blog.drwile.comProslogion : Thoughts from a scientist who is a Christian (not a Christian Scientist)

Proslogion Thoughts from a scientist who is a Christian (not a Christian Scientist) Menu Home Categories Archives Links ABOUT Dr. Jay L. Wile Calendar Handouts Contact The Motivation for Modern Science was Theological Werner Heisenberg (December 5, 1901 – February 1, 1976), one of the most important pioneers of quantum physics. Werner Heisenberg was a giant in the field of physics. He developed his own formulation of quantum mechanics, for which he won the 1932 Nobel Prize in physics. He later developed his famous Uncertainty Principle , which continues to guide physicists in their understanding of the behavior of atoms and subatomic particles. In short, had it not been for him, physics would be a very different field from what it is today. On April 24, 1973, about three years before his death, he gave a lecture entitled Tradition in Science.” It draws on the knowledge he gained through nearly an entire lifetime of scientific experiences. The talk has been reprinted many times in publications such as the Bulletin of Atomic Scientists . Early on, he draws a distinction between descriptive science (which was championed by great thinkers like Aristotle) and mathematically-based science, which he calls the new method.” He then writes: Therefore two features are essential for the new method: the attempt to design new and very accurate experiments which idealize and isolate experience, and thereby actually create new phenomena, and the comparison of these phenomena with mathematical constructs, called natural laws. Before we discuss the validity of this method even in our present science, we should perhaps briefly ask for the basis of confidence, which led Copernicus, Galileo, and Kepler on this new way. Following a paper of von Weizsäcker, I think we have to state that this basis was mainly theological. Galileo argued that nature, God’s second book (the first one being the Bible) is written in mathematical letters, and that we have to learn this alphabet if we want to read it. Kepler is even more explicit in his work on world harmony; he says: God created the world in accordance with his ideas of creation. These ideas are the pure archetypal forms which Plato termed Ideas, and they can be understood by Man as mathematical constructs. They can be understood by Man, because Man was created as the spiritual image of God. Physics is a reflection on the divine Ideas of Creation, therefore physics is a divine service. Now, of course, what he calls the new method” is essentially the way we do modern science. In other words, science in its current form was motivated by theology, specifically the Judeo-Christian idea that man is made in God’s image. I have written previously about the fact that science is a product of Christianity ( here , here , here , and here , for example) but Dr. Heisenberg’s lecture emphasizes that fact. Anyone who tells you that religion” (or Christianity in particular) is incompatible with science shows not only a shocking ignorance of the history of science, but also an ignorance of what science is to begin with. Author Jay Wile Posted on May 9, 2024 Categories Modern Science 6 Comments on The Motivation for Modern Science was Theological Pictures and a Video from the Total Eclipse The area where I live had a great view of Monday’s total solar eclipse. As a result, I was able to simply watch the event from my backyard. We had some friends and family over to join in the fun, and it was a great afternoon. Before showing you the images and video I shot, however, I want to show you a great picture taken by a student in my Memoria College course, Bryan Henslee. He was also in the path of totality, but he was in Texas. Here is his shot of the total eclipse: The moon has blocked off most of the sun, but you do see its atmosphere (the corona). The pink colors are from solar prominences , which are loops of the sun’s plasma that rise from the surface but stay connected to the sun. None of my images are nearly as remarkable as that one. I did set up a digital video camera, and here is a video of before and after the total eclipse, which is sped up by a factor of 10: The camera doesn’t do well with the glare, so it’s hard to see the moon. If you look closely, however, once the ball of light gets small, you can see a dim disc inside it. That’s the moon. The small dot you see below and to the right of the sun is Venus. My daughter (Dawn Perdue) got a great shot of it: While everyone was equipped with eclipse goggles, I also set up a binocular projector that allowed people to see the eclipse indirectly: The binoculars projected an image of the sun onto the white sheet, and that image showed the first moments of the eclipse really well: It then produced these images as the eclipse progressed: The colors are caused by glare and the lens, so once the moon came close to completely covering the sun, looking at the eclipse through the glasses was better. One of the people who was with us had traveled from Virginia to see the eclipse. He had experienced one total eclipse before, and he enjoyed it so much he wanted to see another. I am not sure I enjoyed it as much as he did, but if I make it to 2045, I will watch the next total eclipse that passes through a large portion of the U.S. from my rocking chair. Author Jay Wile Posted on April 10, 2024 April 10, 2024 Categories Uncategorized 1 Comment on Pictures and a Video from the Total Eclipse Talon Smith, Homeschool Graduate and Accomplished Pianist Talon Smith at the piano. The quote is from a Gramophone review of a performance. It says: Talon’s two utterly independent hands and acuity in rhythmic pointing stresses line over mass evoking memories of Josef Hoffman’s 1937 legendary Golden Jubilee performance.” (click for source) During the 2018/2019 academic year, I had a physics student named Talon Smith. He was excellent (A’s on all the assignments), but he frequently missed class. His mother would warn me ahead of time, saying that Talon had a piano concert or recital at which he had to perform. Since he was clearly learning the material, I didn’t worry about him missing class so much. Well…several years later I was scrolling through my Facebook feed and saw a post from Talon Smith Music (I try to play the piano, so I get random piano-related posts). The post linked to an incredible video of a pianist playing four Chopin pieces at the 18th Chopin competition in Warsaw, Poland . The name rang a bell, but I thought, That can’t be the student I had, can it?” Well, I looked up my old records, found his email address, and matched it to the Facebook page that made the post . I suddenly realized that he missed my physics classes so that he could perform at world-class music events! I was able to catch up with Talon in the New Year, and our discussion was fascinating. He started taking piano lessons when he was 5 years old. He says his very first teacher was the perfect fit, because he did not confine Talon to a regimented way of teaching. Instead, he taught Talon as an individual, which nurtured Talon’s love for music. When Talon moved on to another teacher (at the age of 9), the new teacher noticed his obvious talent (and love for the music), so the teacher entered him into a competition. He started doing more competitions, and at the ripe old age of 13, his big break occurred. His teacher at that time encouraged him to enter The Gina Bachauer piano competition , which is international. He was hesitant, but he practiced for the audition for six weeks, and based on that audition, he was accepted into the competition (in the age 11-14 category). By the time the actual competition came around, he was 14, and he won his age category. He says that he was very surprised to have won, but decided that he was very grateful for the process, from which he learned a great deal. He has continued to perform in concerts and competitions around the world, and has continued to receive accolades for his...