Join us on Tuesday, April 23rd for our next Full Moon-th Meetup! Our guests will be the authors of the book “When Science Goes Wrong: The Desire and Search for Truth.” The authors also happen to be members of the Vatican Observatory staff! Br. Guy Consolmagno is the Director of the Vatican Observatory, and Chris Graney is an adjunct scholar for the Vatican Observatory.
Our tradition of hosting online meetups with our Sacred Space Astronomy members and the Vatican Observatory staff, scholars and friends during the Full Moon in Tucson (or thereabout) continues on Tuesday, April 23th at 12:00 Noon ET (10:00 AM Tucson time). This meetup is a perk for our Sacred Space Astronomy subscribers- you get to chat with each other, and astronomers and scientists from the Vatican Observatory!
We’ll also have the latest astronomy news and an update about the Vatican Advanced Technology Telescope*.
The science/faith discussion is often hindered by a fundamental misunderstanding of the role and function of science. This misunderstand was made most evident, with tragic consequences, during the recent pandemic. The ways that science has gone wrong, and the underlying causes of how it goes wrong, will be illustrated here with a series of historical essays describing ideas about the universe, planet Earth, and the evolution of life that were all based on ideas that were reasonable…but ultimately wrong. Some are amusing in retrospect; others are tragic.
Theology, philosophy, or even mathematics may lay claim to eternal truths, but in science our very cosmologies change. Just as the major religions have adapted in the face of changing cultural cosmologies, so too has science adapted in the face of challenging new observations and new ideas. Religions and science are strengthened by experiencing a shift in our assumptions; that’s where we find out what’s essential, and what is cultural baggage.
Ultimately, the point of our science is not to come up with the “right answer.” Both as scientists and as human beings, we know that sometimes we learn the most by encountering ideas that challenge us. When we say, “I know that can’t be right; so, where did it go wrong?” we gain a greater insight into what we do believe, and what it really means. – From the publisher site
About the Authors
Br. Guy Consolmagno, S.J.
Director: Vatican Observatory
President: Vatican Observatory Foundation
Planetary scientist; recipient of the Carl Sagan Medal for outstanding communication by an active planetary scientist to the general public. Bio
Mr. Christopher M. Graney
Public Relations Officer: Vatican Observatory Foundation
Adjunct Scholar: Vatican Observatory
Editor: Vatican Observatory’s Faith and Science Resource
Retired professor from Jefferson Community & Technical College; his research focus has been the history of astronomy, especially the late 16th and early 17th centuries. Bio
When? Tuesday, April 23, 2024: Rain or shine
What time? These meetups will happen around lunch time in North America: in particular, 12:00 PM Eastern Standard Time, which is 10:00 AM Tucson time.
How do you access the Zoom link? Join Sacred Space Astronomy and you’ll get an email with the full link! If you are already a member, log in to the Vatican Observatory site, and you will see the Zoom info at the bottom of this post.
This meeting was created in a non-BAA environment and is not intended for the discussion of healthcare, health education, or health data research.
*The Vatican Advanced Technology Telescope consists of the Alice P. Lennon Telescope, and the Thomas J. Bannan Astrophysics Facility.
