astro picture for the day

Image Credit: Hubble Legacy Archive, NASA, ESA; Processing & Copyright: David Forteza

-Science news extra,

Oldest Stone Tools Unearthed in Kenya <-- link here.

- thought for the day extra - In an earlier article, probably Greek science, I pointed out that I found some Jacob Bronowski phenomenon in Homer's Iliad.  Well, I just found some in the Bible as well!

Judges 6:31 has Gideon tested as a god, "And Joash said unto all that stood against him, Will ye plead for Baal? will ye save him? he that will plead for him, let him be put to death whilst it is yet morning: if he be a god, let him plead for himself, because one hath cast down his altar." Or, more specifically, "if he be a god, let him plead for himself"

A little review of Jacob Bronowski is in order.  In his "Science and Human Values", he points out that mathematical science is analogy.  Then, he notes, that after the creative act, there must be the empirical test.  He liked to point out a shakespear example.  The above, shows a test to see if Gideon is a god.

There's some more good stuff about Gideon.  Judges 7 has Gideon amassing like twenty thousand troops.  But, God steps in and says, no, if you go in with that many, you'll crush them easily, and they won't think it's a miracle.  You're going in with three hundred soldiers! Judges 7:2, "lest Israel vaunt themselves against me, saying, Mine own hand hath saved me. "

And I can't help posting one more biblical goodie!  Judges 9:54 has a Abimelech telling his fellow soldiers to kill him, because otherwise, he will go down in history as being killed by a woman! From the King James version, "Then he called hastily unto the young man his armourbearer, and said unto him, Draw thy sword, and slay me, that men say not of me, A woman slew him. And his young man thrust him through, and he died."