star flight, we need faster-than-light (FTL) flight, control over inertial and gravitational forces, extreme energy prowess, and the societal discipline to harness that much power safely. Between the sensationalistic hype and pedantic disdain, how much progress is really being made?

"For starters, the technical goals ceased to be just science fiction decades ago with a legacy of pertinent publications (see editor's note below). To be clear, this does not mean that these breakthroughs are on the threshold of discovery. What it does mean is that these notions have advanced to where they are now problems that are able to be attacked. A graduate-level treatise, along with next-step research options, is available as the compilation 'Frontiers of Propulsion Science' (AIAA, 2009). For the rest of us, here is a short version...."

I could buy "Frontiers of Propulsion Science," AIAA, for only $123.45: a quite reasonable price for a publication of that sort. I don't have that much in my book budget, so I'll rely on the summary - and summarize that. As usual, I strongly recommend reading the original - summary, in this case. By definition, summaries leave stuff out. The AIAA book's ISBN numbers are ISBN-10: 1563479567 and ISBN-13: 978-1563479564, by the way.

One more thing: AIAA stands for American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics.

Crawling Along at the Speed of Light

"...Compared to the distances between stars, lightspeed is slow. The neighboring star system nearest to us (Alpha Centauri) is more than four years away at light speed (as measured from the perspective of an external observer). The nearest habitable planet might be anywhere from 25 light-years to 200 light-years away. And, to consider meeting new aliens for each week's episode, our ship would need a naive cruise speed of at least 25,000 times light speed. The word 'naive' is used to remind us that we don't really know what happens to time and space beyond lightspeed. [Warp Drive & Transporters: How 'Star Trek' Technology Works (Infographic)]..."
(Marc G Millis, Tau Zero Foundation, via Space.com)

Hats off to Millis, for pointing out that we don't know what happens when something moves faster than light, relative to neighboring space-time.

I'm not quite as happy about Space.com's posting an infographic that mixes well-done art and text about the (fictional) Star Trek universe with a discussion of the (real) Migel Alcubierre equations that started serious discussion of (real) warp drives in 1994.

Basically, Zefram Cochrane is a fictional character. Harold "Sonny" White is a real person who works for NASA.

Adding to the possible confusion, some of White's more readable papers about exotic propulsion technology weren't available earlier this year: a frustrating situation for me. I wrote about that yesterday. (May 23, 2013)

Space-Time Distortions, Business as Usual in the News

"...Recent news regarding the work of Harold 'Sonny' White at NASA's Johnson Space Center has been exaggerated. That work is an attempt to measure space-time distortions caused by the presence of negative energy. Unfortunately, I do not have an article to cite about that hypothesis or the methods being used, since such information has not (yet?) been published. Although Eric Davis is tracking this for the Tau Zero Foundation, we do not yet know enough to render judgment...."
(Marc G Millis, Tau Zero Foundation, via Space.com)

What Millis said about news reporting on White's research is true: and no surprise. I've harangued occasionally about old-school journalism:

"...If establishment news covered the Super Bowl the way they cover religious news, we'd see expert discussions of the quality of this year's home runs compared to number of women employed by the NFL, and speculation about why the jockeys weren't wearing feed bags....."
(June 15, 2012)

Sadly, many news editors don't seem to have realized that it's also a good idea to have a science editor who knows a little about science: apart from what they've learned by watching classics like "Frankenstein Meets the Space Monster" and "Attack of the Killer Tomatoes."

On the other hand, what NASA may or may not be working on doesn't seem to involve negative energy. White has discussed negative energy in connection with a working warp drive. ("Warp Field Mechanics 101," pages 7, 9) He's also discussed a way to test some warp field math: the White-Juday warp field interferometer.

As far as I can tell, that device would test space-time distortions of about 1 part in 10,000,000 in a sphere about 1 centimeter across. The equipment isn't the sort of thing I've got laying around the house: but apparently the field generator could be "something as simple as a very high voltage capacitor ring." ("Warp Field Mechanics 101," page 8)

The warp field interferometer would be pricy - but doesn't seem to require unavailable technology.

With a field that's smaller than a golf ball, and miniscule space-time distortions, it's a useful laboratory device: but not even close to a practical warp drive.

On the other hand, it looks like we could test some of the basics of Alcubierre's math. That would be a start.

Skylark Physics, Quantum Entanglement, and All That

We've started learning about the universe at very large and very small scales. In each case, things get a bit weird.

Millis mentions quantum effects like tunneling and entanglement. These may eventually lead to near-instantaneous communication over interstellar distances: or not. He links to "Status of nonlocal quantum communication test," and I'll leave it at that.

I've read some of E. E. "Doc" Smith's Skylark stories. They're rip-roaring good old fashioned space opera: and use what's at least an early example of an inertialess drive. They're also, like Kirk's starship Enterprise, fiction.

Millis says that we've had some intriguing suggestions for how gravitation and other fundamental forces could be altered: without stepping out of Einstein's general relativity equations. Or at least not very far. The problem is that, although some of these ideas have been bouncing around for decades: we still don't know how to make these things happen.

It's a little like the situation when Konstantin Tsiolkovsky showed how folks could travel to other planets: provided someone could get outside Earth's atmosphere and accelerate to unreasonable speeds.

Even cutting-edge transportation technology like zeppelins didn't have what it takes in 1903. (May 17, 2013)

Energy: LOTS of Energy

Another issue that Millis discusses is the amount of energy that's required for making current ideas work. Even if we knew how to make something like a wormhole or warp drive, we don't have an energy source that's up to the job.

Although I gather that someone tweaked warp field math so that power consumption wouldn't be measured in Jupiter-mass per minute: a real 'warp ship' would need more power than we've got today. Even if we knew how to make the engine.

Refreshingly Non-Gloomy

I was pleasantly surprised when Millis wasn't conventionally despondent over humanity's odds. The section heading "Sustainably peaceful society" ends with:

"...Although trends indicate that humanity is becoming more peaceful, overall, I am concerned that this challenge might turn out to be harder than creating the new physics for FTL and controllable gravity. The good news is that this is something we can all work toward by being more thoughtful about how each of us chooses to resolve conflicts of views, wants and needs..."
(Marc G Millis, Tau Zero Foundation, via Space.com)

I'm inclined to agree with him. Compared to establishing something like Tennyson's "Federation of the world," developing starships or stargate networks will probably be easy.

I think that eventually we'll have an "international authority with the necessary competence and power," that protects people without resorting to military force. (Catechism, 2308)

It won't be perfect, and I've been over that before. (December 3, 2012)

2. A Robot on Mars

"NASA Mars Rover Curiosity Drills Second Rock Target"
Guy Webster, Mars Science Laboratory, Mission News, NASA (May 20,2013)

"NASA's Mars rover Curiosity has used the drill on its robotic arm to collect a powdered sample from the interior of a rock called 'Cumberland.'

"Plans call for delivering portions of the sample in coming days to laboratory instruments inside the rover. This is only the second time that a sample has been collected from inside a rock on Mars. The first was Curiosity's drilling at a target called 'John Klein' three months ago. Cumberland resembles John Klein and lies about nine feet (2.75 meters) farther west. Both are within a shallow depression called 'Yellowknife Bay.'

"The hole that Curiosity drilled into Cumberland on May 19 is about 0.6 inch (1.6 centimeters) in diameter and about 2.6 inches (6.6 centimeters) deep.

"The science team expects to use analysis of material from Cumberland to check findings from John Klein. Preliminary findings from analysis of John Klein rock powder by Curiosity's onboard laboratory instruments indicate that the location long ago had environmental conditions favorable for microbial life. The favorable conditions included the key elemental ingredients for life, an energy gradient that could be exploited by microbes, and water that was not harshly acidic or briny...."

The life we're talking about here is the sort of thing we find under rocks and in cool, damp places. No beautiful space princesses, colorfully wicked interstellar warlords: almost certainly. Flying whales, maybe. (Drifting at the Edge of Time and Space (December 8, 2009)

Why bother with Mars? We're human: checking out as much of creation as we can is part of what we are. (January 27, 2013)

3. The Next Mount Saint Helens Eruption

(from AccuWeather, via FoxNews.com, used w/o permission)

"Mount Saint Helens 'Reloading' For Future Eruption"
AccuWeather, via FoxNews.com (May 17, 2013)

"On Sunday morning, May 18, 1980, an earthquake that measured magnitude 5.1 triggered an eruption of Mount Saint Helens in Washington state that did not fully cease until 1986.

"The force of the eruption destroyed more than 200 homes and more than 185 miles of roads, according to the United States Geological Survey (USGS). The lava flow from the volcano scorched 230 square miles of forest. By the time the eruption ended, 57 people had been killed.

" 'A volcano can go from nothing to a very large eruption in a very short time,' said USGS Hydrologist and Outreach Coordinator Carolyn Driedger. 'Mount Saint Helens only took one week to go from nothing to a full eruption.'..."

The nice thing about asteroid impacts is after it hits Earth once, an asteroid won't come around again. On the other hand, it's not the sort of thing we'd want to happen even once, and that's almost another topic.

Volcanoes, even 'dormant' ones, keep erupting at intervals. We're learning more about Earth's inner workings, but 'eruption forecasts' aren't even close to being as accurate as weather forecasts.

Really Hot Toothpaste

"...Teams of scientists use seismographs to monitor the movement of magma below the surface of the volcano. They use GPS units to measure the movement of rocks and changes in the volcano at ground level and they measure the gases that are coming from the volcano to determine how close the magma is to the surface, said Driedger.

" 'Gases measured from the crater help predict the force of future eruptions.' Driedger said the more gas that is trapped in the silicate rocks during an eruption the larger the explosion will be.

"Mount Saint Helens erupted again during the years of 1989 through 2001 and 2004 through 2008. Those eruptions were not anywhere near the force of the eruption of 1980.

" 'The first eruption was very explosive,' said Driedger. 'The second eruption was relatively calm, like toothpaste squeezing out of a tube.'

"Driedger said volcanoes can erupt in a variety of ways. Driedger believes future eruptions will be less explosive than the one in 1980. 'The eruption in 1980 collapsed the northern side of the volcano, so a future eruption won't be able to cause as large a landslide.'..."
(AccuWeather, via FoxNews.com)

Comparing what oozed out of Mount Saint Helens to toothpaste is an effective way to describe the event. That would be very hot toothpaste, though.

Exploding Mountains and Other Excitement

(from USGS, used w/o permission)

Earth isn't a particularly boring place.

Every now and then a mountain explodes.

Debris ranging in size from sand and gravel to rocks the size of Rhode Island and up falls out of the sky. "The impact rate on Earth," The Royal Society (December 15, 2005), gives statistics on how often we can expect something the size of, say, Kansas, to hit.

Even so, it's a nice place to live. Taking care of it is part of our job, and - that's yet another topic.

Related posts:

Using our brains
- "Tornadoes, Trusting God, and Planning Ahead"
  (May 22, 2013)
- "Today, the Planets: Tomorrow, the Stars?"
  (May 17, 2013)
- " Prayer! Meditation! Science!"
  (May 3, 2013)
  Particularly
  - Science
- "Spaceships, Robots, and Being Catholic"
  (April 12, 2013)
- "Science, Technology, and Being Human"
  (January 27, 2013)
Doing of our job
- "Designed as Stewards"
  (March 17, 2013)
- " '...The Man With the X-Ray Eyes,' the Tuskegee Experiment, and Seeking God"
  (February 10, 2013)
- " '...Efficient Use - Not Abuse -
  of Natural Resources...' "
  (January 21, 2013)
- "Advanced Technologies and Responsible Stewardship"
  (January 14, 2013)
- "Earth Day, 2012: This Catholic's View"
  (April 22, 2012)
Living with hazards
- "Antigravity Experiments, Quantum Entanglement, and Making Kidneys"
  (May 3, 2013)
  Particularly
  - Yellowstone Volcano's Magma Pool
- "Vast and Ancient"
  (February 27, 2013)
  Particularly
  - King Cnut and the Limits of Executive Authority
- "Ethics and Asteroids"
  (February 20, 2013)
- "Guns, Gamma Ray Bursts, and Roller Coasters"
  (January 4, 2013)
  Particularly
  - WR 104: Cosmic Time Bomb, Maybe
- "Dinosaurs, Three Major Asteroid Impacts, and Massive Volcanic Eruptions"
  Apathetic Lemming of the North (August 29, 2010)

When NASA 'Went Black'

2013-05-23T17:50:00.004-05:00

What happened two months ago would, by leaving some details out, make for a rousing tale of conspiracy, intrigue, and maybe even shape-shifting, space-alien lizard men.

I don't need that kind of trouble at my particular judgment, and that's another topic.

NASA, Warp Drive, and a Vanishing Website

NASA has a pretty good website: including sections on 'next generation' propulsion technologies; and some 'after the next generation' tech.

I'd archived two documents about exotic space propulsion systems from NASA back in March. The next morning, as I recall, almost the entire website 'went black.' The most I could find was the occasional polite notice that the information was no longer available.

It wasn't my fault. Someone had hacked into United States government databases. The Information Technology folks couldn't tell exactly how much had been filched, and apparently someone higher in the administrative food chain (finally) realized that some of the data probably shouldn't be shared with everyone.

About freedom of information, transparency, and all that: I think it would be nice if everybody would be nice; I'm convinced that not everybody is nice; letting citizens know what our government doing is usually a good idea; but it's not a good idea to let everybody know details that could get American armed forces - or civilians - killed.

Happily, when the NASA website opened again, the 'warp drive' documents were still there.

More accurately, they discuss some exotic and hypothetical propulsion technologies. There's also a pretty good discussion of the White-Juday warp field interferometer: which, if built, might change the shape of space in a sphere about one centimeter across: by about 1 part in 10,000,000. If we can make the necessary technology work, and If the underlying assumptions about space-time are valid: we have equipment that could measure the change.

That's the good news. The bad news is that a one-in-ten-million perturbation isn't much: and there's not much we can fit into something the size of a large marble. Still, it's a start.

"Warp Field Mechanics 101"
Dr. Harold "Sonny" White, NASA Johnson Space Center (2011)
(from http://ntrs.nasa.gov/archive/nasa/casi.ntrs.nasa.gov/20110023492_2011024705.pdf (March 18, 2013))
"Eagleworks Laboratories: Advanced Propulsion Physics Research"
Dr. Harold "Sonny" White, Paul March, Nehemiah Williams, William O’Neill; NASA Johnson Space Center (2011)
(from http://ntrs.nasa.gov/archive/nasa/casi.ntrs.nasa.gov/20110015936_2011016932.pdf (March 18, 2013))

Somewhat-related posts:

"Today, the Planets: Tomorrow, the Stars?"
(May 17, 2013)
"DNA, Voyager 1, Habitable Worlds, and the Universe"
(March 22, 2013)
Particularly
- Mapping this Universe
- Outward Bound
"Seriously Searching for Life in the Universe"
(February 8, 2013)
"A 'Threat to National Security,' a New Spaceplane, and Asteroid Mining"
(January 25, 2013)
"Technology, Freedom, and 'Love Your Neighbor' "
(January 18, 2013)

Tornadoes, Trusting God, and Planning Ahead

2013-05-22T13:41:00.001-05:00

I was shocked when I learned that quite a few American homeowners don't have a basement under their house. That was decades back, and there are quite a few reasons for that situation. On the other hand, it means that quite a few folks are - in my opinion - taking unreasonable risks.

Storm Shelters, Law, and Oklahoma

"Why so few storm shelters in Tornado Alley hotspot?"
Tara McKelvey, BBC News Magazine (May 21, 2013)

"Oklahomans had only limited access to safe rooms and shelters during the storm. People who live in Tornado Alley explain why.

"Representative Pat Ownbey was hunkered down in a basement of the Oklahoma House of Representatives as the tornado arrived in the Oklahoma City suburb of Moore.

"Ownbey had been through a milder episode before. A tornado hit part of his district in 2009, destroying a mobile-home park.

"It turned the neighbourhood into 'a landfill', he says.

"Afterwards Ownbey tried to get a bill passed that would require mobile-home parks to offer emergency plans to residents.

"He also looked into building a shelter for his house - but never got around to it.

" 'It's risk versus cost,' says Ownbey. 'You think it's not going to happen again.'..."

What Representative Ownbey did about trailer parks makes sense, I think. More to the point, it's consistent with what the Catholic Church says about social justice: letting "associations or individuals ... obtain what is their due, according to their nature and their vocation." (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1928-1942)

His impulse to build a special-purpose tornado shelter is reasonable, and so is deciding not to do so: in my opinion. Taking reasonable steps to preserve our own life is 'in the rules.' Principles for legitimate defense seem to fit emergency planning, too. 'Trusting God' is a good idea: so is using our brains. (Catechism, 301, 304, 2086, 2263-2264, for starters)

On a more personal note, I've never lived in a house or apartment with a special-purpose tornado shelter. But I've never lived in a place where I didn't have a spot to go in threatening weather.

BBC News has a picture that includes specs for a practical tornado shelter: in case you have the resources to build one, and see a need:

(from BBC News Magazine, used w/o permission)

Reasonably Confident

After about three decades in our house, we finally had central air conditioning installed. (Through One Dad's Eye (May 17, 2013))

We could have used the financial resources to get a tornado shelter: but we didn't. It's not that I 'have faith' that God won't let anything bad happen to us. So far two of our six children have died, we nearly lost my wife in the last incident, and we've experienced various other unpleasantness.

I didn't build a tornado shelter because we already have one: sort of. We live in a farmhouse that's been added on to over the last century. A room in the basement has standing-room-only for at least six people - the entire household.

When we're there, we have about 18 inches of a field stone/concrete foundation on three sides: with at least fifty feet of packed dirt between us and the next house. Overhead there's about a foot of assorted flooring and structural trusses.

There's nothing but an interior wall on the fourth side: but debris and wind effects would have to go through a foot of flooring and trusses, a ground level interior wall, and an exterior wall first. I'm reasonably confident that we're safe from tornadoes there.

Death and History

Folks living near Ellington, Missouri spotted a tornado back in 1925. Several hours and about 219 miles (352 kilometers) later, it fizzled out near Petersburg, Indiana. Roughly 700 people died in that storm, a bit less than half the death toll in the Bangladeshi tornado of 1989. Nearly a thousand folks died there in 1969, although Bangladesh had another name them. (Wikipedia)

I could rant and rave about tornadoes getting worse: and that it's the fault of some political party, or killer tomatoes, or whatever: but I won't.

I lived in the 'good old days,' when the communist menace was as popular as global warming is today. If we read about what was happening in East Pakistan, or the Belgian Congo: it was days or months after the fact. Today anyone who's interested can pick up news from Bangladesh or Zaire: often with a live feed from the current crisis.

I don't miss the 'good old days,' and that's almost another topic.

I strongly suspect that in the 'good old days,' the death toll in places like Bangladesh might not have made it into a permanent record: or been made at all. I've speculated that some ancient civilizations winked out of existence because something like the Midwest's recent storm system rolled over them.

Getting Ready for the Next Big One

The United States hasn't had another tornado like the big one in 1925: yet. My guess is that when we do, the death toll will be lower: certainly in terms of the fraction of folks who lose their lives.

We have fewer 19th century farmhouses now, but we have much better weather forecasts: along with multiply-redundant systems for letting folks know that it's time to duck.

(from Google Maps, Wunderground.com, used w/o permission)
Several hours after the worst storms, the weather system that included them was still going strong. (10:07 p.m. Central Time, May 20, 2013)

We've also had much more experience with disasters: and learned quite a bit. Bad things still happen, but folks generally organize themselves into search-and-rescue teams pretty well.

(from FoxNews.com, used w/o permission)
"Workers look for victims under debris from a tornado that passed across south Oklahoma City...." (May 20, 2013)

(from AP, via FoxNews.com, used w/o permission)
"A boy is pulled from beneath a collapsed wall at the Plaza Towers Elementary School following a tornado in Moore, Okla...." (May 20, 2013)

Rescuing people is the first priority: but we're supposed to take care of animals, too. (Catechism, 2418)

(from FoxNews.com, used w/o permission)
"Alli Christian, left, returns Jessica Wilkinson's dog Bella to her after finding her among the wreckage of Wilkinson's home shortly after a tornado struck Norman, Okla. No one was in the home when the storm struck...." (May 20, 2013)

Getting back to basements and 'unreasonable risks:' I realize that basements are rare in some parts of this country because soil is thin or nearly rock-hard; or for other practical reasons. Making everyone build houses like the ones we've got in Minnesota would be silly in places like Louisiana or Arizona.

But I think folks living in 'no-basement' regions would be well-advised to work out ways for having a 'storm shelter' in or near their homes. It wouldn't have to be a little bunker that's only useful in emergencies.

Our 'storm shelter, for example, has been a lab, a sort of washroom, and also provides maintenance access to a water softener. The point is that a solidly-built interior room can be 'hardened,' and still be useful for something besides riding out a twister.

More upscale 'storm shelters' could be a media room, den, anything that doesn't need windows.

Folklore and Science

I don't think that something's true because folklore says so: but I don't think folklore is always wrong, either.

I grew up in the Red River Valley of the North, where some old-timers insisted that destructive hail storms tended to follow specific paths. Meteorologists, using data from the first half of the 20th century, said that paths like that don't exist. Maybe so: but thunderstorm sprites were 'known' to be hallucinations - until someone got video of them. (Apathetic Lemming of the North (February 20, 2009))

And that's another topic.

Related posts:

Our job
- "Spaceships, Robots, and Being Catholic"
  (April 12, 2013)
  Particularly
  - Living in the Information Age
- "Designed as Stewards"
  (March 17, 2013)
- "Getting a Grip About Science, Religion, Technology, and Magic"
  (March 13, 2013)
- "Ethics and Asteroids"
  (February 20, 2013)
- " '...The Man With the X-Ray Eyes,' the Tuskegee Experiment, and Seeking God"
  (February 10, 2013)

"Prayer, Technology, and Looking Ahead"
(February 24, 2013)
" 'I Love Humanity - - - ' "
(October 15, 2012)
"Individuals, the Common Good, and All That"
(May 13, 2012)
"Love and Intelligence, Faith and Reason"
(April 30, 2012)
"Upset Applecarts: A Hopeful Sign"
(March 5, 2012)

Excerpt from the news:

"Deadly tornado tracked path of 1999 Oklahoma twister"
Associated Press, via FoxNews.com (May 20, 2013)

"Monday's powerful tornado in suburban Oklahoma City loosely followed the path of a killer twister that slammed the region in May 1999.

"The National Weather Service estimated that the storm that struck Moore, Okla., on Monday had wind speeds of up to 200 mph, and was at least a half-mile wide. The 1999 storm had winds clocked at 300 mph, according to the weather service website, and it destroyed or damaged more than 8,000 homes, killing at least two people.

"Kelsey Angle, a weather service meteorologist in Kansas City, Mo., said it's unusual for two such powerful tornadoes to track roughly the same path. The 1999 twister was part of a two-day outbreak sweeping mostly across central Oklahoma -- similar to the past two days....

"...The biggest known tornado was nearly 2 1/2 miles wide at its peak width, which the weather service describes as near the maximum size for a tornado. It struck Hallam, Neb., in May 2004.

"The deadliest tornado, which struck March 18, 1925, killed 695 people in Missouri, Illinois and Indiana...."

asdfasdf asdfasdf

Sin, Death, Tornadoes, and Getting a Grip

2013-05-21T16:33:00.000-05:00

First, these outfits could probably use money.

Catholic Charities
Archdiocese of Oklahoma City
Central and Western Oklahoma Region
American Red Cross

They're helping folks in quite a few places, including the Oklahoma City area. No pressure, that's just a thought Prayer wouldn't hurt, either: but like I said, no pressure

Midwest Tornadoes

The American Midwest has had rough weather for the last several days. I stayed up late one night when a particularly energetic storm front was headed toward my home. The half-dollar-size hail didn't happen here, which wasn't exactly a disappointment. (Through One Dad's Eye (May 18, 2013))

Yesterday afternoon some folks in Oklahoma, south of here, got in the way of a massive tornado. They're still sorting out debris, survivors, and bodies: but the bottom line is that many people died, many more were hurt, and buildings were damaged or destroyed.

Like I've said before, this universe is a dangerous place. It's beautiful, fascinating, immense, filled with wonder: and will kill us if we're not careful. Sometimes even if we are, but we're learning more with each disaster. (February 10, 2013)

(from Google Maps, Wunderground.com, used w/o permission)
Several hours after the worst storms, the weather system that included them was still going strong. (10:07 p.m. Central Time, May 20, 2013)

Life, Death, and Priorities

It's small comfort to those who lost family and friends, but the reported death toll has gone down: for now.

"Crews search for survivors after massive twister strikes near Oklahoma City"
FoxNews.com (May 21, 2013)

"The Oklahoma City medical examiner's office says the death toll from a massive tornado that churned through Oklahoma City Monday has been downgraded from 51 to at least 24.

" 'To date, 24 deceased victims of the tornado have been transported to our Oklahoma City office, and positive identifications have been made in the vast majority of those, and these are ready for return to their loved ones,' spokeswoman Amy Elliott told FoxNews.com in an email.

"Nine of the bodies are children.

"Elliott said during early recovery efforts, 51 deaths were reported to the medical examiner's office, but some of them may have been double-counted...."

I'm not surprised that early reports weren't entirely accurate. Monday afternoon and evening was a bit hectic for folks in Oklahoma, and elsewhere. My guess is that they had their priorities straight: digging through wreckage to rescue survivors and recover bodies first; filling out forms and cross-checking records later.

(from FoxNews, used w/o permission)
Houses can be replaced. People: not so much.

(from FoxNews.com, used w/o permission)
"May 20, 2013: Emergency responders and residents begin sorting through debris following a tornado that decimated Moore, Okla., killing...." (Fox News (May 20, 2013))

(from FoxNews, used w/o permission)
"Large sections of Moore, Okla., were completely..." (Fox News (May 20, 2013))

Reassembling Families

Under normal conditions, American towns and cities have very good communications networks. Monday afternoon in Moore, Oklahoma, wasn't "normal conditions." The tornado took out parts of the infrastructure. Happily, low-tech communication methods like shouting still worked:

"...Search-and-rescue crews were looking for anyone who may be trapped in the rubble. Many land lines to stricken areas were down, and cellphone networks were congested. The storm was so massive that it will take time to establish communications between rescuers and state officials, Oklahoma Gov. Mary Fallin said.

"Fallin deployed 80 National Guard members to assist with rescue operations and activated extra highway patrol officers. She also spoke Monday night with Obama, who declared a major disaster and ordered federal aid to supplement state and local recovery efforts.

"Families anxiously waited at nearby churches to hear if their loved ones had survived. A man with a megaphone stood Monday evening near St. Andrews United Methodist Church and called out the names of surviving children. Parents waited nearby, hoping to hear their sons' and daughters' names...."
(FoxNews.com)

I heard an eight-year-old boy on radio news, saying that he was okay, but didn't know whether his parents were alive or not. I trust that he knows by now, one way or the other.

My experience has been that realizing that someone in the family may be endangered, or dead, but not knowing is at least as trying as 'worst case' news.

Treating the injured and burying the dead are important. So is getting families back together, when that's possible. I realize that some families don't get along very well, and that's another topic.

International News

"Oklahoma tornado: Dozens killed in Moore"
BBC News (May 20, 2013 )

"At least 51 people have been killed after a huge tornado tore through Oklahoma City suburbs, with the death toll likely to rise.

"Worst hit was Moore, south of the city, where neighbourhoods were flattened and schools were destroyed by winds of up to 200mph (321km/h).

"About 120 people, including 70 children, are being treated in hospitals for their injuries.

"Search and rescue efforts are continuing throughout the night.

"Monday's twister hit Moore, a suburb of about 55,000 people, and remained on the ground for about 45 minutes.

"The Oklahoma chief medical examiner's office said children were among the 51 dead.

"At least two schools were devastated by the high winds, and there are reports that children are still unaccounted for...."

Again, the 'first count' was 51 fatalities. The good news is that when folks in Moore had a chance to compare notes, they learned that some of the deaths had been counted twice, so the current number is lower.

The bad news is that they're expecting to find more bodies in the rubble.

Unfit for Human Habitation?

I've occasionally run into the idea that folks shouldn't live in particular areas. Sometimes it makes sense.

For example, several homes had been built in a nice little patch of flat land right by the river in my home town. It was a cozy neighborhood, and flooded nearly every spring.

After a particularly bad flood, the town government decided that enough was enough. The houses were already damaged beyond repair, as I recall. The area was declared of-limits for more construction. The last I heard, it's a park. I hope the folks who owned homes there got something resembling a reasonable price for their land.

The American Midwest has very good farmland. I've lived most of my life here. It's also the place that's best for getting up close and personal with a tornado.

Tornadoes can, and have, happened almost anywhere on Earth: but they're most likely a bit south and west of where I live. I gather that it has to do with having no barriers to speak of between the north pole and the Gulf of Mexico.

The weather here is anything but boring. The northern Midwest goes through extremes of hot, cold, wet, and dry. I like it, but your experience might vary.

In a way, it's dangerous to live here. Tornadoes, thunderstorms, and seasonal extremes encourage a certain situational awareness.

Possible, Yes; Practical, No

We can build structures that will endure 200 mile an hour winds. We can even make buildings that will endure that sort of wind, and impacts from assorted 200-mile-an-hour flying trees, trucks, and debris. I don't think we'd enjoy living in them for the years - decades - when a tornado doesn't hit.

Perhaps more to the point, I'm not sure that we'd be able to spend the money needed to harden our homes that way.

"The School Started Coming Apart"

"...James Rushing said he had rushed to the Plaza Towers Elementary School, where his foster son Aiden was a pupil, to see it destroyed by the storm.

" 'About two minutes after I got there, the school started coming apart,' he told the Associated Press news agency.

"The National Weather Service (NWS) said Monday's tornado had generated winds of up to 200mph.

" 'It's certainly the most powerful tornado that I've ever dealt with in my 20 years with the weather service,' NWS meteorologist Rick Smith in Norman, Oklahoma, told the BBC.

"The town of Moore was hit by a severe tornado in May 1999, which had the highest winds ever recorded on Earth.

"But Betsy Randolph of the Oklahoma Highway Patrol told local news station Skynews 9 that the damage on Monday appeared to exceed that of the last devastating tornado.

"Tornadoes, hail and high winds also hit Iowa and Kansas, part of a storm system stretching from Texas to Minnesota...."
(BBC News)

From the looks of it, not all of Plaza Towers Elementary "came apart." There's a considerable portion of one area that's nearly intact. Even so, I'd rather have been in the school's basement, preferably a utility room, if I'd been in the school when the storm hit.

(from AP, via FoxNews, used w/o permission)
"This aerial photo shows damage to Plaza Towers Elementary School after it was hit by a massive tornado in Moore, Okla. (AP)..." (Fox News (May 20, 2013))

It's bad when a tornado hits any occupied building. There seems to be a particular emotional impact when it happens to a school or hospital.

(from AP, via FoxNews, used w/o permission)
"This aerial photo shows damage to Moore Medical Center after it was hit by a massive tornado in Moore, Okla. (AP)..." (Fox News (May 20, 2013))

Sin, Death, and Getting a Grip

"¹ ²In those days John the Baptist appeared, preaching in the desert of Judea

"(and) saying, 'Repent, ³ for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!' "
(Matthew 3:1-2)

In my youth, some folks seemed to get their jollies by shouting "Sinner repent" and so on: sometimes with what seems a sincere desire to share what John the Baptist said; sometimes as the start of a diatribe about commies, Catholics, and why everyone should hate music they don't like. I've explained how they indirectly encouraged me to become a Catholic, and that's almost another topic.

Matthew 3:2 makes a good point, though. Each of us is no more than a few decades from a final exam that determines where we spend eternity. (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1021-1022)

America's spiritual tone was set early: not entirely for the better, and I've been over that before:

"Catholics aren't Calvinists"
(May 7, 2012)
"My Take on the News: Jingle Bells, Jangled Nerves, and Good Advice"
(December 16, 2011)
Particularly
- Fear and Wisdom

There's a difference between rational awareness of personal responsibility and long-term consequences, and obsessing over sins: real or imagined, committed by oneself or 'those sinners over there.'

Another bit from the Bible:

"And he said, 'This is what I shall do: I shall tear down my barns and build larger ones. There I shall store all my grain and other goods

"and I shall say to myself, "Now as for you, you have so many good things stored up for many years, rest, eat, drink, be merry!"

"But God said to him, 'You fool, this night your life will be demanded of you; and the things you have prepared, to whom will they belong?' "
(Luke 12:18-20)

The point, as I see it, is that being prepared is being prudent, not that it's wrong to be wealthy: or poor. (August 4, 2011)

Then there's the enduring - and wrong - notion that bad things happen to bad people. As long as someone's enjoying a boring part of his or her life, that's a sort of ersatz comfort. When it's time for a personal crisis, not so much.

Telling us that we're going to die isn't the sort of 'good time Gospel' that's been occasionally popular, but that's part of what Jesus told us:

"¹ ² At that time some people who were present there told him about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with the blood of their sacrifices.

"He said to them in reply, 'Do you think that because these Galileans suffered in this way they were greater sinners than all other Galileans?

"By no means! But I tell you, if you do not repent, you will all perish as they did!

"Or those eighteen people who were killed when the tower at Siloam fell on them ³ --do you think they were more guilty than everyone else who lived in Jerusalem?

"By no means! But I tell you, if you do not repent, you will all perish as they did!' "
(Luke 13:1-5)

Again, this isn't a reason to cringe in fear. It's more of an "invitation to change our lives and to do works worthy of penance." Benedict XVI talked about that a few years back:

"Pastoral Visit to the Parish of St John of the Cross in Rome, 7 March 2010 - Homily of "
Benedict XVI (March 7, 2010)

Somewhat-related posts:

"Statues, Magic, and Juggling Plutonium"
(May 17, 2013)
"Sin, Outrage, and Making Sense"
(May 5, 2013)
"Boston Marathon Bombing: Tragedy and Uncertainty"
(April 15, 2013)
"Guilt and Group Discounts"
(April 14, 2013)
"Timothy, Amos, Money, and Getting a Grip"
(August 4, 2011)

Seeing the Horizon

2013-05-19T08:00:00.000-05:00

Quite a few Catholics smile now and then, some of us occasionally seem cheerful, and Catholic fundraisers are notorious for their acceptance of gambling: Bingo, usually.

By some standards, we're not very 'religious.'

Setting the Tone

I grew up where quite a few folks were 'Christian' at the top of their lungs. Many seemed dedicated to proving that religion was a psychiatric condition, and some were downright grim.

On the 'up' side, their goofy version of spirituality started me on a search that led to my becoming a Catholic.

Even Americans who don't commit evangelization with a blunt Bible often assume that being grim and being Christian go together. Evangelization, by the way, is part of our job: and that's another topic. (October 7, 2012)

The 'oh woe all ye faithful' part of America's version of religion and spirituality goes back a long time.

"Puritanism: The haunting fear that someone, somewhere, may be happy."
H. L. Mencken, The Quotations Page

Puritans weren't the only ones with a somewhat strict approach to their faith, and that's yet another topic:

"Catholics aren't Calvinists"
(May 7, 2012)

Pickled Peppers

Happily, being a Catholic means that I'm allowed to be happy.

"Pope: Sad Christian faces are like pickled peppers"
CNA/EWTN News (May 10, 2013)

"Pope Francis underscored the importance of being joyful by contrasting sad Christian faces - which are more like 'pickled peppers' - with the testimony of a beautiful life.

" 'Sometimes these melancholic Christians' faces have more in common with pickled peppers than the joy of having a beautiful life,' Pope Francis said May 10....

Looks like "melancholic Christians," aren't limited to America. Maybe it's part of human nature, maybe it's connected with the vein of dualism that runs through Western civilization:

"God Doesn't Make Junk: Or Mistakes
(November 27, 2011)
Particularly
- Dualism, Creation, and a Sticky Science
"Gnosticism: Dissing God's Creation"
(March 5, 2012)
" 'From Sour Saints, Deliver Us' "
(September 8, 2011)

Perennial pessimism might make sense for someone who didn't see much hope for the present or future. For someone who takes Jesus seriously - and that's still another topic. (January 13, 2011)

I've put excerpts from another news item about what the Pope said at the end of this post, one that includes more of what Pope Francis said.¹

Fun is Good: Joy is Better

"...'If we keep this joy to ourselves it will make us sick in the end, our hearts will grow old and wrinkled and our faces will no longer transmit that great joy, only nostalgia and melancholy which is not healthy,' he added....

"...The pontiff told them Christians should not keep joy 'bottled up' for themselves because they risk becoming nostalgic.

"Christian joy is not like 'having fun, which is good,' he explained, rather it 'is more, it is something else.'

" 'If we want to have fun all the time, in the end it becomes shallow, superficial, and also leads us to that state where we lack Christian wisdom, it makes us a little bit stupid, naive, no?' Pope Francis said...."
(CNA/EWTN News)

I like that: Having fun is okay, but it's possible to have too much of a good thing.

About happiness, it isn't the same as giggling all the time. Being who we are supposed to be is closer to the mark:

"HAPPINESS: Joy and beatitude over receiving the fulfillment of our vocation as creatures: a sharing in the divine nature and the vision of God. God put us into the world to know, love, and serve him, and so come to the happiness of paradise (1720)." (Glossary, Catechism of the Catholic Church)

Complete, unmixed, full-bore joy won't come in this world, but we get a sort of preview now and then. (Catechism, 1803, 1804, 1820-1832)

Eyes on the Horizon

"...'Joy is something that does not come from short term economic reasons, from momentary reasons, it is something deeper, it is a gift,'...

"...The pontiff described joy as 'a gift from God' that 'fills us from within' and 'cannot be held at heel, it must be let go.'

" 'It is a virtue of the great, of those great ones who rise above the little things in life, above human pettiness,' said Pope Francis.

"He explained that it is a virtue 'of those who will not allow themselves to be dragged into those little things within the community, within the Church' and that 'they always look to the horizon.'..."
(CNA/EWTN News)

I don't always see the horizon, but I'm learning to keep my eyes on the horizon: and what lies beyond.

Related posts:

"Fasting, Penance: and Infinite Depths of Joy"
(June 3, 2012)
"My Take on the News: Jeanne d'Arc/Joan of Arc; Joy and Children of God; Mourning a Baby"
(January 13, 2012)
Particularly
- Joy and Children of God
" 'Inevitable Progress;' 'We're All Gonna Die;' and Getting a Grip"
(January 16, 2012)
"Hope, Joy, and 'More Despondent Than Thou?' "
(January 8, 2012)
"Hope, Joy, and Working for a Better World"
(September 13, 2011)

Background:

Acts 18:9-18
Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1028, 1030, 1804, 2362

¹ Excerpt from the news:

"Pope at Mass: Christian joy far from simple fun"
Vatican Radio, via News.va (May 10, 2013)

"(Vatican Radio) Christian joy is a pilgrim joy that we cannot keep ‘bottled up’ for ourselves, or we risk becoming a 'melancholy' and 'nostalgic' community. Moreover, Christian joy is far from simple fun. It is something deeper than fleeting happiness, because it is rooted in our certainty that Jesus Christ is with God and with us.

"This is the lesson that Pope Francis drew from the Acts of the Apostles at Friday morning Mass as he described the disciples joy in the days between our Lord's Ascension and Pentecost and what we can learn from them....

"...'A Christian is a man and a woman of joy. Jesus teaches us this, the Church teaches us this, in a special way in this [liturgical]time. What is this joy? Is it having fun? No: it is not the same. Fun is good, eh? Having fun is good. But joy is more, it is something else. It is something that does not come from short term economic reasons, from momentary reasons : it is something deeper. It is a gift. Fun, if we want to have fun all the time, in the end becomes shallow, superficial, and also leads us to that state where we lack Christian wisdom, it makes us a little bit stupid, naive, no?, Everything is fun ... no. Joy is another thing. Joy is a gift from God. It fills us from within. It is like an anointing of the Spirit. And this joy is the certainty that Jesus is with us and with the Father'.

"A man of joy, the Pope continued, is a confident man. Sure that 'Jesus is with us, that Jesus is with the Father.' He asked: Can we 'bottle up' this joy in order to always have it with us?

" 'No, because if we keep this joy to ourselves it will make us sick in the end, our hearts will grow old and wrinkled and our faces will no longer transmit that great joy only nostalgia, melancholy which is not healthy. Sometimes these melancholy Christians faces have more in common with pickled peppers than the joy of having a beautiful life. Joy cannot be held at heel: it must be let go. Joy is a pilgrim virtue. It is a gift that walks, walks on the path of life, that walks with Jesus: preaching, proclaiming Jesus, proclaiming joy, lengthens and widens that path. It is a virtue of the Great, of those Great ones who rise above the little things in life, above human pettiness, of those who will not allow themselves to be dragged into those little things within the community, within the Church: they always look to the horizon'.

"...Joy is a 'pilgrim,' Pope Francis reiterated. 'The Christian sings with joy, and walks, and carries this joy.' It is a virtue of the path, actually more than a virtue it is a gift:

" 'It is the gift that brings us to the virtue of magnanimity. The Christian is magnanimous, he or she cannot be timorous: the Christian is magnanimous. And magnanimity is the virtue of breath, the virtue of always going forward, but with a spirit full of the Holy Spirit. Joy is a grace that we ask of the Lord. These days in a special way, because the Church is invited, the Church invites us to ask for the joy and also desire: that which propels the Christian's life forward is desire. The greater your desire, the greater your joy will be. The Christian is a man, is a woman of desire: always desire more on the path of life. We ask the Lord for this grace, this gift of the Spirit: Christian joy. Far from sorrow, far from simple fun ... it is something else. It is a grace we must seek'...."

Statues, Magic, and Juggling Plutonium

2013-05-17T22:24:00.003-05:00

There are folks who ring the changes on 'prosperity gospel' goofiness. The idea that faith, and giving to the 'right' spiritual outfit, guarantees wealth is a bad idea.¹

There's also the persistent notion that burying a statue of St. Joseph will magically make your house sell faster or for more money. Snopes.com has a pretty good backgrounder on that bit of folklore. And that's almost another topic.

Despite what you may have heard, Catholics don't worship statues. That's idolatry, and a very bad idea. (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 2097, 2112-2114)

As for burying a statue, or doing anything else 'magical:' the best-case scenario would be that nothing much happens. The 'pulling a rabbit out of a hat' variety of magic is harmless entertainment. The sort of magic that actually works is not safe. I'd much rather try juggling plutonium in my skivvies. (March 13, 2013)

What the Church says about doing the 'practical' sort of magic is, basically: Don't. (Catechism, 2115-2117)

Driving back from seeing an industrial robot demonstration this week, I let my mind wander: a little. Driving and daydreaming mix about as well as driving and drinking, and that's yet another topic.

Related posts:

Magic
- "Getting Lost, a Seismometer in Space, and Viking 'Magic' "
  (March 15, 2013)
  Particularly
  - 'Magic,' Science, and Technology
- "Getting a Grip About Science, Religion, Technology, and Magic"
  (March 13, 2013)
- "Fallen Angels and Risk/Benefit Ratios"
  (June 20, 2012)
- "Catholics aren't Calvinists"
  (May 7, 2012)
  Particularly
  - Hate, Magic, and Getting a Grip
- "Faith and Obedience"
  (March 25, 2012)
  Particularly
  - Superstition?
- "Superstitions, Catholicism, and a Really Bad Experience With the Ark"
  (July 13, 2010)
  Particularly
  - A Word About Using 'Magic Charms:' Don't
Wealth
- "'The Scandal of Glaring Inequalities'"
  (February 27, 2012)
- "Charity in Truth: 'Urgent' Plus 44 Years and Counting"
  (February 6, 2012)
- "Timothy, Amos, Money, and Getting a Grip"
  (August 4, 2011)
- "Passing Through Status Symbol Land"
  (May 14, 2011)
- "Wealth, Poverty, Stereotypes, and Snidely Whiplash"
  (March 8, 2011)

¹ Individual Catholics can, and have, believed stuff that the Church says is a bad idea. The prosperity gospel is one of them. Bottom line, it's a bad idea. Here's some background:

"...The Renaissance and the Reformation have shaped the modern western individual, who is not weighed down by external burdens like merely extrinsic authority and tradition; people feel the need to 'belong' to institutions less and less (and yet loneliness is very much a scourge of modern life), and are not inclined to rank 'official' judgements above their own. With this cult of humanity, religion is internalised in a way which prepares the ground for a celebration of the sacredness of the self. This is why New Age shares many of the values espoused by enterprise culture and the 'prosperity Gospel' (of which more will be said later: section 2.4), ..."
("Jesus Christ The Bearer Of The Water Of Life," 1.1) [emphasis mine]

"...In a New Age perspective, illness and suffering come from working against nature; when one is in tune with nature, one can expect a much healthier life, and even material prosperity; for some New Age healers, there should actually be no need for us to die...."
("Jesus Christ The Bearer Of The Water Of Life," 2.2.3)

"...New Age training courses (what used to be known as 'Erhard seminar trainings' [EST] etc.) marry counter-cultural values with the mainstream need to succeed, inner satisfaction with outer success; ... some New Age devotees are involved not only to become more authentic and spontaneous, but also in order to become more prosperous (through magic etc.). 'What makes things even more appealing to the enterprise-minded businessperson is that New Age trainings also resonate with somewhat more humanistic ideas abroad in the world of business....they are likely to appeal to those businesspeople who have already been involved with more (secular) humanistic trainings and who want to take things further: at one and the same time for the sake of personal growth, happiness and enthusiasm, as well as for commercial productivity.⁽⁴⁶⁾"
("Jesus Christ The Bearer Of The Water Of Life," 2.4) [emphasis mine]

"Jesus Christ The Bearer Of The Water Of Life"
A Christian reflection on the New Age
Pontifical Council for Culture, Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue (2003)
Particularly
- 1.1 Why now?
- 2.4. "Inhabitants of myth rather than history"(43)?: New Age and culture

Today, the Planets: Tomorrow, the Stars?

2013-05-17T08:00:00.001-05:00

I remember when warp drives were viewed as science fiction: 'Buck Rogers' stuff. That was then, this is now.

Looking Back, Looking Ahead

We probably can't build a practical warp drive with today's technology.

But in 1903, when Konstantin Tsiolkovsky published "The Exploration of Cosmic Space by Means of Reaction Devices," we couldn't build interplanetary spaceships. Even new technological wonders like the zeppelin couldn't carry us beyond Earth's atmosphere.

In 2009 some folks wondered why we hadn't gone back to the moon.

As of last week, about 78,000 people have signed up for the Mars One colony project.

In 2109, the debate may be whether to keep deep space colonization in the private sector: and whether for-profit interstellar exploration is okay.

Being Human

Faith, reason, and seeking truth get along just fine. Honest research can't get in the way of faith, since we're studying what God created. (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 35, 2104)

Learning and making tools is what we're supposed to do. We're expected to take care of this creation and equipped with abilities that the job requires.

This isn't the crazy Victorian-era notion that nature is something we can pillage and destroy. We have a job, and responsibilities. (Catechism, 159, 339, 373, 2292-2295)

Looking Beyond Earth

In the last few centuries we've discovered that this creation is immensely larger and more ancient that we'd guessed. I'm okay with that, some folks aren't.

My faith doesn't require me to know about this universe: but ignoring what we've learned since the 1500s seems silly, and I've been over all this before:

"Seeking Truth, Accepting Vastness"
(April 2, 2013)
"Science, Technology, and Being Human"
(January 27, 2013)
"Postcards From Mars; an Embarrassing Arrest; and a New(ish) Website"
(August 31, 2012)
Particularly
- Should We Stay, or Should We Go?

It's speculation on my part, but I think we may be expected to take care of much more than this one planet. If that's so, we have a huge job ahead, which could be a scary thought. I'm inclined to see it as job security.

Finally, my take on some of the week's (science) news:

1. Monday's Solar Flare

(NASA, via FoxNews.com, used w/o permission)
"This image shows an X3.2 solar flare (far left) erupting from the sun late Monday (May 13, 2013) as seen by NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory. It was the third major X-class solar flare in 24 hours."
(FoxNews.com)

"Huge Solar Flares Keep Erupting from Busy Sunspot"
Tariq Malik, Space.com, (May 15, 2013)

"An overachieving sunspot on the surface of the sun unleashed its fourth major solar flare in two days late Tuesday (May 14), a solar storm that may deal Earth a glancing blow, space weather experts say.

"The active sunspot AR1748 roared to life Tuesday night releasing an X-class solar flare - the strongest type the sun can experience - that peaked at 9:48 p.m. EDT (0148 May 15 GMT), according to NOAA's Space Weather Prediction Center in Boulder, Colo. The flare came after a relative lull in activity from sunspot AR1748, which fired off three monster X-class solar flares within a 24-hour period between Sunday and Monday...."

Cubicle-dwellers take note: Muting your sound might be prudent before loading that article. A different video ad started each time I returned to it. The ones I've seen range from amusing to annoying. Your experience may vary.

Flares: Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow

A thousand years ago, folks didn't know why aurora happen, and solar flares didn't matter in everyday life.

A hundred years back, some solar flares affected telegraph operators: painfully.

Today, major flares affect Earth-based communication and robots we've sent to explore other planets.

A hundred years from now, they'll probably be a hazard for interplanetary travelers: and folks living outside the protection of Earth's magnetic field.

2. Warp Drive and NASA

"Warp Speed, Scotty? Star Trek's FTL Drive May Actually Work"
Jillian Scharr, Space.com (May 14, 2013)

"In the 'Star Trek' TV shows and films, the U.S.S. Enterprise's warp engine allows the ship to move faster than light, an ability that is, as Spock would say, 'highly illogical.'

However, there's a loophole in Einstein's general theory of relativity that could allow a ship to traverse vast distances in less time than it would take light. The trick? It's not the starship that's moving — it's the space around it.

In fact, scientists at NASA are right now working on the first practical field test toward proving the possibility of warp drives and faster-than-light travel. Maybe the warp drive in 'Star Trek Into Darkness,' the franchise's latest film opening this week, is possible after all. [Warp Drive: Can It Be Done? (Video)]..."

The article has one of the better explanations of Alcubierre's math and its practical applications. There's also a fair number of "Star Trek" references; and what looks like a picture from the latest movie, showing someone in a Star Fleet uniform having an emotional meltdown.

About NASA making a warp drive that looks like "Star Trek's?" What we get won't look like the starship Enterprise.

Alcubierre's equations, as recently tweaked, call for a warp field generator that looks like a skinny doughnut or fat Hula-Hoop, with room for a payload in the ring's center.

Interstellar Travel and Technology

If Alcubierre's equations are right, long-range spaceships aren't limited to the speed of light.

Matter and energy can't travel through space faster than light. But space isn't matter, it isn't energy, and it doesn't look like there's any reason why we can't make a piece of space move through the rest of space-time at any speed.

Even better, recent work shows that we may not need to convert mass to energy in Jupiter-size lots to make a warp drive work. (Apathetic Lemming of the North (November 30, 2012))

I've read overviews of the White–Juday warp field interferometer, which could test whether today's warp field equations are a good match with reality. I'm no expert, but I know a little of the math, some of the science, and many of the principles involved.

I'm a little surprised that a prototype can be built with today's technology, but Harold White and others found ways to reduce power requirements: a lot.

Related posts:

Our job
- "Designed as Stewards"
  (March 17, 2013)
- "Ethics and Asteroids"
  (February 20, 2013)
- " '...The Man With the X-Ray Eyes,' the Tuskegee Experiment, and Seeking God"
  (February 10, 2013)
  Particularly
- "Nature: 'Wise Use,' Yes;
  'Reckless Exploitation,' No"
  (November 12, 2012)
- "Earth Day, 2012: This Catholic's View"
  (April 22, 2012)
  Particularly
  - Earth Day, Genesis, and Getting a Grip
  - Strip Mines, Captain Planet, and Daft Desires
Science and technology
- "Robots, a Martian Dune, and Mapping a Billion Stars"
  (May 10, 2013)
- "Prayer! Meditation! Science!"
  (May 3, 2013)
  Particularly
  - Science
- "Antigravity Experiments, Quantum Entanglement, and Making Kidneys"
  (May 3, 2013)
  Particularly
- "Another Step Closer to a Practical Warp Drive: Maybe"
  Apathetic Lemming of the North (November 30, 2012)
  Particularly
  - Equations, Assumptions, and 'Impossible'
- "Time, the Universe, and Space Aliens"
  Apathetic Lemming of the North (April 20, 2012)
  Particularly
  - From Theoretical Physics to Working Spaceships

Preventing Sexual Abuse: "...A Race Without a Finish..."

2013-05-15T12:24:00.002-05:00

Civil authority comes with responsibility. (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1897-1904)

The stakes are much higher for priests. (Catechism, 553, 1348, 1448, 2686)

One of the world's 407,000 or so Catholic priests misusing their position and authority would be one too many. That said, the recurring pedophile priest story, as presented on old-school news media, is a trifle - - - imaginative.

Sex, Love, and Neighbors

"Abuse report finds few allegations against clergy in 2012"
CNA (May 11, 2013)

"The latest report on child protection in the U.S. Catholic Church found a total of 11 credible allegations of abuse of minors by diocesan clergy in 2012, with a 20 percent decrease in the numbers of new credible abuse allegations about incidents in the past 60 years...."

Since some American subcultures have odd notions about Catholics or religion in general, and sex, here's a quick look at what the Catholic Church says:¹

Sex is good
(Catechismof the Catholic Church, 2331-2336)
Rape is bad
(Catechism, 2356)
We should
- Love
  - God
  - Our neighbor
    (Matthew 22:36-40, Mark 12:28-31)
- See everybody as our neighbor
  (Matthew 5:43-44, Mark 12:28-31, Luke 10:25-30; Catechism, 1825)
Individual people are
- Responsible for their actions
  (Catechism, 1738)
- Deserve respect
  (Catechism, 2479)
Some actions are always wrong
(Catechism, 1789)
- Even if some leader says it's okay
  (Catechism, 2242)

Maybe you know a Catholic who says sex is icky, that hating some group of people is okay, or has other goofy ideas. Some of the billion or so living Catholics don't know our faith very well: a sad situation, but all too real.

Finally, about rape: Forcing someone to have sex is bad; someone who is responsible for children raping those children is really bad. (Catechism, 2356)

Cleaning up a Mess: Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People (CPCYP)

"Cardinal Timothy Dolan of New York, the U.S. bishops' conference president, said in reaction to the report that Catholic bishops renew their 'steadfast resolution' not to lessen their commitment to protect children and young people.

" 'We seek with equal determination to promote healing and reconciliation for those harmed in the past, and to assure that our audits continue to be credible and maintain accountability in our shared promise to protect and our pledge to heal,' Cardinal Dolan said May 10, the U.S. bishops' conference reports.

"The 2012 report on the implementation of the U.S. bishops' Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People was authored for the National Review Board and for the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops by the bishops' Secretariat of Child and Youth Protection...."
(CNA)

Again, one rape is bad: one too many. Some priests really did force children, youth, and adults, into sexual acts. One incident like that would be one too many.

Despite culturally-normative assumptions in my native land, the Catholic Church does not promote rape, prostitution, or adultery. We do organize Bingo games, and that's another topic. (November 18, 2012)

Abuse, Yes; Widespread, No; Recent, Not So Much

"...The report, drawing from the Georgetown University-based Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate, found 11 credible allegations that diocesan clergy and one credible accusation that a member of a religious order or institute committed offenses against minors in 2012. This represents a slight increase from the seven credible abuse allegations concerning the years 2010-2011...."
(CNA)

About 59 hundredths of one percent of the 53,000 Catholic priests and deacons in America were accused of sexual abuse in 2012. Yet again, one such incident would be one too many.

Many of those individuals will not be punished, either by American courts or by the Catholic Church: because they're dead. That's not too surprising, since most of the alleged incidents happened in the '70s and '80's: three or four decades ago.

Yes, there were worse things than Disco.²

Dead Abusers, Living Victims

That CNA article includes quite a few statistics. That sort of thing fascinates me, your experience may vary.

Here's a sort of summary of what that CPCYP report says about reporting dioceses and eparchies³ in America:

There are more than
- 38,000 priests
- 15,000 deacons
During 2012
- 390 new credible allegations
  - Made against 313 diocesan priests or deacons
    - Mainly concerning claims from the seventies or eighties
  - One percent of the allegations concern permanent deacons
  - About 60 percent of accused perpetrators had prior allegations against them
  - Most of the accused have
    - Died or
    - Been removed from ministry
- In diocesan allegations
  - About 84 percent of abuse victims were male
  - Abuse disproportionately began when victims were aged 10-14
  - Only about one in ten allegations were
    - Considered unsubstantiated or
    - Determined to be false
  - Costs totaled almost $113 million
    - Legal settlements
    - Attorney fees
    - Therapy for victims
    - Offender support
- Religious orders and institutes
  - 74 new credible abuse allegations reported
    - About half were made against someone who had been accused earlier
  - financial costs of abuse totaled $20,100,000
People who have undergone safe environment training
- Over 99 percent of priests, deacons and educators at Catholic institutions
- Close to 98 percent of candidates for ordination
- Almost
  - 98 percent of church volunteers
  - 97 percent of church employees

The report covers years from 2004 to 2012. Of those nine years, cleaning up the mess left by abuse was least expensive in 2012; most expensive in 2007, at $500,000,000 for that year.

Suspicion and Burning Crosses

That's more of an estimate, than a solid number, since child protection programs have a lot of staff turnover. Worse, most diceses and eparchies weren't willing to let Stonebridge Business Partners do on-site audits. Considering America's tradition of anti-Catholicism, I think I understand their diffidence, and that's yet another topic.

Still, expecting the auditors to work only with what dioceses and eparchies tell them allows too much room for suspicion. My opinion.

Then there's flat-out refusal to cooperate:

"...The Diocese of Lincoln and five Eastern Catholic eparchies have refused to be audited and are not in compliance with the bishops' charter for child protection. The Dioceses of Lake Charles, La., Tulsa, Okla. and Baker, Ore. were each found non-compliant with one requirement of the charter...."
(CNA)

Although it's been a century or more since killing Catholics, burning our property, or planting a burning cross in front of a Catholic Church were popular pastimes among some American subcultures: that sort of thing tends to leave an impression. Even so, I hope those dioceses are doing an extremely good job of policing their own folks.

I suspect that one reason for the Catholic Church apparent inaction on claims of sexual abuse was that it was hard to tell the difference between sincere allegations and the sort of weird Maria Monk stories and Thomas Nast attitudes. (September 26, 2008)

Now that we know the problem is real, there's work to be done. Lots of work.

"...Al J. Notzon, III, chairman of the National Review Board overseeing the audit, stressed the importance of keeping good records and involving parishes in the auditing process.

" 'Abuse happened in the parishes where our children learn and live their young, growing faith,' Notzon said. 'What we have come to see is that protecting children from sexual abuse is a race without a finish and more rather than less effort is necessary to keep this sacred responsibility front and center.'"
(CNA)

"My Take on the News: Saints; Standard-Issue Clueless Journalism; and Saint Michael, Action Figure"
(December 23, 2011)
Particularly
- Clueless Journalism - Again
"Return of the Pedophile Priests Rides Again: The Sequel"
(November 18, 2011)
"Parish Priest: Loud Accusation, Quiet Exoneration"
(May 7, 2011)
"Archdiocese of Philadelphia, Allegations, Priests, and My Take"
(March 9, 2011)
"Pedophile Priests! - or - My Mind is Made Up, Don't Confuse Me With the Facts"
(April 11, 2010)

¹ Background:

Sexuality
- Is part of human nature
  Catechism, 2331-2336
  - "Educational Guidance in Human Love"
    Outlines for sex education
    Sacred Congregation for Catholic Education, William Cardinal Baum (November 1, 1983)
  - And as such is
    - Good
      (Catechism, 2331-2332) (Genesis 1:27, 31)
    - Special
      (Catechism, 2348-2350)
      - "The Truth and Meaning of Human Sexuality"
        Guidelines for Education within the Family
        The Pontifical Council for the Family, Alfonso Card. López Trujillo, + Most Rev. Elio Sgreccia (December 8, 1995)
Rape is bad
(Catechism, 2356)
- "Consultation on Humanitarian Issues"
  Issues and Experience of the World Food Program
  Monsignor Marchetto, Permanent Observer of the Holy See (March 16, 2000)
  - Yes, I know about the pedophile priests

More, about Social Justice

Catechism, 1928, 1943-1948
"Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church"
Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace (June 26, 2006)

Respect for the human person
- Catechism, 1929-1933
- "Instruction on respect for human life"
  Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, Joseph Card. Ratznger, Alberto Bovone (February 22, 1987)
Equality and differences among men
- Catechism, 1933-1938
- "Octogesima Adveniens"
  Apostolic Letter of Pope Paul VI (may 14, 1971)
Human solidarity
- Catechism, 1939-1942
- "Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church"
  Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace (June 26, 2006)

² I have nothing against Disco as music, but I was there in its heyday: and remember hearing disco over and over and over again. After a while, the appeal of its boom-boom beat fades a trifle.

³ An eparchy is a diocese of the Eastern Orthodox Church.

Good Advice from "Alice in Wonderland"

2013-05-12T08:00:00.000-05:00

Physical laws, like the ones studied by physicists and chemists, are fairly obvious. Like Lewis Carrol's Alice, we soon learn:

"...that a red-hot poker will burn you if you hold it too long; and that, if you cut your finger very deeply with a knife, it usually bleeds; and she had never forgotten that, if you drink much from a bottle marked 'poison,' it is almost certain to disagree with you, sooner or later...."
("Alice in Wonderland," Lewis Carrol, via Project Gutenberg)

Natural law, ethical principles woven into the fabric of the universe, are just as real. Breaking them don't always have swift, obvious results that ignoring physical laws do, though.

Shoplifting, Melodrama, and All That

Let's say a person decides that it's okay to shoplift, as long as he gives what he steals to charity. it might be a long time before something obviously unpleasant happened. 'Robbing from the rich and giving to the poor' might feel good for a while: along the lines of the 19th and 20th century Robin Hood stories.

Natural law doesn't work like a badly-written melodrama, where the Youth Who Was Led Astray steals a pocket watch: and is promptly killed by a cattle stampede. Our shoplifter might earn a reputation as a philanthropist, and never get caught. So what's the harm in stealing stuff from a store?

Even if the shoplifter only steals from 'big box' stores, each theft takes a small sum from what the store would have earned that day. Whoever manages the store will either have less money to pay expenses, like what the store's employees are earning; or will increase prices to make up for losses from theft.

A conventional assumption is that stores are run by nasty rich people who tear bread from the bleeding lips of oppressed - - - you get the idea. I think that's as plausible as an earlier era's knee-jerk invocation of commie plots, and that's another topic.

I'm pretty sure that some folks who run businesses are anything but paragonsof virtue. But that's not a reason to steal. Someone's going to get hurt: and it probably won't be the dishonest merchant.

Details Change, Principles Don't

When I write posts for another blog, I have to follow rules about intellectual property rights on the Internet. On the other hand, I don't observe details of the Gulathing Law that was part of my ancestors' culture in Norway. Quite a bit has happened in the millennia since the Gulen parliament: anyway, my Scandinavian forebears came from another part of Norway.

Details in the rules we use reflect passing circumstances, and change as the culture changes. A thousand years from now, we'll have new laws and regulations: but theft will still be wrong.

Here's a a very sketchy description of natural law:

Natural law
- Is
  - 'Programmed' into us
  - Part of reality
- Can b understood through reason
- Lets us Good and evil
- Truth and lies
(Catechism,1954)
Does not change
(Catechism, 1958)
Some rules always apply
- Don't
  - Do evil 'with good intentions'
  - Help others do wrong
- Do
  - Follow the Golden Rule
    - "Do to others whatever you would have them do to you...."
    (Matthew 7:12)
  - Respect neighbors
(Catechism, 1789)
How natural law is applied changes
- With varying customs in different
  - Places
  - Times
  - Circumstances
- Which means we must think
(Catechism, 1957)

There's quite a bit more written about natural law, including Catechism, 1954-1960, 2259-2262, 2268-2270.

Related posts:

"An 'Objective Moral Order' "
(November 4, 2012)
"Original Sin and the Unfairness of Gravity"
(July 11, 2012)
Particularly
- "Harmony...Destroyed"
"The Gospel According to Chicken Man"
(July 1, 2012)
Particularly
- "Crime And/Or Evil"
"Natural Moral Law, Catholicism, Karma, and the Tea Party"
(October 16, 2010)
"Demonic Deception? Or What You Get When We Play God?"
(May 5, 2010)
Particularly
- Natural Law and Surviving a Century

Robots, a Martian Dune, and Mapping a Billion Stars

2013-05-10T08:00:00.000-05:00

I gave my take on news from Cleveland, Ohio, in an unscheduled post:

"Kidnapping, Slavery, Human Trafficking, and Bingo"
(May 8, 2013)

Today's post is about robots, real and imagined; exploring Mars; and what we're learning about our corner of this galaxy.

Predictions, Turing Tests, and Me

I'd be more intrigued with the possibility of AI, artificial intelligence, that was equivalent to what humans have: if I hadn't been reading roughly the same glowing predictions and fearful warnings for about a half-century now.

I think it's possible that we'll eventually make an AI that passes Turing tests: able to converse in our language with a human being, and not be obviously not-human. I'm also fairly sure that if or when that happens, we'll have claims and counter-claims as silly as what happened when serious science got tangled in Victorian-era intellectual fads and goofy religious preferences.

About evolution, God, and dealing with reality: I don't see a conflict between seeking truth and seeking God; it's obvious that this universe changes; and I'm willing to take this universe 'as is,' with all its vastness and antiquity. (February 27, 2013; January 18, 2012)

Rational Beings and Dogs

Humans are made in the image of God. (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1701-1709)

We are:

Rational beings
(Catechism, 1730)
Given
- Intelligence
- Free will
(Catechism, 307, 311)

We also have mind-boggling power and responsiblility. (Catechism, 337-339, 343, 373) (March 17, 2013; April 3, 2012)

If, or when, we develop a 'human-like' AI, the template we use for that intelligence will be our own: by definition. It will be a remarkable accomplishment, on a par with turning wolves into dogs.

The idea that humans changed some wolves into good hunting assistants and guards is controversial. (NPR, November 8, 2011)

I suppose it's possible that some wolves just happened to get less intelligent and more friendly toward humans, and that 'primitive' humans just happened to start letting these modified wolves live with their families.

I'm a bit skeptical of claims that people 'just happen' to benefit from some unlikely series of events they 'just happened' to be involved with: even if the folks weren't British or American, and might have had longer body hair than I do.

We probably will never know all the details of how some wolves 'just happened' to become dogs. Those events played out long before we started using external memory technologies like writing. We aren't even sure how and why QWERTY keyboards became a standard: and that's another topic.

"The Lies You've Been Told About the Origin of the QWERTY Keyboard"
Alexis C. Madrigal, The Atlantic (May 3 2013)

(a tip of the hat to Paul Sofranko, on Google+, for the heads-up on the Atlantic article)

1. The Coming Robot Apocalypse: Read All About It!

"Intelligent Robots Will Overtake Humans by 2100, Experts Say"
Tia Ghose, LiveScience (May 7, 2013)

"Are you prepared to meet your robot overlords?

"The idea of superintelligent machines may sound like the plot of 'The Terminator' or 'The Matrix,' but many experts say the idea isn't far-fetched. Some even think the singularity - the point at which artificial intelligence can match, and then overtake, human smarts - might happen in just 16 years.

"But nearly every computer scientist will have a different prediction for when and how the singularity will happen...."

I'll cut Tia Ghose a little slack on this article. That third paragraph is a sort of common-sense disclaimer. A bit further along in the article we learn that the 'experts' have a book to sell.

Now, about that "singularity." It's already happened. Back in 1997, Deep Blue demonstrated that computers are smarter than humans: at playing chess.

The computer on my desktop is smarter than I am: at arithmetic, sorting lists, and quite a few related functions.

Perhaps since I don't have a book sell, I won't say that I live in constant fear that the four-lobed brain in my computer will hypnotize me with emanations from the monitor: turning me into a mindless slave to the 'Deep Blue Conspiracy.'

On the other hand, that would make a dandy plot for a potboiler: maybe along the lines of "Colossus: The Forbin Project." (1970)

Replaced by Machines? Been There, Done That

I might take the 'replaced by machines' notion a little more seriously, if I didn't have a pretty good memory.

Back in my 'good old days,' a half-century back, quite a few folks in middle management felt threatened by computers. They had been promoted for their ability to add up columns of numbers. Information technology of the day could do the same thing: faster, and (usually) more accurately.

The sensible choices for those 'obsolete' humans were learning to use new information technology, or looking for a different sort of job.

A century before that, folks who made a living by swinging a hammer were - threatened? - by steam engines. How much American folklore about John Henry really happened may be discussed long after 'intelligent' robots are as commonplace as cell phones are today.

I'll be surprised if 'intelligent' robots have no effect on how people live. On the other hand, I don't feel threatened by today's Roomba, or 'Heimie:' my name for Hitachi's EMIEW2

Hitachi EMIEW2 (Feb 2012)

I'll grant that 'Heimie' doesn't seem particularly useful, but 'his' more utilitarian counterparts, like Kiva robots, are pretty good at stacking merchandise.

'Heimie' and company might threaten the careers of mail clerks who don't get along with new technology: but somehow I think humanity will soldier on.

Pencil-Pushers and Pumping Iron

I suppose some folks enjoyed their jobs, back in my 'good old days.'

Hunched over a desk in the flickering glow of fluorescent lights; writing the results of arithmetic operations neatly in little rectangles; and completing forms in triplicate. Maybe someone will open a chain of spas for frustrated pencil-pushers: complete with personal managers who keep the 'in basket' full.

That's not as weird an idea as it might seem. Today's America doesn't have much room for "a steel driven man" of the legendary John Henry variety. But the last time I checked, my homeland has a remarkable number of facilities where folks pay to pump iron.

2. A Martian Dune and 14 Cups of Coffee

(from NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS, used w/o permission)
"...This mosaic of images from the Mast Camera (Mastcam) on NASA's Mars rover Curiosity shows Mount Sharp in a white-balanced color adjustment that makes the sky look overly blue but shows the terrain as if under Earth-like lighting. The component images were taken during the 45th Martian day, or sol, of Curiosity's mission on Mars (Sept. 20, 2012). Image released March 15, 2013...."

"Bizarre Mars Mountain Possibly Built by Wind, Not Water"
Mike Wall, Space.com (May 6, 2013 )

"The mysterious Martian mountain that beckons NASA's Curiosity rover was likely built primarily by wind rather than water, as previously believed, a new study suggests.

"Many scientists suspect that the 3.4-mile-high (5.5 kilometers) Mount Sharp formed primarily from layers of lakebed silt, which is one of the main reasons that the mountain was selected as Curiosity's ultimate destination. But the new study holds that wind probably did most of the heavy lifting.

" 'Our work doesn't preclude the existence of lakes in Gale Crater, but suggests that the bulk of the material in Mount Sharp was deposited largely by the wind,' study co-author Kevin Lewis, of Princeton University, said in a statement...."

(from NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS, used w/o permission)
Mount Sharp, detail from NASA/JPL's Curiosity Mastcam mosaic.

One of Mount Sharp's odd features are those tilted layers. If they were sediment deposited on the bed on a now-dry lake, they'd have been horizontal - unless something had been pushing Mount Sharp up from below. Now there's a disturbing idea: and an entirely different topic. (Drifting at the Edge of Time and Space (November 7, 2011))

Turns out, Mount Sharp and it's tilted layers are the sort of thing that should form as a daily ebb and flow of Martian air blows sand down the slopes of Gale Crater. Mike Wall doesn't use the term, but Mount Sharp seems to be basically a big sand dune.

Someone else noticed that, and left a predictably bitter comment about the money wasted in exploring a sand dune. If the price tag was a billion dollars, that sum would have kept America's government energy programs going for - about two weeks.

Offhand, I think we can afford to spend about $30,991,000,000 on science, space, and technology. That's a lot of money: but there are a lot of Americans. Assuming that the cost was spread evenly among the 316,000,000 or so folks in this country, each member of my family would be paying about $98 each year for all 'useless' research.

Sure, if I had that $98 each year, I could go to Starbucks for a cup of coffee 14 times a year: if there was a Starbucks near where I live. There are better ways to spend that money: and worse, and that's yet another topic. Topics.

3. More Robots, Planets, and a Billion Stars

"Beyond Kepler: New Missions to Search for Alien Planets"
Mike Wall, Space.com (May 2, 2013)

"NASA's groundbreaking planet-hunting Kepler observatory may be showing its age, but a handful of other spacecraft are poised to join the search for exoplanets and carry it into the future.

"The Kepler spacecraft has detected more than 2,700 potential alien planets since its March 2009 launch, revolutionizing scientists' understanding of worlds beyond our solar system. But the second of the telescope's four reaction wheels - devices that maintain the observatory's position in space - may be about to fail, putting the prolific mission's future in doubt.

"While no instrument is likely to replace Kepler or its capabilities anytime soon, reinforcements are on their way to the launchpad. The first is scheduled to blast off this October, in fact - the European Space Agency's Gaia mission. [Gallery: A World of Kepler Planets]..."

We might be able to send a technician to repair Kepler: in a few years. If Kepler was in Earth orbit, like the Hubble observatory, a maintenance run might be practical today. As it is, Kepler is in orbit around the sun, in a 372.5 day orbit: trailing behind Earth. ("Kepler: Launch Vehicle and Orbit," NASA)

Getting a Grip About "Gaia"

If "Gaia" seems familiar, you may have watched "Captain Planet and the Planeteers." (1990-1996) Or maybe you saw the also-'relevant' "Gaia." (2010) Both, I'm told, are chock-full of social commentary.

As I've said before: I think dumping raw sewage in drinking water is imprudent; pandas are cute; and environmental concerns aren't necessarily daft. On the other hand, treating nature as a deity seems counterproductive, at best: and that's yet again another topic.

But "Gaia" is a catchy name for a robot spaceship, and what's important is what ESA's robot is supposed to do.

Mapping a Billion Stars: It's a Start

"Gaia is designed to create an extremely accurate 3D map of about 1 billion Milky Way stars - 1 percent of our galaxy's total. This work could detect tens of thousands of new planetary systems, scientists say.

" 'Researchers hope that Gaia will tell them more about the distribution of exoplanets around the galaxy: Are there more near the center or in the spiral arms? Are planets more common in areas rich in heavy elements?' reporters Yudhijit Bhattacharjee and Daniel Clery write in a special exoplanet section in the journal Science released online today (May 2)...."
(Mike Wall, Space.com)

I'll be watching results from Kepler, Gaia, and other projects with considerable interest. We're getting close to having enough data to make educated guesses about what sorts of planets circle other stars.

We might even find a planet that's about the size of Earth, warm enough for water to exist as a solid, liquid, and gas at its surface, and oxygen in the atmosphere. Or, not.

4. Nifty Name, Oldish Idea

(from Beau.TheConsortium, via Space.com, used w/o permission)

"Search Is On for 'Eyeball Earth' Alien Planets"
Charles Q. Choi, Astrobiology Magazine, via Space.com (April 29, 2013)

"Alien worlds resembling giant eyeballs might exist around red dwarf stars, and researchers are now proposing experiments to simulate these distant planets and see how capable they are of supporting life.

"Red dwarfs are small, faint stars about one-fifth as massive as the sun and up to 50 times dimmer. They are the most common stars in the galaxy and are thought to make up to 70 percent of the stars in the universe — vast numbers that potentially make them valuable places to look for extraterrestrial life.

"Indeed, the latest results from NASA's Kepler space observatory reveal that at least half of these stars host rocky planets that are half to four times the mass of Earth. [Gallery: A World of Kepler Planets]

"When looking for alien life as we know it, scientists typically focus on worlds that have water, since there is life virtually everywhere there is water on Earth. As such, they concentrate on the habitable zone of a star - the area surrounding a star where it is neither too hot nor too cold for liquid water to exist on a planet's surface....

Astrobiology Magazine's article is a pretty good overview of what scientists see as a likely sort of world, based on what's being discovered. Defining the habitable zone of a star as the area where water can be a liquid on a planet's (or moon's) surface may be a bit too limited, though.

For example, a moon of Jupiter, Europa, has a massive ocean under a relatively thin shell of ice. Critters in Europa's ocean wouldn't get much sunlight, but some life on Earth lives on heat from deep-sea hydrothermal vents.

Land of Endless Twilight

"...Since red dwarfs are relatively cool, their habitable zones are often closer than the distance at which Mercury orbits the sun. This makes it relatively easy for astronomers to spot worlds in a red dwarf's habitable zone - the exoplanets' orbits are small, meaning they complete them quickly and often, and researchers can in principle readily detect the way these worlds regularly dim the light of these stars.

"When a planet orbits a star very closely, the gravitational pull of the star can force the world to become tidally locked with it.

" 'This means that they always show the same side to their star just as our moon does to the Earth, which means they have one permanent day and one permanent night side,' study lead author Daniel Angerhausen, an astronomer and astrobiologist at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, N.Y., told Astrobiology Magazine...."
(Charles Q. Choi, Astrobiology Magazine, via Space.com)

Daniel Angerhausen and others in the HABEBEE ("Exploring the Habitability of Eyeball-Exo-Earths," a Brazilian acronym) study are putting new data into mathematical models of more-or-less-Earth-like planets orbiting red dwarf stars. What they're doing is new. The idea that a habitable planet might orbit a red dwarf star, with one face in perpetual day, has been around for decades.

That's not a criticism of HABEBEE. We've known that life on that sort of planet, if any, would be different: what Angerhausen and others are doing will start defining what we could be looking for.

Where the Sun Never Sets: Or Rises

On a more imaginative note, I think stories set on an 'eyeball Earth' could be fun: in a 'spooky castle' sort of way.

When the stalwart hero must wait until dawn before scaling the parapet, that's a test of patience. When the castle is literally in the twilight zone, a day's march from sunlight, and ruled by a - thing - from the dark side: that's another matter.

5. Orbital Salvage and Recycling: The Sky's (Not) the Limit

"Space junk needs to be removed from Earth's orbit: ESA"
Maria Sheahan, editing by Alison Williams, Reuters (April 25, 2013)

"Space junk such as debris from rockets must be removed from the Earth's orbit to avoid crashes that could cost satellite operators millions of euros and knock out mobile and GPS networks, the European Space Agency said.

"At the current density of debris, there will be an in-orbit collision about every five years, however research presented at a conference hosted by ESA in Germany showed that an increase in such junk made more collisions likely in the future.

"Five to 10 large objects need to be collected from space a year to help cut down on smashes and stem the risk of fragments being sprayed into space that could cause more damage, it said...."

One option is to ignore the problem, and hope it goes away. That would work, in the sense that today's large orbiting objects will eventually collide with each other: forming lots and lots of little orbiting junk. That's no solution, though, since satellites we use for communications, weather forecasting, and getting frustrated at glitchy GPS apps, would be in lots of little pieces, too.

I'm impressed that the Reuters article mentions what looks like a good idea:

"...Demand for the removal of objects from orbit could eventually offer opportunities for private companies, Klinkrad said, though many issues, including legal ones, surrounding space debris would need to be settled first."
("Maria Sheahan, Alison Williams, Reuters)

My guess is that at least one entrepreneur is working out how to market orbiting debris. The legal issues may be the biggest obstacle. I'd like to believe that common sense would allow folks to do a quick update of international marine salvage law: but like the fellow said, common sense ain't all that common.

Related posts:

Robots
- "Spaceships, Robots, and Being Catholic"
  (April 12, 2013)
  Particularly
  - Being Human and Building Robots
  - Robots and Reality Checks
- "Roomba Review, and Dancing Robots"
  Apathetic Lemming of the North (August 17, 2012)
- "Mars Rover Spirit: Not Bad for a Limited-Warranty Robot"
  Apathetic Lemming of the North (May 26, 2011)
- "Meet Fenway the Robot, Hospital Helper"
  Apathetic Lemming of the North (September 21, 2010)
- "HAL 9000, Skynet, and C3PO"
  Drifting at the Edge of Space and Time (January 26, 2010)
Getting a grip
- "Designed as Stewards"
  (March 17, 2013)
- "Prayer, Technology, and Looking Ahead"
  (February 24, 2013)
- "Ethics and Asteroids"
  (February 20, 2013)
- "Science, Technology, and Being Human"
  (January 27, 2013)
- "Science Fiction in the Movies: 'The Satan Bug' to 'The Matrix' "
  Drifting at the Edge of Space and Time (January 26, 2010)
Billions of worlds
- "News, Good and Otherwise: and Billions of Worlds"
  (January 11, 2013)
  Particularly
  - Planets Like Earth: Billions of Them
- "Gliese 581d: Rocky, Close (sort of), and Liquid Water (could be, maybe)"
  Apathetic Lemming of the North (May 18, 2011)
- "GJ 1214b: Water in the Atmosphere; Close; and No Vacation Destination"
  (February 23, 2011)
- "Life Around a Red Dwarf Star? Could be"
  Apathetic Lemming of the North (July 7, 2010)
- "Earth May Not Be a 'Class M' Planet"
  Apathetic Lemming of the North (December 5, 2009)
Outward Bound
- "DNA, Voyager 1, Habitable Worlds, and the Universe"
  (March 22, 2013)
  Partlicularly
  - Mapping this Universe
  - Outward Bound
- "Seriously Searching for Life in the Universe"
  (February 8, 2013)
- "Stem Cell Research, Mapping Mercury, and Alpha Centauri's Cool Layer"
  (March 8, 2013)
  Particularly
  - Mercury Map - Hot
  - Alpha Centauri, Temperatures, Big Numbers: So What?
- "Reason, Evidence, and Searching for Truth"
  (February 3, 2013)
  Particularly
- "Astrobiology, the Vatican, and the Meaning of Our Existence"
  (November 12, 2009)

Kidnapping, Slavery, Human Trafficking, and Bingo

2013-05-08T14:19:00.000-05:00

Three women who had been held against their will in a Cleveland, Ohio, house are free: and, happily, seem to be in good physical health.

Their kidnapping, years of virtual slavery, and eventual escape, are international news. I'll be back on Friday with another 'in the news' post, but this seemed worth posting now:

Neighbors, Sex, and Slavery

The rules are basically simple:

Love God, love your neighbor
(Matthew 22:36-40, Mark 12:28-31)
Everybody as your neighbor
(Matthew 5:43-44; Mark 12:28-31; Luke 10:25-30; Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1825)
Treat others as we want to be treated
(Matthew 7:12, Luke 6:31)

In my native language, English, "love" can mean quite a few things, like: 'I love hamburgers;' I love golf;' 'I love my wife;' I love golf;' or 'I love God.' In this case, I'm talking about the sort of love that's "to will the good of another. (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1766)

Slavery

The Catechism has quit a bit to say about loving neighbors. (Catechism, 2401-2449)

Some of it is what we should do, some is what we shouldn't do. Among other things, slavery is not allowed. We can't do it for ideological or totalitarian reasons: or for commercial purposes. It's wrong, and we shouldn't do it. (Catechism, 2414)

It's true that the Church did not 'make' people stop practicing slavery. Individual Catholics have occasionally tried to force their notion of 'proper' behavior down the throats of unwilling subjects: but that's a bad idea, and we shouldn't do it. (Catechism, 1782)

It took almost two millennia, but eventually several nations started acting as if people owning other people was a bad idea. I think the idea is catching on. (May 6, 2012)

On the other hand, we do have occasional lapses. Old habits die hard.

Prostitution

Despite the goofy assumptions that are mistaken for facts in some American subcultures, the Catholic Church doesn't abuse women. Again, some Catholics have behaved badly.>)

Among other things, unjust discrimination in employment is against the rules. (Catechism, 2433)

If the Church is against discrimination based on sex, why isn't prostitution allowed? Given America's recent cultural history, that's not an unreasonable question.

A half century back, it seemed 'obvious' to some reformers that prostitution was a good way for women to make money: and was illegal because a male-dominated society wanted to keep women in a subservient status.

The Church is against prostitution, not because sex is evil: but because prostitution hurts the dignity of the person who acts as a prostitute. Prostitution reduces a person to a mere object intended for sexual pleasure. It's not good for the prostitute's client, either, and is particularly bad when children are used. (Catechism, 2355)

Yes, I know about the pedophile priests. Moving on.

Sex

Sex is good. That's not just my opinion. Genesis 1:22, 28, and 31 make it fairly clear that God designed humanity with our sexual nature: and thought it was good. At that level of authority, I don't think there's a point in arguing.

Here's a very quick overview of the Catholic Church's view:

Sex is
- Good (Catechism, 2331-2336)
- Special (Catechism, 2348-2350)
Lust is a disorder (Catechism, 2351)
Rape is bad (Catechism, 2356)

Some folks don't act as if that's true, sadly: which brings me to some of this week's news.

1. Not-So-Good Neighbors

"Ohio abduction suspect was familiar figure in neighborhood"
Associated Press via FoxNews.com (May 8, 2013)

"In the tight-knit neighborhood near downtown where many conversations are spoken in Spanish, it seems most everyone knew Ariel Castro.

"He played bass guitar in salsa and merengue bands. He parked his school bus on the street. He gave neighborhood children rides on his motorcycle.

"And when they gathered for a candlelight vigil to remember two girls who vanished years ago, Castro was there, too, comforting the mother of one of the missing, a neighbor said.

"Neighbors and friends were stunned by the arrest of Castro and his two brothers after a 911 call led police to his house, where authorities say three women missing for about a decade were held captive...."

What three brothers did in that neighborhood was very wrong, and is now international news. The blame game may go into extra innings as folks vent their anger and frustrations. I think kidnapping is wrong. (Catechism, 2297) Forcing those three young women into slavery was wrong.

But I won't claim that the local police are to blame, that school bus drivers should all be deported, or that men who play guitars are evil. I don't have enough information to have an opinion about what law enforcement could have done: and the rest is simply silly.

I doubt that anyone will seriously propose that guitars be outlawed: but it's all too likely that some 'regular Americans' will decide that this appalling situation shows that non-WASPs should be driven out of 'their' country.

Locks and Hindsight

"...Castro's son, Anthony Castro, said in an interview with London's Daily Mail newspaper that he now speaks with his father just a few times a year and seldom visited his house. On his last visit two weeks ago, he said, his father would not let him inside.

" 'The house was always locked,' he told the newspaper. 'There were places we could never go. There were locks on the basement. Locks on the attic. Locks on the garage.'..."

Ideally, Anthony Castro might have deduced that his father's behavior was sufficiently inappropriate to warrant calling the police: with a complaint that his father had put a lock on his garage???

It's easy to be wise after the fact. I think it's more sensible to remember that kidnapping and imprisoning those women was a bad thing, and that we shouldn't do that sort of thing.

2. Good Neighbors

"Cleveland officials hail bravery of missing women"
BBC News (May 7, 2013)

"Police have praised the bravery of three women found alive on Monday evening in a house in Cleveland, Ohio, after they vanished about a decade ago.

"Amanda Berry, who disappeared in 2003 aged 16, escaped with a neighbour's help while her alleged captor was away.

"Gina DeJesus, who went missing aged 14 a year later, and Michelle Knight, who vanished in 2002 aged about 19, were also rescued from the property.

"A school bus driver and his two brothers have been arrested.

"The three women were taken to hospital for a check-up and to be reunited with their relatives before being discharged on Tuesday morning.

"A six-year-old girl also rescued from the house was believed to be the daughter of Ms Berry, Deputy Police Chief Ed Tomba told a news conference...."

I prefer to look at what neighbors did, as soon as one of them realized that someone needed help. As soon as Amanda Berry called for help: she got it, together with the release of her fellow-captives.

3. Human Trafficking and Other Threats

"Congressman calls attention to human trafficking in US"
Adelaide Mena, CNA/EWTN News (May 6, 2013)

"In a recent Virginia forum, U.S. Rep. Frank Wolf (R-Va.) highlighted the largely unknown problem of human trafficking within the United States, offering suggestions for how to fight 'modern day slavery.'

"While many see slavery as a problem of history, Wolf said, 'slavery, of a different sort, still exists today.'

"He also stressed that human trafficking is a local issue, with girls being held in sex slavery within the state of Virginia.

"Wolf delivered his comments at a May 3 meeting with state and local officials in McLean, Va. The gathering, hosted by state delegates Barbara Comstock and Tim Hugo, was aimed at discussing ways to fight human trafficking in the state.

"According to the non-profit group Shared Hope International, over 100,000 American children are exploited through pornography or prostitution annually....

Representative Wolf may be looking at his reelection campaign, dispassionately interested in righting this wrong: or, more likely, motivated by a bit of both.

Depending on his constituency, he may be taking a risk. 'Good, decent, God-fearing folks' can get used to remarkably depraved things: and get huffy when someone rocks the boat, and that's another topic.

Porn

"...The congressman remarked that he has 'seen credible reports of nearly 80 establishments' in Northern Virginia that serve as centers for human trafficking and exploitation.

" 'We walk and drive by them every day,' he said.

"Wolf listed the internet and gangs as major components in the spread and success of human trafficking. He stated that sites such as Facebook and Backpage.com permit individuals to meet and take advantage of victims.

"The congressman also expressed concern that the opening of a casino in the Maryland National Harbor would lead to a growth in human trafficking in the region...."
(Adelaide Mena, CNA/EWTN News)

For some folks, pornography is 'stuff I don't like that relates to sex.' That can include anything from cosmetics advertisements and the auto parts store wall calendar to "The Moon is Blue." (1953) I really don't miss the 'good old days.' More topics.

As a Catholic, I think pornography is the deliberate display of real of simulated sexual acts. It removes the intimacy of partners, is a misuse of sex, and hurts the dignity of everyone involved. (Catechism, 2354)

Like prostitution, pornography was supposed to be a tool used by liberated women to make money: thereby freeing them from the trammeling bonds of male oppression. I think people should be able to earn money: but I also think porn is a bad idea.

Magazine ads for lip gloss and mascara are sometimes of debatable value: but that really is another topic.

The Internet and Bingo

I think Representative Wolf has a point, about online services like Facebook and Backpage.com being used by human traffickers. Happily, he doesn't seem to be trying to sell fear of Facebook. I don't see Facebook, or other social media, as a threat to society: but I'm one of those people who have a Facebook page, so maybe I'm biased. (Brian H Gill)

Wolf's concern about a casino interested me. I don't gamble, but I don't think gambling is inherently bad. Maybe the idea is that casinos are seen as 'ethics-free' zones: or, not. I've harangued about the Internet, Bingo, fear, and sin before. (November 18, 2012; September 28, 2012)

Related posts:

"Untouchables, a Missing Bishop, and Charities at Risk"
(July 13, 2012)
Particularly
- Caste, Human Trafficking, and Traditions
"Street Performers and Making Progress"
(May 6, 2012)
Particularly
- Prostitution and Slavery: Ancient Traditions, but Wrong
"Men, Women, Differences, and Equality"
(May 2, 2012)
"Secret Service Sex SNAFU: My Take"
(April 26, 2012)
Particularly
- Lanugage, Regional Culture, and a Universal Church
- Sex, Tourism, and the Pope
"Victims of Human Trafficking in Minnesota: How to Help"
(June 30, 2010)

Sin, Outrage, and Making Sense

2013-05-05T08:00:00.000-05:00

I'm not sure why so many folks act as if we need to be angry to care about something.

I've seen the attitude in folks who blame religion for the world's woes, and in others who verbally lambast just about everyone who doesn't worship the way they do.

It might be fun to rant about stuff I don't like, and folks whose actions annoy or offend me: at first.

I've indulged in (self-)righteous indignation now and then, and try to avoid doing so. I've found that in the long run it doesn't accomplish much except feed my anger.

That doesn't mean that pretending everything is fine is a good idea. Truthfulness is a virtue, hypocrisy is a really bad idea, and I'm getting a bit off-topic. (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 2468)

Not Letting Friends Drive Drunk

Noticing that someone's action is wrong is okay. Sometimes it's important.

The old 'friends don't let friends drive drunk' slogan may have saved lives. It's a good idea.

Labeling someone a useless drunkard, maybe not so much. Making a lifestyle out of kvetching, definitely a bad idea.

We're not supposed to be arrogant or self-righteous. We're not supposed to be stupid, either.

"¹ ² 'Stop judging, that you may not be judged.

"For as you judge, so will you be judged, and the measure with which you measure will be measured out to you."
(Matthew 7:1-2)

"¹ Therefore, you are without excuse, every one of you who passes judgment. ² For by the standard by which you judge another you condemn yourself, since you, the judge, do the very same things. ... There is no partiality with God."
(Romans 2:1-11)

A footnote to Matthew 7 points out that Jesus isn't telling us to avoid getting lumber stuck in our eyes. The idea is that being arrogant and judgmental is not good.

"2 [1] This is not a prohibition against recognizing the faults of others, which would be hardly compatible with ⇒ Matthew 7:5, 6 but against passing judgment in a spirit of arrogance, forgetful of one's own faults."
(Matthew 7, footnote 1, footnote 2)

That seem clear enough.

Getting Even, Getting Smart

"Anger" can mean an emotion, or an act of will: something I decide to do. Emotions happen. They're part of being human. They're not good or bad, what we decide to do about them is what makes a difference. (Catechism, 1762-1770)

"ANGER: An emotion which is not in itself wrong, but which, when it is not controlled by reason or hardens into resentment and hate, becomes one of the seven capital sins. Christ taught that anger is an offense against the fifth commandment (1765, 1866, 2262)."
(Glossary, Catechism of the Catholic Church)

The sort of anger that's a desire to get revenge is a bad idea. I'm not even allowed to hurl insults. That last part is something I still need to work on. (Matthew 5:22; Catechism, 2302)

Besides the sort of psychological damage we've been (re)discovering in recent generations, taking revenge is butting into God's business: and a really, really bad idea.

God is good, God is merciful, but God can play hardball.

"Beloved, do not look for revenge but leave room for the wrath; for it is written, 'Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.' Rather, 'if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals upon his head.' Do not be conquered by evil but conquer evil with good."
(Romans 12:19-21)

"We know the one who said: 'Vengeance is mine; I will repay,' and again: 'The Lord will judge his people.' It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God."
(Hebrews 10:30, 31)

"The vengeful will suffer the LORD'S vengeance, for he remembers their sins in detail. Forgive your neighbor's injustice; then when you pray, your own sins will be forgiven. Should a man nourish anger against his fellows and expect healing from the LORD? Should a man refuse mercy to his fellows, yet seek pardon for his own sins? If he who is but flesh cherishes wrath, who will forgive his sins?"
(Sirach 28:1-5)

My Life, My Choice

Having free will, being able to decide what we do, is great. But responsibility comes with that power. I can 'decide' my way out of Heaven, which is why I may seem diffident about denouncing 'those sinners over there.'

"...although we can judge that an act is in itself a grave offense, we must entrust judgment of persons to the justice and mercy of God."
(Catechism, 1861)

So: what's the worst that can happen if I decide to hold on to a grudge, or opt into some other mortal sin? God won't throw me into Hell: but I could jump in.

If I tell God 'thanks but no thanks' to love and charity, and walk away, that's my choice: a stupid choice, but mine.

On the whole I think deciding to clean up my act, telling God I'm sorry, and asking to be taken back in, seems prudent.

"...If it is not redeemed by repentance and God's forgiveness, it [mortal sin] causes exclusion from Christ's kingdom and the eternal death of hell, ... our freedom has the power to make choices for ever, with no turning back...."
(Catechism, 1861)

The good news is that repentence is possible as long as I'm alive, and that's another topic.

Related posts:

Getting real
- "A Billion Ways to be Catholic, and the Spiderman Principle"
  (December 9, 2012)
- "Sin, Bingo, and Love"
  (November 18, 2012)
- "Digital Liturgy?"
  (August 12, 2012)
- "Singing Nuns, Catholic Ghoulgirls, Stereotypes, and Me"
  (January 15, 2012)
- "Are You a Boy, or Are You a Girl?"
  (September 26, 2009)
  Particularly
  - Culture, Common Sense, and the "Effete" Practice of Men Growing Beards
  - Change Happens: Deal With It
Getting a grip
- "'But They Started It?' "
  (August 19, 2012)
- "Hope, Joy, and 'More Despondent Than Thou?' "
  (January 8, 2012)
  Particularly
  - 'Gloominess is Next to Godliness?'
  - Leibniz and Ehrlich
- "Having Good Judgment isn't Being Judgmental"
  (October 12, 2011)
- "Hating People? Not an Option"
  (December 9, 2010)
- "Wheat, Weeds, and a Tax Collector"
  (July 27, 2010)
Getting the big picture
- "Taking Life a Thousand Years at a Time"
  (June 10, 2012)
- "The Man Who Wouldn't Stay Dead"
  (March 11, 2012)
- "We Won: Quite a While Ago"
  (January 13, 2011)
- "Joseph's Bones, a Promise, and Passing the Word"
  (December 20, 2010)
- " 'Vengeance is Mine, I will Repay, Says the Lord' -
  Works for Me"
  (September 11, 2010)

Prayer! Meditation! Science!

2013-05-03T13:59:00.001-05:00

I've been writing about science quite often, which is no surprise since I'm fascinated by this creation and how it works.

A Catholic could practice our faith and never try to learn how this universe works: although I think that would be an odd way to show respect for its Creator, and that's yet another topic.

Prayer, on the other hand is important. (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 2697-2699) So is meditation. I've put a quick overview of prayer and meditation, Catholic style, at the end of this post.¹

Prayer

Prayer can be just talking to God. When I pray, I often use the same sort of language I'd use when talking to the boss of my boss's boss.

Sometimes I use the sort of semi-archaic, very formal, language: the sort of "dost thou speakest unto this, your humble servant" thing that some folks see as very 'religious.' Others doth perceive with the ears of their heads such utterances and ponder what fools these barber-mongers be.

I like formal language, but I also like contemporary English. I figure God understands both: and any other language, for that matter.

Meditation

I've run into some folks who think meditation is groovy, others who think it's silly, and some who are convinced that it's Satanic. Not everyone who's afraid of meditation is a Protestant whack job. Some Catholics don't know our faith very well, and that's almost another topic.

I wouldn't try to convince a zealot, but Psalms 139 is a meditation on God's omnipresence and omniscience. Daniel 9 is another sort of meditation.

Then there's this recommendation for meditating on the commandments of God:

"Reflect on the precepts of the LORD, let his commandments be your constant meditation; Then he will enlighten your mind, and the wisdom you desire he will grant."
(Sirach 6:37)

I suppose by some standards, that's not "Biblical," since some Protestants edited Sirach out of their Bible. More topics.

Science

Not all Catholics are as interested in science as I am, some are scientists, and we all follow our faith as best we can: or should. I didn't become a Catholic because there's a 'Vatican science academy,' and that's another topic.

Ever since a snit between Victorian gentlemen, the weird notion that science and religion are at war has been popular in some circles. That may be finally going the way of fainting couches, for which I'm duly grateful.

As a Catholic, religion and science get along just fine. Each is, in its own way, a search for truth:

"...methodical research in all branches of knowledge, provided it is carried out in a truly scientific manner and does not override moral laws, can never conflict with the faith, because the things of the world and the things of faith derive from the same God...."
(Catechism, 159)

And that's - what else? - yet again another topic.

Related posts:

Prayer
- "Guilt and Group Discounts"
  (April 14, 2013)
  Particularly
  - Pleasure, Reason, and Balance
  - Sin, Real and Imagined
- "Prayer, Technology, and Looking Ahead"
  (February 24, 2013)
- "Still Learning to Pray"
  (February 17, 2013)
- "Remembering the '60s; Praying for America"
  (November 6, 2012)
  Particularly
  - 'The Good Old Days' - Weren't"
- "Ash Wednesday, 2012: Another Lent, Another Chaplet"
  (February 22, 2012)
  (includes short video)
Meditation
- "Yoga, Ephesians, and Getting a Grip"
  (May 30, 2011)
- "Aspergers, Meditation, Tolerance and a Loud Pump"
  (September 3, 2010)
- "Catholics aren't Klingons"
  (April 27, 2010)
- "Fourth Sunday in ordinary Time, 2010"
  (January 31, 2010)
- "Working on Sunday: At Growing the Christian Interior Life"
  (January 2, 2010)
Science
- "Antigravity Experiments, Quantum Entanglement, and Making Kidneys"
  (May 3, 2013)
- "Love, Neighbors, and Asteroids"
  (April 26, 2013)
- "Spaceships, Robots, and Being Catholic"
  (April 12, 2013)
- "Studying the Builder's Craft"
  (April 5, 2013)
- "DNA, Voyager 1, Habitable Worlds, and the Universe"
  (March 22, 2013)

¹ About prayer and meditation:

Prayer
- Is important
  (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 2697-2699)
May be
- Vocal
  (Catechism, 2700-2704)
- Contemplative
  (Catechism, 2709-2719)
Meditation
- Is a quest
  (Catechism, 2705)
- Opens the book of life
  (Catechism, 2706)
- Methods are
  - Many and varied
  - Only a guide
  (Catechism, 2707)
- Should be done regularly
  (Catechism, 2707)
Advancing is important
- With the Holy Spirit
- Along the one way of prayer
  - Christ Jesus
(Catechism, 2707)
Strengthens our will to follow Christ by
- Engaging
  - Thought
  - Imagination
  - Emotion
  - Desire
- Thereby mobilizing what is necessary to
  - Deepen our convictions of faith
  - Prompt the conversion of our heart
  - Strengthen our will to follow Christ
Christian prayer tries above all to meditate on the mysteries of Christ
- This form of prayerful reflection is of great value
  - But Christian prayer should go further, to
    - The knowledge of the love of the Lord Jesus
    - Union with him
(Catechism, 2708)

"Meditation is above all a quest. The mind seeks to understand the why and how of the Christian life, in order to adhere and respond to what the Lord is asking. The required attentiveness is difficult to sustain. We are usually helped by books, and Christians do not want for them: the Sacred Scriptures, particularly the Gospels, holy icons, liturgical texts of the day or season, writings of the spiritual fathers, works of spirituality, the great book of creation, and that of history—the page on which the 'today' of God is written."
(Catechism, 2705)

"There are as many and varied methods of meditation as there are spiritual masters. Christians owe it to themselves to develop the desire to meditate regularly, lest they come to resemble the three first kinds of soil in the parable of the sower.⁵ But a method is only a guide; the important thing is to advance, with the Holy Spirit, along the one way of prayer: Christ Jesus."
(Catechism, 2707)

"Meditation engages thought, imagination, emotion, and desire. This mobilization of faculties is necessary in order to deepen our convictions of faith, prompt the conversion of our heart, and strengthen our will to follow Christ. Christian prayer tries above all to meditate on the mysteries of Christ, as in lectio divina or the rosary. This form of prayerful reflection is of great value, but Christian prayer should go further: to the knowledge of the love of the Lord Jesus, to union with him."
(Catechism, 2708)

Antigravity Experiments, Quantum Entanglement, and Making Kidneys

2013-05-03T08:00:00.000-05:00

I'm catching up on April's 'science news.' There are some exciting developments in particle physics, and we're a step closer to growing or printing replacement organs. "Printing:" That's not a typo.

Adult Stem Cell Research and the Vatican

Something being new doesn't make it right, but being new doesn't make it wrong either. Reality is a bit more subtle than 'new is good, old is bad;' or the reverse.

NeoStem, the Pontifical Council for Culture, Stem For Life Foundation, and STOQ International (www.stoqinternational.com), hosted the Second International Vatican Adult Stem Cell Conference: Regenerative Medicine last month.

Repeating something I posted on Google+ Wednesday, adult stem cell research is "like the sort of 'stem cell research' we usually read about, in about the same way that the Tuskegee Experiment is like the Mayo Clinic." (May 1, 2013)

Medical procedures and research using adult stem cells involve stem cells: taken from adults, who remain in good health after some of their stem cells get extracted and 'reset.' (March 8, 2013) (more from Carl Bunderson, CNA)

Doing Good Isn't Bad

Religious beliefs and medicine show up in the news occasionally: generally because someone who believed it is morally wrong to use medicine died. Sometimes the medical Luddite is endangering another person's health by 'protecting' him or her from doctors.

I don't doubt that folks who believe that vaccines are evil, or doctors practice black magic, or whatever, are sincere. I'm quite certain that they're wrong, but I'm also one of those folks who don't believe that someone is controlling my brain with cell phones. (March 22, 2013)

In some circles, not being afraid of whatever 'everybody' is afraid of is taken as proof that the outsider is a fool, a dupe, or a traitor: and that's not quite another topic.

I'm Catholic, so I'm expected to take care of my health: within reason. Among other things, I have to believe that:

Health
- Is a precious gift
- Must be maintained
  - Within reason
  (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 2288)
Curing illness
- Is a good idea
  (Matthew 10:8, Catechism, 1509)
  - There's more to healing than pills and knives
    (Matthew 10:8, Catechism, 1499-1525)
Drugs can be
- Bad for you
  - Hurting yourself with drugs is wrong
- Good for you
  - When used to heal or promote health
  (Catechism, 2291)

Organ transplants are okay, too: if the benefit/risk ratio is right. Someone who makes arrangements to donate his or her organs after death is doing a good thing: but killing someone and breaking the body down for parts is wrong. (Catechism, 2296)

As I've said before, we're "called to holiness, not stupidity."

Surrounded by Wonders

"The heavens declare the glory of God; the sky proclaims its builder's craft."
(Psalms 19:2)

I think we're beginning to get some vague idea of just how vast and ancient this universe is. This doesn't bother me.

More than 20 centuries after Psalms 19 was written, the heavens still declare the glory of God: even if, make that particularly since, we know more about them now.

I realize that some folks see the wonders of creation and say that God couldn't have made it because God isn't there. I assume that they're as sincere, but I'm quite sure they're wrong.

Seeking truth, honestly trying to learn more about this astounding universe, is okay. God made it, gave us brains, and expects us to use them. (Catechism, 35, 159, and 2104)

One more bit from the Bible, and I'll get to quantum entanglement, growing kidneys, and all that.

"The mind of the intelligent man seeks knowledge, but the mouth of fools feeds on folly."
(Proverbs 15:14)

1. Antigravity Experiments at CERN

"Antigravity gets first test at Cern's Alpha experiment"
Jason Palmer, BBC News (April 30, 2013)

"Researchers at Cern in Switzerland have tested a novel way to find out if antimatter is the source of a force termed 'antigravity'.

"Antimatter particles are the 'mirror image' of normal matter, but with opposite electric charge.

"How antimatter responds to gravity remains a mystery, however; it may 'fall up' rather than down.

"Now researchers reporting in Nature Communications have made strides toward finally resolving that notion.

"Antimatter presents one of the biggest mysteries in physics, in that equal amounts of matter and antimatter should have been created at the Universe's beginning...."

That last paragraph isn't quite accurate. Or, rather, it gives an incomplete picture. A good first-approximation explanation for how matter and energy got sorted out showed that there 'should have been' equal parts of matter and antimatter.

That's not the way it is in our part of the cosmos, so that 'ballpark estimate' has been discussed and tweaked quite a bit. The last I heard, physicists and cosmologists still haven't worked out all the details. Partly, I suspect, because they keep getting new information that the most recent consensus doesn't account for.

Antimatter: Tricky Stuff

One of the practical issues that's kept scientists from running more tests on antimatter is that the stuff is tricky to manufacture.

It's even trickier to keep around since it flashes into energy on contact with matter, taking the matter with it. Keeping an open bucket of jet fuel safe in a foundry would be easy by comparison.

2. Quantum Entanglement

"Loophole in spooky quantum entanglement theory closed"
Tia Ghose, LiveScience, via FoxNews.com (April 22, 2013)

"The weird way entangled particles stay connected even when separated by large distances a phenomenon Albert Einstein called 'spooky' has been confirmed once again, this time with a key loophole in the experiment eliminated.

"The results from the new experiment confirm one of the wildest predictions of quantum mechanics: that a pair of 'entangled' particles, once measured, can somehow instantly communicate with each other so that their states always match.

" 'Quantum mechanics is a wonderful theory that scientists use very successfully,' said study co-author Marissa Giustina, a physicist at the University of Vienna. 'But it makes some strange predictions.' [How Quantum Entanglement Works (Infographic)]

"But the new experiment goes further than past studies by eliminating one of the major loopholes in entanglement experiments...."

Back in 1935, Einstein and others suggested that quantum entanglement didn't involve communication between particles. They said maybe the particles carried information about their unobserved state with them: subatomic sealed orders, sort of.

In 1964 an Irish physicist, John Stewart Bell, shows some ways to check:

For communication between
- The source of the photons and the detector
- Photon detectors weren't communicating
Whether particles physicists measured were representative of the ones that weren't measured

Physicists have been running experiments based on these ideas ever since. It looks like they've determined that one of the 'loopholes' isn't there.

Learning That There's More to Learn

That means that quantum physics is still 'weird.' Which doesn't surprise me a bit. The more we learn about this wonder-filled creation, the more we find that we have yet to learn.

I like it that way, but some folks seem to get frazzled by new ideas popping up at frequent intervals.

For me, one of the really intriguing things about quantum entanglement is that it's either in the same class as phlogiston, instantaneous communication, or is a phenomenon that works much faster than speed-of-light.

Interstellar Communication and Speed Limits

If quantum entanglement is real, and is either instant or really fast; and if the phenomenon can be applied to things as large as we are: that's a lot of 'ifs.' But we may be in the process of finding a way to communicate over interstellar distances in more-or-less real time.

About a century back, we learned that speed-of-light was a 'speed limit' in this universe. There were very good theoretical reasons for thinking that nothing could be pushed to a higher velocity. Decades of experiments showed that the theory's math agreed with reality very well.

That was then, this is now, and it looks like the speed limit in this universe may be much higher. Then again, maybe not.

"...The implications were that individual entangled particles don't exist in a particular state until they are measured, and that, once measured, the particles could somehow communicate their state to each other at a rate faster than the speed of light which seemed to violate Einstein's theory of relativity. (Recent research suggests the entangled particles interact at a speed that's 10,000 times faster than the speed of light.)..."
(Tia Ghose, LiveScience, via FoxNews.com)

Then there's the possibility that "this universe," the space-time we're in, isn't the only one around: and that we've seen evidence of inter-universe collisions.

The scale of creation may be really vast. (April 2, 2013)

I'm putting a larger, more readable, version of the infographic below in another blog's post for today. (Apathetic Lemming of the North (May 3, 2013)

(Karl Tate, via LiveScience)

3. Yellowstone Volcano's Magma Pool

"Yellowstone is an active volcano. Surface features such as geysers and hot springs are direct results of the region's underlying volcanism. CREDIT: National Park Service"

"Yellowstone's Volcano Bigger Than Thought"
Becky Oskin, OurAmazingPlanet, via LiveScience (April 17 2013 )

"Yellowstone's underground volcanic plumbing is bigger and better connected than scientists thought, researchers reported here today (April 17) at the Seismological Society of America's annual meeting.

" 'We are getting a much better understanding of the volcanic system of Yellowstone,' said Jamie Farrell, a seismology graduate student at the University of Utah. 'The magma reservoir is at least 50 percent larger than previously imaged.'

"Knowing the volume of molten magma beneath Yellowstone is important for estimating the size of future eruptions, Farrell told OurAmazingPlanet...."

I've got a personal interest in the Yellowstone volcano. I live in central Minnesota, not far from the edge of the last major eruption's heaviest ash fall. Given the massive scale of the caldera's eruptions, being in the same hemisphere might not be desirable.

(from Smith and Siegel, via "The Yellowstone Hotspot by Kim Smurlo (Spring 2004), used w/o permission)

Looking Ahead

On the other hand, it looks like we may have somewhere around 60,000 years to get ready for the next 'big one.' (Apathetic Lemming of the North (February 25, 2009 )

Then again, maybe not. But even if that estimate is off by a factor of 10, having 6,000 years of prep time isn't bad.

By then, my guess is that whoever's responsible for this part of Earth will have learned more about how stuff works: or know someone who does.

Options might include cooling off either the magma chamber or the deeper feature that's warming it: or maybe it'll seem easier to evacuate this part of the planet.

We don't have the technology to deal with that much geothermal energy right now, and there's probably some risk in fiddling with the planet's inner workings. On the other hand, I don't think human beings will be any less intelligent or capable of exercising good judgment then: and there's a bonanza of energy there.

Who know? Maybe someone will run the 621st century's equivalent of an RV park with energy getting drained from Yellowstone's magma chamber.

4. Kidneys Printed While You Wait??

"Lab-made rat kidneys raise hopes for dialysis patients"
Sharon Begley, Reuters (April 14, 2013)

"Scientists have discovered yet another way to make a kidney - at least for a rat - that does everything a natural one does, researchers reported on Sunday, a step toward savings thousands of lives and making organ donations obsolete.

"The latest lab-made kidney sets up a horse race in the booming field of regenerative medicine, which aims to produce replacement organs and other body parts.

"Several labs are competing to develop the most efficient method to produce the most functional organs through such futuristic techniques as 3D printing, which has already yielded a lab-made kidney that works in lab rodents, or through a 'bioreactor' that slowly infuses cells onto the rudimentary scaffold of a kidney, as in the latest study...."

Humans are quite a bit larger than rats, but our internal plumbing is about the same. Printing kidneys might turn out to be more practical than growing them.

Either way, it would be nice if folks could get replacement parts for kidneys, the way we can today for teeth and joints.

Related posts:

Seeking truth
- "Studying the Builder's Craft"
  (April 5, 2013)
- "Seeking Truth, Accepting Vastness"
  (April 2, 2013)
- "DNA, Voyager 1, Habitable Worlds, and the Universe"
  (March 22, 2013)
- "Seriously Searching for Life in the Universe"
  (February 8, 2013)
- "Guns, Gamma Ray Bursts, and Roller Coasters"
  (January 4, 2013)
Doing our job
- "Love, Neighbors, and Asteroids"
  (April 26, 2013)
- "Spaceships, Robots, and Being Catholic"
  (April 12, 2013)
- "Designed as Stewards"
  (March 17, 2013)
- "Science, Technology, and Being Human"
  (January 27, 2013)
  Particularly
  - Fear and Change
  - Learning the Right Lesson
- "Advanced Technologies and Responsible Stewardship"
  (January 14, 2013)
Helping people
- "Science, Neural Interfaces, and Electing a Pope"
  (February 22, 2013)
  Particularly
  - Neural Interfaces and Ethics
- "Popes; Earth's Past; and a High-Tech Eye Implant"
  (March 1, 2013)
  Particularly
  - Here's Looking At You: Argus II Retinal Implant
- "Influenza, Nostalgia, Science, Ethics, and Me"
  (January 13, 2013)
- "Prescriptions, Panic, and Points to Ponder"
  (September 14, 2011)
- "Christina Green, Organ Transplants, and Rules"
  (January 16, 2011)

"You Do That!"

2013-05-02T13:16:00.003-05:00

It might be more convenient if the Catholic Church was a sort of turnkey operation, where folks get by-the-numbers instructions for everything. We've got some rules that apply across all time and space: actually, they're more like principles, and that's another topic.

My experience is that when someone asks the Vatican to get something done, this is a common response:

"...I asked the Holy Father to pray that we might all be as consecrated to Mary as St. Maximilian was. At first he did not hear me, and, cupping his hand around his ear, said something that sounded to me like 'huh?' Repeating myself a bit louder, I provoked a big smile on the Pope's face. He pointed his finger at me and said 'You do that!'..."
(Father James McCurry)

The Church has a few principles that governments should follow: but doesn't say that one form of government is the 'right' one. Folks living in a territory are supposed to decide whether they want a monarchy, democracy, republic, or something else. (Catechism, 1901)

I see that I'm drifting into subsidiarity, the nature of authority, and several other topics. Time to quit.

Vaguely-related posts:

"Gratitude, Authority, and Duty"
(December 2, 2012)
"More Than 'Just a Cog' "
(July 9, 2012)
"Obedience, Yes: Blind Obedience, No"
(March 12, 2012)
"Obedience, Yes: Blind Obedience, No"
(March 12, 2012)