The benefits of eating crickets, and other cutting-edge science

Last updated on: September 5, 2018 at 9:52 am by Dan Peterson

The benefits of eating crickets, and other cutting-edge science 2018-09-05T09:52:54-06:00 Dan Peterson

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

The famous Mathematical Bridge, first constructed in 1749, connects two parts of Queens’ College, University of Cambridge, across the River Cam. (Wikimedia Commons public domain)

Two more passages from James Hannam, The Genesis of Science: How the Christian Middle Ages Launched the Scientific Revolution (Washington DC: Henry Regnery, 2011). Hannam earned a bachelor’s degree in physics at Oxford University and a doctorate in the history of science from the University of Cambridge, and his book his a healthy antidote to the claim that religion smothered science in medieval Europe.

[T]he most significant contribution of the natural philosophers of the Middle Ages was to make modern science even conceivable. They made science safe in a Christian context, showed how it could be useful, and constructed a worldview where it made sense. Their central belief that nature was created by God and so worthy of their attention was one that Galileo wholeheartedly endorsed. Without that awareness, modern science would simply not have happened. (342-343)

This book should lend some support to the skeptics claiming that the term “the scientific revolution” is another one of those prejudicial historical labels that explain nothing. You could call any century from the twelfth to the twentieth a revolution in science, with our own century unlikely to end the sequence. The concept of the scientific revolution does nothing more than reinforce the error that before Copernicus nothing of any significance took place at all.

Life in the Middle Ages was often short and violent. The common people were assailed by diseases they didn’t understand; exploited by a distant ruling class; and dependent on a Christian Church that rarely lived up to the ideals of its founder. It would be wrong to romanticize the period, and we should be very grateful that we do not have to live in it. But the hard life that people had to bear only makes their progress in science and many other fields all the more impressive. We should not write them off as superstitious primitives. They deserve our gratitude. (350-351)

***

Here’s an encouraging little item. I feel the thriller movies coming on already:

“Hospital superbugs are evolving to survive hand sanitizers: The drug-resistant bacteria aren’t resistant to alcohol sanitizers—yet.”

I’m told that some of my paternal ancestors — a hardy Scandinavian lot — developed their own ever higher tolerance for alcohol.

Next: Maybe those early Mormon pioneers in the Great Basin should have eaten the crickets themselves, instead of sitting back and letting the seagulls reap all the benefits:

“Eating crickets can be good for your gut, according to new clinical trial”

In regard to this next article, which is really fun: How does he know that I haven’t been? (Fictionally, at least.)

“The Utter Failure of Fictional Time Travel: An answer to why we’ve not been visited from the future?”

Uncategorized

Previous Post

August 5, 2018

Two more volumes from the Islamic Translation Series

Next Post

August 6, 2018 We're doomed!

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Uncategorized

Select a Month October 2026 September 2026 August 2026 July 2026 June 2026 May 2026 April 2026 March 2026 February 2026 January 2026 December 2025 November 2025 October 2025 September 2025 August 2025 July 2025 June 2025 May 2025 April 2025 March 2025 February 2025 January 2025 December 2024 November 2024 October 2024 September 2024 August 2024 July 2024 June 2024 May 2024 April 2024 March 2024 February 2024 January 2024 December 2023 November 2023 October 2023 September 2023 August 2023 July 2023 June 2023 May 2023 April 2023 March 2023 February 2023 January 2023 December 2022 November 2022 October 2022 September 2022 August 2022 July 2022 June 2022 May 2022 April 2022 March 2022 February 2022 January 2022 December 2021 November 2021 October 2021 September 2021 August 2021 July 2021 June 2021 May 2021 April 2021 March 2021 February 2021 January 2021 December 2020 November 2020 October 2020 September 2020 August 2020 July 2020 June 2020 May 2020 April 2020 March 2020 February 2020 January 2020 December 2019 November 2019 October 2019 September 2019 August 2019 July 2019 June 2019 May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 March 2014 August 2013 February 2012

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

What was the final plague that led Pharaoh to release the Israelites?

Select your answer to see how you score.

Hail Locusts Death of the firstborn Frogs