Talks

About the presenter: The presenter grew up on a working chicken farm in Elizabethtown, PA. His interest in history and science led him to pursue a B.S. in physics (West Point). His interest in information and computation led him to pursue a Ph.D. in computer science (Penn State). He taught many years as a professor in computer science and business schools. He has worked for years doing remote telecommuting research and development work in cutting edge technologies. He has had a life-long interest in the Bible, history, languages and music.

If you have a group in the south-east area of Pennsylvania, and would like such a presentation, please contact him at the email address above.

Each of these is on a separate page.

Christmas Talk

Optical illusions and the Bible: the art and science of deception

Optical illusions play tricks with visual perception mechanisms and deceive the mind. A variety of optical illusions, programmed by the author and categorized by type, will be presented along with what is known about how these illusions deceive the mind. Associated Bible verses and concepts involving vision and deception will be included along with implications for creation science and the theory of evolution.

Getting started with creation science models using spreadsheet software

Scientists often create quantitative models using assumptions and then determine predictions that can be compared with measured or historical reality. Rather than using sophisticated mathematics, this talk will show how to use spreadsheet software, as taught by the author for many years as a professor in business and computer science courses, to create a spreadsheet model to determine when there were only two people on earth given the current world population and some reasonable assumptions. After developing a spreadsheet model and chart graphics, the predictions and implications are discussed in terms of creation and evolution. Knowing how to use a spreadsheet in this way can help one get started with scientific models as well as being useful at school, work, home, etc.

Technological statements in the Bible

The Bible is not a book of science, but where it talks about scientific questions, it has always eventually been shown to be correct though not always in line with human scientific thought at the time. But the Bible contains many technological statements that, throughout time, have not been fully understood until a point in time when human technology reached the point where those statements could be understood as written. After defining technology, examples of scientific and technological statements in the Bible will be presented along with interesting conjectures about technological statements that are in place to be realized but that have not yet been realized. An important historical implication, by induction, is that if the Bible appears to be technologically or scientifically incorrect in some way, we may not know enough at this point in time to justify such a claim.

Fractals as finite representations of realistic and apparently infinite objects to make the case for a created universe

Fractals are self-similar objects, such as clouds, trees, lungs, etc., that follow simple rules to computationally create seemingly complex and realistic natural-looking objects of finite size but with the appearance of infinite complexity - useful in animated movies, plant and body part simulation and research, etc. Fractals provide an explanation of the appearance of infinite time and space of the universe in finite time and space - in accordance with Biblical principles. This talk/session will cover some background of fractals and infinity, including static and animated images created by the author, that have implications for a created universe.

Here is an abstract from a previous talk on this subject.

Fractals are self-similar objects that allow simple rules to create seemingly complex natural objects. A deep result of programming language theory used to model the mathematics of program correctness and semantics involves fixed point computations and continuation semantics. Together with the quantization of the time and space of the universe, the apparent implication is consistent with the claims of some secular scientists that we are living in a quantum simulation running on a quantum computer. But what is running this simulation. This talk/session will cover some background on each of these topics with emphasis on the implications for a created universe and stimulate further discussion on the topic.

Weaving programming language theory, fixed point computations, fractals and quantum mechanics into a case for a created universe

The power of two, as in the powers of two, implies a creator outside of space and time

Many ideas in information/computer security/science are based on the powers of two: 1, 2, 4, 8, 16, and so on. For example, one cannot test a computer program to insure it is correct. Neither can a long password of random characters be guessed. This talk will explain these ideas, and some others, in simple terms with the help of visualizations. A controversy arises when these problems and solutions are mapped to the creation problem where the implication is that there must exist a creator outside of space and time. This mapping and implications will be explained along with some critical questions to ask when discussing this topic.

How Computer Science Implies a Creator Outside of Space and Time

Computer science deals with information, but what is information? Can it arise by chance, as the evolutionists believe? Or does it require intelligence, as the creationists claim? Can we learn something about biological systems from computers? We test computer programs but cannot guarantee them completely because there is not enough time or space to test all inputs. Same with breaking long random passwords or guaranteeing all heads in a coin-flipping experiment. Same also with guaranteeing that a long chain of only left-handed amino acids can form the first protein of life by chance. At tonight’s meeting, we will explore how computer science relates to biology and show why only a Creator outside the constraints of time and space is necessary to explain life’s origin and how evolutionists skirt the problem.

Simplifying information theory into a classical statistical argument for a created universe

As Stephen Hawking has stated in justifying the acceptance of some of his own work, moving a problem from the science domain to the mathematics domain (in his case, work involving black holes), makes the work and conclusions hard to refute. In the same manner, a creation debate moved to the realm of classical statistics (e.g., coin flipping) makes the work and conclusions hard to refute. This talk/session will review some secular and non-secular work in information theory and then provide some simple rules of thumb for making and explaining the case that, for coded information, there is not enough time nor space for any plausible evolution argument.

The following are future talk ideas based on existing content.

Top down thinking as used in computer science and in the Bible

A top-down (backward-chaining) way of thinking is important for problem solving in general and in computer science in particular - where it is introduced in the first course and used often thereafter. Most people are more familiar with the (less effective) bottom-up (forward-chaining) thinking and problem solving strategies. This talk will present some essential ideas of top-down thinking and problem solving as done in computer science in a simple and non-technical way. This way of thinking can help in understanding certain parts of the Bible. A Biblical author who thinks and writes in this computer science style is the apostle John, so understanding top-down thinking and problem solving can help in understanding and gaining a new appreciation of the book of John, the letters of John (1, 2, 3) and the book of Revelation. Examples of John writing in this style will be covered and discussed.

It is Greek to me!

The Old Testament was written in Hebrew, translated to Greek about 270 B.C., and quoted by Jesus and New Testament writers. The New Testament was written in Greek, and Paul visited and preached in many Greek cities. Imagine you are taking a trip to Greece today. We will learn a few important Greek words and phrases for your trip, such as "Please" and "Thank you". Interestingly, these same modern Greek words were used in the exact same form in the original Greek Bible manuscripts 2,000 years ago. We will look at some of those verses (in English) in order to get a little insight into the Bible from the original Greek words and include some modern English words that come from these common Greek words.

Are there really secret codes in the Bible?

Are there secret codes in the Bible? What is a code? This talk will discuss a brief history of codes, ciphers, etc., with an emphasis on codes in the Bible. The Hebrew Old Testament has many known codes, some in the form of acrostics. Some codes in the Bible do not appear to have significance. The equidistant letter codes popular a few years ago appear to be such that one can find whatever one is looking for - making them not important. But, according to widely accepted security definitions, it is very clear that there are secret codes in the Bible. In the New Testament, Jesus uses the modern day definition of a secret code in explaining what he is saying and why he is saying it. But what is the nature of these secret codes and what are possible reaction strategies by creationists to this claim? To be prepared for this question, and to better defend the Bible, this talk will cover some traditional and contemporary security definitions and concepts and then relate these to the claim of secret codes as it relates to the Bible. But do not worry: The result is that the secret codes in the Bible are authentication codes that help prove a creator outside of space and time and that any textual meaning related to salvation is in plain text and not in secret code.

Is it the chicken or the egg? Programs whose seed is in itself

Which came first, the chicken or the egg? Convincing creation arguments are based on the complexity of the coded information called DNA - which supports replication via a complex and organized system of components. A way to help understand how the DNA code works, in principle, is with simple computer programming techniques. The original idea of von Neumann (who wrote and conjectured about self-replicating machines, traditional computers are called von Neumann machines) inherently supports the idea of programs that write programs, programs that write programs that write programs, etc. The fixed point limit of this idea is a program that writes an exact copy of itself - an idea very much like the bottom-up (inductive) development of (top down, deductive) recursive programs. Such a program can be easily developed in half a page of code using techniques taught in part of a first course in computer programming. But the development and result contains some deep insights into how such replication needs to work and how small changes can make such a program not work. The fault tolerance of such programs can be quantified using ideas from Algorithmic Information Theory. One conclusion is that such a program needs to be developed together with the replicated output of that program. That is, the chicken and egg need to be developed together. All of which provides a better understanding of Genesis 1:11 which says "...and the fruit tree yielding fruit after his kind, whose seed is in itself".

Similarities and differences between traditional scientific and information reasoning

Creation science reasoning often has to deal with the newer concepts of information reasoning, so it is important for anyone interested in Creation science to understand the similarities and differences between traditional scientific reasoning and the more recent information reasoning. The traditional definition of science (e.g., in physics, chemistry, etc.) and the more recent definitions of information are similar in some ways but are very different in many important ways. The history of the concepts and terminology of science and information go back to Bible times even though contemporary meaning of the term information is of relatively recent origin. This talk will cover a brief history of science and definitions of science but will concentrate on the less well-known history of information and information science, with particular emphasis on Bible references to scientific and information reasoning. It is interesting that hundreds of years ago, translators had some difficulty translating words that involve information - but those same concepts today have a much more precise and well understood meaning. Likewise, there are examples of scientific issues in the Bible that are better explained using information reasoning.

Can you tell the difference between logical and illogical reasoning?

Although logical reasoning is an important part of the reasoning process, illogical reasoning is often presented as logical reasoning. How does one know the difference? Many logical reasoning fallacies will be covered including: consistency and completeness, assumptions, circular (vs. recursive) reasoning, the toleration paradox, begging the question, hasty generalizations, hasty specializations, semantic slides (equivocations), straw man arguments, crowd sourcing appeal, personal attacks.

For example, Paul's reference in Titus 1:12 to the Epimenides paradox (i.e., all Cretan's are liars, and he is a Cretan) is often avoided by Bible believers and touted by Bible detractors as showing that Paul does not know of what he speaks. But the Bible detractor argument uses an illogical reasoning process.

It can be just as important to be able to explain why a reasoning process is illogical than to just recognize that it is illogical. And this starts with an understanding of true logical reasoning processes and false logical reasoning processes.

And this starts understanding the similarities and differences in what the Bible and Jesus define as truth and what the world and math defines as truth.

Note: This talk is loosely based and motivated on the very good Creation-based book "The fallacy detective", but since I have been working in logic for 40+ years, including graduate math and computer science work in logic, I have my own examples and ideas on logical reasoning fallacies. I used some of their names for some illogical reasoning methods.

The origin and spread of spoken and written languages from a Biblical and secular perspective

The origin and spread of spoken and written languages from a Biblical and secular perspective is interesting in and of itself and, at the same time, has Creation science implications. This talk will provide a brief introduction to these ideas, starting with a very short history of areas, terms, and definitions of linguistics study. As examples, the origin, history, meaning, and changes of meaning, of selected scientific words used in the Bible will be covered. A short history of the three language pairs used and relevant in Bible history will be covered: Hebrew and Aramaic, Attic/Classical Greek and Koine/Bible Greek, and Classical Latin and Ecclesiastical Latin. Some obvious linguistic questions that arise will be addressed, with examples, and include the following. What references does the Bible make to language translation issues? Does the change in languages since written history began fit the evolutionary model? How well do the secular language models (e.g., Proto Indo-European language model, etc.) fit the language spread described after the Tower of Babel after the Flood? What do some linguists see as the future of language and what Biblical implications might these have?

The following ideas are being developed for future talks.

Fibonacci sequence: golden ratio, golden rectangles, plant growth, architecture, facial features, etc., all of which need exactly created dimensions.
Is God a mathematician?: mathematics, computation, reality, chaos theory, approximations
Randomness: not by chance?: probability and statistics, determinism and nondeterminism, free-will, predestination, etc.
The infinite creator God: reality, geometry, time and space, fixed points, finite approximations, etc.

(more to be added)