tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4948885059517209129.post1058024660497628807..comments2023-10-29T08:04:00.488-07:00Comments on Quintessence of Dust: Introducing me: on common descent and explanationStephen Mathesonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05057004085073574659noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4948885059517209129.post-18774471965429280232008-08-12T03:34:00.000-07:002008-08-12T03:34:00.000-07:00Lovely. This is a perfect and very healthy attitid...Lovely. This is a perfect and very healthy attitide to science (and one that someone should definately explain to Dawkins some day). The power of science is that it is a Very Useful Model that can explain what is going on and why it is and sometimes give a bit on how to improve things (ie standard of life medicine etc). What it isn't is the 'truth' or a set of ideal facts to work towards. Science is to life what the brain is to the mind. Necessary and useful but certainly not the be all and end all.Lab Rathttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07962574174521597312noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4948885059517209129.post-51037723811659086932007-09-03T10:27:00.000-07:002007-09-03T10:27:00.000-07:00Project Steve is funny -- and I think it's a lot b...Project Steve is funny -- and I think it's a lot bigger than even the originators expected. It's a nice tribute to Stephen Jay Gould, too.<BR/><BR/>You're right that Polkinghorne first constructed the tea kettle metaphor, and I didn't know that when I wrote the article. Thanks! My first reader-initiated correction.Stephen Mathesonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05057004085073574659noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4948885059517209129.post-42840070166213207862007-09-03T09:37:00.000-07:002007-09-03T09:37:00.000-07:00Hi Stephen, NCSE's "Project Steve" - now that's fu...Hi Stephen, <BR/>NCSE's "Project Steve" - now that's funny! I never heard of it before - tempted to join but I don't want to skew the results (having no degree in any relavent natural science). <BR/><BR/>On the tea-kettle analogy, wasn't John Polkinghorne the originator of the quote? I thought he was and have used it before. Maybe I'm wrong & need to change my story.Steve Martinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11734019573868663947noreply@blogger.com