{"id":72796,"date":"2019-04-11T14:05:31","date_gmt":"2019-04-11T20:05:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/admin.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/?p=72796"},"modified":"2019-04-12T13:02:48","modified_gmt":"2019-04-12T19:02:48","slug":"counting-sheep-on-perelandra","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/2019\/04\/counting-sheep-on-perelandra.html","title":{"rendered":"Counting sheep on Malacandra?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"In<\/a>
A mountain in Jordan\u2019s Wadi Rum, where the recent film \u201cThe Martian\u201d was filmed, along with the movie \u201cLawrence of Arabia.\u201d (Much of the actual story of T. E. Lawrence occurred here.) Despite its Roman-letter spelling of \u201cRum,\u201d the word is actually pronounced \u201cramm,\u201d and it probably derives from an Aramaic word meaning \u201celevated.\u201d (Compare the Book of Mormon term \u201cRameumptom.\u201d)
Wikimedia Commons public domain image<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

The odds of finding flocks of sheep on the surface of Mars seem to be dropping to almost nil:<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cMars methane hunt comes up empty, flummoxing scientists:\u00a0Trace Gas Orbiter spacecraft did not find the gas in red planet\u2019s atmosphere during its first months of operation.\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Few if any tourists to Mars are likely to wake up confused, wondering whether they\u2019re actually in New Zealand.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

***<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Continuing in the same spirit of practical science, here\u2019s a bit of nutritional information:<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cShould We Drink Milk to Strengthen Bones?\u00a0For generations, we\u2019ve been told milk helps build strong bones. But does science back this up?\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

***<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

I\u2019m shocked. \u00a0Shocked<\/em>, I tell you!<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cFinally Some Robust Research Into Whether \u201cDiversity Training\u201d Actually Works \u2013\u00a0Unfortunately It\u2019s Not Very\u00a0Promising\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Really. \u00a0Is any sentient, thinking, non-ideologically-driven human even slightly surprised by this?<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

***<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Genealogy is becoming more difficult\u201d<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cNew Hominin Shakes the Family Tree\u2014Again: What does the discovery of\u00a0Homo luzonensis\u00a0mean for our understanding of humanity\u2019s history?\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

And here\u2019s a question that, as my own age begins to be more easily reckoned in geological epochs rather than in years, is becoming ever more urgent:<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cWhy Hasn\u2019t Evolution Dealt With the Inefficiency of Aging?\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

***<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

I can\u2019t decide whether I like this thought or dislike it, and whether I think it would be theologically helpful or theologically problematic:<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cAre we living in a computer simulation? I don\u2019t know. Probably. \u00a0Why this computer scientist thinks reality might be a video game.\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

***<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Yesterday, in a post entitled \u201cAn astronomical breakthrough, a moral quagmire, and the difficulty of economics,\u201d<\/a>\u00a0I wrote about an astonishing new photograph of a black hole \u2014 or, to be more precise, of the place, surrounded by light, where a black hole sits. \u00a0It really is something that I would never have imagined when I was growing up.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Here are two interesting background pieces about that achievement and what permitted it:<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThat image of a black hole you saw everywhere? Thank this grad student for making it possible\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThis Week, Capitalism Enabled the Seeing of the Unseeable\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Posted from San Diego, California<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u00a0 \u00a0 The odds of finding flocks of sheep on the surface of Mars seem to be dropping to almost nil: \u00a0 \u201cMars methane hunt comes up empty, flummoxing scientists:\u00a0Trace Gas Orbiter spacecraft did not find the gas in red planet\u2019s atmosphere during its first months of operation.\u201d \u00a0 Few if any tourists to Mars […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1019,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-72796","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\nCounting sheep on Malacandra?<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"    The odds of finding flocks of sheep on the surface of Mars seem to be dropping to almost nil:   "Mars methane hunt comes up empty,\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, 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