In a letter to the editor in the March 6, 1989, issue of The Scientist (page 10), John B. Howell paints a rather glum picture of science as a faithless-mathematical exercise using scepticism to quell any urges of the mind to stray beyond that which can be measured. His view of faith seems to be that of the small boy who says “faith is when you believe in something that you know ain’t really true.” A happier definition is “the ability to remain open to possibilities outside the realm of our present understanding." I think that what Norbert Muller was saying in the December 26, 1988, issue (page 9) was that without this kind of faith there is no excitement in science and no creativity. If this openness ultimately brings about a belief in God and if this belief is strengthened by an improvement in the quality of life for ...
Keeping The Faith
Keeping The Faith In a letter to the editor in the March 6, 1989, issue of The Scientist (page 10), John B. Howell paints a rather glum picture of science as a faithless-mathematical exercise using scepticism to quell any urges of the mind to stray beyond that which can be measured. His view of faith seems to be that of the small boy who says “faith is when you believe in something that you know ain’t really true.” A happier definition is “the ability to remain open to
Written byJoseph Palen
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