I found out earlier today that Ronnie Wood (from the Rolling Stones, kids) was planning to play in a shopfront on Grafton Street. It's part of the Arthur's Day, which is being celebrated all over Ireland today. 'Arthur' being Arthur Guinness, and 'Day' being Guinness' 250 anniversary.
I work at the top of Grafton Street, so I called over to have a look see.......oh yeah!!!!
In the recent edition of Nature there is a rather odd interview. Not wanting to be outdone by Oprah and Ellen, they have gone for an extreme A-list guest. None other than...
...an Event Horizon!!
This should be interesting.
When asked about the origin of life, the Event Horizon answers:
Biological life as you know it originated in your universe 13½ billion years ago in the heart of heated comets. Heat and cosmic radiation bombarded the carbon dioxide, methanol and ammonia they carried. As they neared their star during their elliptical orbits, the comets' frozen cores thawed, allowing those chemicals to interact in a semi-liquid medium and form rudimentary organic compounds — proteins and amino acids, the building blocks of life. Streaking past the six worlds of this solar system, they rained down those organic compounds in dust that settled in the planet's atmosphere and, eventually, onto its surface. On those planets with a heat source and a liquid medium, these compounds formed lipid membranes that facilitated the formation of self-replicating cells. These evolved into bacteria that over eons developed into simple bio-organisms, the first step in the slow, inexorable climb towards complexity. This process has repeated itself countless times throughout the cosmos over billions of years. This is why your universe teems with biological life.
Non-biological life incubates in the cool ether of dark matter shaped by processes beyond your current level of understanding. However, if our experience is any indication, in time you will come to know such life forms and recognize them as your brothers. In every universe we've explored, biological and non-biological life forms inevitably join together and lift each other to magnificent new heights.
OK, sounds reasonable-ish.
But when asked if God exists, the Event Horizon has this to say:
Everything in existence has a creator, ad infinitum. Before the Big Bang there was neither time nor space nor matter, but consciousness. Formless. Eternal. Contemplating its creator. And contemplating others like itself that might exist across the infinite bubbles of reality. As time did not exist, we cannot say whether this omni-consciousness existed for a millisecond, a millennium or an eternity. But it jabbed with its thoughts at the weathered fabric between realities and poked an infinitesimal hole. And the entirety of a neighbouring universe — endless space and matter — flooded through that pinhole in a spectacular cosmic eruption. The omni-consciousness found that matter, gave it form, and it revelled in its multitudinous shapes. It discovered that matter — moulded by the flame of time and the winds of evolution — could eventually give rise to its own self-aware components, part of the omni-consciousness, yet separate from it. It delighted in each of the quadrillions of consciousnesses that flickered into and out of existence. It no longer knew loneliness. Time, space and matter continued to expand — prodded into acceleration by the omni-consciousness — hoping in vain to fill every crevice of infinity. This has happened in every bubble of the transreality-froth we've explored.
Hmmm, if you listen hard enough you can hear the gerbil at the Discovery Institute frothing at the mouth as he turns on his laptop...
Snakes are great!
They seem to regularly provide us with a lot of excellent examples of evolution. A few weeks ago it was the fact that they can lose and re-gain the ability to lay eggs.
Now one has been found in China with a freakin leg!
What we probably see here is an example of a suppressed gene function becoming reactivated.
Now some have legitimately expressed concerns that this is simply a swallowed lizard which has punched it's way through the snake, hence the protruding leg. If this is the case, fair enough. Let's wait and see. But snakes have been found in the past with legs or leg-like protrusions, so if it is an actual snake leg, it isn't an isolated incident.
The main point is that the genes for leg growth are clearly present in the genome. Snakes evolved from limbed ancestors and then lost the gene function, but not the gene, that controls limb growth and development.
(From Pharyngula)
I put forward the argument in Presuppositionalist Nonsense Part I and Part II that the law of non-contradiction is not necessarily universal, thus refuting the position of presuppers who claim, without proof, that the laws of logic are abstract, universal and invariant. This also invalidates their claim that God's nature is universal, since the laws of logic are apparently a reflection of his nature.
From The Guardian:
The Natural History Museum today unveiled its new £78m Darwin Centre, which shelters millions of plant and animal specimens within a giant concrete blob.
Among the previously hidden gems to go on display will be the centre's scientists, who will work in full view of the public when the attraction is opened next week.
Many of the experts said they were relishing the chance to perform in glass-fronted laboratories, some linked by intercom so visitors can ask about the work they are doing.
Sounds pretty cool - although a bit gimmicky. I can't imagine the experts are seriously relishing the chance to do research in full view of the public. I'm sure many members of the public will have interesting questions and comments but mixed in with that will be the inevitable trouble-makers simply knocking on the glass and buzzing in to ask where the toilets or the cafeteria are.
Still, I'm in London at the end of the month so I'll pop in and have a look...
