Author Archives: thebookofworks

MERRY CHRISTMAS and HAPPY NEW YEAR to all. I will be back in early January. Meanwhile I hope all your holiday celebrations are full of joy, and (if you are lucky) peace. Sy

You and I share quite a few common ancestors not that far back in time.  OK, you are now asking, what is this guy talking about? You might know a good deal about your own genealogy, and there isn’t anyone … Continue reading →

In science, there are many laws that are described mathematically. Some are established from experimentation; others are derived theoretically from other known laws. It has often been pointed out that it is quite remarkable that nature operates in  ways that … Continue reading →

When I was a child we used to go for summer vacations to the small New England village where my grandfather owned a house not far from the ocean. During one walk along the beach, I found a nice piece … Continue reading →

I will be traveling for the holiday so I will not be posting anything until Monday Nov. 30. I hope all who read this have a great Thanksgiving. Peace and joy to all.

After eating, I was feeling pretty good. I swam down to the castle, where, as usual, Blackie and Angel were having their daily discussion, or argument (depending on their respective moods). Same topic of course, – science vs. religion. Blackie … Continue reading →

I believe in human exceptionalism. I believe that human consciousness, creativity, intellect, imagination and other characteristics are emergent qualities with no true analogy in the animal world. I believe this as a matter of religious faith (imago Dei), but even … Continue reading →

In a previous post (The Reality of Biological Information), I discussed some of the many mechanisms that allow for the production of NEW genetic information without getting into specific examples. In this post I will cite several examples of new … Continue reading →

I have given many talks in my life – at symposia, seminars, conferences. I always liked public speaking (being the egotist that I am), but my favorite part was the questions. Some were easy. Sometimes I got a question that … Continue reading →