Mind-Bending and Bizarre Theory Suggests the Large Hadron Collider Is Being Sabotaged By the Future
A pair of otherwise distinguished physicists have suggested that the hypothesized Higgs boson, which physicists hope to produce with the collider, might be so abhorrent to nature that its creation would ripple backward through time and stop the collider before it could make one, like a time traveler who goes back in time to kill his grandfather. (Dennis Overbye, The New York Times)

Scientific and Theological Struggle Under Way at Christian Colleges
Some professors, with support from prominent scientists, are trying to defend the teaching of evolution and to make it safe for those who teach biology and the Bible to talk about ways in which belief in evolution need not represent an abandonment of faith. Many Christian colleges have statements of faith—which in some cases must be followed by all students and faculty members—that endorse the literal truth of the Bible or of specific parts of the Bible (six literal days of creation, for example, or that Adam and Eve are the parents of all humans). So teaching evolution as scientific fact, which would just be taken for granted at many non-Christian colleges and universities, raises all kinds of delicate issues. (Scott Jaschik, Inside Higher Ed)

What Is Judaism?
The breadth of Judaism and, as it were, its length, extending back in time to an era when the terms of reference of the word were so different, give Jewish identity a certain texture. Instead of the smooth, mutually exclusive surfaces of “religious” and “secular,” you get a rough-hewn fabric with threads woven through it that sometimes overlap, at other times diverge. (Brian Klug, guardian.co.uk)

Moral Framework for Financial Markets
How do you decide what is right and what is wrong? What is your moral code based on: is it religious teaching, or a set of moral principles which you use to help you decide on a particular course of action? Michael Sandel, professor of government at Harvard University, has written a book on the subject, Justice, in which he explores these ideas. (Robin Lustig, BBC)

BOOKS
Everyday Practice of Science
Author and scientist Fred Grinnell has set himself the ambitious goal of trying to explain the differences between how science presents itself, how science is taught, and why the interface between science and society can be fraught. (Chris Lee, Ars Technica)

MOVIES
What Is Life? The Movie
When Howard Weiner isn’t in the lab researching cures for diseases like multiple sclerosis and Parkinson’s, he’s traveling around with a video camera asking people life’s big questions. What happens when you die? Why is there evil? If you had one day to live, what would you do? (Corinne White, The Dartmouth)

EXHIBIT
Astrum 2009
Rudimentary telescopes, celestial globes, and original manuscripts by Galileo are going on view at the Vatican Museums as part of an exhibit marking the 400th anniversary of the astronomer’s first celestial observations. (Associated Press)