Moved

I moved the blog to rlridenour.tumblr.com.

Stanford Encyclopedia Article on the Trinity

Dale Tuggy has a new article in The Stanford Encylopedia of Philosophy on the Trinity. In my opinion, The Stanford Encyclopedia is the best reference work in philosophy, not simply the best online reference work in philosophy. I’ve been slowly working on a paper on the Trinity, so I’m grateful to have a nice summary of recent work on the subject.

Seven Deadly Sins

Back to the blog after a very long break. Geographers from Kansas State University have mapped out the distribution of the seven deadly sins (lust, gluttony, greed, sloth, wrath, envy and pride) across the United States. Interestingly, Oklahoma appears to be in good shape except for wrath.

Philosophy Club

The Philosophy Club will meet Tuesday, February 24, at 7:00 in the faculty lounge at the Geiger Center. Adam Goggins will lead a discussion on Science and Religion. Everyone is welcome!

Expectations and Grades

There’s an interesting piece in the New York Times today about student expectations and grade inflation. Apparently, there are students (at institutions other than Oklahoma Baptist, I’m sure) that believe that doing the minimal work that is required of everyone in the course should be sufficient to earn a B for the course. Either we have lowered the level of work that we are willing to consider average, or it really is true that in today’s society someone who manages to complete the minimum requirements really is above average. Either disjunct strikes me as disturbing. If you are in Critical Thinking, keep this story in mind. It is relevant to some of the topics that we will be discussing later.

Today’s News

Two stories in today’s news caught my attention. First, Britain’s The Independent reports on history’s most famous failed technology predictions. These include a claim from 1977 that no one will need a computer in their home.

The second story, in the Washington Post, is a harrowing account of an assault conducted by U. S. Special Forces soldiers and Afghan commandos on an insurgent stronghold in Afghanistan. Ten of those soldiers will receive the Silver Star today.

No Office Hours Today

I have meetings all afternoon, so there will be no office hours today.

The Monty Hall Problem

One of the assignments in Critical Thinking was to figure the probability of winning the prize in the traditional three-door Monty Hall problem. Remember that there are three doors for you, the contestant, to choose from, but only one has the prize. The host knows what door the prize is behind, and opens another door to show you that there is nothing there. He will open neither the one you pick nor the one that has the prize. Let’s say that you pick Door 1, and Monty opens Door 2. What’s the probability that the prize is behind Door 3? From class, you know the answer is 2/3.

What’s important is that the host knows where the prize is. If he doesn’t know, then the probability is 1/2. You can calculate this using Bayes’ Theorem. Try it out!

By the way, if you can remember “1/2” then you should be able to get some extra-credit points on tomorrow’s exam. Even more points if you can do the calculation…

Intro Review Session

Exam on Thursday! We’ll have a review session tomorrow night in our normal classroom at 7:00. Make sure you look at the study guide before then.

Reconciliation and Hope

The year that I was born, 1963, was marked by these significant events:

• In April, Martin Luther King was arrested and jailed in Birmingham.
• In May, “Bull” Connor, the Commissioner of Public Safety in Birmingham used police dogs and fire hoses on a demonstration in Birmingham.
• In June, Medgar Evers, the NAACP Field Secretary for Mississippi, was murdered outside his home.
• In August, Martin Luther King delivered his famous “I Have a Dream” speech at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C.
• In September, four young girls were killed in the bombing of the Sixteenth Street Baptist Church in Birmingham.

Tuesday, an African-American man was elected President of the United States.

The country has certainly come far. European countries are generally viewed as far more progressive than the United States, but, as far as I can tell, no European country is even remotely close to being able to select a member of a minority racial group as head of government.

That said, we still have a long ways to go before we can claim to have achieved racial reconciliation. On November 5, David Garland, President of Baylor University, issued a statement concerning recent incidents of racial conflict on Baylor’s campus. We cannot hope to achieve reconciliation in this country if we are not even able to achieve it in the Church. It is time for the Church to not only ask forgiveness for our past sins regarding slavery, but to recognize that failing to take action to create a better future is itself a sin.

If nothing else, this week’s election is a sign of hope.