Sunspots 544

Things I have recently spotted that may be of interest to someone else:

The Arts: (I am not making this up) The American Society for Microbiology sponsored an Agar Art Contest. First place went to a depiction of neurons. Some good stuff.

Christianity: Christianity Today reports that a recent Pew Research poll indicates that those who attend church regularly are less likely to believe that science and religion conflict.

In Christianity Today, a pastor tells us why we should sympathize with, and help immigrants to the US.

Relevant reminds us of what real persecution is like.

Speculative Faith reminds us that October 31 is also Reformation Day.

Benjamin L. Corey says that Christians shouldn't go into hiding on October 31, but acknowledges that there is something sick about a lot of Halloween displays, and suggests how Christians should act on that date.

Computing:  Wired argues that the notion that what happens on-line is not really real is nonsense, and dangerous nonsense.

Do you know what catfishing is? What astroturfing is? They are both related to on-line reviews of items, ebooks in particular, and unscrupulous people are making lots of money of some of us this way, says National Public Radio.

Food: The New York Times examines nutritional studies, and finds them mostly wanting. To be specific, there is not good evidence that honey is better for you than fructose from corn.

Politics: Benjamin L. Corey argues that US tactics in Iraq and Afghanistan are creating terrorists, faster than we are killing them.

Science: A writer in Wired muses on Avogadro's number, including giving us Avogadro's real name.


Image source (public domain)

Super-nerds and Halloween

Forget whether celebrating Halloween is giving credence to various kinds of superstition, or not. Forget whether kiddies should be encouraged to take in massive amounts of sugar. Forget the expense of finding the perfect adult costume.

So what to think about then? Think how Halloween can be used to illustrate cutting-edge technology. And how super-nerds may spend as much as a month fixing up their own Halloween devices. Some of that preparation may be cutting edge. Read about it, or listen to it, in a report on National Public Radio.

Disclaimer -- I may hand out some candy to kiddies. I'll dress up as a retired college professor. That's about as far as I go.

Boo!

Garrison Keillor, at the Writer's Almanac, has a couple of paragraphs about today's holiday/celebration/abomination/whatever it is. As always, Keillor is worth reading or listening to.

Pumpkins are members of the Cucurbitae family of flowering plants, along with squash, cucumbers, melons, and others.

Here's my post on the color orange, and here's my post on the color black, both from over a year ago.

Thanks for reading!

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Addendum: A couple of hours later:

I should have pointed out that, on this date in 1517, Martin Luther wrote his 95 theses, which were, I guess, the beginning of Protestantism.