Category: Nature

Continuous Creation

A religious philosopher living in the 1200s had an amazing idea: that God was continuously creating the world. For example, every time you looked outside your window at a tree, God was actively and continuously creating that tree. The name of the philosopher was Thomas Aquinas. During college, I remember how in my ethics class, the professor spoke passionately about this idea of Aquinas. It’s a beautiful idea. The notion that we are all held up in this act of continuous creation. Interestingly, it might not be too far off from what science tells us, if you put aside the question about the existence of God for a moment, and talk about existence itself. In physics, Einstein’s famous equation

E=mc^{2}

tells us that mass and energy are connected. In this podcast, at 17 minutes and 10 seconds, they are discussing this notion of the effort or energy that goes into anything existing, even for a moment, which seems like a parallel to what Aquinas what describing, at least taken figuratively. Check it out!

Ropes: Giant Knitting

Crochet and Knit for Math and Coral Reef Conservation

A few years ago, I learned how to crochet and knit, inspired by a lecture by mathematician Dana Taimina, and taught by friends. Through Taimina’s lecture, I learned about The Coral Reef Project. You can watch Margaret Wertheim’s TED talk here. As I love to climb, it seemed only natural to experiment with knitting and crocheting using climbing ropes.

How to Make Giant Knitting Needles

How to make giant knitting needles using tape, candle holders, and garden stakes (purchased in Boulder, CO at Greenwood Wildlife Thriftshop and McGuckin Hardware, where people were super friendly and helpful):

makinggiantknittingneedles

Thanks to Green Guru for donating used climbing ropes.