Addressing the God-Science Relationship
A new collection of essays, discussed at an event at the American Enterprise Institute this month, responds to the question, "Does science make belief in God obsolete?"

The booklet features a more diverse set of voices than is usually offered, with replies by 13 scholars and thinkers — two theologians, eight scientists, two cultural commentators and a philosopher — providing what LiveScience describes as "answers more creative and sophisticated than the mind-numbing 'culture wars' portrayed on television."

"Some of the thinkers even find ways to synthesize or reconcile God and science without throwing up their hands," says LiveScience.

In the United States alone, the majority of the population still has a religious affiliation, according to the American Religious Identification Survey 2001. "The faithful aren't going away despite a golden age of scientific descriptions of the mysteries of life and the secularizing, culture-draining force of consumerism," the much-commented-to article says.

Readdressing the God-Science Relationship
Although U.S. courts have decreed that creationism and intelligent design are religion rather than science, and have no place in school science classrooms, it is up to teachers to put the curriculum into practice.

About one in eight high-school biology teachers still teach creation as valid science, a recent survey reveals.

Michael Berkman, a political scientist at Pennsylvania State University, and his research team polled a random sample of nearly 2,000 high-school science teachers across the U.S. last year.

Of the 939 who responded, 2 percent said they did not cover evolution at all, with the majority spending three to 10 classroom hours on the subject.

New Scientist reports:

However, a quarter of the teachers also reported spending at least some time teaching about creationism or intelligent design. Of these, 48 percent — about 12.5 percent of the total survey — said they taught it as a "valid, scientific alternative to Darwinian explanations for the origin of species."

When Berkman's team asked about the teachers' personal beliefs, 16 percent of the total said they believed human beings had been created by God within the last 10,000 years.

Policing for Hair Trimming
You know those costume parties where most party-goers lazily show up in bad sweaters, sunglasses or funny hats — and then someone shows up in a full-on gorilla suit? That someone would be the cop who gave this ticket.

A police officer recently ticketed a 32-year-old barber when he was in his shop cutting hair for students preparing for their high school graduation. It was a Monday.

Apparently, a decades-old law in Houma, Louisiana, forbids barbers from plying their trade on Mondays — or Sundays for that matter — Houma Today reports (via Obscure Store). The law also bans barbershops within the city limits from opening on New Year's Day, the day after New Year's, Mardi Gras, Good Friday, the Fourth of July, Labor Day, the day after Labor Day, All Saints' Day, Thanksgiving, Christmas and the day after Christmas.

Indy Boulder of 5 Million LEGO Bricks
So, some guys built a huge boulder using 5 million LEGO bricks, dressed up one of their buddies as Indiana Jones (and another as Sallah), and proceeded to launch the solid boulder after fake Dr. Jones in a streets-of-San Francisco-version of the famous scene from Raiders of the Lost Ark.

It then crashes into a car.

Will the new Indy sequel be this absurd? I, for one, can't wait to find out. (via Gizmodo)

In observance of Memorial Day, the IMT blog will close down until Tuesday. For those who subscribe to our biweekly IMT, look for our big issue on oil, gas and energy on Wednesday instead of our regularly scheduled Tuesday mailing. We wish you and yours a happy and safe Memorial Day weekend, folks! Cheers.