The Unnecessary Science

Available online: https://pub.norden.org/temanord2024-508/ This report provides potential criteria to address problematic, unnecessary and avoidable plastic products at the global level, supporting the objectives of the upcoming international plastics instrument as per UNEA Resolution 5/14. The report notes that over 140 countries have enacted bans or restrictions on specific plastic products, highlighting the need for global criteria to manage not just single-use plastics, but also a wider range of plastic products. It presents possible criteria for determining plastic products into three distinct classifications - problematic, unnecessary, and avoidable – each subject to specific control measures. The report's ultimate aim is to phase out these plastic products through removal, substitution and redesign. A strong science-policy interface is needed to ensure informed listing of these plastic products under the instrument.

There is a widespread assumption that there is no space for God in science, and no space for science in Christianity. This book addresses the question of whether the search for answers excludes belief in a Deity. Ransom Poythress' logical and well-reasoned look at the common arguments will be a fascinating read for any with a genuine interest in pursuing truth. Contents include: Introduction: Understanding the Question The Conflict Thesis God of the Gaps Arguments Behind the Curtain of Science, Part I: Objectivity and Truth Behind the Curtain of Science, Part II: Materialist Assumptions Behind the Curtain of Science, Part III: Materialist Limitations Behind the Curtain of Science, Part IV: What's Actually Necessary for Science Behind the Curtain of Science, Part V: Scientific Laws Behind the Curtain of Science, Part VI: Supernatural Assumptions and a Christian Philosophical Foundation for Science Miracles Evidence: What Does It Look Like? Big Bang and Fine-Tuning Origin of Life Evolution: The Big Picture Evolution: Darwin's Defenders Conclusion Appendix: Additional Resources Each chapter includes a summary of the main points covered. The Big Ten: Critical Questions Answered is a Christian apologetics series which addresses ten commonly asked questions about God, the Bible, and Christianity. Each book, while easy to read, is challenging and thought-provoking, dealing with subjects ranging from hell to science. A good read whatever your present opinions.

The renowned science writer, mathematician, and bestselling author of Fermat's Last Theorem masterfully refutes the overreaching claims the "New Atheists," providing millions of educated believers with a clear, engaging explanation of what science really says, how there's still much space for the Divine in the universe, and why faith in both God and empirical science are not mutually exclusive. A highly publicized coterie of scientists and thinkers, including Richard Dawkins, the late Christopher Hitchens, and Lawrence Krauss, have vehemently contended that breakthroughs in modern science have disproven the existence of God, asserting that we must accept that the creation of the universe came out of nothing, that religion is evil, that evolution fully explains the dazzling complexity of life, and more. In this much-needed book, science journalist Amir Aczel profoundly disagrees and conclusively demonstrates that science has not, as yet, provided any definitive proof refuting the existence of God. Why Science Does Not Disprove God is his brilliant and incisive analyses of the theories and findings of such titans as Albert Einstein, Roger Penrose, Alan Guth, and Charles Darwin, all of whose major breakthroughs leave open the possibility— and even the strong likelihood—of a Creator. Bolstering his argument, Aczel lucidly discourses on arcane aspects of physics to reveal how quantum theory, the anthropic principle, the fine-tuned dance of protons and quarks, the existence of anti-matter and the theory of parallel universes, also fail to disprove God.

This is not a book on theology, nor is it a highly technical scientific analysis. It's really just a conversation-between me and a hypothetical, non-hostile unbeliever. My purpose is to help scientific people see that religion is not just for kooks and to help religious people see that science is not just for atheists. Persons skilled in debate will quickly notice that I have utilized a variety of methods to advance my arguments such as logic, rhetoric, presentation of scientific/experimental data, and even narrative. I realize this mixture of methods is in itself a fault and sometimes appears self-contradictory. However, keep in mind that this book is written in a conversational tone. In real life conversations, people utilize a variety of methods to make their points. That's what I'm doing here-opening up a reasonable, educated conversation about God, science, and life itself in ways that work best for me. AUTHOR BIO - He received his bachelor's and master's degrees in biological science from the University of Mississippi in 1979 and 1981, and his Ph. D. degree in medical entomology from Mississippi State University in 1984. In December of 1985 he was commissioned as an officer in the U.S. Air Force and served as a medical entomologist in the Epidemiology Division of the USAF School of Aerospace Medicine, Brooks AFB, Texas, for three and a half years. In 1988 he was named Best Academic Instructor in the Residents in Aerospace Medicine Course and Company Grade Officer of the Year. For two decades, Dr. Goddard served in the capacity of State Medical Entomologist at the Mississippi Department of Health, Jackson, Mississippi, where he designed, implemented, and supervised all vector control programs relating to public health throughout the state of Mississippi. Dr. Goddard has authored or co-authored over 160 scientific publications in the field of medical entomology and is the author of Ticks and Tick-borne Diseases Affecting Military Personnel, published by the U.S. Air Force, Infectious Diseases and Arthropods, Second Edition, published by Humana Press, and Physician's Guide to Arthropods of Medical Importance, Fifth Edition, published by Taylor and Francis (CRC). In 2003, the physician's guide won an award in the British Medical Association's best medical book of the year competition. Dr. Goddard has been featured in Reader's Digest and on a series entitled Living with Bugs on the Learning Channel. In 2001, Dr. Goddard published a novel about a mosquito-borne disease outbreak entitled, The Well of Destiny, and in 2006-07, published two more novels, this time about virus behavior (Vital Forces) and unethical scientific research (Endless Present). Dr. Goddard frequently presents seminars and guest lectures nationally and internationally on Arthropods and Medicine and related topics. He is a member of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the Mississippi Mosquito and Vector Control Association, and the Mississippi Entomological Association. His main research interests are the ecology and epidemiology of tick-borne diseases, but he also publishes on a wide range of medically important arthropods. Keywords - Faith, Science, Religion, Evolution, String Theory, Fossils, Prophets, God, Human, Universe, Bible, Creation

A short, provocative book about why "useless" science often leads to humanity's greatest technological breakthroughs A forty-year tightening of funding for scientific research has meant that resources are increasingly directed toward applied or practical outcomes, with the intent of creating products of immediate value. In such a scenario, it makes sense to focus on the most identifiable and urgent problems, right? Actually, it doesn't. In his classic essay "The Usefulness of Useless Knowledge," Abraham Flexner, the founding director of the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton and the man who helped bring Albert Einstein to the United States, describes a great paradox of scientific research. The search for answers to deep questions, motivated solely by curiosity and without concern for applications, often leads not only to the greatest scientific discoveries but also to the most revolutionary technological breakthroughs. In short, no quantum mechanics, no computer chips. This brief book includes Flexner's timeless 1939 essay alongside a new companion essay by Robbert Dijkgraaf, the Institute's current director, in which he shows that Flexner's defense of the value of "the unobstructed pursuit of useless knowledge" may be even more relevant today than it was in the early twentieth century. Dijkgraaf describes how basic research has led to major transformations in the past century and explains why it is an essential precondition of innovation and the first step in social and cultural change. He makes the case that society can achieve deeper understanding and practical progress today and tomorrow only by truly valuing and substantially funding the curiosity-driven "pursuit of useless knowledge" in both the sciences and the humanities.

A happily misanthropic Middle East divorcee finds refuge in books in a “beautiful and absorbing” novel of late-life crisis (The New York Times). Aaliya is a divorced, childless, and reclusively cranky translator in Beirut nurturing doubts about her latest project: a 900-page avant-garde, linguistically serpentine historiography by a late Chilean existentialist. Honestly, at seventy-two, should she be taking on such a project? Not that Aailiya fears dying. Women in her family live long; her mother is still going crazy. But on this lonely day, hour-by-hour, Aaliya’s musings on literature, philosophy, her career, and her aging body, are suddenly invaded by memories of her volatile past. As she tries in vain to ward off these emotional upwellings, Aaliya is faced with an unthinkable disaster that threatens to shatter the little life she has left. In this “meditation on, among other things, aging, politics, literature, loneliness, grief and resilience” (The New York Times), Alameddine conjures “a beguiling narrator . . . who is, like her city, hard to read, hard to take, hard to know and, ultimately, passionately complex” (San Francisco Chronicle). A finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award and the National Book Award, An Unnecessary Woman is “a fun, and often funny . . . grave, powerful . . . [and] extraordinary” Washington Independent Review of Books) ode to literature and its power to define who we are. “Read it once, read it twice, read other books for a decade or so, and then pick it up and read it anew. This one’s a keeper” (The Independent)

Best-selling authors Marva Dawn and Eugene Peterson offer encouragement to pastors. Pastors are strategically placed to counter the culture. No other profession looks so inoffensive but is in fact so dangerous to the status quo. Their weapon? A gospel that is profoundly countercultural. But standing firm in today's world isn't easy. Powerful forces, both subtle and obvious, attempt to domesticate pastors, to make them, in a word, unnecessary. In this book, two of today's most respected authors help pastors recover their gospel identity and maintain a pure vision of Christian leadership. Marva Dawn and Eugene Peterson reconnect pastors with the biblical texts that will train them as countercultural servants of the gospel. Marva Dawn looks to Paul's letter to the Ephesians for instruction for churches seeking to live faithfully in today's world. In turn, Eugene Peterson explores Romans, 1 and 2 Timothy, and Titus, drawing from them the correct view of pastoral identity.