“A Physicist, a Philologist, and the Meaning of Life: Do We Have a Home in the Vast Cosmos?”
By Stephen L. Talbott
We often hear about the insignificance of earth — and, along with it, the meaninglessness of human life — in relation to an unthinkably vast and indifferent (if not downright alien) universe. It’s a powerful and far from inspiring story. Should we take it seriously?
Notes and Reviews
“Form and Forming”
By Henrike Holdrege
A few simple imagination exercises can remind us of the existence of ideal forms, such as that of a triangle or circle, as Henrike shows here. These exercises lead into the inner space in which all mathematics happens — but only if one does them.
“Nature Playful”
By Craig Holdrege
Sometimes nature seems less interested in strict consistency than in improvisation, variety, and, we might almost say, “playfulness.” This was a lesson recently reinforced for Craig by his investigation of the flowers of Hepatica Americana.
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