In the parish church of the village of Selborne, England, is a three-paneled stained-glass window depicting “St. Francis Preaching to the Birds.”
Articles with 1995
A hoopoe • Photo by Hans Veth on Unsplash
A Galápagos finch • Photo by Paul Krawczuk (CC BY 2.0)
A progressive’s progress down the road of evolution
There are people who prefer things to remain the same; there are people who prefer change. We call them respectively conservatives and liberals, Tories and Whigs, reactionaries and progressives.
Joseph Merrick in 1889
Nature’s perfect imperfections
On my desk is a blueberry gall, given to me by a student who wanted to know what it was.
Photo by Roberto Nickson on Unsplash
Dying for freedom, PINned to the spot
There is a story by D. H. Lawrence about a man who buys an island in order to escape the pandemonium of city life.
Photo by Jared Erondu on Unsplash
Debauched on light
Somehow, I’m always late getting around to reading the really delicious books.
The Hubble eXtreme Deep Field image of thousands of galaxies • NASA, ESA
Take the universe with a grain of salt
I push back the desks and make a model of the Milky Way Galaxy on the floor with a box of ordinary kitchen salt. I sprinkle the salt into a dense nucleus at the center, then add sweeping spiral arms. The grains glitter against the dark tiles.
Photo by Omer Sonido on Unsplash
Who’s winning culture war? Who cares
Thirty-five years ago [in 1959], C.P. Snow, in a now famous essay, wrote about a polarization of academics into two camps: literary intellectuals and scientists. Not only did the two groups not understand each other, said Snow, they worked at cross purposes.
Photo by camilo jimenez on Unsplash
Beware: Electronic logorrhea looms
My editor asked if I wanted my e‑mail address appended to this column. Good heavens, no.
Photo by Carlos Arthur M.R on Unsplash
Asahara’s flying circus? Thank heaven for the laws of physics
Come, Josephine, we don’t need a machine. Sit with me here on the floor. Cross your legs into the lotus position. Close your eyes.
The nest of a kildeer • Photo by David Moulton (CC BY 2.0)
Chemistry with a cosmic spark
Why do killdeers build their nest on open ground?