February 21 2016

Last night I woke up as I usually do, but had the pleasure of seeing moonlight streaming into the room through the venetian blinds. And of course I got up, and peeked out to see the not-quite-full moon up in the sky.

Today early we had low clouds being driven by a north wind and largely overcast skies above but with high fair weather clouds being visible in breaks in the overcast. Then there were more peeks of blue sky and fairer weather over Lake Michigan with a bit of shift in the wind direction. Then overcast again, but without the hurrying low altitude cloud pack racing south. Seemed like a tussle between two weather systems, with us human beings watching the spectacle.

At noon, Leo and I drove over to University Church. There was a party going on after the services, and  we were invited in, so we got some refreshments and sat down with John. For a while we just enjoyed  the party and talking to members of the congregation. Then, some couples therapy, which has been turning out to be helpful.

In a review by Daniel Mendelsohn of the new book “Better living through criticism,” A. O. Scott has been quoted as saying something to the effect that both art and criticism originate in the urge to master and add something to reality, and that both are characterized by a transformation of awe into understanding. It seems to me that much the same thing can be said about science.

 

“The various modes of worship which prevailed in the Roman world were all considered by the people as equally true; by the philosopher, as equally false; and by the magistrate, as equally useful.”  –  Edward Gibbon, Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire

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Caroline Herzenberg

I'm an old grad from the University of Chicago. Born in New Jersey in 1932 (Wow! That long ago!), grew up in Oklahoma, undergraduate at MIT, University of Chicago PhD physics 1958. Various academic and research positions. I've been retired from Argonne National Laboratory for over a decade now. I haven't been engaged in any recent professional work in physics, but have been exploring other interests during retirement.

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