The Trolley Problem Problem

Last updated on: November 7, 2017 at 9:59 pm By James F. McGrath

Since today I will be talking about the ethics of driverless cars, I of course was struck by these words in an article about the famous trolley problem: In real life, very few people face trolley problems, unless their job is literally to program collision avoidance algorithms for driverless cars. In (presumably deliberate) contrast to the paralyzing ambiguity at the heart of the trolley problem, the article’s title is not in the slightest bit ambiguous as to what the authors think: “The... Read more

Words Matter: Donald Trump, Jesus, Terrorists, and Morons

Last updated on: November 10, 2017 at 8:25 am By James F. McGrath

Word clouds are not just for fun, as most people who work in the humanities know. They allow us to visualize important information, namely the frequency with which words are used in a particular data set. It can help both with analysis, and with communication of that information to a broader audience. And so with that in mind, here is a wordle or word cloud – actually, a comparison of two – that illustrates what CNN and other news outlets have tried to... Read more

Hanns Wolf’s Piano Concerto

Last updated on: October 27, 2017 at 1:51 pm By James F. McGrath

I love late Romantic music, and was delighted to have this piano concerto by Hanns Wolf drawn to my attention – and dismayed to learn that most of his compositions were lost in World War II. Read more

Jesus vs. Alexander Fleming

Last updated on: November 5, 2017 at 7:51 am By James F. McGrath

I am trying to remember where I read a quote to the effect that the discovery of penicillin saved more lives than Jesus did. Even if we add up all the cures in all the Gospels (accepting them as literally factual historical accounts for this purpose), and multiply them by a thousand or ten thousand in keeping with the ending of the Gospel of John, which says that all the books might struggle to contain the many works that Jesus... Read more

Thomas Adès – In Seven Days

Last updated on: November 1, 2017 at 3:26 pm By James F. McGrath

“In Seven Days” by Thomas Adès is an unusual composition exploring the seven days of creation in Genesis 1-2, not least because it incorporates visual images as part of the composition, along with some more traditional elements that one typically finds in a piano concerto. And so the piece is sold as a CD and DVD set. Tom Freudenheim wrote in a review of the piece, “Swept up from the tohu-bohu of unruly waves, the audience is buffeted by the... Read more

A Polite Bribe (and its Sequel)

Last updated on: November 1, 2017 at 11:54 am By James F. McGrath

Robert Orlando shared with me that he will be releasing a sequel to his movie Apostle Paul: A Polite Bribe next year, and asked me to share the information below about it. For those who may not remember, I blogged about Apostle Paul: A Polite Bribe twice, and also shared a Q&A with the filmmaker. Apostle Paul: A Polite Bribe: Interview with the Director The filmmaker Robert Orlando has been mesmerized by the Apostle Paul since reading the Bible as... Read more

The PACA Plan and the Second American Civil War

Last updated on: November 2, 2017 at 6:42 am By James F. McGrath

A flyer about the PACA (“Pray America Christian Again”) Plan was stuck on the outside door of my church, and the person who found it gave it to me. It is an effort not to simply pray, but to try to get Christians elected in all government positions. From the flyer, one learns that they have some specific Christians in mind, since Hillary Clinton is vilified with either no awareness of the fact, or no willingness to recognize, that she is... Read more

Whovian Reformation and Holofernes’ Tweets

Last updated on: October 31, 2017 at 10:28 pm By James F. McGrath

A recent article on IO9 asked what the most frustrating revision to canon was in a franchise. It was asking about science fiction fandom canons, of course, and focused in on the example of the War Doctor on Doctor Who. But since it did so at a time that coincides not only with the 4.5th anniversary of “The Name of the Doctor,” but also with the 500th anniversary of the Protestant Reformation, I am delighted (as you know I always am)... Read more

Star Trek: Discovery – Magic to Make the Sanest Man Go Mad

Last updated on: October 30, 2017 at 1:59 pm By James F. McGrath

Online outlets as different as Forbes and IndieWire agree that Star Trek: Discovery has taken a seriously well-worn stereotyped elements of sci fi, the time loop, and done something not only distinctive but memorable with it. For me, I think it is the relational focus that adds that something special and makes it stand out. But the episode is not without shortcomings. The episode begins with Michael Burnham facing a great challenge for someone who had been living according to Vulcan principles:... Read more

A.I. Am

Last updated on: October 29, 2017 at 2:46 pm By James F. McGrath

Brandon Withrow has a new article out, about “The New Religions Obsessed with A.I.” It includes quotes from me and a number of other people who were interviewed. It is unfortunate that Anthony Levandowski declined to provide an interview or comment. He has been mentioned a lot in the news lately, because he wants to create an AI that will be or become a deity and be worshiped. He calls this religion “Way of the Future”. I really appreciate what Steve Wiggins has written in response to Levandowski:... Read more