I just found an interesting site through a link at Pensees, an audio program hosted by World Magazine Blog. The site is Radio Apologia, and it looks like a good source for quality lectures/interviews on theological and philosophical topics.

Now I have something “meaty” to put into my mp3 player!

I just changed my Wordpress options to use a better structure for the “Permalinks” to each post. So that means that the old links to the posts and comments in my Xanga won’t work, because the Xanga posts are just crossposted from my main site. So.. to see any of the original posts or the comments you will need to come to my main site at kencarlson.org.

(But the new posts that I make from here on out will use the new link structure, so they will work fine.)

This post has been moved to my technology blog.

This morning there is an artcle about the health benefits of drinking coffee: ABC News: Study: Drinking Coffee Has Health Benefits

Now I enjoy my morning cup of coffee even more!

The rather strange title to this post is due to the fact that last week I finally got myself an mp3 player. I have been watching the ads for quite some time, and there was a special at Fry’s that allowed me to get a 1 Gig Creative Zen Nano player for $100. It was a great deal. (Sorry, that was last week. The sale is over…) I think that a 1 gig player is about right for me. I don’t really need a 40 gig iPod, which is also a lot more expensive. (Plus I really don’t like Apple’s “proprietary” attitude about everything. Why do they always have to act like they think that they’re better than everyone else? Is it so they can get their devotees to pay higher prices? [end of rant])

I try to resist the temptation of running out and spending money on every new cool technology that comes out, but I had a specific reason for wanting an mp3 player. When I work out at the gym they usually have the TV on and/or music blaring from the speakers. Since running is fairly mindless, I want to be able to do something with my mind other than pay attention to what they choose to give me to watch/listen to.

Lately I have been more aware than ever how much we are affected by what we “take in” mentally. If it’s true that “you are what you eat,” it is even more true that “you are what you think.” And what you think is greatly influenced by the input that you allow into your mind. So I decided that I want to spend a little more time each week listening to Christian music because I think that it will help my thoughts be more Christian. If some ppl can memorize all the lyrics (and dance moves!) to their favorite secular songs, then we can saturate our minds with Christ honoring content.

So now my physical workout can also do something good for the soul… hence the title of this post!

Everyone, scientists included, is influenced by the”bias” of their world view. Some of what is taught as “pure science” is actually based more on philosophical presuppositions than experimental science. This is sometimes called a “prior commitment.”

I came across a very interesting quote by Harvard evolutionary biologist Richard Lewontin:

“Our willingness to accept scientific claims that are against common sense is the key to an understanding of the real struggle between science and the supernatural. We take the side of science in spite of the patent absurdity of some of its constructs, in spite of its failure to fulfill many of its extravagant promises of health and life, in spite of the tolerance of the scientific community for unsubstantiated just-so stories, because we have a prior commitment, a commitment to materialism. It is not that the methods and institutions of science somehow compel us to accept a material explanation of the phenomenal world, but, on the contrary, that we are forced by our a priori adherence to material causes to create an apparatus of investigation and a set of concepts that produce material explanations, no matter how counter-intuitive, no matter how mystifying to the uninitiated. Moreover, that materialism is absolute, for we cannot allow a Divine Foot in the door.” (read the entire article here and Phillip Johnson’s commentary here)

He is much more honest than many of his colleagues in acknowledging the way in which his world view determines the outcome of his practice of science. I respect him for his honesty. His commitment to a materialistic world view sounds very much like a religious faith. And I for one do not have enough “faith” to believe in an absolute materialism. The real issue is not competing views of science, but competing faiths. What do we choose as our absolute commitment, and why? This is a religious/philosophical question, not a scientific one.

I am ready to show you some more pictures from my vacation. First is a picture of me with my 4 siblings (in birth order, R to L):

This picture is taken at Logan Pass, which is on the Continental Divide in Glacier National Park. We took a hike up there in the Highline Trail, which is my favorite trail in the whole world. Here is a view from the trail:

What a great view to make your hike more interesting! Somehow the fact that you have to hike a ways to see this view makes it all the more special. When you are hiking up there you really feel that you are on top of the world!

The local paparazzi were there as well:

Back in camp, you could see my newest nephew, Nathanael Arthur Carlson:

He was the coolest baby in the camp, but I’m not sure he realized it because he was asleep!

I now have most of my vacation pics loaded to my gallery. If you are really bored and have nothing else to do, you can see them here.

Update: Apparently the photo links in this article are no longer functional.