Aurelius Augustinus, who is considered by most to be the greatest Father of the Church, was born on November 13, 354 A.D., in Numidia at Tagaste. The product of a classical education, Augustine spent many formative years espousing the truth of Manichaeism and Neoplatonism as he taught rhetoric in Milan. But in 387, he was… Continue reading St. Augustine on How to Pray
How the Brain Protects Itself From Blood-Borne Threats
Enough pints of beer can have you falling off your bar stool or loudly reciting lyrics to early 2000s jams to total strangers, because alcohol can get past one of the strongest defenses in the body. If you’ve ever been drunk, high or drowsy from allergy medication, you’ve experienced what happens when some molecules defeat… Continue reading How the Brain Protects Itself From Blood-Borne Threats
Laid Low by the COVID Vaccine, Now They’ve Got a Bad Case of Federal Unresponsiveness
“You’re not even hearing anything from the organization that’s supposed be helping you,” says Adele Fox, above, a COVID vaccine sufferer who’s struggling to return to her normal life. “The phone keeps ringing, no one is emailing, nobody is doing anything.” By Christian Britschgi, RealClearInvestigationsJune 28, 2023 In April 2021, Adele Fox received a… Continue reading Laid Low by the COVID Vaccine, Now They’ve Got a Bad Case of Federal Unresponsiveness
The Simple Geometry That Predicts Molecular Mosaics
Over the next year, Domokos and his colleagues used geometric thinking to unpack the rules of molecular self-assembly — devising a new way to constrain the mosaics that molecules can form, using only the simple geometry of tessellation. “At first, they did not believe that you can do it,” Domokos said. “They were doing artificial… Continue reading The Simple Geometry That Predicts Molecular Mosaics
To Unions, Organizing Time Is Fine When It’s on the Taxpayers’ Dime
Randi Weingarten, the powerful president of the American Federation of Teachers, hasn’t been a working teacher in more than a quarter of a century. Randi Weingarten: The teachers union boss hasn’t taught in decades, yet has accrued a lot of service time. But, she protests, not $230,000 worth of public pension payments over 15 years.… Continue reading To Unions, Organizing Time Is Fine When It’s on the Taxpayers’ Dime
Do Insects Feel Joy and Pain?
In the early 1990s, when I was a Ph.D. student at the Free University of Berlin modeling the evolution of bee color perception, I asked a botany professor for some advice about flower pigments. I wanted to know the degrees of freedom that flowers have in producing colors to signal to bees. He replied, rather… Continue reading Do Insects Feel Joy and Pain?
Mathematicians Discover New Way to Predict Structure in Graphs
It has been an exhilarating year in combinatorics research. In early 2023, mathematicians were stunned when two of the biggest problems in the field were solved in as many months. Now, a third major question has fallen with a 14-page proof “that has absolutely all the right ideas,” said Mehtaab Sawhney of the Massachusetts Institute… Continue reading Mathematicians Discover New Way to Predict Structure in Graphs
Computer Scientists Inch Closer to Major Algorithmic Goal
“In other words,” Sun said, “in order to further improve graph isomorphism, group isomorphism is a big bottleneck.” A Problem Transformed When progress on a problem stalls as long as it did for group isomorphism, invention is usually necessary to get unstuck. “When you have a big advance, that should be some indication that there’s… Continue reading Computer Scientists Inch Closer to Major Algorithmic Goal
Military Assistance to Ukraine Is a Rare Success
Last week, the United States reversed its long-standing opposition to sending Ukraine F-16 advanced aircraft to aid its fight against Russia. The Biden administration previously had expressed concerns that the jets would be too sophisticated for the Ukrainians and that providing the American-made aircraft could lead to escalation with Russia. Ukraine’s impressive, continued battlefield success… Continue reading Military Assistance to Ukraine Is a Rare Success
Teaching Your Children the Difference Between Mistakes and Sins
“What if the priest remembers me?” “Will the priest tell other people my sins?” “Wait…I have to go to Confession again?” We’ve fielded these and all sorts of other delightful questions from our oldest children as they’ve prepared for their First Reconciliation and their First Communion. It’s been a powerful experience, as parents, to not… Continue reading Teaching Your Children the Difference Between Mistakes and Sins