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Thursday, February 16, 2006

Scientists Meet in Saint Louis

The American Association for the Advancement of Science is holding its annual meeting in Saint Louis until February 20th. Some of the events are open to the public.

See the site: http://www.aaas.org/meetings/Annual_Meeting/

Some of the lectures and exhibits include:

What Can the History of Islamic Science Teach Us About Science?
Prisons, Pulpits, and Poets: Disseminating Academic Research Beyond Academia
The History of Nature: Why Aren't We Teaching It in Our Schools?
The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly: Weighing the Risks and Benefits of Seafood Consumption
Astrobiology: Habitability On Other Worlds Around Stars Near and Far
Ethics of Neuroscience: Lack of Consciousness and Assessment of Personhood
Neuroscience of Ethics: Material Foundations of Moral Agency
Embryonic and Adult Stem Cells: Basic Science and Public Policy
Using Ontologies To Teach Computers Biology
"Race-Based" Therapeutics
Geosystems: Ancient Greenhouse Emissions and Hothouse Climates
Science and Engineering Challenges in Homeland Security and Disaster Response
Overcoming Gender Stereotypes: Girls in Science, Engineering, and Technology
Advancing Women in Science Through Institutional Transformation
Ancient Wisdom and Contemporary Science: Traditional Knowledge in the 21st Century
Human Autonomy in an Age of Active Aware Pervasive Computing
Science and the End of Poverty
Microbial Resistance: A Threat to Global Health
It Takes a Village: Partnering Schools with the Community To Raise Future Chiefs
Paradise Lost? The Changing Nature of Mathematical Proof
Tsunamis: Their Hydrodynamics and Impact on People
Future Potential of Biological Weapons: Science, Technology, and Policy
Ethics and Epidemiology in the Care of High-Risk Newborns
Science Under Attack
Engaging the Public on Controversial Science: Adapting Communication Strategies to the Media and the Audience
Constitutional Principles and Legal Strategies in the Creation and Evolution Debates
Orwell’s Wolf Is Back: Tracking Kids, Dogs, Old People, and Everybody In Between
AAAS Dialogue on Science, Ethics, and Religion

What is discussed here may become public policy in the near future. Of concern is that many of these folks are atheists who do not share our worldview or morality. Politically, scientists tend to like really big government, centralized at the highest level possible, and they often promote the immoral theory of utilitarian "ethics".

Modern science was invented in Catholic universities in the Middle Ages by men who are now Saints, and whose feasts are universally celebrated in the General Roman Calendar. Forget what they say about the Galileo affair; the Church was just trying to avoid the "Mad Scientist"syndrome so common and acceptable today: just because you can do something doesn't make it morally right to actually do it.

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