Radagast’s Third Blog

Emily Dickinson #11

2012-01-30T10:02:00.003+11:00

Prague Astronomical Clock – photo by “Judith,” 2005

This poem appears to argue (contra Neoplatonism) that the identity of the soul does not disappear in Eternity:

“Two lengths has every day,
Its absolute extent —
And area superior
By hope or heaven lent.
Eternity will be
Velocity, or pause,
At fundamental signals
From fundamental laws.
To die, is not to go —
On doom’s consummate chart
No territory new is staked,
Remain thou as thou art. ” – Emily Dickinson

In some versions of the poem, the fourth line has “By Hope or Horror.” Both hope and horror alter the way in which subjective “felt” time is perceived.

Emily Dickinson #10

2012-01-27T10:42:00.000+11:00

Photo by “S Sepp,” 2007

“I hope that time, the assuager of all evils, will heal these also.” – Thomas Jefferson, in a letter of 1811

“They say that ‘time assuages,’ —
Time never did assuage;
An actual suffering strengthens,
As sinews do, with age.
Time is a test of trouble,
But not a remedy.
If such it prove, it prove too
There was no malady. ” – Emily Dickinson

Advance Australia Fair

2012-01-26T10:34:00.003+11:00

Australia Day and the Flag

2012-01-26T06:05:00.000+11:00

Photo by Toby Hudson, 2009

“We are one, but we are many, and from all the lands of Earth we come. We have a dream, and sing with one voice. I am, you are, we are Australian.”

I love the multicultural land I was fortunate enough to be born into. However, I’m also glad that the glue that holds us together is a political, educational, and legal system inherited from Britain. In honour of that, although I don’t have a drop of English blood in me, I’m happy to keep the Union Jack on our flag.

And I’m even happier to see the Southern Cross waving in the breeze, although we share that with some other nations too.

Emily Dickinson #9

2012-01-25T07:32:00.000+11:00

Public domain image by “THEBLITZ1,” 2006

“Some faced jeers and flogging, while still others were chained and put in prison... God had planned something better for us so that only together with us would they be made perfect.” – Hebrews 11:36,40

“This world is not conclusion;
A sequel stands beyond,
Invisible, as music,
But positive, as sound.
It beckons and it baffles;
Philosophies don’t know,
And through a riddle, at the last,
Sagacity must go.
To guess it puzzles scholars;
To gain it, men have shown
Contempt of generations,
And crucifixion known. ” – Emily Dickinson

Emily Dickinson #8

2012-01-24T07:55:00.000+11:00

Mary Magdalene by Ary Scheffer

“At least to pray is left, is left.
O Jesus! in the air
I know not which thy chamber is, —
I’m knocking everywhere.

Thou stirrest earthquake in the South,
And maelstrom in the sea;
Say, Jesus Christ of Nazareth,
Hast thou no arm for me? ” – Emily Dickinson

I don’t know what Emily Dickinson was going through when she wrote this.

The Winter Queen: a book review

2012-01-23T00:01:00.004+11:00

The Winter Queen by Boris Akunin

I’ve just finished The Winter Queen (Азазель), the first Erast Fandorin novel by Boris Akunin (Борис Акунин)

The book is a detective thriller set in Russia in 1876, a decade after Dostoyevsky wrote Crime and Punishment. The main character is a Moscow policeman who stumbles on an international conspiracy, being promoted into the Third Section of His Imperial Majesty's Own Chancellery (III отделение), the predecessor of the Okhrana, in the course of his not entirely successful efforts to thwart the fiendish plot. The action is set in Moscow, St Petersburg, and London.

I enjoyed this book, because I love historical detective fiction as a genre. Within the genre, I think I prefer the novels of C. J. Sansom and, even more, the superb The Name of the Rose. This may be because the translator didn’t quite do Akunin justice.

The Winter Queen by Boris Akunin: 3½ stars

Emily Dickinson #7

2012-01-22T08:35:00.000+11:00

Photo by William H. Majoros, 2010

“If I can stop one heart from breaking,
I shall not live in vain;
If I can ease one life the aching,
Or cool one pain,
Or help one fainting robin
Unto his nest again,
I shall not live in vain. ” – Emily Dickinson

Emily Dickinson #6

2012-01-21T09:05:00.000+11:00

Photo by “Rritvos,” 2008

“Exultation is the going
Of an inland soul to sea, —
Past the houses, past the headlands,
Into deep eternity!

Bred as we, among the mountains,
Can the sailor understand
The divine intoxication
Of the first league out from land?” – Emily Dickinson

Emily Dickinson #5

2012-01-20T20:27:00.000+11:00

Photo by David Spencer, 2005

“I never saw a moor,
I never saw the sea;
Yet know I how the heather looks,
And what a wave must be.
I never spoke with God,
Nor visited in heaven;
Yet certain am I of the spot
As if the chart were given.” – Emily Dickinson

Emily Dickinson #4

2012-01-19T18:07:00.000+11:00

Photo by ESO (Y. Beletsky), 2008

“The Moon was but a chin of gold
A night or two ago,
And now she turns her perfect face
Upon the world below.

Her forehead is of amplest blond;
Her cheek like beryl stone;
Her eye unto the summer dew
The likest I have known.

Her lips of amber never part;
But what must be the smile
Upon her friend she could bestow
Were such her silver will!

And what a privilege to be
But the remotest star!
For certainly her way might pass
Beside your twinkling door.

Her bonnet is the firmament,
The universe her shoe,
The stars the trinkets at her belt,
Her dimities of blue.” – Emily Dickinson

To Say Nothing of the Dog: a book review

2012-01-17T22:52:00.003+11:00

To Say Nothing of the Dog by Connie Willis

I’ve just re-read To Say Nothing of the Dog. It’s one of my favourite novels by Connie Willis – one of her time-travel stories.

The book is, in part, an homage to the detective novels of Dorothy L. Sayers, Agatha Christie, and others. In that capacity, the book itself includes the solution of a minor mystery. It is also littered with references to my favourite Sayers novel, Gaudy Night (including a similar romance), with a good dash of P. G. Wodehouse thrown in (and, of course, some Jerome K. Jerome, from whom the title is taken).

The “contemp” characters are wonderfully Victorian: “‘Oh, I do love country churchyards... They’re so delightfully rustic,’ Tossie said and hove into view, flags flying. ‘Not at all like our dreadful modern cemeteries.’ She stopped to admire a tombstone that had nearly fallen over... ‘I think it’s wonderfully unspoilt. Just like a poem. Don’t you, Mr. St. Trewes?’” (ch. 6, p. 107)

“Punting on the Thames,” Mortimer Menpes, 1906

The underlying theme of the novel, however, is divine providence. As one character (an Oxford professor) says (ch. 15, p. 256): “Through art, through history, we may glimpse the Grand Design. But only for a fleeting moment. ‘For His works are unsearchable and His ways past finding out.’” Everyone has their part to play in that Grand Design, although in the novel, as in life, the characters struggle to discover what their part may be.

Only at the end of the novel is one of the main characters able to realise that there was “A Grand Design we couldn’t see because we were part of it. A Grand Design we only got occasional, fleeting glimpses of. A Grand Design involving the entire course of history and all of time and space that, for some unfathomable reason, chose to work out its designs with cats and croquet mallets and penwipers... And us.” (ch. 28, p. 479)

“Croquet Scene,” by American artist Winslow Homer, 1864

Connie Willis, who is a Christian, also explored a similar theme in Doomsday Book and Blackout/All Clear, but there the settings were a little darker, recalling Tolkien’s words “so do all who live to see such times. But that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us.”

Ruins of Coventry Cathedral, destroyed by fire in the Coventry Blitz (as Connie Willis points out, the reinforcement work described in the novel contributed to its collapse)

In spite of all the chaos and complexity, however, at last “There was a fanfare, the organ launched into ‘The Heavens Are Declaring the Glory of God,’ and the sun came out. The east windows burst into blue and red and purple flame. I looked up. The clerestory was one long unbroken band of gold, like the net at the moment of opening. It filled the cathedral with light, illuminating the silver candlesticks and the children’s cross and the underside of the choir stalls... Illuminating the cathedral itself—a Grand Design made of a thousand thousand details.” (ch. 28, p. 493)

To Say Nothing of the Dog received the Hugo and Locus awards in 1999. I’m giving it a rare five stars.

To Say Nothing of the Dog by Connie Willis: 5 stars

Emily Dickinson #3

2012-01-16T19:42:00.001+11:00

Photo by “Radu Privant,” 2008

“To make a prairie it takes a clover and one bee, —
One clover, and a bee,
And revery.
The revery alone will do
If bees are few.” – Emily Dickinson

Emily Dickinson #2

2012-01-15T18:45:00.001+11:00

Photo by “Viola sonans,” 2005

“A dew sufficed itself
And satisfied a leaf,
And felt, ‘how vast a destiny!
How trivial is life!’

The sun went out to work,
The day went out to play,
But not again that dew was seen
By physiognomy.

Whether by day abducted,
Or emptied by the sun
Into the sea, in passing,
Eternally unknown.” – Emily Dickinson

Food webs

2012-01-14T23:42:00.000+11:00

I’ve been thing lately about food webs, and how to draw them nicely. This image from foodwebs.org has become a bit of a classic:

This Australian one is more “old school”:

This marine food web resembles spaghetti, but the necessary information can be extracted:

“What mystery pervades a well!
The water lives so far,
Like neighbor from another world
Residing in a jar.

The grass does not appear afraid;
I often wonder he
Can stand so close and look so bold
At what is dread to me.

Related somehow they may be, –
The sedge stands next the sea,
Where he is floorless, yet of fear
No evidence gives he...” – Emily Dickinson

Literature and Theology: a book review

2012-01-09T19:39:00.001+11:00

Literature and Theology by Ralph C. Wood

I recently borrowed Literature and Theology by Ralph C. Wood, which consists of theological reflections on seven works of literature:

Flannery O’Connor’s disturbing short story “The River” and the sacrament of baptism
Walker Percy’s novel The Moviegoer (which I have not read)
Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings and Christian fellowship
Martyrdom and T. S. Eliot’s Murder in the Cathedral (with those classic lines “The last temptation is the greatest treason: To do the right deed for the wrong reason”)
G. K. Chesterton’s The Ball and the Cross and how one should deal with those with which one strongly disagrees
C. S. Lewis’s retold myth Till We Have Faces and the relationship between humanity and the Divine
Walter M. Miller’s post-apocalyptic science fiction novel A Canticle for Leibowitz and human nature

Murder in the Cathedral: the Becket Window, Christ Church, Oxford

I was a little disappointed that Wood confuses the silmarils with the palantíri (p. 29) and misunderstands the nature of science fiction (p. 88), but on the whole this was a good book, and an encouragement to read thoughtfully.

Literature and Theology by Ralph C. Wood: 3½ stars

Recent reading

2012-01-08T16:03:00.000+11:00

Over the past few months, I finished the following books (among others – most of the novels I’ve read are not included). Links go to my reviews. Books marked with ♥ (fiction) or ♦ (non-fiction) were particularly good:

Four Faultless Felons by G. K. Chesterton
Finding God Beyond Harvard by Kelly Monroe Kullberg ♦
Christ Plays in Ten Thousand Places by Eugene H. Peterson
The Dream of Scipio by Iain Pears
Defending Constantine by Peter J. Leithart ♦

Earlier reviews (fiction):

Invisible Cities by Italo Calvino ♥
The Tower at Stony Wood by Patricia A. McKillip ♥
Winter Rose by Patricia A. McKillip ♥
The Dream of Perpetual Motion by Dexter Palmer
Captain Blood by Rafael Sabatini
At the Mountains of Madness by H.P. Lovecraft ♥
The Manual of Detection by Jedediah Berry ♥
Ukridge by P.G. Wodehouse
Sovereign by C.J. Sansom
A Good Man Is Hard to Find and Other Stories by Flannery O’Connor ♥
Impossible Things by Connie Willis
Blackout/All Clear by Connie Willis ♥

Earlier reviews (non-fiction):

Notes From The Tilt-A-Whirl by N. D. Wilson
Only A Theory by Kenneth R. Miller
The Edge of Evolution by Michael J. Behe
Surprised by Oxford: A Memoir by Carolyn Weber ♦
Citrus: A History by Pierre Laszlo
Field Notes on Science & Nature by Michael R. Canfield ♦
C. S. Lewis on the Final Frontier: Science and the Supernatural in the Space Trilogy by Sanford Schwartz ♦
Think by John Piper
Natural Experiments of History by Jared Diamond and James A. Robinson
Social Understanding by Jürgen and Christina Klüver
The Secret Life of Birds by Colin Tudge
Galileo by Mitch Stokes
Modern Art and the Death of a Culture by H.R. Rookmaaker
Terra – Tales of the Earth: Four Events That Changed the World by Richard Hamblyn ♦
Philosophy, Science and the Sovereignty of God by Vern S. Poythress

Four Faultless Felons: a book review

2012-01-07T15:37:00.000+11:00

Four Faultless Felons by G. K. Chesterton

I recently read Four Faultless Felons (free on Project Gutenberg Australia here) by the great G. K. Chesterton.

This novel contains the stories of four men who appear to be villains (a murderer, a liar, a thief, and a traitor), but in fact are the opposite (and in this they recall Christ). The book is in the spirit of The Paradoxes of Mr. Pond, although those stories are (in my view) better. Still, I enjoyed it. The introduction by Martin Gardner in this edition was also interesting.

This book has also been reviewed at Biblio-File and by the American Chesterton Society.

Four Faultless Felons by G. K. Chesterton: 3½ stars

Reedpunk update

2012-01-06T18:48:00.008+11:00

Someone pointed out the perfect reedpunk (ancient Egyptian steampunk) character. This is, it seems, princess Arsinoe, granddaughter of Ptolemy III, and director of the Computing Centre in Alexandria, 200 BC:

After the early death of her useless uncle, sensible people presumably rule the Greek empire.

Eratosthenes, given the presence of pneumatically powered mechanical computers, develops information theory prior to his death in 194 BC. With the aid of camels, a vast telegraph network is established across the desert:

The telegraph headquarters was, of course, built as a pyramid (click for photo attribution):

Reedpunk: a fictional timeline

2012-01-06T16:45:00.003+11:00

This idea is derived and extended from a suggestion by a friend of mine (“reedpunk” is named after Egyptian papyrus reeds, by analogy with steampunk).

Papyrus fragment of Euclid’s Elements

287 BC: Archimedes is born in Syracuse

285 BC: Ctesibius is born in Alexandria

*275 BC: Pyrrhus of Epirus utterly defeats the Romans at the Battle of Beneventum

265 BC: Euclid dies in Alexandria

246 BC: Ptolemy III begins his war of conquest

*230 BC: Ptolemy III completes the reconquest of Alexander’s empire

Ptolemy III

*220 BC: Ctesibius establishes a slave-powered pneumatic message delivery service to aid Ptolemy’s government

One of Ctesibius’ pneumatic tubes

222 BC: Ctesibius dies

Museum in honour of Ctesibius, the “father of pneumatics”

*212 BC: Archimedes avoids death in an accident, and moves to Alexandria

The Library at Alexandria

*210 BC: Archimedes completes a large slave-powered astronomical computer, based on the Antikythera mechanism

Fragment of Archimedes’ mechanical computer

*200 BC: Archimedes, the father of Egyptian computing, dies in Alexandria

Archimedes

Steampunk!

2012-01-05T15:13:00.004+11:00

The steampunk concept (“steam” + “cyberpunk”) has its origins with books like The Peshawar Lancers and films like The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, involving premature high technology in the Victorian era.

Steampunk costumes and restored locomotive

These books and films led to a wonderful Victorian aesthetic for computer equipment, such as the work of the talented Jake von Slatt:

Steampunk computer by Jake von Slatt

There are some fabulous steampunk USB drives too.

As a variety of female fashion, steampunk seems to involve either (1) inventor costumes, (2) explorer costumes, or (3) excuses to wear corsets.

“Steampunk Lady” by Mark Dobson

As steampunk becomes mainstream, though, some rather sad things seem to carry the name...

Finding God Beyond Harvard: a book review

2012-01-04T14:21:00.005+11:00

Finding God Beyond Harvard by Kelly Monroe Kullberg

I recently read Finding God Beyond Harvard: The Quest for Veritas by Kelly Monroe Kullberg, author of Finding God at Harvard. The book tells this story of her life as a student, and later a chaplain, at Harvard University, and the founding of the Veritas Forum (which seeks “to inspire the shapers of tomorrow’s culture to connect their hardest questions with the person and story of Jesus Christ” – www.veritas.org).

I really liked this honest memoir, especially the story of the author speaking on “The Bible and Feminism” to a crowd consisting mostly of anti-Christian protesters.

I was struck, yet again, by how alien the concept of “truth” is to liberal-arts students (it is, after all, a concept essential to me as a mathematician, as a scientist, and as a Christian), and how hostile the American academy can be to Christianity (as in, for example, the decades-long boarding-up of the Dartmouth Rollins Chapel Windows, with their apostles and quote from Proverbs 4:18), in spite of the academy’s own Christian origins.

Harvard’s original seal

There is not quite enough in the book about a wider context in which the Veritas Forum sits, but this no doubt reflects the author’s initial thinking. There is certainly a lot here for those who work with students to learn from.

Finding God Beyond Harvard by Kelly Monroe Kullberg: 4 stars

A periodic table of coins

2012-01-02T15:46:00.005+11:00

I was thinking about the elements recently, so this fragment of the periodic table seemed appropriate:

There are other elements used for coinage, but I think these are the main ones.

Farewell, 2011

2011-12-31T22:00:00.000+11:00

Sees that 2011 is just hours away from its close, and feels that this ancient carol is appropriate:

The old year now away is fled, the new year it is entered;
Then let us all our sins down tread, and joyfully all appear.
Let's merry be this holiday, and let us run with sport and play,
Hang sorrow, let's cast care away – God send us a merry new year!

And now with new year's gifts each friend unto each other they do send;
God grant we may our lives amend, and that truth may now appear.
Now like the snake cast off your skin of evil thoughts and wicked sin,
And to amend this new year begin – God send you a happy new year!

Christ Plays in Ten Thousand Places: a book review

2011-12-30T07:24:00.000+11:00

Christ Plays in Ten Thousand Places by Eugene H. Peterson

I recently read Christ Plays in Ten Thousand Places: A Conversation in Spiritual Theology by Eugene H. Peterson (the title comes from a poem by Gerard Manley Hopkins).

I thought it was good, particularly the section on the Eucharist. However, I didn’t get as much out of it as I did from his Eat This Book.

Christ Plays in Ten Thousand Places by Eugene H. Peterson: 3½ stars

God and the tree

2011-12-29T12:03:00.000+11:00

Expanding on my previous post, the philosophical basis of Christianity requires a continuing spiritual involvement in the physical. Consider this tree – there are essentially four perspectives on it:

Materialist – from a classic Materialist or Atheist point of view (and this goes back to Aristotle’s idea of eternal matter), the tree doesn't need God at all. It can be explained only by physical laws.

Pantheist – from a Pantheist point of view (as in some schools of Hinduism), the tree is part of God – and hence is in a sense illusory.

Deist – from a Deist point of view, God created the tree (or at least the laws of physics that produced the tree), but the tree now survives, grows, and reproduces entirely on its own.

Christian – the Christian point of view says that God, in his Providence, continues to be involved with the tree. In the words of the Belgic Confession:

“We believe that the same God, after he had created all things, did not forsake them, or give them up to fortune or chance, but that he rules and governs them according to his holy will, so that nothing happens in this world without his appointment... we reject that damnable error of the Epicureans, who say that God regards nothing, but leaves all things to chance.”

Why I am a Platonist – and why I am not

2011-12-28T11:45:00.002+11:00

I have spoken elsewhere on this blog about being a Platonist – at least in the mathematical sense, and in so far as Plato was Christanised by Augustine. Some of my friends, of course, are Aristotelian:

“And it is now that our two paths cross.
Both simultaneously recognise his Anti-type: that I am a Platonist, that he is an Aristotelian.
Neither speaks. What experience could we possibly share?” (with apologies to W.H. Auden)

Well, maybe it’s not as bad as all that. Aristotle was a student of Plato, after all. And perhaps my friends are only Aristotelian to the extent that I am Platonist.

Platonism proper looks something like this (although I disagree with most of the diagram):

I would agree with Plato that physical objects are in some sense shadows of things that are (in a way) more real, because they are eternal. There is more to the Universe than can be seen or touched with the physical senses. Aristotle’s concept of eternal Matter, on the other hand, conflicts both with my understanding of theology and my understanding of mathematics; similarly I think the soul is more than just the form of the body, and that the physical and the spiritual are intertwined more than Aristotle realised.

“Nothing, I say, could be more human and excusable than the belief that it is the trees which make the wind... the trees stand for all visible things and the wind for the invisible. The wind is the spirit which bloweth where it listeth; the trees are the material things of the world which are blown where the spirit lists.” – G.K. Chesterton “The Wind and the Trees”

Shadow and deeper reality

I would agree with Plato that there is an ideal Circle and an ideal Cube. I could almost be persuaded that there is an ideal Zebra (the result of perfect zebra DNA and an optimal environment), and an ideal Violin (which Stradivarius came close to touching). I do not believe that there is such a thing as, say, an ideal Chair.

Nor would I agree with the Neoplatonists who drew the conclusion that physical objects are unimportant or evil. Part of Christianity is the belief that physical reality is inherently good.

I would agree with Plato that the Universe was created, but disagree when he suggests that the Creator was less than divine (cf John 1:1–3).

I would agree with Plato that people are spiritual as well as physical, and that life is but shallow if this is not acknowledged. I would disagree with his theory of reincarnation, and his idea that knowledge of, for example, mathematics, is remembered from a past life of union with the One.

I would agree with Plato that there is a gulf between Creator and created, but I would disagree with his idea (and even more with the Neoplatonist elaboration) of intermediate entities between God and the physical. The line between God and Creation is, I believe, sharper than Plato drew it, but it is a line that God willingly crossed in that amazing event, the Incarnation. The Christian version of Plato therefore looks something like this:

So perhaps I should describe myself as an Augustinian rather than a Platonist, because I find myself agreeing with, for example, Douglas Wilson. The Incarnation changes everything.

The Dream of Scipio: a book review

2011-12-27T14:48:00.000+11:00

The Dream of Scipio by Iain Pears

I recently borrowed The Dream of Scipio by Iain Pears – a superb novel, though I’m not sure I can say I truly enjoyed it, given the air of impending doom from the very beginning.

The novel is set in Provence, in three interwoven time periods – in the dying days of the Roman Empire, during the medieval Black Death, and during the time of Vichy France.

To a large extent, the novel is a defence of Neoplatonism, which is not a philosophy I’m particularly taken with. On the whole, I didn’t find the characters particularly attractive, either. Nevertheless, a fascinating novel, and a well-painted historical background.

The Dream of Scipio by Iain Pears: 3½ stars

St Stephen's Day

2011-12-26T07:32:00.003+11:00

A happy St Stephen's Day to everyone.

We give thee thanks, O Lord of glory, for the example of the first martyr Stephen, who looked up to heaven and prayed for his persecutors to thy Son Jesus Christ, who standeth at thy right hand; where he liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Spirit, one God, in glory everlasting. Amen.

Christmas 4

2011-12-25T21:08:00.002+11:00

I hope everyone has had/will have a wonderful Christmas.

Christmas 3

2011-12-24T11:35:00.000+11:00

The Sydney Morning Herald complains of "cynical attempts by Christians to hijack the whole fiesta [of Christmas] for their own religious ends." Linus knows different:

“And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid. And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.” – Luke 2:8–14

Christmas 2

2011-12-23T22:15:00.000+11:00

Here is a slightly different version of an old favourite:

“O little town of Bethlehem, how still we see thee lie!
Above thy deep and dreamless sleep the silent stars go by.
Yet in thy dark streets shineth the everlasting Light;
The hopes and fears of all the years are met in thee tonight.

For Christ is born of Mary, and gathered all above,
While mortals sleep, the angels keep their watch of wondering love.
O morning stars together, proclaim the holy birth,
And praises sing to God the King, and peace to men on earth!

How silently, how silently, the wondrous Gift is giv’n;
So God imparts to human hearts the blessings of His Heav’n.
No ear may hear His coming, but in this world of sin,
Where meek souls will receive Him still, the dear Christ enters in.

O holy Child of Bethlehem, descend to us, we pray;
Cast out our sin, and enter in, be born in us today.
We hear the Christmas angels the great glad tidings tell;
O come to us, abide with us, our Lord Emmanuel!” – Phillips Brooks, 1867.

Christmas

2011-12-22T13:54:00.000+11:00

A little over 2,000 years ago...

“Once in royal David’s city
Stood a lowly cattle shed,
Where a mother laid her Baby
In a manger for His bed:
Mary was that mother mild,
Jesus Christ her little Child.

He came down to earth from Heaven,
Who is God and Lord of all,
And His shelter was a stable,
And His cradle was a stall;
With the poor, and mean, and lowly,
Lived on earth our Savior holy.

And, through all His wondrous childhood,
He would honor and obey,
Love and watch the lowly maiden,
In whose gentle arms He lay:
Christian children all must be
Mild, obedient, good as He.

For He is our childhood’s pattern;
Day by day, like us He grew;
He was little, weak and helpless,
Tears and smiles like us He knew;
And He feeleth for our sadness,
And He shareth in our gladness.

And our eyes at last shall see Him,
Through His own redeeming love,
For that Child so dear and gentle
Is our Lord in Heav’n above,
And He leads His children on
To the place where He is gone.

Not in that poor lowly stable,
With the oxen standing by,
We shall see Him; but in Heaven,
Set at God’s right hand on high;
Where like stars His children crowned
All in white shall wait around.” – Cecil F. Alexander, 1848.

The choir here is that of an Oxford college where I once had the privilege of spending a night.

The Incarnation

2011-12-21T21:50:00.000+11:00

One of the core beliefs of Christianity is that the Creator of the Universe took human form... nine months before Christmas. Amazing, is it not?

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made... The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.” – John 1:1–14, NIV

Advent

2011-12-20T20:27:00.002+11:00

This is the season of Advent, a looking-forward to Christmas, which makes this 7th Century hymn appropriate:

Creator of the stars of night,
Thy people’s everlasting light,
Jesu, Redeemer, save us all,
And hear Thy servants when they call.

Thou, grieving that the ancient curse
Should doom to death a universe,
Hast found the medicine, full of grace,
To save and heal a ruined race.

Thou cam’st, the Bridegroom of the bride,
As drew the world to evening-tide;
Proceeding from a virgin shrine,
The spotless victim all divine.

At whose dread name, majestic now,
All knees must bend, all hearts must bow;
And things celestial Thee shall own,
And things terrestrial, Lord alone.

O Thou whose coming is with dread
To judge and doom the quick and dead,
Preserve us, while we dwell below,
From every insult of the foe.

To God the Father, God the Son,
And God the Spirit, Three in One,
Laud, honor, might, and glory be
From age to age eternally.

MODSIM 2011, Perth

2011-12-19T00:21:00.002+11:00

I attended the MODSIM 2011 International Congress on Modelling and Simulation at the Perth Convention and Exhibition Centre last week.

Photo by Greg O'Beirne

I enjoyed talks on various aspects of Modelling and Simulation, including such diverse topics such as modelling the spread of plague among great gerbils, simulating liquid flows with smoothed-particle hydrodynamics, and analysing issues in boundary-layer meteorology. There was a big emphasis on environmental issues, especially those involving water. In total, over 500 papers were presented.

Defending Constantine: a book review

2011-12-15T21:29:00.002+11:00

Defending Constantine by Peter J. Leithart

I was very glad to be given (as a Sinterklaas present) a copy of Defending Constantine: The Twilight of an Empire and the Dawn of Christendom by Peter Leithart.

Peter Leithart teaches at New Saint Andrews College and blogs at www.leithart.com. The primary aim of this book seems to be to use solid scholarship to counter what others have called the “Darth Constantine” theory – and I think Leithart succeeds in this aim.

Constantine is the one on the RIGHT.

Leithart concludes that Constantine was a genuine convert to Christianity, but also a man of his times. In particular, Leithart suggests that Constantine shared with pagan emperors the belief that the empire’s future hung on divine favour, and that this may have partially motivated Constantine’s intervention in intra-Church conflicts.

The Vision of the Cross by students of Raphael.

Leithart also suggests that Constantine had a genuine vision – perhaps a sun halo (p. 78).

Is this what Constantine saw?

Leithart argues that initially Constantine made substantial concessions to the pagan majority of his subjects (leading his soldiers, for example, in a monotheistic prayer that was not specifically Christian – p. 105), but gradually moved the Empire towards official Christianity. Constantine’s conversion, according to Leithart, shows particularly in the names and symbols which initially VANISHED (such as those of Jupiter), as well as in the actions that Constantine took when he became more secure in his position.

This coin (from the year after the Battle of the Milvian Bridge) showing the “Unconquered Sun” may hint at Constantine’s vision, and may also have been calculated to limit offense to Christians (cf Mal 4:2). However, such coins eventually vanished too.

Leithart takes the Good Friday Oration of Constantine to be genuine (p. 91), and an indication of what Constantine really believed:

“That light which far outshines the day and sun, first pledge of resurrection, and renovation of bodies long since dissolved, promise, the path which leads to everlasting life—in a word, the day of the Passion—is arrived, best beloved doctors, and ye, my friends who are assembled here, ye blessed multitudes, who worship him who is the author of all worship, and praise him continually with heart and voice, according to the precepts of his Holy Word....”

I was surprised to discover how much legislation Constantine introduced in favour of women and the poor. When you realise that he was essentially inventing a theory of Christian government as he went, he really did an amazing job.

The later parts of the book respond to John Howard Yoder, a Mennonite critic of Constantine. I found this less interesting, since I was never even slightly convinced by Yoderianism.

For another (hostile) review see here (and Leithart’s rejoinder).

Defending Constantine by Peter J. Leithart: 4 stars

In the Bleak Midwinter

2011-12-14T19:48:00.003+11:00

“In the bleak midwinter, frosty wind made moan,
Earth stood hard as iron, water like a stone;
Snow had fallen, snow on snow, snow on snow,
In the bleak midwinter, long ago.

Our God, Heaven cannot hold Him, nor earth sustain;
Heaven and earth shall flee away when He comes to reign.
In the bleak midwinter a stable place sufficed
The Lord God Almighty, Jesus Christ.

Enough for Him, whom cherubim, worship night and day,
Breastful of milk, and a mangerful of hay;
Enough for Him, whom angels fall before,
The ox and ass and camel which adore.

Angels and archangels may have gathered there,
Cherubim and seraphim thronged the air;
But His mother only, in her maiden bliss,
Worshipped the beloved with a kiss.

What can I give Him, poor as I am?
If I were a shepherd, I would bring a lamb;
If I were a Wise Man, I would do my part;
Yet what I can I give Him: give my heart.”

– Christina Rossetti, 1872

The Panoply of God

2011-12-10T23:12:00.005+11:00

Roman legionaries (photo from Wikipedia)

I have been meditating on the panoply (πανοπλία) or armour of God in the Epistle to the Ephesians:

“Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. Put on the whole armour of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. Therefore take up the whole armour of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm. Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate (θώραξ) of righteousness, and, as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace. In all circumstances take up the shield (θυρεός) of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one; and take the helmet (περικεφάλαιος) of salvation, and the sword (μάχαιρα) of the Spirit, which is the word of God, praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication.” – Ephesians 6:10-18a (ESV)

Belt: Truth is portrayed as fundamental here. Everything else hinges on knowing what is true and what is false.

Breastplate: Charles Hodge explained this as follows in 1856: “What is that righteousness, which in the spiritual armour answers to the cuirass? Many say it is our own righteousness, integrity, or rectitude of mind. But this is no protection. It cannot resist the accusations of conscience, the whispers of despondency, the power of temptation, much less the severity of the law, or the assaults of Satan. What Paul desired for himself was not to have on his own righteousness, but the righteousness which is of God by faith; Phil 3:8-9. And this, doubtless, is the righteousness which he here urges believers to put on as a breast-plate. It is an infinitely perfect righteousness, consisting in the obedience and sufferings of the Son of God, which satisfies all the demands of the divine law and justice; and which is a sure defence against all assaults whether from within or from without. As in no case in this connection does the apostle refer to any merely moral virtue as constituting the armour of the Christian, so neither does he here.” Calvin disagrees with Hodge, however.

Shoes: This section recalls Isaiah 52:7: “How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him who brings good news, who publishes peace, who brings good news of happiness, who publishes salvation, who says to Zion, ‘Your God reigns.’ ”

Shield: This is the large rectangular shield of the legionary.

Helmet: In 1 Thessalonians 5:8, Paul speaks of the helmet being the hope of salvation.

Sword: This is a more active counter to falsehood: “For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.” (Hebrews 4:12)

“Soldiers of Christ, arise, and put your armor on,
Strong in the strength which God supplies through His eternal Son.
Strong in the Lord of hosts, and in His mighty power,
Who in the strength of Jesus trusts is more than conqueror.

Stand then in His great might, with all His strength endued,
But take, to arm you for the fight, the panoply of God;
That, having all things done, and all your conflicts passed,
Ye may o’ercome through Christ alone and stand entire at last.

Stand then against your foes, in close and firm array;
Legions of wily fiends oppose throughout the evil day.
But meet the sons of night, and mock their vain design,
Armed in the arms of heavenly light, of righteousness divine.

Leave no unguarded place, no weakness of the soul,
Take every virtue, every grace, and fortify the whole;
Indissolubly joined, to battle all proceed;
But arm yourselves with all the mind that was in Christ, your head.

But, above all, lay hold on faith’s victorious shield;
Armed with that adamant and gold, be sure to win the field:
If faith surround your heart, Satan shall be subdued,
Repelled his every fiery dart, and quenched with Jesu’s blood.

Jesus hath died for you! What can His love withstand?
Believe, hold fast your shield, and who shall pluck you from His hand?
Believe that Jesus reigns; all power to Him is giv’n:
Believe, till freed from sin’s remains; believe yourselves to Heav’n.

To keep your armor bright, attend with constant care,
Still walking in your captain’s sight, and watching unto prayer.
Ready for all alarms, steadfastly set your face,
And always exercise your arms, and use your every grace.

Pray without ceasing, pray, your captain gives the word;
His summons cheerfully obey and call upon the Lord;
To God your every want in instant prayer display,
Pray always; pray and never faint; pray, without ceasing, pray!

In fellowship alone, to God with faith draw near;
Approach His courts, besiege His throne with all the powers of prayer:
Go to His temple, go, nor from His altar move;
Let every house His worship know, and every heart His love.

To God your spirits dart, your souls in words declare,
Or groan, to Him who reads the heart, the unutterable prayer:
His mercy now implore, and now show forth His praise,
In shouts, or silent awe, adore His miracles of grace.

Pour out your souls to God, and bow them with your knees,
And spread your hearts and hands abroad, and pray for Zion’s peace;
Your guides and brethren bear for ever on your mind;
Extend the arms of mighty prayer, ingrasping all mankind.

From strength to strength go on, wrestle and fight and pray,
Tread all the powers of darkness down and win the well fought day.
Still let the Spirit cry in all His soldiers, ‘Come!’
Till Christ the Lord descends from high and takes the conquerors home.” – Charles Wesley, Soldiers of Christ, Arise

The US: some trends

2011-12-07T21:11:00.003+11:00

In many ways, the US is very different from the country it was in the middle of the 20th century. Here are six of those trends. These graphs must reveal some kind of big picture, but I’m not sure what it is.

More Americans are getting college degrees than ever before – but not in engineering. Engineering degrees peaked in the mid 80s. How do you run a technological society without engineers?

College students have also been getting progressively higher grades.

Labour participation rates for men have been dropping since 1950, for a variety of reasons including Social Security for the disabled, greater female participation, and (in recent times) fewer jobs.

The US became a net importer of goods and services in the 70s. Not the best basis for the economy, perhaps.

Violent crime peaked around 1990 (property crimes have also dropped since then). No, the USA is not full of gun-waving Rambos.

The number of non-Catholic Christians has dropped from around 70% to 55% since 1950. In that time, the number of Catholics increased from 22% to 30%, then dropped back to 22%. Other religions are up to 9%, and those with no religion to 12%. That’s still 77% of the population being Christian, but nevertheless a big drop from the 91% of 1948.

Veni, veni, Emmanuel

2011-11-28T19:27:00.004+11:00

Yesterday was Advent Sunday, so this is an appropriate hymn:

Annunciation to the Shepherds, Flemish miniature, c. 1480

O come, O come, Emmanuel,
And ransom captive Israel,
That mourns in lonely exile here
Until the Son of God appear.

Rejoice! Rejoice!
Emmanuel shall come to thee, O Israel.

O come, Thou Wisdom from on high,
Who orderest all things mightily;
To us the path of knowledge show,
And teach us in her ways to go.

Rejoice! Rejoice!
Emmanuel shall come to thee, O Israel.

O come, Thou Rod of Jesse, free
Thine own from Satan’s tyranny;
From depths of hell Thy people save,
And give them victory over the grave.

Rejoice! Rejoice!
Emmanuel shall come to thee, O Israel.

O come, Thou Day-spring, come and cheer
Our spirits by Thine advent here;
Disperse the gloomy clouds of night,
And death’s dark shadows put to flight.

Rejoice! Rejoice!
Emmanuel shall come to thee, O Israel.

O come, Thou Key of David, come,
And open wide our heavenly home;
Make safe the way that leads on high,
And close the path to misery.

Rejoice! Rejoice!
Emmanuel shall come to thee, O Israel.

O come, O come, great Lord of might,
Who to Thy tribes on Sinai’s height
In ancient times once gave the law
In cloud and majesty and awe.

Rejoice! Rejoice!
Emmanuel shall come to thee, O Israel.

O come, Thou Root of Jesse’s tree,
An ensign of Thy people be;
Before Thee rulers silent fall;
All peoples on Thy mercy call.

Rejoice! Rejoice!
Emmanuel shall come to thee, O Israel.

O come, Desire of nations, bind
In one the hearts of all mankind;
Bid Thou our sad divisions cease,
And be Thyself our King of Peace.

Rejoice! Rejoice!
Emmanuel shall come to thee, O Israel.

Thanksgiving

2011-11-24T12:37:00.001+11:00

My American friends have a Thanksgiving tradition,
which I have to admire. It’s good to thank God for things.

I’m thankful that I live in a stable country. I’m thankful for my family. I’m thankful for the music. And I’m thankful for Jesus.

Arsenic and very old lace

2011-11-19T21:26:00.004+11:00

Apparatus for the Marsh test

According to the Guardian, it seems that there is evidence that Jane Austen died of arsenic poisoning. Or at least, so says a crime writer who has written a novel about the idea.

What I’d like to see, though, is a steampunk detective novel about the investigation of Austen’s murder. That would sell like hot cakes.

Steampunk detective (photo by John Nakamura Remy, 2009)

Tip o’ the fedora to Zen Of Writing

Things to do in Australia: a list for visitors

2011-11-17T22:28:00.001+11:00

Great Ocean Road (photo by “Camelboy,” 2010)

1. Drive the Great Ocean Road
2. Take the ferry to Manly
3. Swim the Great Barrier Reef
4. Take in G for George at the War Memorial
5. Watch the sunset colours of Uluru
6. Watch the Sydney to Hobart arrive at Constitution Dock
7. See the The Pioneer at the NGV

Melbourne laneway (photo by Rae Allen, 2010)

8. Shop the Block Arcade and the laneways of Melbourne
9. Practice saying “G’day” until you can say it like an Australian
10. Spot the elusive platypus
11. Learn to play the didgeridoo
12. Spend an evening at an opera or two
13. Climb the nearest mountain
14. Pan for gold or dig for opals

We’re happy little Vegemites, as bright as bright can be (photo by “Tristanb,” 2004)

15. Have some Vegemite on your toast
16. Taste the gelati on Lygon Street
17. Slurp some noodles in Chinatown
18. Try some bush tucker for a change
19. Drink a Tim Tam Slam
20. Put some Barra on your burger
21. Have some pavlova for dessert

J’aime la belle France

2011-11-14T19:03:00.004+11:00

I love France. I love its history, which includes stories about ancestors of mine. I love the fact that it has “two hundred and forty-six varieties of cheese.” I love the cathedrals – and all the other buildings that have stood for so long. I’m not too keen on the French Revolution, though.

Notre Dame, Paris (photo by “Tom S.,” 2007)

I love French artists and sculptors. I love Rodin and Renoir, and I could happily spend a month in the Louvre.

Louvre, Paris (photo by Benh Lieu Song, 2010)

I love the invention of the Metric System, and I remember how much simpler it made things when we adopted it. I love the flying Trains à Grande Vitesse. I love being reminded of the French airmail legacy when I read a novel by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry or attach a “par avion” sticker to an envelope.

TGV at Gare de Lyon, Paris (photo by Sebastian Terfloth, 2005)

I love Art Nouveau stations on the Métro. I love French cinema (well, most of it).

Poster, La Cité des Enfants Perdus

I love French mathematicians – Marin Mersenne, Blaise Pascal, and Henri Poincaré, to name just a few. Nicolas Bourbaki taught me to say “injective” and “surjective.” Jean-Yves Girard taught me “System F.” And, of course, Évariste Galois died in a duel.

“Ne pleure pas, Alfred! J’ai besoin de tout mon courage pour mourir à vingt ans.”

And I love the language.

Vive la France!

And the Sailor, Home from the Sea

2011-11-12T18:28:00.001+11:00

“There, in the moonlight, hill after slow-rising hill of wheat blew in tidal winds with the motion of waves. An immense Pacific of grain shimmered off beyond seeing, with his house, his now-recognized ship, becalmed in its midst.”

Andrew Wyeth, “Christina's World,” 1948

“‘No marker?’ asked the minister.

‘Oh, no, sir, and never will be one.’

The minister started to protest, when Hanks took his arm, and walked him up the hill a way, then turned, and pointed back.

They stood a long moment. The minister nodded at last, smiled quietly and said, ‘I see. I understand.’

For there was just the ocean of wheat going on and on forever, vast tides of it blowing in the wind, moving east and ever east beyond, and not a line or seam or ripple to show where the old man sank from sight.

‘It was a sea burial,’ said the minister.”

— from the superb short story by Ray Bradbury

Wheat harvest, Idaho

I love Italy

2011-11-11T23:57:00.002+11:00

I love Italy. I love the fact that the ground oozes history – Etruscan, Greek, Roman, and of course, so much Christian history as well. One of Paul’s epistles was, after all, written to Italy, and it mentions in passing early Italian Christians – not that we know anything much about them.

The magnificent concrete dome of the Pantheon in Rome (c. 126 AD, but converted to a church in the 7^thcentury) as painted by Giovanni Paolo Panini

I love the Italian scientific legacy. I guess everyone knows that Galileo is a hero of mine (it’s a shame the Jesuits gave him such a hard time). But working in science, one is also constantly reminded of Avogadro, Galvani, Marconi, Torricelli, Volta, and other great Italian pioneers of science. What’s more, I was brought up on a translation of Scienza: Enciclopedia Tecnica e Scientifica, which was profusely illustrated with wonderful photographs taken in Italy. I still remember it fondly.

Galileo presents his telescope to the Doge of Venice, as painted by Giuseppe Bertini

I love Italian art and architecture – Brunelleschi, Botticelli, Giotto, Leonardo, Michelangelo, Raphael, and so many others. Visiting Florence and Rome was one of the best experiences of my life.

Sunset over Florence (photo by “stevehdc,” 2008)

I love Italian literature. Above all else, the divine Inferno, Purgatorio, and Paradiso; but among more recent works, those of Calvino and Eco. It is unfortunate that I can only read them in translation.

Dante bemoans the corruption in the church, as depicted by Giovanni di Paolo

I love Italian composers – Allegri, Vivaldi, Verdi, ... and I love Italian cinema – The Bicycle Thief, A Fistful of Dollars, And the Ship Sails On.

Poster for Once Upon a Time in the West

I love the fact that Italy used to have banknotes with huge numbers on them (yes, I know that reflects a legacy of terrible inflation, but I still enjoyed having them in my hands, and I think it a little sad that a new generation will miss the currency references in, for example, The Icicle Thief). Here is Alessandro Volta on an old 10,000 lira note:

10,000 lira banknote (scan by “Golle95”)

I really love Italian food – ciabatta, focaccia, minestrone, risotto, spaghetti, tortellini, gelati, tiramisu, zabaglione, and all those other delicious things to eat. And I really, really love Italian coffee. Thank you, Achille Gaggia and Francesco Illy!

I think I’ll just drink both, thanks (photo by Mark Prince, 2006)

I am the 0.000000014%

2011-11-10T22:54:00.009+11:00

I am the 0.000000014%. The so-called 99% does not represent me.

Photo: Dave Wilcox, Melbourne, 2011

I represent myself, since I have hopes and dreams which you can only imagine.

And, as I am fortunate enough to live in a democracy, when representing myself is not enough, I elect people to represent me.

Because my 0.000000014% counts just as much as yours. My hopes and dreams have the same weight that yours do. That’s how democracy works.

I love England

2011-11-08T22:57:00.003+11:00

I love England. I love constitutional monarchy, the Westminster system, and Magna Carta.

“No Freeman shall be taken or imprisoned, or be disseised of his Freehold, or Liberties, or free Customs, or be outlawed, or exiled, or any other wise destroyed; nor will We not pass upon him, nor condemn him, but by lawful judgment of his Peers, or by the Law of the Land. We will sell to no man, we will not deny or defer to any man either Justice or Right.”

King John is forced to sign Magna Carta, 1215

I love living in a former colony of England, rather than a former colony of anyone else.

I love the centuries-old university traditions of Oxford and Cambridge.

Chapel of Emmanuel College, Cambridge (photo by Steve Cadman, 2008)

I love the English language (though it is not my mother tongue) for its expressiveness, its large vocabulary, and its (potential) precision.

I love hundreds of English authors from Jane Austen to John Wyndham.

I love the great city of London – among many other things, for the British Museum.

And I love the “green and pleasant” English countryside.

Clare Bridge, Cambridge (photo by Robert Edwards, 2009)

“Our England is a garden, and such gardens are not made
By singing ‘Oh, how beautiful!’ and sitting in the shade” – Rudyard Kipling, The Glory of the Garden

I love the USA

2011-11-07T20:08:00.002+11:00

I love the United States of America. I love its mountains, I love the Grand Canyon (though I have only seen it from altitude), and I love Niagara Falls. I even love the flat bits in the middle.

The Grand Canyon from above (photo: Jérôme, 2007)

Since childhood, I’ve been fascinated by the USA’s Native Americans. In spite of some very hard knocks (described so well in Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee), they’re still standing. I love the courage of the Sioux, the endurance of the Inuit, and the flexibility of the Navajo.

19^th century Navajo blanket

I love the history of the USA. While it does not go as far back as European history, I’ve still felt it a privilege to walk the streets of San Francisco and Alexandria, and the fields of Gettysburg. I love the fact that the Puritans arrived because of a matter of principle, and principles continued to be taken seriously enough to start wars (although it would have been better to have avoided the wars). I love the fact that everyone goes to church (even, in some places, the atheists), although I wish that the theology of some preachers was a little less crazy.

Little Round Top, Gettysburg (photo: Rlwelch, 2004)

I love the fact that Americans have helped defend both the country of my birth and the country of my parents’ birth.

US paratroopers dropping near Grave in Europe, 17/9/44

I would not be the person I am today without the American emphasis on science. It gave us the lightning rod, the transistor, the IGY, and the moon landing, but also generated a flood of quality educational materials that spread as far as Australia (although today, sadly, this emphasis has faded a little and needs some encouragement).

Many small steps; one giant leap

I love the wonderful fantasy and science fiction literature that the USA has produced. I love Connie Willis, Cordwainer Smith, Patricia McKillip, Robert Heinlein, Roger Zelazny, Ursula Le_Guin, and all the others.

Passage by Connie Willis

And I love the movies: Bringing Up Baby, Casablanca, North by Northwest, Blade Runner, Pale Rider, and all the other classics. Where did that Hollywood magic go?

Poster for Rear Window

Of course, I hasten to add, I love Australia even more. And there are quite a few other countries of which I’m also extremely fond.

Recent reading

2011-11-05T22:55:00.002+11:00

Over the past two months, I finished the following books (among others). Links go to my reviews. Books marked with ♥ (fiction) or ♦ (non-fiction) were particularly good:

Invisible Cities by Italo Calvino ♥
Notes From The Tilt-A-Whirl by N. D. Wilson
The Tower at Stony Wood by Patricia A. McKillip ♥
Only A Theory by Kenneth R. Miller
The Edge of Evolution by Michael J. Behe
Winter Rose by Patricia A. McKillip ♥
The Dream of Perpetual Motion by Dexter Palmer

Earlier reviews (fiction):

Captain Blood by Rafael Sabatini
At the Mountains of Madness by H.P. Lovecraft ♥
The Manual of Detection by Jedediah Berry ♥
Ukridge by P.G. Wodehouse
Sovereign by C.J. Sansom
A Good Man Is Hard to Find and Other Stories by Flannery O’Connor ♥
Impossible Things by Connie Willis
Blackout/All Clear by Connie Willis ♥

Earlier reviews (non-fiction):

Surprised by Oxford: A Memoir by Carolyn Weber ♦
Citrus: A History by Pierre Laszlo
Field Notes on Science & Nature by Michael R. Canfield ♦
C. S. Lewis on the Final Frontier: Science and the Supernatural in the Space Trilogy by Sanford Schwartz ♦
Think by John Piper
Natural Experiments of History by Jared Diamond and James A. Robinson
Social Understanding by Jürgen and Christina Klüver
The Secret Life of Birds by Colin Tudge
Galileo by Mitch Stokes
Modern Art and the Death of a Culture by H.R. Rookmaaker
Terra – Tales of the Earth: Four Events That Changed the World by Richard Hamblyn ♦
Philosophy, Science and the Sovereignty of God by Vern S. Poythress

Ten Lost Cities

2011-11-03T17:38:00.001+11:00

In the spirit of my previous post, here are some cities of which only the bones are visible:

1. Heracleion (port of Alexandria), Egypt – abandoned 8^th century, now under water

2. Petra, Jordan – abandoned c. 600

3. Ephesus, Turkey – abandoned 15^th century

4. Great Zimbabwe, Zimbabwe – abandoned 15^th century

5. Machu Picchu, Peru – abandoned 1572

6. Palenque, Mexico – abandoned c. 800

7. Chaco Canyon, USA – abandoned 12^th century

8. Mandu, India – abandoned 18^th century

9. Hashima Island, Japan – abandoned 1974

10. Prypiat, Ukraine – abandoned 1986

Click images for photo credits.

Invisible Cities: a book review

2011-11-01T01:00:00.003+11:00

Invisible Cities by Italo Calvino

I recently re-read Invisible Cities by Italian author Italo Calvino (1972, translated from Italian 1974, 127 pages). This superb little book consists mostly of short sketches of imaginary cities. I can only describe them by quoting one:

“Despina can be reached in two ways: by ship or by camel. The city displays one face to the traveller arriving overland and a different one to him who arrives by sea.

When the camel driver sees, at the horizon of the tableland, the pinnacles of the skyscrapers come into view, the radar antennae, the white and red windsocks flapping, the chimneys belching smoke, he thinks of a ship; he knows it is a city, but he thinks of it as a vessel that will take him away from the desert, a windjammer about to cast off, with the breeze already swelling the sails, not yet unfurled, or a steamboat with its boiler vibrating in the iron keel; and he thinks of all the ports, the foreign merchandise the cranes unload on the docks, the taverns where crews of different flags break bottles over one another’s heads, the lighted, ground-floor windows, each with a woman combing her hair.

In the coastline’s haze, the sailor discerns the form of a camel’s withers, an embroidered saddle with glittering fringe between two spotted humps, advancing and swaying; he knows it is a city, but he thinks of it as a camel from whose pack hang wineskins and bags of candied fruit, date wine, tobacco leaves, and already he sees himself at the head of a long caravan taking him away from the desert of the sea, toward oases of fresh water in the palm trees’ jagged shade, toward palaces of thick, whitewashed walls, tiled courts where girls are dancing barefoot, moving their arms, half-hidden by their veils, and half-revealed.

Each city receives its form from the desert it opposes; and so the camel driver and the sailor see Despina, a border city between two deserts.”

That was “Cities and Desire 3,” one of many equally wonderful sketches in this book, which I heartily recommend. It has influenced several other writers, as well as many artists (e.g. Colleen Corradi Brannigan, Ron McBurnie, and others). But Calvino does not only give us beautifully poetical descriptions. Cities are human institutions (and Augustine reminds us that there is a celestial city, Dante that there is an infernal one). We gain certain insights into the human condition from Calvino’s cities, like this one (“Hidden Cities 2”):

“In Raissa, life is not happy. People wring their hands as they walk in the streets, curse the crying children, lean on the railings over the river and press their fists to their temples. In the morning you wake from one bad dream and another begins. At the workbenches where, every moment, you hit your finger with a hammer or prick it with a needle, or over the columns of figures all awry in the ledgers of merchants and bankers, or at the rows of empty glasses on the zinc counters of the wineshops, the bent heads at least conceal the general grim gaze. Inside the houses it is worse, and you do not have to enter to learn this: in the summer the windows resound with quarrels and broken dishes.

And yet, in Raissa, at every moment there is a child in a window who laughs seeing a dog that has jumped on a shed to bite into a piece of polenta dropped by a stonemason who has shouted from the top of the scaffolding. ‘Darling, let me dip into it,’ to a young serving-maid who holds up a dish of ragout under the pergola, happy to serve it to the umbrella-maker who is celebrating a successful transaction, a white lace parasol bought to display at the races by a great lady in love with an officer who has smiled at her taking the last jump, happy man, and still happier his horse, flying over the obstacles, seeing a francolin flying in the sky, happy bird freed from its cage by a painter happy at having painted it feather by feather, speckled with red and yellow in the illumination of that page in the volume where the philosopher says: ‘Also in Raissa, city of sadness, there runs an invisible thread that binds one living being to another for a moment, then unravels, then is stretched again between moving points as it draws new and rapid patterns so that at every second the unhappy city contains a happy city unaware of its own existence.’ ”

Photo by “Debs,” 2006

Other favourites of mine are Diomira (“Cities & Memory 1”), Sophronia (“Thin Cities 4”), Octavia (“Thin Cities 5,” illustrated here), Baucis (“Cities & Eyes 3”), and Argia (“Cities & the Dead 4,” which I have quoted before).

This book gets a rare five stars.

Invisible Cities by Italo Calvino: 5 stars

Nail your theses to the door

2011-10-31T01:00:00.000+11:00

Wittenberg Schlosskirche

Notes From The Tilt-A-Whirl: a book review

2011-10-27T21:28:00.010+11:00

Notes From The Tilt-A-Whirl by N. D. Wilson

I recently read Notes From The Tilt-A-Whirl: Wide-Eyed Wonder in God’s Spoken World by Nathan David (N. D.) Wilson, son of pastor Douglas Wilson.

Nate Wilson teaches at New Saint Andrews College (where he also studied), formerly edited Credenda/Agenda, and blogs at www.ndwilson.com. The book has its own web site at www.notesfromthetiltawhirl.com and has recently been made into a “bookumentary” film. A (not very helpful) “study guide” is on offer, but (annoyingly) only if you subscribe to a mailing list.

A Tilt-A-Whirl (photo by Daryl Mitchell, 2008)

Gerard Manley Hopkins once wrote that “the world is charged with the grandeur of God,” and Wilson expresses the unexpected, bizarre, almost incomprehensible grandeur of the universe in a madcap Chestertonian sort of way using the metaphor of the Tilt-A-Whirl:

“What the hell is this place? Just looking around, I can tell you that whatever is going on, spheres are a theme, and so are insects. We are on a sphere, spinning around a much bigger sphere (which happens to be burning hot enough to singe my face, even at this distance) while other spheres of various sizes do the same kind of thing, and a smaller, sad, little-dead-poet sphere with acne scars spins around us, lighting the night, causing the oceans to heave their bosoms and pant, and increasing violent crime (really)...

Welcome to Carnival. Ride the wheel back down. Come out from the shadows and lopsided trailers. There’s a story to tell, a world of surprises and questions to explore, a personality often searched for to be unearthed and understood in the reality around us. And there’s someone behind it, uncomfortable answers to the how’s and why’s and what’s.”

Wilson writes wonderfully well at times. He has also read a lot about science and philosophy (and it shows), although he gets the occasional detail wrong (atoms are not “mostly space,” for example).

The book is targeted at atheists, on the one hand, and the Platonist strand in Christianity, on the other, thus making C.S. Lewis both Wilson’s ally and his enemy. However, since it is largely a personal stream-of-consciousness book, the arguments are not quite as well articulated as those of Lewis (on the Christian side) or books like Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance (on the non-Christian side). However, he does have the whole crazy, beautiful, amazing world to back up some of his points.

Much of Notes From The Tilt-A-Whirl is concerned with the problem of evil. In handling this, Wilson is not quite as scholarly as Lewis, or quite as gritty as, say, Madeleine L'Engle: it is perhaps a little easy being an optimist if you’re happily married with kids and living in Idaho.

A less fortunate Christian: Beneath the Arena (von Piloty, 1882), Ballarat (my photo)

Still, it’s the kind of book that could start a few good conversations. See The Gospel Coalition, Theologymnasium, Green Leaf Blog, Light Along the Journey, and Miscellanies for other reviews.

Notes From The Tilt-A-Whirl by N. D. Wilson: 3½ stars

What is “normal body temperature”?

2011-10-23T20:22:00.008+11:00

The “official” body temperature is measured in the pulmonary artery (running from the heart to the lungs). Since that is hard to get to, body temperature is more usually measured in the armpit, under the tongue, in the rectum, or (with an infrared thermometer) on the eardrum (tympanic membrane).

The armpit technique is generally used with infants. The oral and tympanic measurements are generally used with older children and adults, although tympanic measurements are unreliable if instructions are not properly followed (reference). The rectal technique was once popular, but is less reliable than once believed, and has several obvious disadvantages.

The diagram above shows normal (blue), average (black), and fever (red) temperatures for children, as measured with the four techniques (reference). A Fahrenheit version is shown below. Clear differences exist between measurement techniques.

These temperatures vary with various factors, particularly the time of day:

Photo credits “Stilfehler,” 2009 and “Svdmolen,” 2007.

3:16

2011-10-21T23:00:00.005+11:00

Back in 1990, computer scientist Donald Knuth produced a book entitled 3:16 Bible Texts Illuminated and containing, for each book of the Bible, his translation of the 16^th verse after the start of the 3^rd chapter. The artwork for the book became the basis of a travelling exhibition of calligraphy: the John 3:16 page is shown above, and is also available as a pdf.

This set includes, of course, verses like:

Psalm 4:8: I will lie down and sleep in peace, for you alone, O LORD, make me dwell in safety.
1 Corinthians 3:16: Don’t you know that you yourselves are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit lives in you?
Colossians 3:16: Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God.
2 Thessalonians 3:16: Now may the Lord of peace himself give you peace at all times and in every way. The Lord be with all of you.
1 John 3:16: This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers.

A capital idea.

Rabbit’s thesis

2011-10-19T22:21:00.005+11:00

An oldie but a goodie. It’s a fine sunny day in the forest, and Rabbit is sitting outside his burrow, typing away busily on his laptop.

Mr Fox comes walking along, and asks “what are you working on?” “My thesis,” Rabbit replies. “It’s about predation by rabbits on foxes.”

“By RABBITS on FOXES!” exclaims Mr Fox. “Surely you mean the other way ‘round?”

“Come inside,” says Rabbit, “and I’ll show you.” So they enter Rabbit's burrow, and shortly afterwards Rabbit emerges by himself, licking his lips, and resumes typing.

Some time later, Mr Wolf walks by. “What are you working on?” “My thesis,” Rabbit replies. “It’s about the dietary benefits of wolf protein for rabbits.”

“Wolf protein for WHAT!” exclaims Mr Wolf. “Everyone knows that WOLVES eat RABBITS!”

“Come inside,” says Rabbit, “and I’ll show you.” So they enter Rabbit's burrow, and sometime later Rabbit emerges alone, licking his lips, and resumes work.

Mr Hare has observed these exchanges from a distance, and now approaches to ask how this can be. “Don’t worry,” says Rabbit. “Come inside, and I’ll show you.”

And what does Mr Hare see in Rabbit’s borrow? In one corner, a pile of fox-bones, gnawed clean. In another, a pile of wolf-bones, white and shining. And in a third corner, a lion, picking his teeth.

Moral: it doesn’t matter how crazy your thesis topic is, or how often you change it. What MATTERS is having a good supervisor.

This is my Father’s world

2011-10-18T01:00:00.000+11:00

This is my Father’s world, and to my listening ears
All nature sings, and round me rings the music of the spheres.
This is my Father’s world: I rest me in the thought
Of rocks and trees, of skies and seas;
His hand the wonders wrought.

This is my Father’s world, the birds their carols raise,
The morning light, the lily white, declare their Maker’s praise.
This is my Father’s world: He shines in all that’s fair;
In the rustling grass I hear Him pass;
He speaks to me everywhere.

This is my Father’s world. O let me ne’er forget
That though the wrong seems oft so strong, God is the ruler yet.
This is my Father’s world: the battle is not done:
Jesus who died shall be satisfied,
And earth and Heav’n be one.

Maltbie Davenport Babcock, 1901; reblogged from A Wilderness Life – see also The Cyber Hymnal for score and MIDI.

Papyrus Oxyrhynchus 29

2011-10-17T19:56:00.005+11:00

Papyrus Oxyrhynchus 29 (not to be confused with New Testament Papyrus 29) is a papyrus from the Oxyrhynchus collection containing the statement of Proposition 5 of Book 2 of Euclid, and an accompanying diagram. The proposition is as follows (the bold words are on the papyrus):

If a straight line be cut into equal and unequal segments, then the rectangle contained by the unequal segments of the whole together with the square on the straight line between the points of section is equal to the square on the half.

For let a straight line AB be cut into equal segments at C and into unequal segments at D; I say that the rectangle contained by AD, DB together with the square on CD is equal to the square on CB.

For let the square CEFB be described on CB, and let BE be joined; through D let DG be drawn parallel to either CE or BF, through H again let KM be drawn parallel to either AB or EF, and again through A let AK be drawn parallel to either CL or BM.

Then, since the complement CH is equal to the complement HF, let DM be added to each; therefore the whole CM is equal to the whole DF.

But CM is equal to AL, since AC is also equal to CB; therefore AL is also equal to DF. Let CH be added to each; therefore the whole AH is equal to the gnomon NOP.

But AH is the rectangle AD, DB, for DH is equal to DB, therefore the gnomon NOP is also equal to the rectangle AD, DB.

Let LG, which is equal to the square on CD, be added to each; therefore the gnomon NOP and LG are equal to the rectangle contained by AD, DB and the square on CD.

But the gnomon NOP and LG are the whole square CEFB, which is described on CB; therefore the rectangle contained by AD, DB together with the square on CD is equal to the square on CB. Therefore etc. Q. E. D.

The papyrus is in Greek capitals; in modern letters it reads like this:

Modern scholars date the fragment to AD 75–125. It is not of great quality, with poor handwriting, spelling errors (μετοξὺ for μεταξὺ, and τετραγώνου for τετραγώνῳ on the last line), and missing labels on the diagram (making it of limited use). However, unlike the New Testament with its hundreds of manuscripts, there is not much of Euclid before AD 900, which makes this fragment very significant.

See more here.

The Tower at Stony Wood: a book review

2011-10-15T10:52:00.002+11:00

The Tower at Stony Wood (2000) by Patricia A. McKillip

I’ve been re-reading the novels of my favourite fantasy author (after Tolkien), Patricia A. McKillip. I recently finished The Tower at Stony Wood.

Like all her novels, there is an oneiric quality, and one never quite knows what is actually going on. Neither do most of the characters, but the themes are borrowed from familiar folk tales. A woman in a tower embroiders scenes she sees in a mirror. A faithful knight leaves his one true love to go on a desperate and dangerous quest. A dragon guards a tower filled with stolen gold. Magic sleeps under the landscape, waiting.

As always, McKillip tells the story very well:

“She saw the knight in the mirror at sunset. He rode alone down a road along a river. Where the black cloak he wore parted over his surcoat, she glimpsed towers of gold; the cloak fanned behind his back down the horse’s golden flanks. The knight’s head was bowed, his face in shadow. The jewel in the pommel of the sword hanging from his saddle flashed a bloody crimson in the last ray of light. His hair, swept back and gathered into a silver ring at his neck, was black as jet...

She sorted through her threads with slender, bitten fingers, chose a needle and a square of linen. She threaded the needle and began with his face. The story would come later...”

As with many of McKillip’s other novels, the cover art is by Kinuko Y. Craft, and is fantastic:

See here for some of the artist’s other book covers, or check out her official web site.

The Tower at Stony Wood by Patricia A. McKillip: 4 stars

A puzzle by Raymond Smullyan

2011-10-14T12:04:00.002+11:00

Illustration by Gustave Doré for Tennyson’s “Idylls of the King,” 1868.

“I would like to tell you of an equally strange place called Subterranea. It is a city completely underground; the inhabitants have never seen the light of day. Clocks, watches, and all other timepieces are strictly forbidden. Yet the inhabitants have an uncanny sense of time; they always know when it is day and when it is night. Each inhabitant is of one of two types — day-knights and night-knights. The day-knights tell the truth during the day and lie during the night; the night-knights tell the truth during the night and lie during the day.

Visitors to the city are allowed, but of course they may not bring any timepieces with them. Any visitor to the city is bound to become disoriented; after a few days he loses all sense of when it is day and when it is night.

I once came across two brothers A and B and did not know the type of either, nor did I even know whether they were the same type. I also did not know whether it was day or night at the time. Here is what they said:
“At least one of us is a day-knight.”
“A is a night-knight.”
I then knew the type of each and whether it was night or day. What is the solution?”

— from To Mock a Mockingbird

“Only a Theory” and “The Edge of Evolution” – a double book review

2011-10-12T21:20:00.005+11:00

Only A Theory by Kenneth R. Miller

The Edge of Evolution by Michael J. Behe

Only a Theory: Evolution and the Battle for America’s Soul and The Edge of Evolution: The Search for the Limits of Darwinism are both books about evolution written by Catholics, but from very different points of view. I am reviewing both books together, having laid some groundwork in a previous post. Neither of them impressed me very much.

Michael J. Behe, the author of The Edge of Evolution: The Search for the Limits of Darwinism, is famous as an (if not the) advocate of Intelligent Design (ID). He blogs at uncommondescent.com. I found his earlier book (Darwin’s Black Box) intriguing, as I have a professional interest in the limits of computerised evolution. However, I was disappointed that this earlier book hung on a concept (irreducible complexity) that wasn’t rigorously defined. In this new book, Behe has focussed on fitness landscapes (see my earlier post), which are well-defined.

Finding the fundamental “limits of Darwinism” is a worthwhile scientific activity, but sadly, Behe hasn’t quite done it. Behe provides no rigorous mathematical calculations to justify his conclusions, and several specific points in his argument have been convincingly refuted. He might still be right about the “limits of Darwinism,” of course (if only because there are natural processes still waiting to be discovered), but he hasn’t made his case.

Although it’s clear what Behe is against, I wasn’t quite sure what he was for. If I understand him correctly (see p. 72 and p. 229), he holds a form of old-Earth progressive creationism (as opposed to young-Earth creationism or theistic evolution). This is a viewpoint that raises some theological problems which he doesn’t address: why were so many animals created only to become extinct, for example? Why does the design of animals incorporate the DNA faults from previous animals? And his questioning the omnipotence of the Designer (p. 239) is strange indeed, coming from a Catholic.

Behe’s theology of Providence is also hazy, which means that the word “random” upsets him – but as I’ve said in my randomness post series, “random” does not mean “uncaused.” Many of Behe’s concerns would probably vanish with a clearer philosophy of randomness.

At bottom, there is a valid point in Behe’s book, although it is a philosophical, not a scientific one: if (as in Matt 17:24-27 or in the opening scene of Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead) the naturalistic explanation of a phenomenon involves events of very low probability, then that explanation is not philosophically adequate on its own.

However, use of that argument requires more rigorous probability calculations than Behe provides.

Kenneth R. Miller, author of Only a Theory: Evolution and the Battle for America’s Soul, is a veteran of, inter alia, the Kansas School Board wars (in which some people sought to redefine science to exclude methodological naturalism). An errata sheet for his book is available.

Miller succeeds in poking holes in Behe’s argument, but so have other people, and the approach Miller takes will win him few converts – he is preaching to the pro-evolution choir, and so fails to influence anybody.

I was very disappointed that, after suggesting that “Does evolution mean that we are nothing more than beasts?” is “the only question about Darwin’s work that really matters” (p. 136), he fails to answer it. He also fails to answer the obvious question: “how can you be a Catholic and believe in evolution?” (it is obviously possible to reconcile the two, but Behe’s readers at least would want to know how Miller does so).

Miller also seems to misunderstand the anthropic principle (p. 121), and his suggestion that “the one thing that wasn’t tied up in the ideological struggle between [Communism] and [the] West was science” seems to ignore the sad story of Trofim Denisovich Lysenko. Nothing was more ideological than Lysenkoism.

Only A Theory by Kenneth R. Miller: 2 stars

The Edge of Evolution by Michael J. Behe: 2 stars

Evolution: some thoughts

2011-10-10T09:35:00.005+11:00

I’ve been reading some books recently about evolution. Some people (both fans and critics) really don’t seem to understand how it works, so I thought I’d run some experiments with computerised evolution to prove a point.

Evolution relies on a population of individuals that each have a genotype and a corresponding phenotype.

In biological evolution, the genotype is a string of DNA or RNA; in computerised evolution it is usually a string of 0’s and 1’s.
In biological evolution, the corresponding phenotype is an organism’s structure and behaviour; in the simple example below it is a position in the unit square.
Each phenotype has a corresponding numerical fitness, which measures how well it will perform. In the diagrams below, contour lines show the fitness values on the unit square.

In the case of biological evolution, cellular machinery including ribosomes is assumed – hence biological evolution per se can tell us nothing about the origin of life.

Evolution proceeds by a process of:

point mutation, which alters (or sometimes deletes) a single genetic “letter,”
duplication, which copies all or part of the genetic material,
mixing, which results from combining portions of genetic material from a “mother” and a “father,” and
natural selection, which weeds out the less fit members of the next generation.

Duplication and point mutation together allow the creation of new information (in the technical sense of the word). Mixing rearranges that information into new combinations, and greatly improves evolution’s ability to optimise.

In the following experiment, we start with “00,” “01,” “10,” and “11” as the possible phenotypes, corresponding to the corners of the unit square (and in fact, initially only “11” exists, corresponding to the top right). As a result of actions (a) through (d), evolution quite inevitably causes the population to evolve “upwards” towards the phenotype (0.2, 0.2), at the peak of the “fitness landscape” (marked with a cross in the picture). Coloured dots show the population after 10 generations, where all members have a fitness above 0.9:

After 30 generations, the entire population is clustered close to the fitness peak, with the fittest individual having the genotype “00110110 00110001,” corresponding to the phenotype (0.212, 0.192), with a fitness of 0.9998. Not quite perfect, but still very good:

However, things are quite different when we run the experiment again with an almost “flat” fitness landscape, having the same fitness everywhere, except for a narrow “spike,” marked by the circle around (0.2, 0.2). This deprives the evolutionary process of the “slope” it needs to “climb,” and the population wanders randomly around the unit square without ever getting “fitter”:

This little experiment underscores the fact that evolution needs a range of phenotypes of intermediate fitness, which provide a feasible pathway from the initial population to the fitness peak. If those intermediate phenotypes exist, evolution works extremely well (and evolution has even been used as an engineering technique). If they don’t, evolution fails.

An effective antenna produced by an evolutionary process (NASA)

A seller of purple

2011-10-02T19:17:00.013+11:00

Lydia

In Acts 16:14, we meet Lydia, a Philippian woman from Thyatira (in the former kingdom of Lydia, hence perhaps her name) who was a “dealer in purple cloth.”

Shells of Bolinus brandaris, the spiny dye-murex

The “purple” referred to here is probably Tyrian purple, derived from shellfish (presumably obtainable in Philippi), although Lydia could have been re-selling the cheaper vegetable dye for which Thyatira was known.

Dyeing in Maeonia (ancient Lydia) is attested by Homer (“As when some woman of Meonia or Caria strains purple dye on to a piece of ivory that is to be the cheek-piece of a horse, and is to be laid up in a treasure house”¹), while Pliny claims that the Lydians invented the art of dyeing wool.² Purple-dyeing in Macedonia is attested by a (late 2^nd century AD) inscription at Thessalonica.³

Tyrian purple takes its colour from 6,6’-dibromoindigo, a derivative of the indigotin molecule obtained from indigo and woad (bromine often occur in marine organisms). The flat structure of the 6,6’-dibromoindigo molecule helps it to coat the fibres of wool or other textiles, while the large bromine atoms at each end appear to help bind the dye molecules together. This also shifts the peak light absoption from around 590 nm (yellow-orange) in solution to around 520 nm (green) when applied to wool. Consequently, although 6,6’-dibromoindigo in solution has a blue colour resembling indigo, as a dye it gives a rich purple colour.⁴

Molecule of 6,6’-dibromoindigo, with bromine atoms at each end

The dye can be found in the Mediterranean marine snails Bolinus brandaris (the spiny dye-murex) and Stramonita haemastoma (the red-mouthed rock shell), as well as in Nucella lapillus (the dog whelk), but it has always been expensive because it is present only in small amounts. Paul Friedländer, who identified the molecular structure of the dye in 1909, needed 12,000 Bolinus brandaris snails to produce only 1.4 grams of the dye⁵ (one presumes that he was heartily sick of the snails by then). Pliny describes the dyeing process as follows:

“After [the snails are] taken, the vein is extracted, which we have previously spoken of, to which it is requisite to add salt, a sextarius about to every hundred pounds of juice. It is sufficient to leave them to steep for a period of three days, and no more, for the fresher they are, the greater virtue there is in the liquor. It is then set to boil in vessels of tin, and every hundred amphoræ ought to be boiled down to five hundred pounds of dye, by the application of a moderate heat; for which purpose the vessel is placed at the end of a long funnel, which communicates with the furnace; while thus boiling, the liquor is skimmed from time to time, and with it the flesh, which necessarily adheres to the veins. About the tenth day, generally, the whole contents of the cauldron are in a liquified state, upon which a fleece, from which the grease has been cleansed, is plunged into it by way of making trial; but until such time as the colour is found to satisfy the wishes of those preparing it, the liquor is still kept on the boil. The tint that inclines to red is looked upon as inferior to that which is of a blackish hue. The wool is left to lie in soak for five hours, and then, after carding it, it is thrown in again, until it has fully imbibed the colour. The juice of the buccinum is considered very inferior if employed by itself, as it is found to discharge its colour; but when used in conjunction with that of the pelagiæ, it blends with it very well, gives a bright lustre to its colour, which is otherwise too dark, and imparts the shining crimson hue of the kermes-berry, a tint that is particularly valued. By the admixture of their respective virtues these colours are thus heightened or rendered sombre by the aid of one another. The proper proportions for mixing are, for fifty pounds of wool, two hundred pounds of juice of the buccinum and one hundred and eleven of juice of the pelagiæ. From this combination is produced the admirable tint known as amethyst colour. To produce the Tyrian hue the wool is soaked in the juice of the pelagiæ while the mixture is in an uncooked and raw state; after which its tint is changed by being dipped in the juice of the buccinum. It is considered of the best quality when it has exactly the colour of clotted blood, and is of a blackish hue to the sight, but of a shining appearance when held up to the light; hence it is that we find Homer speaking of ‘purple blood.’”⁶

In the time of Augustus, according to Pliny, wool dyed with Tyrian purple could not be bought for even one thousand denarii per pound⁷ (a denarius being a day’s wages for an ordinary worker). Since there were 25 denarii to the gold aureus, and 40 aurei to the Roman pound, this means that wool dyed with Tyrian purple was worth more than its weight in gold. It is not surprising that Pliny writes:

“It is for this colour that the fasces and the axes of Rome make way in the crowd; it is this that asserts the majesty of childhood; it is this that distinguishes the senator from the man of equestrian rank; by persons arrayed in this colour are prayers addressed to propitiate the gods; on every garment it sheds a lustre, and in the triumphal vestment it is to be seen mingled with gold.”⁸

It seems likely that selling this colour had made Lydia a wealthy woman, able to help the fledgling Philippian church.

References
1. Homer, Iliad, 4: 141–142, tr. Samuel Butler.
2. Pliny, Natural History, Book VII, Chapter LVI, tr. John Bostock.
3. John S. Kloppenborg and Richard S. Ascough, Attica, Central Greece, Macedonia, Thrace, Walter de Gruyter, 2011, 365: “The guild of purple-dyers of the eighteenth street (honored) Menippos, son of Amios, also called Severus the Thyateiran. In memory.” (Greek here)
4. Christopher J. Cooksey, “Tyrian Purple: 6,6’-Dibromoindigo and Related Compounds,” Molecules, 2001, 6: 736–769.
5. Joel L. Wolk and Aryeh A. Frimer, “Preparation of Tyrian Purple (6,6'-Dibromoindigo): Past and Present,” Molecules, 2010, 15: 5473–5508.
6. Pliny, Natural History, Book IX, Chapter XXXVIII, tr. John Bostock.
7. Pliny, Natural History, Book IX, Chapter XXXIX, tr. John Bostock.
8. Pliny, Natural History, Book IX, Chapter XXXVII, tr. John Bostock.

Syllogisms

2011-10-01T11:52:00.007+10:00

Roman statue of Aristotle, based on a Greek bronze from 330 BC, with an alabaster mantle added more recently.

The syllogism as a form of reasoning was introduced by Aristotle in the Prior Analytics, and refined by his successors. The simplest example was named “Barbara” in the Middle Ages (from a classification of four kinds of sentence as “A,” “E,” “I,” or “O”):

Barbara: All M is P; All S is M; Therefore all S is P.

A specific instance of Barbara would be:

All dogs are mammals;
All mammals have fur;
Therefore all dogs have fur.

Other valid syllogisms are:

Bocardo: Some M is not P; All M is S; Therefore some S is not P.
Baroco: All P is M; Some S is not M; Therefore some S is not P.
Cesare: No P is M; All S is M; Therefore no S is P.
Celarent: No M is P; All S is M; Therefore no S is P.
Camestres: All P is M; No S is M; Therefore no S is P.
Calemes: All P is M; No M is S; Therefore no S is P.
Dimatis: Some P is M; All M is S; Therefore some S is P.
Disamis: Some M is P; All M is S; Therefore some S is P.
Darii: All M is P; Some S is M; Therefore some S is P.
Datisi: All M is P; Some M is S; Therefore some S is P.
Festino: No P is M; Some S is M; Therefore some S is not P.
Ferio: No M is P; Some S is M; Therefore some S is not P.
Fresison: No P is M; Some M is S; Therefore some S is not P.
Ferison: No M is P; Some M is S; Therefore some S is not P.

Antoine Arnauld and Pierre Nicole, in their classic 1662 text Logic, or, The Art of Thinking, give many instances, including these two of Baroco and Festino:

Every virtue is accompanied with discretion;
There is a zeal without discretion;
Therefore there is a zeal which is not a virtue.

No virtue is contrary to the love of truth;
There is a love of peace which is opposed to a love of truth;
Therefore there is a love of peace which is not a virtue.

A classic invalid syllogism would be:

All dogs have fur;
My cat has fur;
Therefore my cat is a dog.

However, some syllogisms classically considered valid are actually flawed:

*Barbari: All M is P; All S is M; Therefore some S is P.
*Bamalip: All P is M; All M is S; Therefore some S is P.
*Cesaro: No P is M; All S is M; Therefore some S is not P.
*Celaront: No M is P; All S is M; Therefore some S is not P.
*Camestros: All P is M; No S is M; Therefore some S is not P.
*Calemos: All P is M; No M is S; Therefore some S is not P.
*Darapti: All M is P; All M is S; Therefore some S is P.
*Fesapo: No P is M; All M is S; Therefore some S is not P.
*Felapton: No M is P; All M is S; Therefore some S is not P.

Two examples of Darapti would be:

All unicorns have horns;
All unicorns are equines;
Therefore some equines have horns.

All people abducted by aliens are taken away in flying saucers;
All people abducted by aliens suffer PTSD;
Therefore some people experiencing PTSD have been taken away in flying saucers.

These syllogisms only hold if the set of objects in question (e.g. “people abducted by aliens”) is non-empty: if not, we are taking two defining properties of the set, and assuming that something satisfies them. Not a good thing to do.

Why so many earthquakes?

2011-09-29T21:10:00.002+10:00

Several people have asked this recently. But have we really seen an earthquake spike? The US Geological Survey keeps statistics for us:

Earthquake Magnitude	Annual Average Number	2001–2010 Rate	2011 Rate
8+	1	+30%	Average
7–7.9	15	−10%	+30%
6–6.9	134	+10%	+60%

Turns out we’re only slightly over our quota this year. So, tragic as earthquakes always are, perhaps the recent ones are not a “sign.”

Six classic opening lines

2011-09-23T10:37:00.004+10:00

... because it’s essential to begin a story well.

“In a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit. Not a nasty, dirty, wet hole, filled with the ends of worms and an oozy smell, nor yet a dry, bare, sandy hole with nothing in it to sit down on or to eat: it was a hobbit-hole, and that means comfort.”

“Once upon a time there were four little Rabbits, and their names were – Flopsy, Mopsy, Cotton-tail, and Peter.”

“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to Heaven, we were all going direct the other way...”

“Our roof leaks. Drip! Drip! Drip! My daddy says there’s a hole in our roof. I know why there’s a hole. There’s a Hippopotamus on Our Roof Eating Cake.”

“Alice was beginning to get very tired of sitting by her sister on the bank, and of having nothing to do: once or twice she had peeped into the book her sister was reading, but it had no pictures or conversations in it, ‘and what is the use of a book,’ thought Alice ‘without pictures or conversation?’”

“CHORUS: Why do you cry out thus, unless at some vision of horror? CASSANDRA: The house reeks of death and dripping blood ... The primroses were over. Towards the edge of the wood, where the ground became open and sloped down to an old fence and a brambly ditch beyond, only a few fading patches of pale yellow still showed among the dog’s mercury and oak-tree roots.”

One night in a thousand years

2011-09-19T18:14:00.001+10:00

“If the stars should appear one night in a thousand years, how would men believe and adore, and preserve for many generations the remembrance of the city of God which had been shown!” – Ralph Waldo Emerson

The constellation Orion: photo by “Mouser,” 2004

Genesis 1:14–19 describes the creation (or rather, formation, since the heavens had already been created) of the stars:

“And God said, ‘Let there be lights in the expanse of the heavens to separate the day from the night. And let them be for signs and for seasons [appointed times], and for days and years, and let them be lights in the expanse of the heavens to give light upon the earth.’ And it was so. And God made the two great lights—the greater light to rule the day and the lesser light to rule the night—and the stars. And God set them in the expanse of the heavens to give light on the earth, to rule over the day and over the night, and to separate the light from the darkness. And God saw that it was good. And there was evening and there was morning, the fourth day.”

Stars appear here as almost an appendage of the sun and moon, but the phrase “God saw that it was good” indicates that the primary role of the stars is to praise God (Psalm 148:3: “Praise him, sun and moon; praise him, all you shining stars!”).

Several passages in the Bible use the stars as an example of the greatness of God (e.g. Nehemiah 9:6, Job 9:7, Psalm 8:3, Psalm 33:6, Psalm 136:9, Psalm 147:4, Isaiah 40:26), and stars are often used as a metaphor for height (Job 22:12, Obadiah 1:4), brightness (Daniel 12:3), variety (1 Corinthians 15:41), etc.

However, the Genesis passage also hints at two practical purposes for the stars. The first is as a sign or mark, which seems to allow both for the role of stars in navigation and for portents such as the Star of Bethlehem. The second is as an indicator of designated times (“to regulate definite points and periods of time, by virtue of their periodical influence upon agriculture, navigation, and other human occupations, as well as upon the course of human, animal, and vegetable life,” according to Keil). This is, of course, the reason why Stonehenge, for example, was built. Nevertheless, the stars are not primarily practical:

“Worn out with this torture of thought, I rose to my knees. Night was come, and her planets were risen: a safe, still night: too serene for the companionship of fear. We know that God is everywhere; but certainly we feel His presence most when His works are on the grandest scale spread before us; and it is in the unclouded night-sky, where His worlds wheel their silent course, that we read clearest His infinitude, His omnipotence, His omnipresence. I had risen to my knees to pray for Mr. Rochester. Looking up, I, with tear-dimmed eyes, saw the mighty Milky-way. Remembering what it was – what countless systems there swept space like a soft trace of light – I felt the might and strength of God. Sure was I of His efficiency to save what He had made: convinced I grew that neither earth should perish, nor one of the souls it treasured. I turned my prayer to thanksgiving: the Source of Life was also the Saviour of spirits. Mr. Rochester was safe; he was God’s, and by God would he be guarded. I again nestled to the breast of the hill; and ere long in sleep forgot sorrow.” – Charlotte Brontë, Jane Eyre, Chapter XXVIII

The Milky Way: photo by Steve Jurvetson, 2007

Puzzle solution

2011-09-17T11:06:00.001+10:00

In my last post, I quoted a puzzle about N×N grids of black-or-white stones (see below), and asked if a 5×5 rectangle-free grid was possible.

Answer: no.

This is a result from Ramsey theory, but a simple proof from a colleague of mine goes like this:

Assume there is a row containing three (or more) black stones (if not, there must be a row containing three or more white stones, so swap “black” and “white” in what follows).
Let the column positions of these stones within the row be a, b, and c, and consider the 4×3 subgrid of those columns and the other four rows.
If any row of three in that subgrid contains a pair of black stones, there is a black rectangle. Alternatively, let each of them contain a pair of white stones.
Since there are four pairs of white stones, and only three possible pairs of columns (ab, ac, bc), at least one pair of white stones is duplicated, forming a white rectangle.
Hence each 5×5 grid always has either a black or a white rectangle; quod erat demonstrandum.

Puzzle of the week

2011-09-10T22:41:00.009+10:00

Consider N×N grids of black-or-white stones (in any combination), like these for the case of N = 4:

We say the grid contains a rectangle if there is a pair of distinct rows (a and b) and a pair of distinct columns (x and y) which combine (ax, bx, ay, by) to give four stones of the same colour.

The grid on the left has several rectangles, of which three are shown. The two grids on the right are rectangle-free.

Question: does there exist a 5×5 rectangle-free grid?

(Puzzle by Laurent Rosaz, from the EATCS Bulletin, #97, Feb 2009.)

The NZ Army Haka

2011-09-09T22:23:00.003+10:00

Maori Battalion haka in Egypt, 1941

The NZ Army haka is less well-known than the haka used by rugby players. It runs in part:

... Tatangi nei ngā matā me te whewhio
Paku korara, ka mate, ka mate, auē taukiri e
Paku tāporepore auē, ka mau te wehi! ...
Moana Ngārimu ngā ū te wikitoria nui ...

... The bullets and ricochets sing
Bombs explode, ‘tis death, ‘tis death, alas the grief
Artillery rounds cartwheeling, oh, the fear! ...
Moana Ngārimu is awarded the Victoria Cross ...

This haka commemorates an action of World War II (and, by implication, all fallen soldiers): “On 26/27 March 1943 during the action at Tobaga Gap, Tunisia, Second Lieutenant Ngarimu, who was commanding a platoon in a vital hill feature strongly held by the enemy, led his men straight up the face of the hill and was first on the crest. He personally destroyed two machine-gun posts and owing to his inspired leadership several counter-attacks were beaten off during the night. He was twice wounded but refused to leave his men. By morning when only two of his platoon remained unwounded, reinforcements arrived. When the next counter-attack was launched, however, Second Lieutenant Ngarimu was killed.”

Winter Rose: a book review

2011-09-08T18:42:00.002+10:00

Winter Rose (1996) by Patricia A. McKillip

I recently re-read this fairy tale for older readers by my favourite fantasy writer (after Tolkien), Patricia A. McKillip.

Once upon a time, there was a house by a Wood. Once upon a time, there was a winter – cold beyond mere ice. Once upon a time, there was a stranger who did not seem entirely human. Once upon a time, there were two sisters – Laurel and Rois. Once upon a time, there was an author who did with words what the Impressionists did with light:

“The well was one of the wood’s secrets: a deep spring as clear as light, hidden under an overhang of dark stones down which the briar roses fall, white as snow, red as blood, all summer long.”

Winter Rose by Patricia A. McKillip: 4 stars

Danger, Will Robinson!

2011-09-07T19:46:00.002+10:00

The group of French mathematicians called Nicolas Bourbaki (active from 1935 until the early 1980s, and including among others André Weil, brother to Simone) has given us words like injective, surjective, and bijective. Another innovation due to them is the caution symbol (☡), which they used as a note in the margin for tricky passages:

Certains passages sont destinés à prémunir le lecteur contre des erreurs graves, où il risquerait de tomber; ces passages sont signalés en marge par le signe ☡ («tournant dangereux»).

[Some passages are designed to forewarn the reader against serious errors, where he risks falling; these passages are signposted in the margin with the sign ☡ (“dangerous bend”).]

The notation derives from warning signs on roads, like the following, which appears to mean “beware of snapped cables and falling cable cars”:

Photo by C. G. P. Grey, 2006

The book of Proverbs has a similar function. It marks tricky situations, where one risks falling:

Prov 23:1–2: When you sit down to eat with a ruler, observe carefully what is before you, and put a knife to your throat if you are given to appetite.

Photo by Phillip Capper, 2008

Prov 6:27: Can a man carry fire next to his chest and his clothes not be burned?

Photo by Peter Schäfermeier, 2005

Prov 6:10–11: A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest, and poverty will come upon you like a robber, and want like an armed man.

“Happy as a clam”

2011-09-05T18:57:00.000+10:00

The phrase “happy as a clam” confuses people:

In fact, it’s an abbreviation of “happy as a clam at high-water” – a “common simile in New England” according to John Russell Bartlett’s Dictionary of Americanisms (1859).

Clams at high-water are safe, of course. Whereas at low tide:

O Little Town of Bethlehem

2011-09-04T13:49:00.002+10:00

Bethlehem, 1898

“O little town of Bethlehem, how still we see thee lie!
Above thy deep and dreamless sleep the silent stars go by.
Yet in thy dark streets shineth the everlasting Light;
The hopes and fears of all the years are met in thee tonight.”

Bethlehem has been a largely Christian town from around 135 AD (when, after the Bar Kokhba revolt, the Romans expelled the Jewish inhabitants) until relatively recently.

Church of the Nativity, Bethlehem (photo by Wayne McLean, 2005)

Origen wrote around 200 AD that “in conformity with the narrative in the Gospel regarding His birth, there is shown at Bethlehem the cave where He was born, and the manger in the cave where He was wrapped in swaddling-clothes. And this sight is greatly talked of in surrounding places, even among the enemies of the faith, it being said that in this cave was born that Jesus who is worshipped and reverenced by the Christians.”

St Helena began the construction of a basilica over this cave in 327. The basilica was destroyed in the Samaritan Revolt of 529, but rebuilt. It was spared in the 614 Persian invasion, allegedly because of the mosaics showing Persian magi. Control of Bethlehem changed hands again in 637 (Muslim), 1099 (Christian), 1187 (Muslim), 1229 (Christian), and 1244 (Muslim), but the church remained (today, Bethlehem also has Lutheran and other churches).

Bethlehem in 1880

In 1867, when it was under Ottoman control, Bethlehem was described by Scottish Quaker missionary Ellen Clare Miller-Pearson (travelling with American Quakers Eli and Sybil Jones) as follows:

“Bethlehem has now 3,000 or 4,000 inhabitants, of whom only about 100 are Protestants and 300 Moslems, the remainder belonging to the Latin and Greek Churches, with a few Armenians.”

Bethlehem in 2006 (photo by “Soman”)

Originally intended to be part of the Jerusalem enclave, Bethlehem was annexed by Jordan in 1948, and an influx of refugees saw the town become majority-Muslim. Since 1995, urban areas of Bethlehem have been controlled by the Palestinian National Authority (except for the famous siege). Continuing conflict has resulted in considerable harm to both the buildings and the people, and a steady decline of the Christian population.

“O holy Child of Bethlehem, descend to us, we pray;
Cast out our sin, and enter in, be born in us today.
We hear the Christmas angels the great glad tidings tell;
O come to us, abide with us, our Lord Emmanuel!”

The Sewing Machine

2011-09-03T11:29:00.000+10:00

Edward Hopper, Girl at Sewing Machine, 1921

In my previous post, I touched on the technology of sewing machines, one of a number of significant advances in textile technology since the replacement of the spindle by the spinning wheel in the High Middle Ages made spinning a little less tedious.

Thomas Eakins, Spinning, 1881

The sewing machine is the result of a series of inventions made between 1790 and Singer’s 1851 patent (with continued development since then). However, the sewing machine doesn’t stand alone: it relies on several other inventions. Thread of adequate consistency required the spinning jenny (1764), for example, while the sewing machine itself required case-hardened steel, and gears of at least moderate precision. And, of course, the machines had to be mass-produced in order to bring the price down to that of a cow – which means that east of the “Little House on the Prairie” there inevitably stand some “dark Satanic Mills.”

“Pa came hurrying back. He lifted the blanket away, and there stood a shining new sewing machine ... ‘I had to sell a cow anyway, Caroline; there wouldn’t be room in the stable next winter unless I did.’ ” – Laura Ingalls Wilder, These Happy Golden Years

Singer sewing machine

Technology

2011-09-02T18:12:00.000+10:00

After reading The Dream of Perpetual Motion (which I’ve just reviewed), I’ve been thinking a bit more about technology. Technology, in its various forms, has been with us for a long time:

Much has been written about the sins of those who produce and use technology inappropriately – the sins of Isengard:

But there are also sins of technology consumption. One positive approach to technology is participatory acceptance, which includes self-manufacture of easier items, and the repair of more sophisticated ones. This relies, of course, on an engagement of both heart and mind with the technology in question, an engagement which can guide that technology in positive directions. Most cultures have a history of participatory acceptance of older technologies, although the level of participation is fading in many cases.

Edward Hopper, Girl at Sewing Machine, 1921; and Erik Hersman, roadside bicycle repair, Africa, 2007

Another positive approach is grateful acceptance – a positive, but more passive, attitude often reserved for music and literature.

What is dangerous is resentful acceptance, where people accept the benefits of a technology, while at the same time hating it and its creators. The Amish at times come close to this, since their culture is epiphytic on the surrounding steel-producing culture, which they shun. At the same time, they are wise to ban technologies which they cannot fully embrace, because they understand the social and spiritual harm which that produces. Back in the 1970s, Robert M. Pirsig famously explored the problem of resentful acceptance in the wider culture.

The Dream of Perpetual Motion: a book review

2011-08-31T21:22:00.001+10:00

The Dream of Perpetual Motion by Dexter Palmer

This postmodern steampunk novel by Dexter Palmer was recommended by to me, but turned out to be somewhat disappointing. The themes of the novel have, I feel, been better explored elsewhere and, although I did laugh at the parody of Luce Irigaray, the characters and imagery failed to inspire me. Perhaps that’s because I’ve read so much fantasy and science fiction which was better.

On the other hand, several artists seem to have found inspiration in the book:

Palmer has written a brief essay about the origin of the novel. See SF Signal for another review.

The Dream of Perpetual Motion by Dexter Palmer: 3 stars

Archivist Barbara

2011-08-30T19:01:00.000+10:00

Photo from State Records Authority of New South Wales

I’ve been working on a “Archivist Barbara” for my niece. Included in the package: one magnifying glass, one doll, one list of alphabets, and some reproductions (to scale) of ancient manuscripts. I would have liked to have done a scale-model Rosetta Stone, but that turned out to be a little tricky.

You would think shops would stock a useful package like that ready-made; but it turns out that they don’t.

Milk wars

2011-08-29T18:51:00.003+10:00

The United States seems to be going through a very strange debate about milk at the moment. While pasteurization has been taken for granted in most countries for over a century, the US allows the sale of “raw milk” in many states (but not its transport across state lines). Disease outbreaks caused by “raw milk” affect at least 90 people per year in the US, including several hospitalisations, the odd death, and a serious risk of miscarriage.

Recently, there seem to have been some police raids on unlicensed sellers of raw milk, which supporters have criticised in very strong (if not entirely accurate) terms.

It’s all rather incomprehensible from this side of the Pacific. Part of the US (probably the same segment that opposes vaccination) seems to instinctively mistrust all government advice, and there is also greater support for Randian libertarianism than there is in Australia, and probably a lower awareness of the once horrific diseases which led to pasteurisation in the first place. I don’t quite understand the law enforcement strategy either.

A taste for “raw milk” seems to be on the increase here in Australia too, although it isn’t currently legal, and a recent consultative review (although allowing certain “raw” cheeses) confirmed the ban. I certainly hope our debate will progress more smoothly than the US one.

Recent reading

2011-08-27T13:45:00.006+10:00

Recently, I finished the following books (among others). Links go to my reviews. Books marked with ♥ (fiction) or ♦ (non-fiction) were particularly good:

Surprised by Oxford: A Memoir by Carolyn Weber ♦
Captain Blood by Rafael Sabatini
Citrus: A History by Pierre Laszlo
Field Notes on Science & Nature by Michael R. Canfield ♦
At the Mountains of Madness by H.P. Lovecraft ♥
C. S. Lewis on the Final Frontier: Science and the Supernatural in the Space Trilogy by Sanford Schwartz ♦
Think by John Piper
Natural Experiments of History by Jared Diamond and James A. Robinson
The Manual of Detection by Jedediah Berry ♥

Earlier reviews (fiction):

Ukridge by P.G. Wodehouse
Sovereign by C.J. Sansom
A Good Man Is Hard to Find and Other Stories by Flannery O’Connor ♥
Impossible Things by Connie Willis
Blackout/All Clear by Connie Willis ♥

Earlier reviews (non-fiction):

Social Understanding by Jürgen and Christina Klüver
The Secret Life of Birds by Colin Tudge
Galileo by Mitch Stokes
Modern Art and the Death of a Culture by H.R. Rookmaaker
Terra – Tales of the Earth: Four Events That Changed the World by Richard Hamblyn ♦
Philosophy, Science and the Sovereignty of God by Vern S. Poythress

Surprised by Oxford: a book review

2011-08-25T19:02:00.005+10:00

Surprised by Oxford: A Memoir by Carolyn Weber

I recently received a review copy of Surprised by Oxford: A Memoir by Carolyn Weber (Thomas Nelson, 2011, 473 pages). A sample chapter (the prologue) can be found here. The book is very much written in the spirit of Lauren F. Winner’s Girl Meets God, with a touch of 84 Charing Cross Road.

The book was preceded by a warning email:

“We’d like to inform you that there is objectionable language in one paragraph on page 17 of the book...”

Well, that threw me. I didn’t expect strong language from a lecturer in Romantic Literature and mother of three young children. However, when the book arrived, the worst phrase on that page was “piano lesson.” Possibly they meant the word “bullsh--” in the prologue, but I think most readers can cope with that. Even the Apostle Paul used a similar word (in Philippians 3:8).

In this book, the author, who is Canadian, describes how (fortunate soul!) she was sent to Oriel College, Oxford on a Commonwealth Scholarship. On first arriving in Oxford, she can’t even find the university (I recall being asked once by an American visitor to Cambridge, “where is the university?”). Eventually, she stumbles (literally) through this gate, and finds beauty, literature, Mr TDH (Tall, Dark, and Handsome), and, most importantly, God.

Oriel College Main Gate, photo by “Alf”

The book is extremely readable, almost novelistic, and paints an absorbing picture of life as a female undergraduate at Oxford. As with C. S. Lewis, whose presence in the book can be felt, Weber’s conversion happened in stages. Only after many conversations does she even touch a Bible (regularly reading a pew Bible in St Mary’s Church, not wanting the commitment of a purchase, or the guilt of a theft).

St Mary’s Church, photo by “Ozeye”

In the end, Weber is baptised in the Isis, and finds a spiritual home through another door, at the Evangelical St Ebbe’s Church.

St Ebbe’s Church, photo by “Stemonitis”

I loved the quotes scattered liberally through the book. “It is only with the heart that one can see rightly. What is essential is invisible to the eye.” (Antoine de Saint-Exupéry)

Other reviews of the book can be found at Parsonage Fence, Spirited Nerd, and Kirkus Reviews. The author’s own blog is at PressingSave.

Surprised by Oxford by Carolyn Weber: 4 stars

I strongly advise people outside the US to take care when dealing directly with Thomas Nelson, however – in spite of repeated complaints, their shipping department still appears to have a hazy sense of geography, and thinks that “Australia” is a village in Northumberland. Which it isn’t.

Disclaimer: I received a review copy of this book free from the publisher via BookSneeze®. I was not required to write a positive review, and the opinions I have expressed are entirely my own.

Captain Blood: a book review

2011-08-24T20:18:00.002+10:00

Captain Blood by Rafael Sabatini

This vintage novel by Rafael Sabatini was recommended to me, but even without that, I don’t think I could have resisted the title.

The novel opens with a Caribbean exile after the Monmouth Rebellion of 1685, and is based in part on the stories of Thomas Blood and Henry Morgan. Sabatini’s swash remains firmly buckled from the first page, in the style of, say, The Count of Monte Cristo. Perhaps that’s why the novel has been filmed several times.

On surprising a Spanish captain: “You flatter my Castilian accent. I have the honour to be Irish. You were thinking that a miracle had happened. So it has—a miracle wrought by my genius, which is considerable.”

Captain Blood is recommended to anyone, young or old, who enjoys reading about 17^th century piracy on the high seas.

For another review, see In Which I Read Vintage Novels.

Captain Blood by Rafael Sabatini: 3½ stars

Blackout/All Clear

2011-08-23T16:43:00.002+10:00

Blackout / All Clear by Connie Willis

Blackout/All Clear, the two-part novel by Connie Willis which I blogged about last year, has just won the Hugo Award for best science-fiction novel, on top of the Nebula Award it won last year.

All the more reason to read it.

Royal weddings

2011-08-22T20:36:00.002+10:00

I’ve been reflecting lately on royal weddings. Often an occasion for national celebration, they are not always happy affairs. Poor Isabella of Hainault married Philip II of France in 1180 as a child of 10 – ridiculously young even by ancient standards (Philip himself was 14). Over the centuries, however, the the age of royal brides has gradually increased, as the graph below shows. Today, an age in the mid-twenties is normal.

In relative terms, however (that is, in deviation from the long-term trend), Diana, Princess of Wales was the all-time youngest, within my rather haphazard sample. Mary, Crown Princess of Denmark (née Mary Donaldson) was the second oldest. That may help explain Diana’s tragic story, and Mary’s greater ability to cope with the pressures placed on her.

The Australian War Memorial

2011-08-21T23:56:00.000+10:00

The Australian War Memorial is one of my favourite museums, partly because it is curated so well. Each time I visit, there is something new: most recently an exhibit on WWI aviation.

Citrus: a book review

2011-08-18T22:55:00.008+10:00

Citrus: A History by Pierre Laszlo

This fun little book contains everything you ever wanted to know about the history, economics, and properties of oranges, lemons, limes, grapefruit, and other citrus fruit.

Somewhat unusually for a book of this kind, it even includes a number of recipes – for fried valencia orange slices, sea bass with tangerine juice, marmalade, tarte au citron, citrus sabayon, orange mousse, and a few other things. For example:

LIME CHUTNEY

12 limes, halved
1 medium onion, peeled and quartered
4 hot green chilli peppers
1 inch ginger root
4 oz seedless raisins
7 green cardamom pods
1 tablespoon black peppercorns
1 tablespoon coriander seeds
1 tablespoon mustard seeds
4 dried red chilli peppers
1 1/2 cups cider vinegar
3 tablespoon coarse salt
1 lb light brown sugar
Juice the limes. Discard 6 lime halves.
In a food processor, combine remaining 18 lime halves, green chilli peppers, onion, ginger and raisins. Chop finely. Place mixture in a non-metal bowl.
Open cardamom pods. In a heavy skillet, toast peppercorns, cardamom seeds, mustard seeds, coriander seeds, and the dried red chillies for about 3 minutes, stirring constantly. Let the spices cool on a dry plate, then grind finely.
Add spices, lime juice, sugar, and vinegar to the chopped fruit mixture. Stir thoroughly, cover, and let steep at room temperature for 2 days.
On the third day, pour mixture into an enamelled pot (no stainless steel), add salt, and bring to a boil slowly. Simmer, uncovered, for 30 minutes.
Place in prepared clean jars. Close jars with a tight-fitting lid. Store in a cool place.

Still-Life, Jan Davidsz. de Heem, 1642

I found the chapter on art a little frustrating, though. There are many oranges in art and lemons in art, but authors who discuss such works should provide a few more illustrations. And equating oranges with “golden apples” in Greek mythology was rather dubious. But overall, I enjoyed reading this book.

Citrus: A History by Pierre Laszlo: 3½ stars

A Biblical view of government

2011-08-14T18:44:00.002+10:00

I’ve been having a few interesting conversations about the role of government, and what the Bible says about it, and thought I’d make a few notes:

Ancient Israel and Judah

The Bible has “elders” in each city responsible for various judicial activities, including even the punishment of rebellious young people (Deut 21:18–21). The approved activities for kings include military activities (such as those of David), building palaces (II Samuel 5:11), settling disputes (I Kings 3:16–28), drafting forced labour (I Kings 5:13–18), international trade (I Kings 10:22, 28), and infrastructure construction (II Kings 20:20, II Chron 32:30). Ezekiel 34:1–10 also indicates a kingly responsibility to see that the sick are cared for.

King Hezekiah’s Tunnel

Egypt and Babylonia in Biblical Times

Genesis 41:33–39 seems to endorse Joseph’s plan to impose a 20% tax in order to prepare Egypt for an anticipated famine. Daniel 1:3–6 likewise seems to endorse the tertiary-level education provided to Daniel by the Babylonian state (though not the plans for him to eat from the royal table).

Daniel and his friends

New Testament

The New Testament gives very strong instructions for obedience to civil authorities: “Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God” (Romans 13:1). Similarly: “Be subject for the Lord’s sake to every human institution, whether it be to the emperor as supreme, or to governors as sent by him to punish those who do evil and to praise those who do good” (I Peter 2:13–14).

Judicial actions are explicitly endorsed (Romans 13:2–5), and paying taxes (to support the various activities of the Roman Imperial government) even more so (Matt 22:15–22, Mark 12:13–17, Luke 20:20–26, Romans 13:6–7).

A Roman denarius, possibly the coin in Matt 22:15–22 etc.

Of course, for those of us who live in democracies, we are part of the government, and we share in the responsibility to make sure that government actions are carried out appropriately and well, without taking over other social institutions.

Abraham Kuyper had this to say:

“... In this one thought are hidden both the light-side and the shady side of the life of the State. The shady side, for this multitude of states ought not to exist; there should be only one world-empire. These magistrates rule mechanically and do not harmonize with our nature. And this authority of government is exercised by sinful men, and is therefore subject to all manner of despotic ambitions. But the light side also, for a sinful humanity, without division of states, without law and government, and without ruling authority, would be a veritable hell on earth; or at least a repetition of that which existed on earth when God drowned the first degenerate race in the deluge. Calvinism has, therefore, by its deep conception of sin laid bare the true root of state-life, and has taught us two things: first, that we have gratefully to receive, from the hand of God, the institution of the State with its magistrates, as a means of preservation, now indeed indispensable. And on the other hand also that, by virtue of our natural impulse, we must ever watch against the danger which lurks, for our personal liberty, in the power of the State. ...

In a Calvinistic sense we understand hereby, that the family, the business, science, art and so forth are all social spheres, which do not owe their existence to the State, and which do not derive the law of their life from the superiority of the State, but obey a high authority within their own bosom; an authority which rules, by the grace of God, just as the sovereignty of the State does. ...

Does this mean that the government has no right whatever of interference in these autonomous spheres of life? Not at all. It possesses the threefold right and duty: 1. Whenever different spheres clash, to compel mutual regard for the boundary-lines of each; 2. To defend individuals and the weak ones, in those spheres, against the abuse of power of the rest; and 3. To coerce all together to bear personal and financial burdens for the maintenance of the natural unity of the State. The decision cannot, however, in these cases, unilaterally rest with the magistrate. The Law here has to indicate the rights of each, and the rights of the citizens over their own purses must remain the invincible bulwark against the abuse of power on the part of the government.” (Lectures on Calvinism #3)

Abraham Kuyper, 1837–1920

Field Notes on Science & Nature: a book review

2011-08-13T21:58:00.005+10:00

Field Notes on Science & Nature by Michael R. Canfield (ed)

I fell in love with Field Notes on Science & Nature the moment I saw the cover (and some other stunning pictures) in a Wired Science post.

The book is a series of partly autobiographical essays, concentrating on the art of scientific observation and note-taking, and profusely illustrated with real drawings and notebook pages. Contributors include:

Edward O. Wilson (foreword, on observing ants)
Michael R. Canfield (introduction)
George B. Schaller (sketching lionesses’ hunting patterns and pandas’ peregrinations)
Bernd Heinrich (note-taking from his childhood onwards, and how observing a discarded leaf led to understanding a clever caterpillar trick)
Kenn Kaufman (“one and a half cheers for list-keeping” and praise for a local bird checklist from the Wichita Audubon Society)
Roger Kitching (some fascinating stories of fieldwork in Borneo, from his journal)
Anna K. Behrensmeyer (lots of practical advice, with examples, on how to use a field notebook)
Karen L. Kramer (helpful comments on anthropological observation)
Jonathan Kingdon (the road to science from art school)
Jenny Keller (a tutorial on scientific drawing, including how to draw a shell)
James L. Reveal (a brief article on botanical notes)
Piotr Naskrecki (computerised note-taking)
John D. Perrine and James L. Patton (field notes as letters to the future)
Erick Greene (a final collection of “how to” suggestions)

This wonderful book has certainly inspired me to take better notes. And to keep my eyes more open, because there’s a lot we still don’t know about the plants and animals around us. I highly recommend this book to anyone with an interest in doing or teaching science, and indeed to anyone interested in the natural world.

Field Notes on Science & Nature by Michael R. Canfield (ed): 4 stars

“Typical” colours

2011-08-12T20:36:00.004+10:00

Internet legend XKCD conducted a survey of colour naming in 2010, as I noted in a previous post. For saturated colours, the colour space was verbalised by his subjects as follows:

Xan Gregg of the JMP blog followed up with an interesting display of the XKCD regions, showing the colours best typifying the associated words. For the colours on the standard colour wheel, this diagram of mine shows XKCD’s division of the colour space, compared to the “standard” colour names. Dots show the most “typical” example of each colour, according to Xan Gregg’s analysis:

Two things stand out: first, “magenta” wasn’t part of most people’s colour world. Second, most people’s idea of standard “blue” differed from the standard position of “blue” on the colour wheel. Maybe we need more kittens to sort this out:

Carbon sinks

2011-08-10T22:13:00.000+10:00

Apparently it’s a good thing to store carbon in a form which stops it from becoming atmospheric CO₂. Well, I’m doing my bit at home. But we could scale this idea up, and establish much larger carbon storage facilities. Libraries, we could call them.

A “weaker vessel” is not a ship

2011-08-03T20:14:00.000+10:00

The phrase “weaker vessel” in 1 Peter 3:7 has often been associated with nautical metaphors for the supposed moral weakness of women (distinct, of course, from nautical metaphors based on Proverbs 31:14). “Barque of frailty” is a term for a prostitute which still appears in Regency romance novels (though it has been suggested that the term is of relatively recent invention). Hamlet long ago told us: “Frailty, thy name is woman!” But with what justification?

Literally, 1 Peter 3:7 can be translated as: “You men, [be subject] in the same way, living with [your wives] according to knowledge (gnōsis), giving honour (timē) to the woman as a weaker (asthenēs) vessel (skeuos).”

We have here a fragmentary sentence which continues and expands on the general command of 2:13 and the following verses (“Be subject to every human institution, in the Lord”). Specifically, husbands are being instructed here, I believe, to submit to their marriage vows. The phrase “according to knowledge” is rendered by the ESV as “in an understanding way,” while “weaker” is generally understood to refer to physical strength, not moral weakness.

And on top of all that, the word “vessel” (σκεῦος) does not in fact mean a ship, but a household utensil. That is, “vessel” in the sense of “pot.” A beautiful thing, especially in those days, but with a certain physical fragility. Pots can break if not treated well.

As John Chrysostom once wrote: “Considering therefore all these things, command thyself: and withal think also of that evening on which the father having called thee, delivered thee his daughter as a kind of deposit, and having separated her from all, from her mother, from himself, from the family, intrusted her entire guardianship to thy right hand. Consider that (under God) through her thou hast children and hast become a father, and be thou also on that account gentle towards her.”

At the Mountains of Madness: a book review

2011-08-01T21:12:00.001+10:00

At the Mountains of Madness by H.P. Lovecraft
(Antarctic image in lieu of book cover: my edit of this)

This 1931 novella by H.P. Lovecraft (which I have just re-read as part of his collected works, although it is also available online) forms part of the mythos of my favourite board game:

The Antarctic expedition of the fictional Miskatonic University has also prompted one fan to create some absolutely beautiful props to match:

Why? Because Lovecraft is a master of the long, slow horror story – which may not be everybody’s cup of tea, of course, but I love it:

“Every incident of that four-and-a-half-hour flight is burned into my recollection because of its crucial position in my life. It marked my loss, at the age of fifty-four, of all that peace and balance which the normal mind possesses through its accustomed conception of external nature and nature’s laws. Thenceforward the ten of us — but the student Danforth and myself above all others — were to face a hideously amplified world of lurking horrors which nothing can erase from our emotions, and which we would refrain from sharing with mankind in general if we could. The newspapers have printed the bulletins we sent from the moving plane, telling of our nonstop course, our two battles with treacherous upper-air gales, our glimpse of the broken surface where Lake had sunk his mid-journey shaft three days before, and our sight of a group of those strange fluffy snow cylinders noted by Amundsen and Byrd as rolling in the wind across the endless leagues of frozen plateau. There came a point, though...”

It turns out that there are older and fouler things than Orcs in the remote places of the world. However, the problem with this genre of literature is that, unlike Tolkien and Lewis, there is no light, only shadow. In some ways, it would be more fun if this were real:

Still, it’s one of the classics. Four stars:

At the Mountains of Madness by H.P. Lovecraft: 4 stars

Long God yumi stanap

2011-07-30T10:11:00.007+10:00

The nation of Vanuatu gained its independence 31 years ago today. Long God yumi stanap (In God we stand) is their motto, and their anthem reads, in part:

God i givim ples ia long yumi (God has given this place to us),
Yumi glat tumas long hem (We are very glad in it),
Yumi strong mo yumi fri long hem (We are strong and free here),
Yumi brata evriwan! (We are brothers, every one!)

I wish I was there: the weather looks very pleasant. But since I’ve already taken my holiday, let me just congratulate my brothers and sisters in Vanuatu, and wish them well on their national day.

Richard III (Ian McKellen’s 1995 version)

2011-07-28T07:08:00.000+10:00

This is one of my favourite films. Transferred to 1930s England, it shows what civil war might have looked like in that time and place, and recreates the dynamics between the characters in a (relatively) modern setting. It also has some wonderful Art Deco locations, such as the University of London Senate House and Bankside Power Station (as a modern Tower of London):

Annette Bening portrays Elizabeth Woodville, the “outsider” in the royal family. Some of her lines have been shortened, but are still powerful:

“Pity, you ancient stones, those tender princes
Whom envy has immured within your walls.
Rough cradle for such little pretty ones.
Rude, ragged nurse, use my babies well.”

Nigel Hawthorne is a superb Clarence (“Simple, plain Clarence! I do love you so, That I shall shortly send your soul to Heaven – If Heaven will take the present from my hands!”). His dream in the Tower is recounted very well:

Henry, Earl of Richmond has an abbreviated prayer, which works very well in context:

“O Thou, whose captain I account myself,
Look on my forces with a gracious eye.
Put in their hands Thy bruising arms of wrath,
That we may praise Thee in Thy victory.
Sleeping and waking, O, defend me still.”

This blog alerted me to the “H7” on the vehicles with which he crosses from France:

There is also a plausible combination of Richard’s boar device with 1930s techniques for building a personality cult among the English population:

It could all have happened, in a universe not too unlike our own. Richard III is not a villain from the past, but someone who could (smiling as he goes) be walking past right now.

Ghost Riders in the Sky

2011-07-25T18:10:00.001+10:00

Having blogged one Country classic, “Ghost Riders in the Sky” is another:

This song essentially gives the cowboy version of the Flying Dutchman legend:

In Roger Zelazny’s very clever retelling (“And I Only Am Escaped to Tell Thee” in Unicorn Variations),

“It was with them constantly – the black patch directly overhead from whence proceeded the lightnings, the near-blinding downpour, the explosions like artillery fire.

Van Berkum staggered as the ship shifted again, almost dropping the carton he carried. The winds howled about him, tearing at his soaked garments; the water splashed and swirled about his ankles – retreating, returning, retreating. High waves crashed constantly against the ship. The eerie, green light of St. Elmo's fire danced along the spars.

Above the wind and over even the thunder, he heard the sudden shriek of a fellow seaman, random object of attention from one of their drifting demonic tormentors.

Trapped high in the rigging was a dead man, flensed of all flesh by the elements, his bony frame infected now by the moving green glow, right arm flapping as if waving – or beckoning...”

Bonus points for spotting the Biblical reference in the story title.

C. S. Lewis on the Final Frontier: a book review

2011-07-22T01:00:00.008+10:00

C. S. Lewis on the Final Frontier: Science and the Supernatural in the Space Trilogy by Sanford Schwartz

C. S. Lewis on the Final Frontier: Science and the Supernatural in the Space Trilogy is an excellent analysis of the Space Trilogy by C.S. Lewis:

The three novels of the Space Trilogy are Lewis’ least popular, for a variety of reasons, but Schwartz does a great job of explaining them. Properly understood, they are wonderful novels.

Schwartz makes two key points. The first is that each book critiques a particular philosophical concept, but from the Christian perspective that most closely relates to that concept. The second is that each book has the same symmetrical seven-part structure. When I do some simple word-frequency calculations on Perelandra, they seem to fit Schwartz’s divisions (although I would have made that first division only two chapters long):

A pattern I’d never spotted! All in all, this book is a “must” for hard-core C.S. Lewis fans.

C. S. Lewis on the Final Frontier by Sanford Schwartz: 4 stars

NASA Manned Space Flight Programme: 5 May 1961 – 21 July 2011

2011-07-21T23:59:00.003+10:00

It was fun while it lasted. I remember people even walked on the moon!

Standing like a stone wall

2011-07-21T01:00:00.000+10:00

On 21 July 1861, 150 years ago, the first major battle of the US Civil War was fought. The First Battle of Manassas was a bloodier affair than either side expected, and became a Confederate victory falsely promising ultimate success.

Stonewall Jackson received his famous nickname in this engagement, after the shout of “There is Jackson standing like a stone wall. Let us determine to die here, and we will conquer. Rally behind the Virginians!” (in the majority view). A minority view has the sobriquet being less complimentary, but Jackson certainly lived up to it, becoming one of the South’s greatest military heroes. On his death in 1863, Robert E. Lee famously said “I have lost my right arm.” Jackson’s own last words were “Let us cross over the river, and rest under the shade of the trees.”