This is the end of the semester - so you have to excuse me for this.
It is not entirely my fault, but while clearing up my Google Reader, I ran into two Star Trek related posts - one at Bad Astronomy and the other at 3quarksdaily. These are not really related to the blog - but then how could I resist William Shatner singing Rocket Man. As far as the conversation between Jonathan Frakes and Marina Sirtis is concerned, I've always had a soft spot for ST-TNG. I was at Stony Brook for undergraduate when it was being aired, and I remember going to the student union every Sunday night to watch it with a bunch of other Trekkies (hey - what did you expect? I was an astronomy and physics major). Oh - I can make it even geekier. I admit it - I saw Marina Sirtis speak at one of the big science fiction conventions (ICON) at Stony Brook in the early 1990s (ST-TNG was still running) - and yes, she was great answering questions in front of over 600-700 doting Trekkies jammed into a lecture hall.
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.
2 comments:
That Shatner "Rocket Man" is just classic.
STNG FTW!
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