Matt Farina - Science

What Science Can't Prove

matt — Mon, 12 May 2008 16:32:32 +0000

I've often heard that science is capable of proving anything. Is this really true? Does science have no limits to it's deductive abilities? Sadly, there are some limits to what science and the scientific method can do. Let's take a look at a few of them.

Mathematics and Logic

Science can't prove mathematics or logic. These are presumptions to the scientific method. Science presumes them to be true and has not proven them to be true.

Don't agree? Try to prove these. Take away logic and mathematics and try to prove them. Try to prove logic to be true without using logic.

The Metaphysical

Science can't prove the metaphysical. One of the more talked about metaphysical elements is the supernatural. Science deals with nature. The supernatural is outside of nature and therefore outside the abilities of science to take a look at.

The Scientific Method

Science can't prove the scientific method itself. It presumes it. How can something use it's own process to prove it's own process? It can't. To even try is circular reasoning.

Why does any of this matter?

This is a question worth asking and the answer is simple. If we are to have a good understanding of what's going on we need to know the limitations of something. To wrap our minds around something we need to know some of the ins and outs. To hear something scientific and believe it we need to know what it's based on.

Answers In Genesis Website New Look

matt — Tue, 19 Jun 2007 18:16:42 +0000

Answersingenesis.org just released a new, cutting edge, web 2.0 look.

The Cool

Answers in Genesis regularly updates their sites to stay on the cutting edge and this update delivers. The look is very web 2.0, has lots of white space, gradients galore, and all around looks good. In this update the website incorporates jquery, a popular javascript library, to make it more usable and add some cool effects.

The Good

Answers in Genesis is known for their quality, smart, and well thought out content. The new look doesn't take away from that. In fact, the new look makes finding the content even easier. Two examples are the more predominant menu and the search box right up front and easy to find.

The Bad

With even the best sites there are bound to be negatives and this site is no different. If you are someone who is interested in standards compliant quality code don't look at the source for this website. It isn't pretty and can make a standards nut go a little crazy.

Overall Impression

Even with the ugly code, this site delivers on the user experience. This update keeps the site on the cutting edge of website design; while, increasing users ease to find what they are looking for.

Creation Museum Opens

matt — Wed, 30 May 2007 11:31:13 +0000

This past weekend the Creation Museum opened it's doors in Petersburg Kentucky (just outside of Cincinnati).

While some have said that "creationists cannot be real scientists" and "nothing in biology makes sense except in the light of evolution" this museum is one answer AiG has to that claim. It has areas for geology, biology, anthropology, cosmology, and more; all from a Biblical based perspective. Their main theme is, "The Bible is true from Genesis to Revelation!"

The facility is a 60,000 square foot building that includes a planetarium and "Murals and realistic scenery, computer-generated visual effects, over fifty exotic animals, life-sized people and dinosaur animatronics, and a special-effects theater complete with misty sea breezes and rumbling seats."

Is anyone else thinking, "Road Trip"????

Abortion As Terrorism?

matt — Wed, 25 Apr 2007 12:11:21 +0000

Is abortion terrorism? The Catholic Archbishop Angelo Amato, secretary of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith said on Monday,

The Vatican's second-highest ranking doctrinal official on Monday forcefully branded homosexual marriage an evil and denounced abortion and euthanasia as forms of "terrorism with a human face." . . . . . . . . . .

After denouncing "abominable terrorism" such as that carried out by suicide bombers, he condemned what he called "terrorism with a human face," and accused the media of manipulating language "to hide the tragic reality of the facts."

"For example, abortion is called 'voluntary interruption of pregnancy' and not the killing of a defenseless human being, an abortion clinic is given a harmless, even attractive, name: 'centre for reproductive health' and euthanasia is blandly called 'death with dignity'," he said in his address.

I had never thought of abortion in this light. The worldnet dictionary by Princeton states terrorism this way:

the calculated use of violence (or the threat of violence) against civilians in order to attain goals that are political or religious or ideological in nature; this is done through intimidation or coercion or instilling fear

Is it violent? Is there fear? The answer is yes. If your not sure about this check out this video of a live abortion. The first couple parts explain the details of what's going on before going into the abortion itself. I have to give a warning.... this is pretty gruesome to watch but it's reality.

Abortion is ideological, it's planned out, there is mis information, there is violence, and there is fear. I have to say, I agree with Archbishop Angelo Amato.

Why I Don't Sign-up For The "Big Bang"

matt — Mon, 23 Apr 2007 11:30:00 +0000

Growing up like many other Christians in America I learned about creation at Church and the "Big Bang" at school. Since these two ideals are mutually exclusive and I was a nice boy I never wanted to dig into what they both said because my faith might get torn down. A few years ago I decided that I needed to dig into what they both really said, what that meant, how they played out, and who were the people supporting each side. What I found surprised me. When it came to the "Big Bang" I learned that I don't sign up for what it actually says. So, it's not a matter of creation over the "Big Bang" but that I don't agree with the "Big Bang". Let me try to explain...

For many people it's a matter of faith. Not the Christian or religious kind but the faith in people. Some people have more faith in the authors of the bible than scientists today. Others have more faith in scientists today than the authors of the bible. So, they sign up for the side they have more faith in. There can be a lot of reasons for this faith but this is the root of it. I try not to be one of these people.

The bible says in John 20:29, "Because you have seen Me, have you believed? Blessed are they who did not see, and yet believed." Sadly, I am too often the person who needs to see to believe. But, it has provided some valuable insight that can help others.

The reason I don't sign up for the "Big Bang" is that it's rooted in belief and not science. I'm not saying that it's not about science but that the root is belief and a belief that I don't agree with.

A Picture of the "Big Bang"

Scientifically speaking the big bang, at a really basic level, is some inputs to general relativity that provide a solution of the "Big Bang". The picture bellow illustrates this.

This basic picture illustrates what makes this appealing to so many science lovers and geeks. This looks fairly straight forward and simple to sign up for. But, lets take the level of detail on the inputs to another level. The picture below shows where it gets messy.

As you can see, there are two types of inputs. The first are the ones we can see, can observe, and are repeatable. This is that scientific data we can gather. But, with all the scientific abilities we have there are details that General Relativity demands to produce an output that we just don't know. So, the scientists fill in those details with what they believe about the universe. It's not about what they know and it's not about going over all the plausible inputs.

Hawking and Ellis

Don't believe me? Lets look at what Stephen Hawking and George Ellis wrote in their book The Large Scale Structure of Space-Time.

However we are not able to make cosmological models without some admixture of ideology.

Reading further what they say we can see they are open, admit what their ideology is, and state that it's an input into their cosmologies. Though, their ideology is in direct contradiction with the Christian ideology. Their ideology feeds the assumptions that make up the unknown inputs. So, put simply I don't agree with their unknown inputs to general relativity which means I don't agree with the "Big Bang" output.

You can't fault them. They are doing this in an upright manner. They are open and transparent about their ideology. They are open and transparent that it affects their principles and theories. And, they publish their work. But, that doesn't mean you have to agree with them. I certainly don't.

18seconds.org

matt — Wed, 07 Mar 2007 11:30:00 +0000

When it comes to greenhouse gases the conversation usually turns to cars and the whole automotive industry. But, what if I were to tell you that the average US home is responsible for twice the greenhouse gas production as the average car. Why is this? Electricity production. Over half of our electricity is from coal.

Now, we can call for energy companies to come up with and use cleaner methods to create our electricity. But, this leaves me wondering what we all can do as individuals. Enter 18seconds.org with something we can do.

This site is about using CFL bulbs to light our homes and businesses. CFL light bulbs are more energy efficient meaning that they take less power to produce the same amount of light. This not only helps by lowering greenhouse gases but it can save everyone a buck. Yep, less power used means less power you have to pay for.

There is a short video from the kickoff at Yahoo! which is partnered in this deal.

There is one thing to note with these bulbs. They do contain a small amount of mercury. So, they need to be taken to proper recycling facilities which will dispose of them without letting the mercury get out into nature. My first reaction to this was something good with something bad. But, then I read that, according to the EPA, coal burning is the largest contributor to mercury into nature.

I think this is a good step forward but one we have to do with thought and care. It's innovation I like to see and I hope grass movements like this do make better care of nature part of our everyday lives.

There is one thing that kind of bothered me through learning all of this. God created this planet and told us to care for it. So, where are Christians trying to do efforts like this and drive innovation in technology and ways to make it part of our lives? I don't often see it and it's sad because this should be part of Christian living. And, I think it would provide for good outreach opportunities.

Responding To The The "Lost" Tomb

matt — Mon, 05 Mar 2007 11:30:00 +0000

Yesterday James Camerons The Lost Tomb aired. For those who don't know James Camerons video tries show that we have the tomb of Jesus Christ. I'm not talking about the empty tomb from the bible but the final resting place of Jesus.

Now, this is something that archaeologists won't sign up for and a tomb that has been known about for 27 years.

I won't go into details on proving this wrong. I'll leave that up to experts Dr. Paul Maier and Dr. Jeffery Kloha. You can read their responses here and here respectively.

All Christians Should Recycle

matt — Fri, 09 Feb 2007 10:00:00 +0000

After writing about why "Christians Shouldn't Care About Global Warming" I wanted to continue with what Christians should care about.

Ah, the environment. Caring about the environment often gets people labeled as Hippies. Choosing to use cloth diapers rather than disposable gets people looked at as weird. Buying that super environmentally friendly car will have people saying they should move to California where all the other environmental wackos live. And, a lot of the people saying these things are those bible thumping Christians.

But, what does the bible say Christians should do when it comes to the environment? The first thing I can find in the bible is all the way back in Genesis 2. Genesis 2 tackles that 6th day of creation and zooms in on the creation of man. In Genesis 2:15 it says, "The LORD God placed the man in the Garden of Eden to tend and care for it." Right after God made man he gave him a job to care for His creation.

The bible, also, tells us that the Earth is Gods and not ours. Psalm 24:1 tells us, "The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it. The world and all its people belong to him."

Passages like, Luke 12:42-48 give examples of how a Steward should be. Here they talk about a servant in a masters house. This is just like us (the servant) being in Gods land (the household).

In general we are the servants, God is the master, and the Earth is His. If we are to be faithful we are to manage the Earth in a way where we care for it.

What does this mean in our daily lives? This doesn't mean that our lives should be fixated on the environment but caring for the environment should be part of our everyday lives. Christians should recycle. If we have a choice between something disposable or long lasting, like say the dishes we use every day, we should pick the one that's more environmentally friendly. All the styrofoam we deal with should be recycled (that stuff never decomposes). We shouldn't litter. We should look at gas mileage when we shop for cars. On Earth day we should plant a tree. And, a million other little things we can do every day.

It, also, means that the people who engineer things have an extra responsibility. Cars should be built with the environment in mind. We should be looking for cleaner power solutions. We need to consider the effect of removing the vegetation we do so often. We need to design things so that the disposable stuff cleanly breaks down.

This may seem like a lot of extra work. It sure isn't easy. But, it's what we should do. God loved us enough to make this world for us. The least we can do is care for it. Even if it takes an extra few minutes or costs us a few extra bucks.

Christians Shouldn't Care About Global Warming

matt — Thu, 08 Feb 2007 14:19:30 +0000

That's right. You did just read that. Christians shouldn't care about global warming. Before I get any hate comments, hate emails, or a "friendly visit" at my home let my try to explain.

Let's start with the qualifier I put at the front of that very non-PC statement. This is for Christians. If your not a Christian, this doesn't apply. You can go about your regularly scheduled business. If you think I've gone off the deep end or are thinking this is another reason to not like Christianity or Christians keep reading.

What is Global Warming? I see Global Warming as being two very distinct things. First, it's an observation. The Earth is getting warmer. We know that the Earth gets warmer and cooler over time. In the last thousand or so years we have seen summers where the snow hasn't melted and places now covered in ice where there used to be farm lands. We, also, know that in recent centuries we have done things to contribute to the Earth getting warmer. But, this is just an observation of what's going on. In and of itself this is not a reason to act. This is not a motivation.

Global Warming is, also, a cause. This is the part that gets people riled up and provides the motivation to act. This cause is what has people caring about Global Warming, has lobbyist groups in Washington working hard for change, and has people around the world getting into arguments. In this cause I have herd two common arguments and these are the things Christians should not sign up for.

Global Warming will cause the ice caps to melt raising the water levels and flooding some areas. This very likely may be true. But, is it a bad thing? To many people who are comfortable with the way things are and a landscape change would remind them how little control they really have this is enough to dive them mad. But, God does use changes in the environment to change people, wake them up, and even wipe them out. Even if this is does happen and it's not God putting it into motion God can still work a lot of good through this and will provide.

To a Christian this is about trust, being reminded of what's really important, and opportunity. This is about trusting God no matter what lack of control we feel or have. If we trust God than this should not worry or concern us. Massive changes tend to drive us back to God. Many Christians get complacent in life and stop praying, spending time with God, or even asking Him to be much apart of their lives. When things get shaken up that tends to change. Life shaking that brings people to a stronger relationship with God is good. This is, also, a matter of opportunity. Jesus called us to serve others. When things get shaken up the opportunities open us to do just that. To open our homes to others, to donate our resources and time to others, and to care about people.

Global Warming means we have to be more environmentally friendly. This is the most dominant reason I hear for people to care about Global Warming. This is a terrible bang wagon for Christians to jump on. Not because the environment isn't important. It is. But, because the motivation is to stop change and isn't about God. Christians have a much more powerful and important reason to care about the environment than Global Warming. We have Gods command. God gave us the responsibility and privilege of caring for the Earth. He made us stewards of the Earth. To think that God gave us His perfect creation to take care of. If we really love God caring for the environment should be part of our daily lives. It should be us taking care of His planet.

Global Warming brings out something terrible in Christians. I takes our focus off God. We don't need Global Warming to care about the environment. We have Gods command and privilege. We don't need Global Warming as motivation to fight change in the world. We have trust in God to care for us though it.

Global Warming, Where Did You Go?

matt — Mon, 05 Feb 2007 13:59:34 +0000

This morning I stepped outside and proceeded to freeze. I knew it was cold but had no idea how cold. On the drive into work I listened to the school closings. Virtually every school in Metro Detroit is closed. Then, on the radio, they read the temperature. -4 degrees with the wind chill into the negative twenties.

According to weather.com today we had a record low for February 5th. The weather reports expect a high temperature in the low teens. It's cold outside.

After hearing all of this I am left wondering, where is global warming at? Where is all that talk that Michigan winters are going away? Because, I step outside and don't feel it.

What happened to Florida weather coming to me in Michigan?