andersoj.org oddments

NPR’s new essay project on belief seems worth mentioning… WGBH just ran the first essay by Brian Greene, and there was a lot to like in his essay. Find the homepage for the project (with links to the essays) at NPR : This I Believe
A worthy excerpt:

None of these scientific achievements have told us why we’re here or given us the answer to life’s meaning — questions science may never address. But just as our experience playing baseball is enormously richer if we know the rules of the game, the better we understand the universe’s rules — the laws of physics — the more deeply we can appreciate our lives within it.
…
I believe the process of going from confusion to understanding is a precious, even emotional, experience that can be the foundation of self-confidence. I believe that through its rational evaluation of truth and indifference to personal belief, science transcends religious and political divisions and so does bind us into a greater, more resilient whole.

Enjoy. –JA