Science Essays - Hedgeschool

In each field of science, there is a particular challenge to faith, not just scripture, but faith itself. The truth is always fine, but the secular community can be very aggressive.

In the Universe Tour [Link], I outline the problems, all of which have the same philosophical flavor: the claim that, when you get down to it, there is no fundamental order. The secularist claim is that universe and every process in it, is just a big, very vulnerable and very temporary, Accident.

Note: You cannot prove that anything is absolutely accidental; you can only prove something is relatively accidental: that this or that cause was not at work. Anyway...

Hedge School was actually born in the fire of one of these controversies. It remains a very hot topic!

Education

Curriculum for the Culture of Life

What is the place of science in a culture that desires fullness of life for all its members? We must answer this, for already our children are refusing to enter these fields. That will not work for evangelization! |Link|

Science Education: A Proposal

It is time to re-think education in the sciences. What are we trying to achieve? Is it simply college prep? Or is it an appreciation of the natural world, that world which we see out the window and down the road every day. There are many reasons to consider a radical change in our approach to science. I hope that this explicit proposal will help you to reconsider the issue. |Link|

The Vista of the Natural Sciences

What is it that makes classicists so uncomfortable with the natural sciences? True, the secular scientific world has rejected the classical view of human nature, but that is because they are philosophically childish. A proper understanding of education, of the classical view, and of the true undertaking of the natural sciences should make it clear that the sciences are part of a classical education, and not only as history. As science! |Link|

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Magnitudes

At Home on the Sea

Here is an introduction to the concept of magnitudes and the value of the 8-magnitude jump as a measuring-d in the universe. It lightly covers the role of seashells and subduction in keeping the Earth friendly to life. |Link|

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Evolution

Evolution -- a New Jersey Conference

The basic issue of evolution is laid out. Single family tree of life is one thing; causation by accident is another. Spell it out; acknowledge the weaknesses of Darwinian and Creationist ideas; and offer Semi-meiosis as a hypotheses, at least to say that Darwin's ideas are not the only ones. |Link|

Mitosis Diagram

To understand the concept of Semi-meiosis, you might need a review of normal cell division, mitosis. |Link|

Meiosis Diagram

And after reviewing mitosis, you would be ready to review the specific cell division of germ cells, meiosis. I always did wonder why they were so different! |Link|

Semi-Meiosis Diagram

Now, let's see how Davison is looking for species change as an event that happens halfway through meiosis. |Link|

John Davison

The Semi-meiotic hypothesis of John Davison is very interesting, and the level of persecution he experienced suggests he must have been on to something. I am linking two of his documents because they are no longer easy to access online.

Blind Alley is Davison's shortest and simplest paper. |Link|

An Evolutionary Manifesto Davison is more detailed and more challenging here. |Link|

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Creation

Letter to a Concerned Catholic Creationist

After my New Jersey talk, I received a long letter, which I answered essentially as I have given it here. |Link|

Review of Creation Rediscovered

Someone who found this book persuasive asked me to read it. It is a compendium of all the common creationist arguments with a Catholic twist, quoting Vatican documents that do not apply and are hard to read because of the convoluted language. It is an infuriating work because what it depends on is the ignorance of its readers. |Link|

Response to response to review

The author took exception to my review and responded. I responded again. |Link|

Chemistry

Chemistry ... Intro Periodic...

The introduction to Chemistry 001: Introducing the Periodic Kingdom to its Heirs. My students who learned the Periodic Table this way were very happy when they got to high school and had a colorful image to back them up while their friends were learning that deadly black-and-white list. |Link|

For the sample page on Cobalt: |Link|

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Geology

Doorway of Amethyst

The book is an introduction to geology, standard in many ways, but never anti-Catholic or anti-religious. Two features set it apart from other books: one is the essay on the Williston Basin, and the other is that it is the only history of geology which includes a sculptor, because he sculpted an imaginary creature based on real bones from an ancient time. The bones were all over Europe, all the time, and people always found them — farmers and miners found them — and they were always trying to understand!

This is the introduction to the book. |Link|

Geologic Column in Williston Basin

This is the story of the Williston Basin. I have simplified it from Dr. Morton's professional description; nevertheless, there is a reason that it is chapter 11, not chapter 1. You need some geology to follow the discussion! This is a large document. |Link|

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Astronomy

Why Study Astronomy?

Many reasons! Here is just a scattering of the reasons people love this science. |Link|

I am a Galileist

That's what Galileo's followers called themselves. I do not call myself a creationist, though I believe God is the creator of the universe and of my own soul; unfortunately, the word has come to mean someone who rejects certain aspects of scientific reason. A Galileist has a particular and clear understanding of the relationship between faith and science, a relationship that was clear to Galileo at all times. |Link|

The Pigeon Assembly & Kepler

Galileo's friends called his opponents the pigeon because a certain Coulombe was their leader. It is very expressive of their ignorant flapping. Kepler was something of a Galileist and suffers the same types of attack from the modern Pigeon assembly. |Link|