Why Can't We All Get Along?

Although we have had Separation of Church and State for about two hundred years, there is still some cross-contamination between the two. Science and religion are like oil and water; two things that no matter how hard you try will never mix. Though there have been attempts to have the two topics co-exist peacefully, I have come to realize that will never happen.

In How to Teach Science to the Pope by Michael Mason, the topic of religion versus science is discussed. In his article, Mason talks about the history, members and purpose of the Pontifical Academy of Sciences. In my opinion, this “independent and remarkably influential body” (Mason), is not as independent as it may seem. It sounds to me as if they aren’t allowed to publish everything they find just in case it will upset the Pope, or anyone else for that matter.

For instance, the topic of stem cell research has been a controversial one for many years. Recently there has been some talk about the Vatican asking science to “protect human dignity.” What about protecting human lives? Isn’t a person’s life more important than a person’s dignity? At least that’s how I feel about it.

This video, entitled Vatican Calls on Science to Protect Human Dignity discusses the creation of a new document that states, "The dignity of a person must be recognized in every human being from conception to natural death. This fundamental principle expresses a great yes to human life and must be at the center of ethical reflection on biomedical research" (Vatican).



On a more positive note, there have been many pieces of satire written about religion and science. One that really caught my interest was Genesis Revisited: A Scientific Creation Story by Michael Shermer. Shermer re-writes the Creation story with a little “science-y” twist. He adds many scientific terms and describes the creation of different kinds of scientists and ends it on a humorous note (Shermer). I found this particularly interesting, religion was taking the hit; something you don’t see very often.

So while there have been strides made in the fight of religion versus science, I feel as though the two will never be in cahoots with one another and they will always be fighting for who is right.





Mason, Michael. "How to Teach Science to the Pope." Discover Magazine. August 18, 2008. http://discovermagazine.com/2008/sep/18-how-to-teach-science-to-the-pope

Shermer, Michael. "Genesis Revisited: A Scientific Creation Story." in Darwin. 3rd ed. Philip Appleman, ed. New York: W.W. Norton, 2001.

Vatican Calls on Science to Protect Human Dignity. YouTube. Rome Reports, 1 Apr. 2009. Web. 28 Nov. 2009. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b9-KtF0z25g.

Brain Waves and Movies

For some reason this never posted...

In today's society, movies are a big deal. People spend more money on going to the movies than they have in recent years(Cieply). Naturally, producers and directors want their movies to be better. One way to accomplish this is with Neurocinema. The basis of neurocinema is to look at someone's brain while they are watching a movie to see what they actually think of it.

Neurocinema isn't popular among all genres as of yet; it's main "client" is the Horror film genre. Producers will bring in their horror films to be viewed by someone while they are getting an MRI. Looking at the brain while the movie is being viewed will give the producer an idea of what the test subjects feelings actually are. The reason I say this is most people tend to bend the truth when confronted about whether or not they liked a movie. They may say they enjoyed or were scared by certain parts, but when you look at the MRI, you get a different story. *When referring to the MRI: when the brain lights up in red the subject is scared, when the brain lights up in blue the subject is calm or at ease.*

One major reason neurocinema is being used is because people can't accurately remember how they felt about certain parts of a movie. If someone was asked, right after the movie ended, what their favorite part was, or which part had the most impact on them, they may not be able to accurately describe it. With the assistance of the MRI, moviegoers will be able to see what there favorite part, or the part that scared them the most was.



This video helps to give a better understanding of how it is done. The second part of the video shows the same subject watching a different part of the movie. Another great source I found was this article going into further detail about Neurocinema and what exactly happens and what it is doing for the industry.

As we discussed in class, this is a great way of combining the aesthetic with science; movie producers and directors are using science as a way to enhance a visual experience. I think this is an interesting way to make horror films scarier and I look forward to seeing this practice branch out to other movie genres.



Sources:

Cieply, Micheal, and Brooks Barnes. "The New York Times Log In." The New York Times - Breaking News, World News & Multimedia. 28 Feb. 2009. Web. 29 Oct. 2009. <http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/01/movies/01films.html?_r=2&hp>.

Hasson, Uri, Ohad Landesman, Barbara Knappmeyer, Ignacio Vallines, Nava Rubin, and David J. Heeger. Vol. 2. Ser. 1. Neurocinematics: The Neuroscience of Film. Projections, Summer 2008. Web. 29 Oct. 2009. .

Silver, Curtis. "Neurocinema Aims to Change the Way Movies are Made | GeekDad | Wired.com." Wired News. 23 Sept. 2009. Web. 29 Oct. 2009. .

What Do Guts Have to Do With It?

Have you ever tried to think of what your core body cavity would look like if it were portrayed as food? If not, we will be giving you that chance on Monday, as our group will be presenting the ideas and concepts researched by Andreas Vesalius. Vesalius grew up to be a pharmacist but earned his medical degree in 1537. He was most interested in looking more into Galen’s theories and studies on the body, which lead to him write many books. One of them titled, De Humani Corporis Fabrica. This novel went into much more detailed description of human anatomy than any one before him. We will be going over diagrams such as click here. These types of diagrams will be explained in greater detail throughout our presentation. Another important concept that will be explained is the history of Vesalius and why he did his diagrams and researched the way he did. Here is a small video that will only begin to explain the great things this scientist was involved in, click here . Even though it may seem strange now, more details will be discussed, explained and shown on Monday.

Is There Such a Thing as Too Much Technology?

http://ignca.nic.in/ls_03019.htm

This is an excerpt from a series of books Culture and Development. It is a lot of reading but still an interesting read.

"Today in many developing countries insufficient progress in science and technology is considered to be the chief reason for general backwardness; on the contrary, many in the industrially advanced societies hold unfettered technological progress as the roots of all social ills."

I would have to agree at least a little with the fact that too much technology can be a bad thing. For one, I get very annoyed when I call a customer service line, I can't talk to a person. I have to go through a bunch of recorded voices giving me options to choose from. Sure, eventually I'll end up talking to an actual person, but it takes so much longer than it should.