Letter to a Young Professor
DEAR PROF. VAN WIJS, I finally finished my PhD dissertation and have begun a new position as assistant professor at a Christian university. I’m feeling anxious about teaching.
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Letter to a Young Engineer
While I really enjoyed my time in Christian college, I am finding that working in the “real world” can be challenging. I sit in a large cubicle farm as part of a team that designs a part for a small sub-assembly that is used in larger products. Like the parts I design, I feel like a small cog in a giant machine. I am left feeling like the comic character “Dilbert.”
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Kuyper on the ‘Greater Things’
Kuyper says our knowledge of creation grew slowly through instinct and experience. He compares this to the farmer in Isaiah 28, who receives practical agricultural instincts and knowledge from God. But in recent times our knowledge of creation has significantly deepened through scientific research and the deliberate study of nature. We now know about soil chemistry, plant biology and animal physiology.
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Creeds, confessions and Christian colleges
At the end of the day, any creeds or statements of belief are insufficient on their own to ensure academic fidelity within the Reformed tradition. An effective faculty mentoring program is essential to help new faculty understand the tradition. This needs to be done winsomely and hospitably, welcoming new faculty into the treasures of the Reformed tradition, and sharing how it historically traces back to Augustine and ultimately the Scriptures.
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Repairable tech
The seemingly casual decisions we make about purchasing, repairing and disposing of our electronics are one way we respond to God’s call to care for the earth. After all, all of life is religious.
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Impressions from Grand Rapids
As a Canadian who has lived his entire life in southern Ontario (except a yearlong sojourn in northwest Iowa), living in GR has left many new impressions.
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Two weddings and a move
As a wise friend cautioned me, our rational minds run at a high speed but our emotions often run at a lower speed, sometimes taking time to catch up with our rational thoughts.
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What Engineers can learn from O’Neil’s ‘Weapons of Math Destruction’
An article in the New Atlantis titled “The Architecture of Evil” opens with the provocative statement: “Someone designed the furnaces of the Nazi death camps.”
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Building a bridge from Nicaragua to the DR
My recent trip to the DR showed me another side of this picturesque country as I visited a number of fledgling Christian schools which are part of COCREF (Colegios Cristianos Reformados). This network of 15 Christian schools seeks to serve roughly 3,700 children, some of whom are among the most neglected children in the DR.
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When your toaster becomes a target
However, while smart and connected devices provide convenience and other benefits, they come with a variety of security and privacy concerns.
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Sex and social robots
Social robotics is a burgeoning field, exploring many new applications for robots.
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Father of the bride-to-be
Over the Christmas holidays my daughter received a special gift – an engagement ring. However, as the father of the bride-to-be, there is a lump in my throat and many thoughts and feelings are circulating in my mind.
