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The late Stephen Hawking (1942-2018), the British cosmographer and theoretical physicist, was arguably the most famous scientist in the world in the late 20th and early 21st centuries. Despite suffering from motor neurone disease (ALS) for most of his adult life, he made major contributions to the understanding of black holes, general relativity, and quantum physics. He was also a popular author…
For many years, evolutionary biologists have struggled to explain how the human capacity for language could have evolved, given that every other species--including our supposed evolutionary relatives the great apes--lack this ability. One approach to addressing this problem has been to identify characteristics shared by humans and great apes that could arguably be viewed as the starting point for…
Today (July 4) is Independence Day in the United States, commemorating the day on which the Continental Congress finally approved the Declaration of Independence, announcing to the world that the former thirteen British colonies in North America were now independent of their mother country. Of course, this year's Independence Day is particularly special since it marks the 250th anniversary (the…
Today (June 19) is Juneteenth, a holiday in the United States commemorating the date in 1865 when enslaved African Americans in the state of Texas learned they were free. It is also more generally a celebration of the end of slavery in the United States. In previous years on this date, I have written on the role of evangelical Christians in the 19th century abolitionist movement, the ancient roots…
Recently, there has been a lot of interest in the topic of UFOs (unidentified flying objects) in the United States. This interest has no doubt been prompted, in least in part, by the U.S. government's release to the public of its UFO-related files, a process that began last month (May 2026). Another contributing factor may be the interest generated by the release this month of famed director…
The fantasy trilogy The Lord of the Rings (LOTR), written by J.R.R. Tolkien (1892-1973), is one of the most popular works of literature even written. One of things that makes the trilogy so powerful is that in it Tolkien creates an entire world, with its own history, geography, ethnic groups, and languages. Tolkien even developed a creation story for his imagined world--Middle Earth--although that…
A few weeks ago, I was listening to a Classical Breakdown podcast on the tone poem Also Sprach Zarathstra, by the German composer Richard Strauss (1864-1949). Also Sprach Zarathustra is probably best known for its opening movement, which was featured in the 1968 film 2001: A Space Odyssey. Strauss's tone poem is based on the book of the same name, written by the German philosopher Friedrich…
One strategy used to demonstrate that humans are merely highly evolved animals is to point to certain abilities or characteristics that were once thought as being unique to humans but are actually possessed by non-human species as well. One of these is the use of tools. As Denyse O'Leary tells us, citing evolutionary anthropologist Tracy L. Kivell, at one time "paleontologists believed that only…
Continuing my tradition of the last several years, I once again offer my readers a poem in celebration of Easter (for some previous installments, see here, here, here, and here). This year's poem, as was the poem for Easter 2024, was written by Christina Rossetti (1830-1894). The sister of the celebrated poet and painter Dante Rossetti, Christina Rossetti was arguably one of the greatest poets…
Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750), who was born this month (March 21 according to the Julian calendar, March 31 according to the Gregorian calendar), was, without a doubt, one of the greatest composers to ever live. One distinctive aspect of Bach's music was his use of chorales. A chorale may be defined as a harmonized version of a simple hymn tune, with lyrics in the vernacular rather than in…