I know some people cannot stand films by Coen brothers and others absolutely adore them. I have to confess that I fall in the latter category. Their latest, A Serious Man, is again a fantastically crafted film with a story that centers on uncertainty and death, and also on the rational and the mystical. The protagonist, Larry Gopnik, is a Jewish physics professor whose life has started to unravel - from his marriage to his tenure. The film centers on his search for explanations. He believes in the certainty of mathematics, and yet he mathematically demonstrates the Uncertainty Principle. Go check it out. And no, unlike No Country for Old Men or Fargo, or Miller's Crossing, this film does not contain any violence (well, almost any). The prologue of the film is in Yiddish and it sets up the movie perfectly. There is another phenomenal sequence in the middle of the film that deals with numerology and dentistry - and somehow it illustrates the theme(s) of the story wonderfully. I will leave it at that. When you watch the movie, also notice the score for the film. It has two melodies. It almost always starts with a light, bouncy music, but is quickly overlaid (and then often dominated) with a heavy, foreboding sound. Comic and dark. A perfect way to illustrate the world created by the Coen brothers.
Here is the preview of the film:
What is Irtiqa?
Irtiqa is Salman Hameed's blog. A few years ago (before Facebook killed many of the blogs), it used to track stories of science & religion, especially those related to Muslim societies. That is still one of its foci, but now it dovetails more of Salman's interests including film, astronomy, science fiction, and science outreach in both Pakistan and the US.
Irtiqa literally means evolution in Urdu. But it does not imply only biological evolution. Instead, it is an all encompassing word used for evolution of the universe, biological evolution, and also for biological/human development. While it has created confusion in debates over biological evolution in South Asia, it provides a nice integrative name for this blog. For further information, contact Salman Hameed.
The blog banner is designed by Muhammad Aurangzeb Ahmad. You can find all his creative endeavors at Orangie.
Salman Hameed
Salman is an astronomer and Associate Professor of Integrated Science & Humanities at Hampshire College, Massachusetts. Currently, he is working on understanding the rise of creationism in contemporary Islamic world and how Muslims view the relationship between science & religion. He is also working with historian Tracy Leavelle at Creighton University to analyze reconciliation efforts between astronomers and Native Hawaiians over telescopes on top of sacred Mauna Kea in Hawaii. He teaches “History and Philosophy of Science & Religion” with philosopher Laura Sizer, and “Science in the Islamic World”, both at Hampshire College. Salman and Laura Sizer are also responsible for the ongoing Hampshire College Lecture Series on Science & Religion, and you can find videos of all these lectures below. Contact information here.
LABELS
- Arab Spring
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Blog Archive
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2009
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November
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- Shermer on evolution and religion
- Trinity of Newtons on stage
- BBC debate and more pics from the Darwin conferenc...
- More thoughts on the Darwin conference in Alexandria
- Off topic: Picasso's Guernica in 3D
- "The Origin of Species" at 150!
- Galileo's fingers to be reunited!
- From Poison to Cow Dung: A History of Philosopher'...
- Obama's science envoys for the Muslim world
- Accept the mystery - go see "A Serious Man"
- A wind farm vs sacred rituals
- Darwin conference in Alexandria - some pics
- Darwin in Alexandria - I
- A question about Darwin and Muhammad biopics
- In Alexandria for Darwin's Living Legacy conference
- Nature editorial on Darwin through a cultural lens
- Measurable and the unmeasurables
- Off-topic: Fashion week in Karachi - an apt answer...
- Washington Post on Creationism in Turkey
- The Hajj and the swine flu
- Robert Boyle - a gullible fool?
- NYT on Darwin & Evolution in the Muslim World conf...
- Is Darwin a problem for Hollywood?
- Tropical diseases in the Muslim world
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November
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4 comments:
I fall in the former category, although I confess that the wood chipper scene in Fargo is so wrong it's actually really funny. :)
C'mon. The Big Lebowski, Intolerable Cruelty and O'Brother Where Art Thou are all hilarious - and without any wood chipper scene... :)
My friend Sachin and I saw "A Serious Man" and had very different takes. He is Hindu and I am Jewish.
Here is our review.
http://ageless-northshore.com/perplexed-serious-man/
Oh, I forgot about The Big Lebowski, that gets a thumbs up.
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