Letters to the Editor: Science vs. Magic
I am a very proud daughter.
My dad got his letter to the Times printed. In full. In bold. With a photo of a rainbow.
OK, I’ll explain that.
On June 4th, there was an article printed in the Times Opinion pages, by one Raymond Tallis, accusing scientists of suffering from “Darwinitis” and “Neuromania” – seeing our obsession with scientific explanations for the human condition as some kind of disease. Tallis argues that humans are simply not explainable by science, evolution, brain scans and so forth.
Well, my dad responded by saying… Oh hell, read it for yourself; he puts it so well (Dr Alex Christie; click to see the bigger picture)
The little bit of paper in the right hand corner is a response to my dad, printed a day later. So glad the Rev Graham Hellier has such a long, considered response. He entirely misses the point, and just as an aside? Referring to nature as a “she” is a mere colloquialism. Dear, oh dear, oh dear.
Any thoughts?
Am I being thick, or does the Rev Graham Hellier’s letter make next to no sense? What is he talking about?
Your dad is awesome though. Go, your dad!
June 8, 2011 at 5:14 pm
It doesn’t make much sense, does it? It’s like he came up with what sounded like a good turn of phrase in his head, then worked backwards from there.
June 8, 2011 at 5:30 pm
Hehe, you’re probably right. Why do people cling to ‘mystery’ like it’s a desirable thing? When you read a mystery story, for example, much of the satisfaction comes from understanding how it was all put together once you come to the end. Mysteries aren’t really mysteries at all if you refuse to search for the answers, they’re just… stuff you haven’t tried to understand.
June 8, 2011 at 5:37 pm