Intelligent Design

Is evolution true? Do species change from one form to another, even into other species? For me, the answer could be yes or no - it's not that big a deal. I think a God who guides the formation of life from primordial goo to human in His image is just as astounding as a God who simply calls into being fully-formed complex organisims.

I am astonded how often the designs we find in nature are so incredibly efficient. The idea that pure random chance somehow given enough time not only made intelligent (or so we flatter ourselves to think) beings, but ones that are so well designed that we can split an atom, but are hard pressed to equal a small fraction of the engineering marvels that allow us to play a game of catch.

Bones, muscles, nerves, the heart, blood, skin, the eye, joints, reflexes, hair, and the mind are amazing things. Who could build a pump that is self-regulating, runs for 70 years without missing a beat, is able to self-repair, respond to increased demand, and fufill its role so beautifully as this muscle in our chest that just does its job without a moment's conscious thought?

The Power of Google

Yes, I'm one of those strange people that googles their own name. Except that "David Schmidt" is such a common name that there are lots of results. Evidently, there's something like 10 million Dr. David Schmidts in the world (or so it seems). So I tried "'David Schmidt' Economist." How many Economists named David Schmidt could there be? At least one formerly worked for the Federal Reserve, but the most interesting thing I came across was this link: The Economics of Manure Management. Not only was it on there - it came in at #3!

Interesting Links of the Day

I saw this link while at work today. It was put together by a graduate department, giving interviewing advice to those seeking academic positions. I have not yet watched the videos, but they sound amusing.

Are "religious" people happier? Why? This article and the related links are a look at that question.

In an academic aside to my, shall we say, issues with singleness, this paper (PDF) is a look an attempt to quanitfy happiness in an economic sense. Among the conclusions: married people are happier than singles across the board. But widowed and divorced singles are unhappier than the rest. But getting a job makes the average Brit about 3.5 times happier than getting married. Interesting.

Tools

Things that make you feel like a not-a-person suck. We hate stereotypes applied to us because they are a hasty guess, may well be untrue, and it makes you feel like the person is unwilling to see "the real you," chosing instead a cheap out. To be "used" romantically is both insulting and humiliating - a person you cared about, maybe even loved, only led you along to get what they wanted. They were not concerned for how it would affect you, or if concerned, put their own wants enough in the forefront that no ammount of potential emotional damage to you would hinder them. When most of my friends didn't go to my college graduation, it hurt. The reason most gave is that "I've been to a lot of these. They're boring. They're all the same." But this one was different - it was different because it was mine. It was personal. For this aspect of it to not matter makes one feel like a nameless face in the crowd, a not-a-person, but just a face and a name.

I have read a similar warning when it comes to leadership, especially in the church. The temptation is there to see people as tools, as objects, as cogs you use to fill needed slots to make everything operate. This is deadly. This treats those bought with the blood of Christ as a hammer you get at Home Depot for $2.99. We must remember that these are real people, probably making real sacrifices to help. To treat them as a resource deprives them of dignity, of personhood. It is a temptation for me to reduce people to the utilitarian benefit I derive from them. I need to remember to appreciate them. Thank them. Let them know that they matter, not just for their schedules and availability to run sound, computers, or spotlights, but as friends, as colaborers, as people. To ask them how they are doing, and want a real answer. To share in their joys and griefs. To let them know that they are more than a tool, they are a person.

Another Blog

One might think that I don't have a unified enough theme, or frequent enough posts to have two blogs, and they'd be right. This blog is an attempt to have focused conversations about matters of Scripture. Things we've read, things we've thought about. I hope to have a cadre of people posting on it, commenting, and in varigated ways exploring common themes. But I'm patient. Sometimes. Except when I'm not.

Scary Evangelicals

A question I want to hear answered: what do people think of evangelicals, or Christians at large? What might the average person on the street think if I said I consider myself an evangelical, raised in such a church. Knowing how different people approach the same issue can be beneficial to both.

An article by Philip Yancey on just such a question, which I would not have found without reading Philip Hartman's blog.

My Name in Lights!

This is what I do for a living. I gave a 20-25 minute presentation on the unemployment fund for the state. It is, for me, more interesting that it probably sounds. I had lots of graphs, charts, and tables. This is good, because it means the internet broadcast of the event showed the tables, graphs, and charts, instead of me. It would have been more unnerving to look at the monitor just over the shoulders of the people I was addressing and see my own face looking back at me. It was weird enough hearing my voice over the in-house speakers.

Exciting Links of the Day

Michael Yon Online Magazine. I don't know the guy, and obviously can't vouch for him. The spin is that he is an independent journalist covering events in Iraq from his own perspective. Looks pretty authentic to me, but I am by nature suspicious of anything that plays so perfectly to how I would expect it to be.

Clark Kellogg discuses his preseason picks for the Sweet Sixteen. Am I excited for the upcoming basketball season? You bet!

More basketball news. I don't think Nevada ever made both major polls at once. This year, Nevada has made the preseason AP top 25 (#22), the ESPN/USA Today preseason top 25 (#25), the ESPN.com preseason top 25 (#24), and several other minor rankings. We have a preseason All-American in Nick Fazekas (sharing the honors with Illinois' Dee Brown, Duke's J.J. Redick, Boston College's Jared Dudley and Duke's Shelden Williams). I have seen two journalistic opinions (one in the local paper, one referenced above) that place Nevada in the Sweet Sixteen. And this with the team yet to play a regular season game. Hopefully the hype doesn't prove to be only that.

Hearing

I had lunch with a friend today. It was good, we chatted, and I got to order Country Fried Steak from Chili's, which I really like (though I ended up not touching the steak... that came home as leftovers). At one point be brought up a girl I had asked him about before (as in, "do you think there's potential for a relationship here?") After bringing up the subject, he paused. I was expecting the response I had been expecting ever since I brought it up to him. The specifics were unknown, but the conclusion is always "don't go for it." Instead, what I thought he said was "[she's] interested." I was quite stunned. I think I lifted my eyebrows. I try very hard to not let people read me unless I let them (and these topics I play very close-to-the-vest in person), but the human brain is impressive as judged by the the sheer volume of distinct thoughts I had in the two-second pause in conversation. "Oh?" (I think I said). The remainder of the conversation bore out that what he probably really said was "[she's] interesting." As in, that's an interesting question. If I know anything, I'm not telling you, but it's never a good idea to put all your eggs in one basket. I do not think it was a translation of "she loathes the fact you exist" (not that I would really expect such a response), but it was hardly a hardy encouragment to go for it.

This reinforces the curious fact that between the physical stimulus of vibrating air molecules striking a taut bit of skin in your ear (or photons striking the strange cells at the back of your eye), there is a very important bit of translation that happens. Those vibrations are translated without conscious thought into an interpretation of the world around you. The more I think about it, the more impressive it is that misunderstandings are the exception, not the rule. The human body and mind are fascinating things.

Unfortunately for me, perception is not reality. If my confused hearing could somehow create reality, I'd be a much giddier blogger right now. As it is, I have roughly the same information I did before (though following a path that briefly soared above the clouds before plummeting back to earth right where it left).

The Lord of the Rings

Yes. I like Lord of the Rings. Until I saw The Fellowship of the Ring, Star Wars was my favorite trilogy. I have on two occasions attended all-day movie-fests to watch the three extended editions back-to-back-to-back. I appreciate the investment made by the movie company, financing the filming of all three movies at once. I appreciate the attention to detail by the art department. And I like the blending of traditional photograpic tricks as well as digital effects.

This is an article I read about ways of interpreting the world of Middle Earth. I hold to neither of them, but would rather make the basic argument that most dogmatic positions taken in life fall on either side of the truest representations of reality, so any book, song, or movie which strikes us as true on a deeper level will fall in the middle thereof.