The Rule of Four

Just finished reading the book The Rule of Four, and I would definitely recommend it. The basic plot is in the Da Vinci Code vein...students from Princeton attempt to unlock the secrets of an ancient renaissance text which ultimately leads to murder. I'm not sure how accurate the depiction of Princeton college life is (although the books written by 2 Princeton grads so it's probably close), but it really struck me from the story how different Princeton is from my college experience. Granted, Indiana's not exactly an academic powerhouse, but no one I knew from college ever attempted to decipher ancient literary works in their own free time, we didn't go out for a cup of coffee, and didn't drink wine unless it was out a box (and even then it was pretty rare). In contrast to Friday nights in the book, we never went to hear classical music or hear the local a cappella group...in fact, I'd be hard pressed to think off a single Friday night that didn't involve heavy drinking. I guess my question is: Is Princeton really that different? Are students their really that intellectual? Regardless, it was a good book and a recommended read.

My First Post

Well, this is my first official post. Until today I never seriously considered creating a blog to record my thoughts, but I happened across a friends recently created blog and thought: "what the hell." I've never been one to keep a diary, but as anyone that knows me will probably attest, I tend to be a little opinionated so I guess I'll use this space as a forum for my opinions. One thing I should mention before I get started is that I plan on having most my posts be just a "stream of consciousness" so if you're looking for Pulitzer material here (or even just grammatically correct sentences) you'll probably be highly disappointed. Also, I'm a terrible speller so I'm warning you now.

With that in mind...

I read an interesting article in today's WSJ on stem-cell research entitled "Biggest Struggles In Stem-Cell Fight May Be in the Lab". The article touches on some of the scientific benefits that could ultimately come from a better understanding of stem-cells, as well as much of the scientific and political maneuvering associated with the field. It really is a fascinating subject that could lead to some amazing breakthroughs. Man, just think what being able to regrow a liver mean to all my drinking buddies?

One thing that bothered me in the article is Bush's position on the subject. While I'm not normally highly political (although that hasn't really stopped me from getting in arguments on the subject), I feel pretty strongly that politics and religion shouldn't restrict scientific progress. If you're "pro-life" shouldn't your opinions apply to equally to the already, as well as the yet to be, born. If stem-cell research can help cure diseases like diabetes or alzheimers, I'm not sure why we would be restricting it. One day when I have kids, if it's affordable, I would try to preserve their stem-cells just in case.

Anyway, that's it for now.