Claims that Christianity upheld the idea of a flat earth through the so-called "Dark Ages" until finally the light of science revealed the true sphericity of the world are fabrications of anti-Christian writers. The overwhelming majority of Medieval thinkers believed in a spherical earth. Such false stories have caused many to "retro-progress," with an increase in ignorance rather than in knowledge. Published in Origins v. 22, n. 1.
Two ideas from philosophers of science are discussed: paradigm and falsification. A paradigm is a useful tool for research, but it would be good to test the paradigm occasionally by attempting to falsify seme aspect of its structure. This might be done by considering "the weight of evidence" relating to the paradigm. Published in Origins v. 22, n. 1.
Statistical analysis of the various dendrochronology master sequences that were published prior to 1985 indicates that the master sequence developed by Ferguson has unique auto-correlation features, and that its use is definitely questionable. Published in Origins v. 22, n. 1.
A review of the book, Dreams of a Final Theory. Attempts to explain all of creation from a naturalistic perspective have limited success. Published in Origins v. 22, n. 1.
A review of the book, Messel: An Insight Into the History of Life and of the Earth. Messel is a pit in a deposit of oil shale in Germany with many finely preserved Eocene fossils. Published in Origins v. 22, n. 1.
A collection of short commentaries on scientific papers published in 1993-1994, covering such topics as parasite degeneration, convergence in diapsid reptiles, induced neoteny, genetic code, directed mutation in bacteria, radiohalos in a diamond, coelacanth phylogeny, marsupial phylogeny, origin of life, and fossil change in Jurassic rocks. Published in Origins v. 22, n. 1.
