Meditations

Overhanging the gorge are great angular outcroppings of volcanic rock–solid and sharp edged extrusions protruding from the gently sloping grasslands behind them. Some have huge slabs balanced on top, looking…

In my last column, I explored the distinction between science investigating and explaining mysteries, and the experiencing of mystery that underlies the religious mind. In this column I’d like to…

Sometimes I pass these words stenciled in the center of the park road by some cynical philosopher: “Nature is wrong.” The words are fading away, which brings a smile. Nature…

Whenever I hear an astronomer or astrobiologist talk about ‘finding humanity’s place in the universe,’ I wonder, can that ever be found externally, by looking outward to the stars?

In one essential respect Donald Trump is telling the truth and Hillary Clinton is lying to the American people. It may well cost her the election. More importantly, it may…

A counter-sunset over the canyon and above the cliffs suffuses the sky with great swaths of soft color, fading fast. Standing and turning around after a long meditation overlooking the…

Contrary to popular and pundit opinion, there are events in human history that are written before they occur. The end of the USSR in 1991 is one example. The end…

A sculptor I’m corresponding with wrote and said, “There are no new ideas, just reassembled old ones to make something new.” It’s true that there are no new ideas, but…