While in a graduate class on electron theory, one of the more brilliant
students in the class kept asking deeper and deeper questions about the
nature of an electron. Finally, the professor threw up his hands and said,
"Hey, it's magic!"

I teach electrical engineering, AKA how to use electricity for fun and
profit. The last time I checked, no one actually knew whether an electron
was a wave or a particle. And what exactly is a "wave" anyway? We can do the
math, but WHAT IS IT? 

My point is simply this: if we cannot totally understand one of the basic
building blocks of matter and the universe, how can we expect to get our
brain around the concept of God and creation. I'm more than willing to admit
my ignorance and go from there.

        Michel Holder

-----Original Message-----
From: UTC Staff E-Mail List [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of
Betsy Darken
Sent: Monday, March 07, 2005 4:41 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: [UTCSTAFF] The debate

 From a Catholic God-fearing evolutionist who believes in intelligent
design (although probably not the official Intelligent Design) and who only
just got around to reading the last two weeks of Raven email:

Nothing could have been more apropos as a response to Faculty President
Richard Rice's comments on academic freedom than the long-running email
debate about creationism, evolution, and intelligent design.  Given the
intensity of emotion involved in the discussion, I was generally impressed
by the level of civility in the emails.  Not perfect, mind you, but not bad.

The one thing I REALLY wish some people would consider is that belief in
God and rational inquiry into the workings of the universe are not mutually
exclusive.

I also wish that those who restrict themselves to understandings obtained
only through rational inquiries and physical evidence avoid the sin of
arrogance toward those who take a different view.

And yes, there is a lot to be said for (a) becoming educated, (b) being
cautious about seeing patterns where we want to see patterns, and (c) being
aware that there is a lot we still don't know about the universe.  A
cautionary tale:  back in the late 19th century, some scientists thought
that they had discovered all the basic tenets of physics....

And how come the origins of Lookout Mountain became such a hot issue??!!


  Now I have to get back to work and write up the Senate minutes.  Yuck.

Dr. Betsy Darken
Professor
Department of Mathematics #6956
University of Tennessee at Chattanooga
615 McCallie Ave
Chattanooga, TN  37403-2598

email:  [log in to unmask]         phone:  (423)
425-4580      fax:  (423) 425-4586