Of gay giraffes, the communion of minds, and Einstein’s biggest blunder

And now, at last, it’s come to this:  Political correctness about sexuality, and weaponizing giraffes as campaign resources:

“Are 90% of giraffes gay – or have their loving looks been misunderstood?  Dawn Butler’s claims regarding animal sexuality have been called ‘offensive’ and ‘homophobic’ by one of Jeremy Corbyn’s advisers. But what’s the scientific verdict?”

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“What would a truly modern human look like?”

From a religious or theological point of view, though, is the fact that we’re maladapted for this world, that we’re not perfectly at home here, not a blessing?  If we were entirely comfortable in mortality, would we feel any need to strive for improvement in ourselves and our environment?

For a wise and glorious purpose
Thou hast placed me here on earth
And withheld the recollection
Of my former friends and birth;
Yet ofttimes a secret something
Whispered, “You’re a stranger here,”
And I felt that I had wandered
From a more exalted sphere.

“Our hearts are restless,” St. Augustine famously said in his autobiographical Confessions, addressing God, “until they rest in Thee.”

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“On the troubling trail of psychiatry’s pseudopatients stunt: Susannah Cahalan’s investigation of the social-psychology experiment that saw healthy people sent to mental hospitals finds inconsistencies”

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I find this story intriguing on multiple levels:

“Scientists Demonstrate Direct Brain-to-Brain Communication in Humans: Work on an “Internet of brains” takes another step”

It may or may not be relevant, but one of the common elements appearing in reports of near-death experiences is the sense of communicating directly, mind to mind, without the need of vocal speech.  I wonder if such accounts may be related.

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A clear explanation of what Einstein himself expressly considered his biggest mistake and why it matters:

“This Is Why Einstein’s Greatest Blunder Really Was A Tremendous Mistake”

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And, finally, here’s a bit of news that could eventually have considerable practical relevance to daily — or perhaps I should say to nocturnal — life:

“This device harnesses the cold night sky to generate electricity in the dark: A prototype powered a small light-emitting diode in a trial run”