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History

How to Understand Three-Quarters of Western Art

Umberto Eco says: Know the Old and New Testaments and the stories of the saints. It’s impossible to understand roughly three-quarters of Western art if you don’t know the events of the Old and the New Testaments and the stories of the saints. Who’s that girl with

The End of Science

How's that for a dramatic title? I am actually here talking not about the cessation of science, but rather its purpose. Bruce Charlton wrote another thought provoking editorial, Conscience in Science. Charlton takes his theme from C. S. Lewis' essay, First and Second Things. In that essay,

A Cautionary Tale

I was engaged in a discussion over at the PhysicsForums regarding the relative merits of academic versus industrial jobs for science and engineering types, and one of the regular members posted a link to an article in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette about the rise and fall of Westinghouse. It was a

The Transition to a Traditional Society

Since I have an interest in the metahistorical theories of Spengler and Toynbee, I have an expectation that modernity is close to its natural end. Not forever, just for now, because modernity is not unique, but is something that reoccurs in human history. My friend John Reilly has noted that

Creativity in Science and Engineering, Part 3

Managing Creativity Based on the personality traits identified with creativity in the last post, it seems that managing creativity is going to be difficult. However, there is some hope. I have less direct experience in the world of science, but in engineering, it is basically impossible for a lone genius

Creativity in Science and Engineering, Part 2

Personality traits associated with creativity See Part 1 Which personality traits are associated with creativity can help us know which individuals will be best suited to a role in R&D. So first, I think it is worthwhile to specify what I mean by creativity. Borrowing from an essay

Seven Intriguing Questions in Modern Physics

The New Scientist has an article on seven unsolved dilemmas in the field of physics today. Just a hunch here, but for 3 of the 7, the reason these questions keep physicists up at night is that they are metaphysical questions that are beyond the scope of physics. It'