Freeman Dyson: Science on the Rampage

New York Review of Books ^ | April 5, 2012 | Freeman Dyson

[GOPJ]

...famous remark by his fellow physicist Steven Weinberg that "With or without religion, good people can behave well and bad people can do evil; but for good people to do evil—that takes religion."[44]

Weinberg's statement is true as far as it goes, but it is not the whole truth. To make it the whole truth, we must add an additional clause: "And for bad people to do good things—that [also] takes religion." The main point of Christianity is that it is a religion for sinners. Jesus made that very clear. When the Pharisees asked his disciples, "Why eateth your Master with publicans and sinners?" he said, "I come to call not the righteous but sinners to repentance." Only a small fraction of sinners repent and do good things but only a small fraction of good people are led by their religion to do bad things.

From your same link - thanks.

[SunkenCiv]

Thanks neverdem. An "extra, extra" ping to the APoD list.

---

Physics on the Fringe: Smoke Rings, Circlons, and Alternative Theories of Everything by Margaret Wertheim Kindle edition Unknown Binding reviewed

---

[SunkenCiv]

Thanks neverdem.

· join · view topics · view or post blog · bookmark · post new topic · subscribe ·

[SunkenCiv]

Thanks neverdem.

---

· String Theory Ping List ·

---

---

· Join · Bookmark · Topics · Google ·
· View or Post in 'blog · post a topic · subscribe ·

---

[SunkenCiv]

Thanks neverdem.

· join · view topics · view or post blog · bookmark · post new topic · subscribe ·

Google news searches: exoplanet · exosolar · extrasolar ·

[SunkenCiv]

GGG managers are SunkenCiv, StayAt HomeMother & Ernest_at_the_Beach	join list or digest view topics view or post blog bookmark post a topic subscribe
Thanks neverdem. To all -- please ping me to other topics which are appropriate for the GGG list.

[SunkenCiv]

Thanks LiM.

[cripplecreek]

I think its a good idea to at least consider what’s outside the box.

Someone mentioned this short story by Harry Turtledove called “The road not taken”. There are some obvious problems with it but its a fascinating short story that raises some interesting things to ponder.

http://pastebin.com/aJQfubrK

[SunkenCiv]

/bingo and /bingo.

[cripplecreek]

And Robert Forward.

[bigheadfred]

Good subject. Worth that quad ping. Thanks.

[Mike Darancette]

...and that for life to happen, the conditions need to be like Earth.

What they really are saying is "and that for [earth] life to happen, the conditions need to be like Earth." That is a tautology.

[Army Air Corps]

An interesting story. Thanks for the post.

[SunkenCiv]

:’) My pleasure. It’s an unusual topic that gets this treatment. :’)

[martin_fierro]

There’s a vacuum cleaner joke in here somewhere, I just know it.

[SunkenCiv]

Well we do like to Filter Queens around here...

[Makana]

“Don’t care about “inside” or “outside” the box, but support the ones who can duplicate their results!”

Obviously, you are limited in your research that way. Consider the “Journal Of Irreproducible Results”.

http://www.jir.com/favorites.html

[Little Ray]

Thanks! I'd forgotten about them.

But, if you cannot reproduce your results, they cannot be technologically exploited.