My love of science – two books at the same time

There are often times when I find myself reading two books at the same time. I guess you can call it my abject hunger for the written word.

And this week is no exception, as I delicately turn the gold leafed trimmed pages of A Wrinkle in Time by Madeline L’Engle, then later pick up my Kindle and digest a downloaded version of The Glass Universe: How the Ladies of the Harvard Observatory Took the Measure of the Stars by Dava Sobel. It’s the perfect way to begin each morning, along with a mandatory cup of freshly-ground coffee. 🙂

So here we find a perfect blend of sci-fi and science (astronomy in this case), two of my avid interests! Science was one of my fave classes in grade school. Fifth grade fueled my fire, when meteorology and the theory of evolution grabbed my attention, and sixth grade when I fell madly in love with biology and had the best teacher at St. Francis De Sales in Detroit. She probably doesn’t realize how much she influenced my life, but she did. I can still recall the look and feel of my science books, especially the dark green cover with its squirming cells. Inside, the hidden wonders of our world featured the great thinkers and tinkerers like Louis Pasteur and Leeuwenhoek.

In ninth grade, I fell in love once more, when we studied genetics. I was totally fascinated with the subject matter and men like Mendel. I remember you well, Mr Goss, even though you frightened the hell out of most of us. LOL!

Ah,some of you probably noted that (one) I attended Catholic school, and (two) that I was fascinated by the theory of evolution. Hmmm, I know, it doesn’t seem like the two should be compatible or even mentioned within the same sentence. Later in life, I discovered (much to my dismay) that many people in life said it was one way or the other. Well, I drew my own conclusions as a ten-year old, and never found any incongruities with my religion and my outside reading via encyclopedias and other science books I latched onto at the library. I found other’s perceptions, limiting and uninformed. I still don’t understand them to this day.

Speaking of that…I recently borrowed a signed copy of Brother Astronomer by Guy Consolmagno, from my friend Lillian, and it was refreshing to see a Vatican astronomer who held my same vision on the age and formation of the universe. Unbeknownst to many,  the Vatican supports an astronomical observatory, and is one of the oldest astronomical institutes in the world. Interesting, huh?

P.S. Lillian is one of a limited number of friends who I can actually discuss all sorts of topics with, including science. It’s a pleasure.