Steveawiggins

LATEST ARTICLES ( 4576 )

• Scientific Voices

  

  Science requires translation. Even very intelligent people in other fields of study have trouble understanding what scientists have been saying. That’s why... Read more

  Posted on 26 May 2015 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• The Land of Who?

  

  “Parochial” is a name we small-town types dread. Growing up with television, which gave us a magical view into New York and California, as well as other... Read more

  Posted on 25 May 2015 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Peak Oil

  

  Having no control over where we’re born, people nevertheless often feel a connection with their native region. My family had no roots in western Pennsylvania,... Read more

  Posted on 24 May 2015 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Finding a Vein

  

  Travel broadens the mind. I always find that it’s a form of education. Sometimes what I learn is disturbing. While driving across Pennsylvania on I-80... Read more

  Posted on 23 May 2015 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Chain Gang

  

  When I first joined LinkedIn, the notes about adding connections you didn’t actually know were pretty dire.  People could trash you behind your back, ruining... Read more

  Posted on 22 May 2015 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Too Much Stuff

  

  The informal name for economics, rightly, is “the dismal science.” When I recently learned about The Story of Stuff (storyofstuff.org), I found myself again... Read more

  Posted on 21 May 2015 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• The Reveal

  

  The end of the world as we know it is far more common than reason might suggest. As I’ve been researching the way the apocalypse is represented in popular... Read more

  Posted on 20 May 2015 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Truly Educated

  

  Binghamton University looms large in my consciousness, for rather obvious reasons. Although it sits in a small corner of upstate New York not particularly near... Read more

  Posted on 19 May 2015 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Watchers and the Holy One

  

  I’m not really a fan of Dean R. Koontz’s thrillers, but I do find myself turning to them from time to time. Like Stephen King’s, Koontz’s books are easily... Read more

  Posted on 18 May 2015 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Cheesy History

  

  It has been a few years since I’ve taken any courses on ancient history, but I took quite a number of them while preparing for my doctorate. Read more

  Posted on 17 May 2015 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Driving the Point

  

  “I drive my car, it is a witness. My license plate, it states my business.” The words are from a song by one of the most creative Christian Rock groups ever,... Read more

  Posted on 16 May 2015 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Different Bites

  

  The South Pacific brings to mind light-hearted musicals, uncomplicated lifestyles, and Gilligan’s Island. For those of us born in the eastern parts of North... Read more

  Posted on 15 May 2015 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Recycle This

  

  Like nearly all unfortunate white collar workers, the computer provided for me at my job is a PC. I don’t know the brand—that’s not important. Read more

  Posted on 14 May 2015 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Pillars of Science

  

  I sometimes wonder if science would have the appeal that it does, if it didn’t have religion to shock and awe. I’m thinking of not only the fact that The... Read more

  Posted on 13 May 2015 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Original Research

  

  “But are you able to continue your research?” they ask. Academics can be so hopelessly naive sometimes. I recently had a notice on academia.edu that I was in th... Read more

  Posted on 12 May 2015 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Always with You

  

  If you read only one book this year, let it be this one. I picked up Joe Bageant’s Deer Hunting with Jesus at a used book sale because of the title alone. Read more

  Posted on 11 May 2015 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Mother for a Day

  

  In a world set on tearing itself apart because of its differences, there is one thing every single person has in common. We all have a mother. Read more

  Posted on 10 May 2015 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Doa

  

  Perhaps it’s just me, but the third season of Through the Wormhole has taken a dramatically metaphysical turn. I always run behind the time when it comes to... Read more

  Posted on 09 May 2015 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Useful Fantasy

  

  Once upon a time, I heard about a book called The Uses of Enchantment. During my doctoral studies it was recommended to me, and I put it on my to read list. Tha... Read more

  Posted on 08 May 2015 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• The Eerie

  

  Those who have trundled alongside of this blog for any length of time no doubt know of my interest in weird fiction. Somewhere in the mists of my youth this... Read more

  Posted on 07 May 2015 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY