A Thinking Reed

  • A boy and his robot

    From the AV Club: an appreciation of one of my very favorite movies.

  • God and the multiverse

    An interesting article dealing with how some religious believers are dealing with the idea, suggested from some of the more speculative corners of contemporary physics, that our universe is simply one part of a vast “multiverse” (via the First Things blog, I think). Among other things, the multiverse hypothesis seems to pose a challenge for…

  • Faith and reason: a follow up

    Jeremy and Jonathan both provided some good comments and helpful pushback on this post. Here are some follow-up thoughts: I don’t think I was very successful at doing this, but it’s important to avoid positing a simplistic dichotomy between a monolithic reason and an equally homogeneous “faith” or “revelation.” I don’t assume that we can…

  • Jesus Prayer rosary

    As usual, my high aspirations for improving my practice of prayer during Lent haven’t lived up to expectations. Still, I recently picked up a small book called The Jesus Prayer Rosary by the late Fr. Michael Cleary that I’ve found helpful. Although I’m wary of mix ‘n’ match approaches to spirituality, I love the Rosary…

  • Sen. Jim Webb tackles prison reform

    Good for him. I hope something substantive comes of this.

  • Do crustaceans feel pain?

    Two new studies suggest they do (via).

  • The bar of reason

    Marvin reproduced an interesting quote from Gary Dorrien, who Google tells me is the Reinhold Niebuhr Professor of Social Ethics at Union Theological Seminary and Professor of Religion at Columbia University. Dorrien offers this definition of a “liberal approach” to theology: theology should be based on reason and critically interpreted religious experience, not external authority.…

  • Foie gras revisited

    A writer for the Village Voice investigates the “Is foie gras torture?” question by traveling to Hudson Valley Foie Gras in New York, the nation’s largest producer. What she concludes after observing the birds is that it’s not nearly as bad as some of the images from animal rights and welfare groups suggest. (Many of…

  • Why do we have pets?

    A new book suggests that we get a bio-psychological reward from them. Salon interviews the author: Touch releases oxytocin in humans and animals. Oxytocin is one of the most powerful hormones that the body makes. This is a chemical that is responsible for social bonding. When you pat your cat, you should be getting a…

  • Speaking of BSG…

    You can watch the trailer for the prequel series “Caprica” here. According to Wikipedia, an “extended version of the pilot will have its world premiere exclusively on DVD on April 21, 2009. In early 2010, the first season, composed of the two-hour pilot and 18 hour-long episodes, is expected to begin airing on the Sci…