|
The search for harmony: A summary essay Updated 7 September 2025 Introduction We live in a highly troubled world. Military conflicts simmer. Political tensions are endemic. Some are frustrated at the persistence of sexism, racism and xenophobia, and the reluctance of society to address environmental problems such as species extinction and global warming. Others view Continue reading The search for harmony: A summary essay Index to main SMR articles Updated 21 July 2025 (c) 2025 Summary essay The search for harmony: A summary essay: The search for harmony Evolution, age of the Earth, creationism and intelligent design Does creationism pose a challenge for geology and evolution?: Creationism Have species been individually designed?: Design What does DNA reveal about evolution?: Continue reading Index to main SMR articles A MORE COMPLETE AND UP-TO-DATE VERSION OF THIS ARTICLE IS AVAILABLE HERE. A MORE COMPLETE AND UP-TO-DATE VERSION OF THIS ARTICLE IS AVAILABLE HERE. RNA (on left) compared with DNA (on right); courtesy Wikimedia The abiogenesis problem Exactly how life first emerged on Earth (the “abiogenesis” problem) remains a critical unsolved question in biology. Was it inevitable, given a favorable environment, or was it a fantastically improbable event? All we know for sure is that it occurred at Continue reading The origin of life in an inflationary universe The Covid-19 virus (courtesy U.S. Center for Disease Control and Prevention) A pandemic is upon us As this is being written (April 2020), the entire world is gripped in the throes of the rapidly spreading and deadly Covid-19 pandemic. International travel has been greatly curtailed worldwide; many businesses, large and small, have shut their Continue reading Pseudoscience in the age of Coronavirus An age of unparalleled progress Though many do not recognize the fact, behind the disturbing headlines that dominate the news today, scientific progress marches forward, unabated and undiminished. Just within the past 100 years, researchers have discovered the theory of relativity, quantum mechanics and the standard model; unraveled the structure of DNA; sequenced the Continue reading Why are people embracing astrology in an age of science? Credit: IPCC The facts of climate change At this point in time, the basic facts of climate change are not disputable in the least. Careful planet-wide observations by NASA and others have confirmed that 2018 was the fourth-warmest year in recorded history. The only warmer years were 2016, 2017 and 2015, respectively, and 18 Continue reading The scientific debate is over: it is time to act on climate change The TRAPPIST-1 system of exoplanets, approximately 40 light-years away Exoplanets galore As of the present date (August 2019), more than 4000 exoplanets have been discovered orbiting other stars, and by the time you read this even more will have been logged. Several hundred exoplanets were announced in a July 2019 paper (although these await Continue reading How many habitable exoplanets are there, really? Introduction Right off, it may not sound like pi, climate change denial and young-Earth creationism have much in common. In fact, there is an important connection. Here is some background. Credit: Michele Vallisneri, NASA JPL Computing pi Pi = 3.1415926535…, namely the ratio between the circumference of a circle and its diameter, has fascinated Continue reading Pi, climate change denial and creationism |
|
|
Copyright © 2025 SMR blog - All Rights Reserved Powered by WordPress & Atahualpa |
|