Podcasts about robert hazen

This interview is an episode from ‪‪@The-Well‬, our publication about ideas that inspire a life well-lived, created with the ‪‪@JohnTempletonFoundation‬. How did mineral evolution shape our planet? Robert Hazen, a renowned mineralogist, shares his fascinating insights into the co-evolution of minerals and life on Earth. Science has shown us that the universe started with a mere few dozen minerals, and those have since evolved into thousands. This discovery has proven that evolution does not only apply to living systems, like flora and fauna, but is relevant to non-living systems as well. Hazen highlights a deeper connection between these living and non-living systems, emphasizing that all evolving systems share three critical characteristics: interacting components, the generation of new configurations, and a selection mechanism. Whether it's atoms and molecules forming minerals, genes in living organisms, or musical notes creating new compositions, these principles apply universally. When considering how living and non-living systems evolve alongside one another, we can begin to understand how truly connected all of the universe's systems may be. Thanks to this knowledge, we may be closer to discovering our place in the cosmos. ------------------------------------------------------------------------- About Robert Hazen: Robert Hazen is a renowned American mineralogist and geologist, known for his pioneering work in mineral evolution and mineral ecology. He is a Senior Staff Scientist at the Carnegie Institution's Geophysical Laboratory and a Professor of Earth Sciences at George Mason University. Hazen has written over 400 articles and 25 books, contributing research as a profound leader in mineral evolution and mineral ecology. His studies delve into the complex interactions between minerals and life, contributing to our understanding of Earth's history and the potential for life on other planets. Hazen is also a passionate educator and science communicator. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- About The Well Do we inhabit a multiverse? Do we have free will? What is love? Is evolution directional? There are no simple answers to life's biggest questions, and that's why they're the questions occupying the world's brightest minds. Together, let's learn from them. Subscribe to the weekly newsletter ► https://bit.ly/thewellemailsignup ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Go Deeper with Big Think:- ►Become a Big Think Member Get exclusive access to full interviews, early access to new releases, Big Think merch and more ►Get Big Think+ for Business Guide, inspire and accelerate leaders at all levels of your company with the biggest minds in business ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

“We wouldn't be able to talk about minerals if it weren't for the minerals themselves.” Mineralogist Bob Hazen explains how Earth's rocks can teach us about our planet's technicolor history. ❍ Up next:How Earth's minerals set us apart — and could lead us to alien life    • These minerals are our #1 clue for th...   What can minerals tell us about the Earth's evolving colors? According to mineralogist Bob Hazen, they reveal an incredible history. Thanks to new research, we now know that minerals play immense roles in technology, agriculture, and the very origin of life itself, even down to our planet's colors. Hazen explains the mineral roadmap of Earth's transformation – starting as a black basalt-covered planet, evolving into a blue ocean world, transitioning to a red rusted landscape, and finally becoming the green, lively planet we know today. Hazen elaborates on how minerals have been essential in processes like plate tectonics and biomineralization, exemplifying the co-evolution of the geosphere and life. Using the knowledge that each and every mineral serves as a time capsule, we are able to better understand the 4.5 billion-year history - and potential future - of our Earth. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ❍ About The Well ❍ Do we inhabit a multiverse? Do we have free will? What is love? Is evolution directional? There are no simple answers to life's biggest questions, and that's why they're the questions occupying the world's brightest minds. So what do they think? How is the power of science advancing understanding? How are philosophers and theologians tackling these fascinating questions? Let's dive into The Well. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The mind-blowing theory that everything is evolving—from minerals to music—explained in 3 minutes by a Carnegie scientist. ❍ Up next: Why evolution is the Picasso of science    • Why evolution is the Picasso of scien...   How did mineral evolution shape our planet? Robert Hazen, a renowned mineralogist, shares his fascinating insights into the co-evolution of minerals and life on Earth. Science has shown us that the universe started with a mere few dozen minerals, and those have since evolved into thousands. This discovery has proven that evolution does not only apply to living systems, like flora and fauna, but is relevant to non-living systems as well. Hazen highlights a deeper connection between these living and non-living systems, emphasizing that all evolving systems share three critical characteristics: interacting components, the generation of new configurations, and a selection mechanism. Whether it's atoms and molecules forming minerals, genes in living organisms, or musical notes creating new compositions, these principles apply universally. When considering how living and non-living systems evolve alongside one another, we can begin to understand how truly connected all of the universe's systems may be. Thanks to this knowledge, we may be closer to discovering our place in the cosmos. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ❍ About The Well ❍ Do we inhabit a multiverse? Do we have free will? What is love? Is evolution directional? There are no simple answers to life's biggest questions, and that's why they're the questions occupying the world's brightest minds. So what do they think? How is the power of science advancing understanding? How are philosophers and theologians tackling these fascinating questions? Let's dive into The Well. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

This interview is an episode from ‪@The-Well‬, our publication about ideas that inspire a life well-lived, created with the ‪@JohnTempletonFoundation‬. Watch more from Robert Hazen ►   • The missing law of nature, and how we...   According to leading mineralogist Bob Hazen, minerals may hold the key for discovering if we actually are alone in the universe. He highlights how Earth's dramatic increase in mineral diversity—from 2000 to over 6000 types—aligned with the emergence of life, which drastically altered our planet's atmosphere and chemical processes. Knowing this, scientists can now look for specific clues in minerals as they study other planets. If another planet, such as Mars, were to have similar biosignatures, it could be a clear indicator that it harbored life at some point in time. This method would not only help us discover if life existed on other planets, but, depending on the specific similarities, could tell us how closely this life resembled our own, and could prove how unique humanity truly is. ------------------------------------------ About Robert Hazen: Robert Hazen is a renowned American mineralogist and geologist, known for his pioneering work in mineral evolution and mineral ecology. He is a Senior Staff Scientist at the Carnegie Institution's Geophysical Laboratory and a Professor of Earth Sciences at George Mason University. Hazen has written over 400 articles and 25 books, contributing research as a profound leader in mineral evolution and mineral ecology. His studies delve into the complex interactions between minerals and life, contributing to our understanding of Earth's history and the potential for life on other planets. Hazen is also a passionate educator and science communicator. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- About The Well Do we inhabit a multiverse? Do we have free will? What is love? Is evolution directional? There are no simple answers to life's biggest questions, and that's why they're the questions occupying the world's brightest minds. Together, let's learn from them. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Go Deeper with Big Think:- ►Become a Big Think Member Get exclusive access to full interviews, early access to new releases, Big Think merch and more ►Get Big Think+ for Business Guide, inspire and accelerate leaders at all levels of your company with the biggest minds in business ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Hello Interactors,I recently read an intriguing article about unexpected forms of life thriving deep within the Earth's crust. These discoveries are revitalizing environmental theories and processes that mainstream science has long tried to dismiss—yet I've been exploring them over the past few summers. While working outside, I realized that some of these processes are unfolding right under my nose...and possibly even inside it!On that note, this might sound a bit awkward, but...Let's dig in!WORLDWIDE WEATHERING WHISPERSI'm behind on my pressure washing. This can have detrimental effects here in the predominantly damp Northwest as moss spores, tiny lightweight travelers, are lifted and lofted by the wind's wings until they land on damp concrete. A new home for moss to roam.Upon contact, the spores absorb moisture and germinate, developing into a protonema — fine lines of sprawling verdant vines. As the structure crawls through the creviced concrete an anchored lace unfolds. Atop it grows a carpet of green and gold, down below tentacles grab hold.The rhizoid roots anchor mounding moss, absorbing food and water nature has tossed. As the concrete crumbles into nutrient stores, the soft moss blossoms with chromophores. Over time, atop the luscious mountains and rocky moistened pours, the wind releases more lofting spores.It turns out the contrasting boundary between soft squishy plants and hard concrete is as pronounced as the divisions between the disciplines of biology and geology. But advances in Earth System Science are starting blur these boundaries, as integrative science tends to do. Like moss softening concrete.My expansive moss colonies, part of the plant kingdom, house communities of tiny microorganisms like bacteria, fungi, and microscopic animals like rotifers and tardigrades. Many of these communities have symbiotic relationships with moss. For example, some bacteria promote moss growth through the production of the plant growth hormone auxin using specific enzymes in plant tissues.As the moss and its associated microbes grow and expand, they can penetrate small cracks or pores in the concrete, potentially widening them and exposing more surface area to weathering processes. This can be accelerated by certain bacteria and fungi that produce organic acids as metabolic byproducts. These acids can slowly dissolve or weaken calcium carbonate and other minerals found in concrete.The biogeochemistry contributing to rock weathering and sediment formation reveals the intricate connections between biological processes and geological phenomena. At massive space and time scales they can not only affect the meteorological conditions above ground, but also the layers of sediment below ground.In a recent New York Times piece, Ferris Jabr, author of “Becoming Earth: How Our Planet Came to Life” reveals how“Within the forest floor [of the Amazon rainforest], vast symbiotic networks of plant roots and filamentous fungi pull water from the soil into trunks, stems and leaves. As the nearly 400 billion trees in the Amazon drink their fill, they release excess moisture, saturating the air with 20 billion tons of water vapor each day. At the same time, plants of all kinds secrete salts and emit bouquets of pungent gaseous compounds. Mushrooms, dainty as paper parasols or squat as door­ knobs, exhale plumes of spores. The wind sweeps bacteria, pollen grains and bits of leaves and bark into the atmosphere. The wet breath of the forest — peppered with microscopic life and organic residues — creates conditions that are highly conducive to rain. With so much water vapor in the air and so many minute particles on which the water can condense, clouds quickly form. In a typical year, the Amazon generates around half of its own rainfall.”Below ground, he describes work by Earth scientist Robert Hazen and colleagues.“When Earth was young, microbes inhabiting the ocean crust were likely dissolving the basalt with acids and enzymes in order to obtain energy and nutrients, producing wet clay minerals. By lubricating the crust with those wet byproducts, the microbes may have accelerated the dissolution of both mantle and crust and their eventual transfiguration into new land. The geophysicists Dennis Höning and Tilman Spohn have published similar ideas.They point out that water trapped in subducting sediments escapes first, whereas water in the crust is typically expelled at greater depths. The thicker the sedimentary layer covering the crust, the more water makes it into the deep mantle, which ultimately enhances the production of granite.In Earth's earliest eons, micro-organisms and, later, fungi and plants dissolved and degraded rock at a rate much greater than what geological processes could accomplish on their own.In doing so, they would have increased the amount of sediment deposited in deep ocean trenches, thereby cloaking subducting plates of ocean crust in thicker protective layers, flushing more water into the mantle and ultimately contributing to the creation of new land.”LOVELOCKS LIVING LOOPSThis kind of Earth System Science has been given a name by one of first contributors, James Lovelock — geophysiology. Lovelock describes geophysiology as a systems approach to Earth sciences, viewing Earth as a self-regulating entity where biological, chemical, and physical processes interact to maintain conditions suitable for life. It integrates various scientific disciplines to understand and predict the behavior of Earth's systems, aiming to diagnose and prevent environmental issues by considering the planet as a cohesive, self-regulating system.This concept, rooted in Lovelock's initial Gaia hypothesis, emphasizes the feedback mechanisms that stabilize Earth's environment, akin to physiological processes in living organisms. Gaia is named after the primordial Greek goddess who personifies the Earth. This naming occurred in the context of Lovelock developing his ideas about Earth as a self-regulating system in the 1960s and early 1970s.Lovelock had been working on methods to detect life on Mars at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, which led him to consider how life might be detected on a planetary scale. This work eventually evolved into his hypothesis about Earth functioning as a complex, self-regulating system maintained by the community of living organisms.As Lovelock was formulating these ideas, he was looking for a suitable name for his hypothesis. It was during this time that William Golding, Lovelock's neighbor and renowned author of "Lord of the Flies", suggested using the name "Gaia".In Greek mythology, Gaia is considered the ancestral mother of all life and one of the first beings to emerge from earliest chaotic stages of Earth's formation. She is often depicted as a maternal, nurturing figure who gave birth to the Titans, the Cyclopes, and other primordial deities. Gaia is associated with fertility, the earth's abundance, and the cycle of life and death.In ancient Greek religion, Gaia was worshipped as the Great Mother and was sometimes referred to as "Mother Earth." That title, and her influence, extends beyond Greek mythology, perpetuating the concept of Earth as a living, nurturing entity — a concept that has resonated in various cultures for Millenia.Elements of the Greek notion of Gaia likely have roots in earlier Middle Eastern knowledge.  Several ancient cultures had earth goddesses that predate or are contemporaneous with the Greek Gaia. For instance, in Mesopotamia, Sumerian mythology offers Ki is the earth goddess, and in Akkadian mythology, there is Ninhursag.It turns out “Mother Earth” birthed similar concepts all around her. Egypt had Isis, Anatolia (modern-day Turkey) had Cybele, India's Hinduism had Parvati and Durga, Pre-Columbian American cultures featured Pachamama, Celtic cultures had Danu and Brigid, while Norse mythology features Frigg and Freyja.In 1960's and 70's America, “Mother Nature” and “Gaia” emerged among some environmentalists as New Age mystical beliefs associated with alternative spiritualities. Lovelock's decision to use the word “Gaia” thus made him and his ideas a target among many Western trained scientists and his Earth system concepts endured harsh criticisms.It's worth mentioning that when Alexander Humboldt put forth similar ideas in his book "Cosmos" (first published in 1845), taking a holistic view of nature, exploring connections between various Earth systems and life forms, he was heralded as the greatest scientist of his time. Even Charles Darwin took a copy of Cosmos with him on his famous Beagle voyage. Humboldt, like Lovelock, uniquely and successfully integrated knowledge from diverse fields like astronomy, geology, biology, meteorology, and even art and literature.But the specialization, reductionism, and quantification of dominant Western science distanced itself from these holistic approaches viewing them as too spiritual and outdated. By the twentieth century, the growing New Age interpretation of Gaia often personified the Earth as a conscious, living entity, drawing on both Lovelock's scientific hypothesis and ancient mythological concepts. Many modern religions and philosophical concepts about the origin of life still incorporate anthropomorphic elements, such as the idea of a creator with human-like qualities or intentions.These mainstream images can lead to engrained tendencies to see humans and other living organisms as being born:* into a world as separate entities from the world they inhabit* onto a physical plane as a separate, tangible reality* unto which they individually acquire and consume energy to live and grow.This perspective sees living beings as somewhat separate from their environment, rather than as integral parts of a larger system. It's a view consistent with traditional Western science that emphasizes reductionist approaches, breaking systems down into component parts. But it contrasts with more holistic perspectives, such as those found in ecological theories like Geophysiology, other branches of Earth System Science, or Traditional Ecological Knowledge which see earth's components, including humans, as inseparable parts of their environments.This was confirmed at the 2001 Amsterdam Declaration, signed by the Chairs of the International Geosphere-Biosphere Program (IGBP), International Human Dimensions Program (IHDP), World Climate Research Program (WCRP) and DIVERSITAS at the 2001 ‘Challenges of a Changing Earth' conference. The declaration concluded:“The Earth System behaves as a single, self-regulating system comprised of physical, chemical, biological and human components, with complex interactions and feedbacks between the component parts.”Integrative Western scientists have now amassed enough data to recognize that living matter is born:* into a living, interconnected Earth system,* onto a dynamic web of relationships,* unto which we belong as integral participants, exchanging energy and matter in a continuous cycle of life and growth.In this view, my moss colonies and their microbial companions emerge as vital threads, weaving together the living and non-living elements of our planet. These intricate communities, from the tiniest bacteria to the visible expanse of moss, exemplify the self-regulating nature of Earth's systems that Lovelock envisioned.As they slowly transform concrete through their metabolic processes, they participate in the larger process of biogeochemical cycling. They influence not only my cinderblock walls and concrete surfaces, but they also contribute to the broader patterns of weathering, sedimentation, and even microclimate regulation.This interplay between the microscopic and the global, the biological and the geological, embodies the essence of Humboldt's and Lovelock's theory — a planet alive with interconnected processes, where every organism, no matter how small, plays a role in maintaining the delicate balance of life.In this living system, my moss and its microbiome, like me and the symbiotic communities of microorganisms in me and on me, are not mere passive inhabitants, but active agents in the ongoing story of Earth's evolution. Together we demonstrate the profound interconnectedness that defines our planet's unique capacity for self-regulation and adaptation.Now where's my pressure washer? This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit interplace.io

This interview is an episode from ‪@The-Well‬, our publication about ideas that inspire a life well-lived, created with the ‪@JohnTempletonFoundation‬. You may be familiar with the “arrow of time,” but did you know there could be a second one? Dr. Robert Hazen, staff scientist at the Earth and Planets Laboratory of Carnegie Science in Washington, DC, thinks that a single arrow of time may be too limiting. A second arrow, which he dubs “the law of increasing functional information,” takes evolution into account. Specifically, Hazen explains that evolution seems to not only incorporate time, but also function and purpose. Consider a coffee cup: it works best when holding your coffee, but it could also work as a paperweight, and it would not work well at all as a screwdriver. Hazen explains that it appears the universe uses a similar way of evolving not only biology, but other complex systems throughout the cosmos. This idea suggests that while as the universe ages and expands, it is becoming more organized and functional, nearly opposite to theories surrounding increasing cosmological disorder. Hazen suggests that these two “arrows” – one of entropy and one of organized information – could very well run parallel to one another. If true, this theory could be groundbreaking in the way we perceive time, evolution, and the very fabric of reality. ----------------------- About Robert Hazen: Robert Hazen is a renowned American mineralogist and geologist, known for his pioneering work in mineral evolution and mineral ecology. He is a Senior Staff Scientist at the Carnegie Institution's Geophysical Laboratory and a Professor of Earth Sciences at George Mason University. Hazen has written over 400 articles and 25 books, contributing research as a profound leader in mineral evolution and mineral ecology. His studies delve into the complex interactions between minerals and life, contributing to our understanding of Earth's history and the potential for life on other planets. Hazen is also a passionate educator and science communicator. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- About The Well Do we inhabit a multiverse? Do we have free will? What is love? Is evolution directional? There are no simple answers to life's biggest questions, and that's why they're the questions occupying the world's brightest minds. Together, let's learn from them. Subscribe to the weekly newsletter ► https://bit.ly/thewellemailsignup ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Go Deeper with Big Think ►Become a Big Think Member Get exclusive access to full interviews, early access to new releases, Big Think merch and more ►Get Big Think+ for Business Guide, inspire and accelerate leaders at all levels of your company with the biggest minds in business ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

“I study the mineral kingdom — and its secrets could lead us to alien life.” ❍ Up next: The missing law of nature, and how we found it | Robert Hazen:   • The missing law of nature, and how we...   According to leading mineralogist Bob Hazen, minerals may hold the key for discovering if we actually are alone in the universe. He highlights how Earth's dramatic increase in mineral diversity—from 2000 to over 6000 types—aligned with the emergence of life, which drastically altered our planet's atmosphere and chemical processes. Knowing this, scientists can now look for specific clues in minerals as they study other planets. If another planet, such as Mars, were to have similar biosignatures, it could be a clear indicator that it harbored life at some point in time. This method would not only help us discover if life existed on other planets, but, depending on the specific similarities, could tell us how closely this life resembled our own, and could prove how unique humanity truly is. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- ❍ About The Well ❍ Do we inhabit a multiverse? Do we have free will? What is love? Is evolution directional? There are no simple answers to life's biggest questions, and that's why they're the questions occupying the world's brightest minds. So what do they think? How is the power of science advancing understanding? How are philosophers and theologians tackling these fascinating questions? Let's dive into The Well. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“We could be wrong. But if we are right, it's profoundly important.” Leading mineralogist Dr. Robert Hazen on the missing law of nature that could explain why life emerges. You may be familiar with the “arrow of time,” but did you know there could be a second one? Dr. Robert Hazen, staff scientist at the Earth and Planets Laboratory of Carnegie Science in Washington, DC, thinks that a single arrow of time may be too limiting. A second arrow, which he dubs “the law of increasing functional information,” takes evolution into account. Specifically, Hazen explains that evolution seems to not only incorporate time, but also function and purpose. Consider a coffee cup: it works best when holding your coffee, but it could also work as a paperweight, and it would not work well at all as a screwdriver. Hazen explains that it appears the universe uses a similar way of evolving not only biology, but other complex systems throughout the cosmos. This idea suggests that while as the universe ages and expands, it is becoming more organized and functional, nearly opposite to theories surrounding increasing cosmological disorder. Hazen suggests that these two “arrows” – one of entropy and one of organized information – could very well run parallel to one another. If true, this theory could be groundbreaking in the way we perceive time, evolution, and the very fabric of reality. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ❍ About The Well ❍ Do we inhabit a multiverse? Do we have free will? What is love? Is evolution directional? There are no simple answers to life's biggest questions, and that's why they're the questions occupying the world's brightest minds. So what do they think? How is the power of science advancing understanding? How are philosophers and theologians tackling these fascinating questions? Let's dive into The Well. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

In his book Doubts About Darwin: A History of Intelligent Design, Thomas Woodward described how early detractors of Darwin's theory criticized the way it personified nature. After all, according to Darwin, “the origin of species,” (the title of his book) occurred “by means of natural selection.” Who did the selecting? Nature.    Darwin's argument relied on an analogy between animal husbandry and what nature does when “she selects” only the fittest to survive, thus driving evolution. However, this analogy conflated the intentionality of human breeders with natural processes, implying that nature has a will and is trying to get somewhere—which is precisely the sort of intelligent causation that Darwinism supposedly refutes.     The result is a theory that often sounds suspiciously circular. Yet there are even bigger gaps in the Darwinian view of nature. The most daunting is how an intention-free universe made the leap from non-living matter to living things in the first place. This is a crucial question because, in conventional Darwinian thinking, only living things are subject to natural selection and thus evolve. The question here isn't just how the fittest survived: It's how the fittest arrived.   But what if natural selection could operate on non-living matter? What if, instead of a process limited only to biology, Darwinian evolution was promoted to a fundamental law governing all physical reality? That's exactly what some scientists have tried to do, most recently in a much-heralded paper published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.   Entitled “On the roles of function and selection in evolving systems,” the paper proposes a new scientific principle called the Law of Increasing Functional Information, and it's exactly what it sounds like. Lead author Robert Hazen of The Carnegie Institution for Science explains: “We see evolution as a universal process that applies to numerous systems, both living and nonliving, that increase in diversity and patterning through time.” In other words, everything evolves in a Darwinian manner, including “atoms, minerals, planetary atmospheres, planets, stars and more.”  How? According to the paper's nine authors, nonliving systems evolve toward greater complexity if they are, 1) formed from many different components, such as atoms, molecules, or cells that can be rearranged, 2) are subject to natural processes that cause different arrangements to be formed, and 3) if only a small fraction of all these configurations survives or is “selected” for “function.”  Nonliving things, by definition, don't “survive,” which is the function nature supposedly selects for in biological evolution. So, what “function” could nature possibly select in an atom or a galaxy? Believe it or not, these authors argue that existence itself is a kind of function, and that systems that tend to go on existing will be selected by nature, and that we know this, in part, because those systems do, in fact, exist.   Hazen explains:   Imagine a system of atoms or molecules that can exist in countless trillions of different arrangements or configurations. Only a small fraction of all possible configurations will “work”—that is, they will have some useful degree of function. So, nature just prefers those functional configurations.  Writing at Evolution News, intelligent design advocate David Coppedge points out the flagrant personification happening here. Nature “prefers … functional configurations?” It does no such thing, because at least according to Naturalism it has no goal, nor any notion of “function.”   In reality, the attempt to “Darwinize the entire universe,” as Coppedge puts it, is little more than a roundabout way of admitting how well-designed the universe is, and trying to come up with a force that allowed it to design itself. It's an admission that, despite nearly two centuries of claims to the contrary, the cosmos acts like it has an end in mind. It's asking us to assume a law that explains how everything came to be based only on the observation that things are. Set aside this circular reasoning for a moment and ask the real question: If there's a law, who is the lawgiver?   This theory gets us no closer to explaining the complexity, function, purpose, design, and beauty we see in the universe if they're not the handiwork of a Creator. Does nature have a preference for the kind of universe we have? Maybe so. But if “she” does, then that preference, itself, needs an explanation. Scientists trying to turn evolution into a theory of everything might expect nature to answer, “I am who I am.” But there's only One who can truly say that. Why not give Him credit for a change?  This Breakpoint was co-authored by Shane Morris. For more resources to live like a Christian in this cultural moment, go to breakpoint.org. 

Dr. Robert Hazen is a mineralogist and astrobiologist based at the Carnegie Institution's Geophysical Laboratory and George Mason University. His research interests focus on life's origins, mineral evolution, and mineral ecology. Hazen, who also had a 40-year career as a professional trumpeter, has authored more than 400 articles and 25 books on science, history, and music. Robert joins the podcast to discuss the co-evolution of life and minerals, the stories rocks can tell us if we learn to read them properly, and why humans are drawn to the search for life outside of our planet.

⭐Subscribe to The Crystal Clarity podcast on Apple Podcast, or Spotify Watch the episode here on YouTube! Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, & share! CCP Blog - Episode 5 Diamonds and the Extra-Dimensional Origins of Conscious Rocks Welcome to Episode 5 of the Crystal Clarity Podcast, where we explore the extraordinary evolution and consciousness of minerals. Join us as we uncover the living beings hidden within stones, and discover their profound role as allies on our path to wholeness. Inspired by the groundbreaking research of Robert Hazen and Shaunna Morrison, we delve into the origins of conscious rocks across the universe. From diamonds to the ancient art of using stones as acupuncture needles, we embark on a captivating journey into the alchemical realm of the mineral kingdom. Get ready to be enlightened and inspired as we unveil the remarkable wisdom and transformative potential of minerals. Ancient civilizations, such as those in Egypt, Tibet, Peru, and North America, regarded stones as living beings with evolving consciousness. They recognized the stones' inherent aliveness and saw them as conscious entities akin to humans. This perspective stemmed from a deep understanding of the interplay between consciousness, evolution, and higher perspectives. Acupuncture, an ancient healing practice, once employed stones like obsidian, flint, tourmaline, and opal as acupuncture needles. This choice was not solely based on their sharpness or durability but also on the belief that stones possessed consciousness and evolutionary wisdom. By utilizing stones as needles, practitioners aimed to awaken and transform not only physical health but also consciousness itself. The Interconnection of Evolution and Consciousness Evolution and consciousness are intricately intertwined. Anything that evolves possesses consciousness, and anything with consciousness undergoes evolution. While the concept of consciousness is complex and challenging to define, it can be understood as an ever-expanding state of becoming, moving towards greater self-realization and understanding. In this context, evolution becomes a transformative journey towards higher states of consciousness. Stones, with their remarkable ability to exist across vast periods of time and undergo evolutionary processes, offer a unique perspective and consciousness. Just as living beings evolve and adapt to their surroundings, stones also exhibit changes and transformations over extended periods, albeit at a slower pace. These cycles of existence provide them with an expanded perspective and a profound understanding of the world around them. Evolution: The Birth and Transformation of Minerals To understand stones' consciousness, we must explore their origins. Minerals were born during the early stages of the universe when gases like hydrogen, helium, and lithium coalesced and cooled. As stars formed, heavier elements like carbon, nitrogen, and silicon emerged, giving rise to minerals. Diamonds, the oldest known mineral, crystallized in these primordial conditions. Over time, minerals evolved, with various types being born through processes such as volcanic activity, meteoric impact, and biological influences. Diamonds: The Original Mineral Diamonds, the oldest known mineral, hold a remarkable place in the mineral kingdom and carry a profound connection to the cosmic processes that shaped the universe. Preceding the formation of the solar system, diamonds offer a glimpse into the primordial stages of mineral evolution. Diamonds possess a unique ability to form through diverse mechanisms, totaling nine distinct ways. One of these methods involves the intense pressure within the Earth's depths, where carbon atoms are subjected to extreme forces that facilitate the crystallization of diamond structures. Diamonds' versatility in their formation showcases their resilience and adaptability. These precious gemstones become potent symbols representing various aspects of life. Their connection to birth is evident, reflecting the transformative journey of creation. They also resonate with the experiences of traumas, as they endure immense pressure to reach their state of brilliance. Consciousness and the Interdependence of Life The intricate connection between consciousness and the evolution of stones becomes apparent when we consider the profound interdependence they share with life processes. Remarkably, over two-thirds of minerals owe their very existence to the influence of other living beings and their interactions with the natural world. One striking example of this interdependence is the role of water in the formation of minerals. Water acts as a catalyst, facilitating chemical reactions and providing the necessary medium for minerals to crystallize and grow. The presence of water within the Earth's dynamic systems allows for the transformation and evolution of stones. It is through these interactions with water that minerals gain their unique structures, compositions, and energetic properties. Moreover, the abundance of oxygen in the atmosphere has played a vital role in shaping the evolution of minerals, which is an essential component of their creation. In this exploration of the living consciousness of stones, we have discovered their ancient origins, their transformative power, and their intrinsic connection to the evolution of life. Stones are more than static objects; they are conscious beings. Their ancient origins, transformative power, and interconnectedness with humanity and the natural world are undeniable. By embracing this understanding, we embrace a deeper connection with the healing and awakening potentials bestowed upon us by these extraordinary gifts from the Earth and beyond.

Audio Companion To Our Tax Season Guide: With this edition of our special series, we'll be focusing on the key considerations that are a part of the business entity formation process while we look in detail at the S-Corp Election. You'll be hearing from the Trucker CFO, Colton Lawrence, Colton will also be joined on the podcast by Robert Hazen, a member of the team at the Trucker CFO. Greg Thompson, the Executive Producer for PodWheels Powered By RadioNemo, will be asking questions and Greg will serve as a tour guide for the conversation.

Audio Companion To Our Tax Season Guide: Trucker CFO Colton Lawrence welcomes Robert Hazen to our special series to explore the topic of tax resolution. Robert is the Vice President of Tax Resolution Services for the Trucker CFO. Robert and Colton discuss the potholes that can await people who see and hear national advertising for services working in the tax resolution field. As you'll hear Robert and Colton discuss, these national services can make it sound like they can make past tax debts and the other issues requiring tax resolution magically disappear. The reality is that tax debt is not like credit card or other debt. Quite often, people who access these national services end up disappointed, paying a lot of money with little or nothing to show for it. During this episode, you'll hear about the process that the Trucker CFO utilizes in evaluating and addressing tax resolution for our clients.

Scientists don't really agree on a definition for life. We may recognize life instinctively most of the time, but any time we try to nail it down with set criteria, some stubborn counterexample spoils the effort. Still, can we really search for life on other worlds, or understand the earliest stages of life on this planet, if we don't know what to look for? On this episode, Steven Strogatz speaks with Robert Hazen, a mineralogist, astrobiologist and senior staff scientist at the Carnegie Institution's Earth and Planets Laboratory, along with Sheref Mansy, professor of chemistry at the University of Alberta, to learn more about how new taxonomies and a “cellular Turing test” might help us answer this essential question. “The Joy of Why” is a podcast from Quanta Magazine, an editorially independent publication supported by the Simons Foundation. Funding decisions by the Simons Foundation have no influence on the selection of topics, guests, or other editorial decisions in this podcast or in Quanta Magazine. “The Joy of Why” is produced by Susan Valot and Polly Stryker. Our editors are John Rennie and Thomas Lin, with support by Matt Carlstrom, Annie Melchor and Leila Sloman. Our theme music was composed by Richie Johnson. Our logo is by Jackie King, and artwork for the episodes is by Michael Driver and Samuel Velasco. Our host is Steven Strogatz. If you have any questions or comments for us, please email us at quanta@simonsfoundation.org. 

In this edition of the podcast, we'll be focusing on the key considerations that are a part of the business entity formation process while we look in detail at the S-Corp Election. You'll be hearing from the Trucker CFO, Colton Lawrence, who is the President and CEO of Equinox Owner-Operator Solutions. Colton will also be joined on the podcast by Robert Hazen, a member of the team at Equinox Owner-Operator Solutions.

On this ID the Future from the vault, Jay Richards and astrobiologist Guillermo Gonzalez discuss several discoveries made since 2004 supporting the conclusions of their 2004 book The Privileged Planet: How Our Place in the Cosmos Is Designed for Discovery.Gonzalez and Richards show how the book's thesis — that conditions for life and scientific discovery meet on Earth to a fine-tuned degree that strongly points toward design — has been confirmed multiple times. Source

In this episode, Equinox Owner-Operator Solutions President and CEO Colton Lawrence welcomes Robert Hazen back to the podcast. Robert is the Vice President of Tax Resolution Services for Equinox, and he joins Colton on this edition of the podcast to discuss the potholes that can await people who see and hear national advertising for services working in the tax resolution field. As you'll hear Robert and Colton discuss, these national services can make it sound like they can make past tax debts and the other issues requiring tax resolution magically disappear. The reality is that tax debt is not like credit card or other debt. Quite often, people who access these national services end up disappointed, paying a lot of money with little or nothing to show for it. During this episode, you'll hear about the process that Equinox utilizes in evaluating and addressing tax resolution for our clients.

Have you missed filing your taxes with the IRS? Do you owe back taxes? In this edition of the Equinox Owner-Operator Solutions Podcast, we are beginning a series of episodes that will discuss the very important considerations that go into Tax Resolution. Colton Lawrence, the President & CEO of Equinox Owner-Operator Solutions, will be talking with Robert Hazen about Tax Resolution. Robert is a member of the Equinox Team who specializes in the area of Tax Resolution.

Have you missed filing your taxes with the IRS? Do you owe back taxes? In this edition of the Equinox Owner-Operator Solutions Podcast, we are beginning a series of episodes that will discuss the very important considerations that go into Tax Resolution. Colton Lawrence, the President & CEO of Equinox Owner-Operator Solutions, will be talking with Robert Hazen about Tax Resolution. Robert is a member of the Equinox Team who specializes in the area of Tax Resolution.

Remember, we welcome comments, questions and suggested topics at thewonderpodcastQs@gmail.com S2E18 TRANSCRIPT: ----more---- Mark: Welcome back to the Wonder Science-based Paganism. I'm your host, Mark. Yucca: And I'm Yucca. Mark: And today we are going to talk about the first four of the 13 atheopagan principles, which are embraced by those who follow the non theist pagan path of atheopaganism, which you can find much more. About@atheopaganism.org. These are ethical principles which are designed to help us guide our decision-making and how we live in our lives. They're not commandments they're virtues and there are things that we aspire to. So that's what we'll be talking about today. Yucca: And as always sharing this is not a saying. Like Mark, you were saying, this is not a commandment. This is not a saying you need to see the world in the exact same way that we do, right. This is us talking about it's this is a useful framework for us. Let's dive into what these concepts are, what these principles are and how they enrich our lives and experience as pagans in the modern world. Mark: Yes. For a couple of reasons, one of them kind of additive and one sort of subtractive in the additive sense just as we did. Episode on the four pillars, a couple of episodes ago, the four pillars of atheopagan ism, which are the four sacred things. These principles are sort of derived from the four sacred things that is, if you believe that those four things are sacred, then you will conduct yourself according to these principles. There's a logic there. Yucca: They really feed into each other. Mark: exactly. And so. What this does for us is it gives us an ethical framework that helps us, especially when dealing with thorny situational questions that are complex. We can ask ourselves, how does this square with these principles? I've embraced? How, you know, how do I best make a decision? That is in accordance with these guidelines. So that's sort of the additive sense. The other is the subtractive sense is that paganism has often been accused of being very weak in the world way of ethical development. There's a lot of, I have rights and I'm free and I'm going to do whatever I want because I'm free. And there's very little, well, there, you have to respect other beings and you have to be considerate about causing damage in the world and you have to be, you know, all those sorts of things Yucca: The responsibilities that come hand in hand with those rights. Mark: Precisely. And so, so when I was developing atheopaganism as a pagan path, one of the things that I really wanted to address was that paucity of ethical guidance and the atheopagan principles and the four sacred pillars are the results of that work. So today we're going to dive into the first four of the 13 atheopagan principles and we'll come back to the rest in subsequent episodes. Not all at once. We'll put some interruptions in between the principles episodes so that we have some variety. But I think this'll be a really great conversation about what we see as important in terms of perspective and behave. If you're in the world. Yucca: Just on a structural level. I really appreciate it being 13. That's really fun. There's the 13 moons and the one solar year. And I think it was somebody on the Facebook group who suggested applying the principles to the full moons. Mark: yes. Which was just a wonderful idea. I was so excited about it. We've just had the laughter moon and which is the perspective moon. And we'll be coming up soon on the Praxis moon, which is the regular well, we'll talk about that. When we talk about principle five But having 13, this is kind of a magic number for pagans because of the 13 moon cycles. And it's a prime and it's just got all those Yucca: just a fun number. Mark: it is, Yucca: That's great. Mark: kind of number And so as I worked up these principles and then kind of arrived at the end of the list and realized that I think I've covered everything that I wanted to, it turned out that there were 13. And so that was kind of a happy coincide. Yucca: Yeah, well, let's. Mark: dive right in. CRITICAL THINKING Yucca: Yeah, the first one, this is  really appropriate one to be right at the forefront is critical thinking. Mark: Yes. Yes. Skepticism and critical thinking, recognizing that the metaphorical is not the literal and that both have value. It's not that we're saying that the mytho poetic storytelling symbolic realm, isn't a value because of course it is. We wouldn't be pagans if we didn't understand that we wouldn't be humans, honestly, if we didn't understand that. But fact. Yes, but facts are facts. And there is an objective universe outside of our skins, which is behaving according to physical laws. And it would be doing that whether we were observing it or not. And. Our capacity to identify the factual from the unfactual is really important. And especially at this time in American society, particularly, but it's happening all over the world with the rise of conspiracy theories and sort of crazy radical nationalism and various kinds of bigotry rooted in, in, baseless ideas about the superiority of one group of people over another. It's really important for us to learn the tools of critical thinking and be able to look at a claim made by someone and say, is this consistent with the evidence? How good is the evidence? Is this just the say so of some dude on YouTube or is this the consensus of scholars who have studied this for decades, there's a difference there. And we need to understand what the gradations of that difference are. Yucca: Exactly. And then also not just on that level, but within our personal lives. Looking at our own beliefs and going, Oh, wait, let's step back. And look at this. Where is this coming from?  This just confirmation bias? Is this just me really wanting it to be true? let's let's look at the logic behind this. Mark: very much. So there are principles in In cognition theory called Apophenia and pareidolia. Apophenia is the recognition of patterns that aren't there. Seeing patterns in actually unrelated events or phenomena and a sub-case of that is pareidolia, which is the visual recognition of patterns where. They aren't really there. So seeing the Virgin Mary in your taco shell, for example, or seeing faces or clouds or bunnies or whatever, Yucca: Yeah, clouds is a great example for that. Mark: We're always looking for shapes, right? We're looking for faces particularly because that's what we can relate to. And that's what we are, we're most attuned to interacting with as human organisms. So we've got this pattern recognition built into us and it works very well in many ways. It helps us to identify what's going on in the world, around us, and then to make strategic decisions about the right thing to do in relation to the world. The problem is it works too well. We see patterns all the time that don't really exist. I was talking before we started recording. I've had some things happen recently that have been real blows. I got a notice that I'm going to have to move. And my, my wonderful beloved pet kitty died. And now today I've discovered that my electric car is not charging, which for an electric car is kind of a problem. Yucca: That's Mark: And I was saying, well, the myth is that these things come in threes, right. So, you know, maybe that's all that it will be for me for awhile. Identifying that pattern is completely fictitious. It's entirely an imagined the Tori in imagination function in my mind. There is no reason why more bad things shouldn't happen in the next 10 minutes or none for the next 10 years. Yucca: What we focus on is we then see the pattern because we're expecting to see that pattern. Mark: Precisely. And then once having seen a pattern like that confirmation bias kicks in, which is our desire to continue gathering evidence, to convince ourselves that what we think is true. So these are all kind of working against us as rational beings. They're useful for us in many ways, but they're also working against us as rational beings. And so having a core value of skepticism and critical thinking is. Is so important if we're truly going to be science-based pagans, if we're truly going to be the followers of the spirituality of the verifiably real, which is another way that I've described atheopagan ism many times, then we have to be willing to winnow the wheel from the real, from the unreal, through the process of critical thinking and skepticism. Yucca: Right. And building on that, one of the things that we've talked about before on this podcast, but it's really important to come back to is. That this is enriching, this isn't Oh, let's be boring. And do all this critical thinking and take all the magic out of everything. No reality is wondrous and incredible and amazing and critical thinking is a tool for us to discover even more that would have been unimaginable, say, 20 years, a hundred years ago. Mark: Yes Yucca: So it's really enriching. it's it's feeding and nourishing, not depriving us of fun. Mark: Right. Right. One thing that is true for many in our culture now, and I venture to say many, if not most in the broader pagan community is a desire to seek exaltation and joy in fantasy. And there is a lot of joy that can be found in fantasy, but there's so much joy to be found. In reality. Reality is obscenely. Cool. Yucca: Yes. Mark: was just kidding for three days last week, up on the North coast of the County that I live in at a state park called salt point state park and the wild flowers were out and there were carpets of wild flowers all over the place. Stunning, just stunning. And then. You know, my partner Nemea is a photographer. So she's getting down to these little macro, you know, photographs of individual blossoms and identifying different plants. And we found the California native orchid. There's only one, but we found one in bloom. There's, it's just so cool. Nature by itself holds so much to be. To be joyous about and excited and curious and stimulated about that. We don't have to limit ourselves to storytelling and poetry and paintings and imagery and music, and those kinds of artificially created human things Yucca: Which are wonderful. Mark: Oh, they're all. Yucca: But they're not the end. They're part of the picture. They have their role, which is amazing and incredible. But also there's this other half, which is the reality component. Mark: absolutely. Yucca: The objective. Yeah. Mark: And you know, one of, one of the questions that religion seeks to answer at its broadest definition is what's real. What is it? What am I what's here? What is this life? And those questions are best answered through the use of science and critical thinking. Really? That's not what does it mean? What does it mean is something that gets decided in a mythic poetic context, Yucca: that's not science. That's not scientific. Mark: That's absolutely right. It is not scientific to ask, you know, what do stars mean? There's there, there is many answers to that as there are possible observers. Yucca: But how did they form what happens when they run out of hydrogen? Those are questions that end up having some really amazing answers Mark: Yes. Yucca: to that. Then open just a floodgate of other questions and discoveries. Mark: right. Right. So the question of what is a star and understanding that as a process that starts long before there's any kind of a point of light and continues long after there is a point of light becomes this adventure that you can go on. And which astrophysicists go on every day of their lives, trying to figure out the answers to those very questions. And it's exciting and it's beautiful. Yucca: Yeah. REVERENCE FOR THE SACRED EARTH Mark: And I think that's actually a great place at which to transfer, to talking about the second atheopagan principle, which is reverence for the sacred earth and cosmos. We are assembled biological machines that have been erected by life on earth, which is a tiny sub-sector of the physical unfolding of the universe that are able to think and are self-aware and are able to look at this incredible magnificence around us and learn stuff. We are uniquely gifted with the ability to just revel in the wow of all this. And it is to my mind our obligation to live in that reverence. It's not just, yeah, nature is cool. It's a deep seated, spiritual reality. In me and in the non-ferrous pagans that I know that nature is magnificent and that we are deeply indebted to nature because we are in nature. We're not separate. And that all of those engagements that we make with the surrounding natural world, like eating are sacred activities. They're not just random, they're sacred activities, eating sex, excretion. All of those. They are Yucca: breathing. Mark: breathing. Yucca: Think about breath for a while. Think about what you are breathing in that oxygen. And when you breathe out the CO2, which comes from the cells of your body, come through the blood, back to your lungs and out, and what's going to happen to that. It's going over to the grass, to the trees, to the potted plant in your window. And they are then taking that in photosynthesizing and breathing out the oxygen for you and on this back and forth, and those same molecules going from your body to another body. And they came from stars to start with. Mark: Yeah. Yes. All of these reciprocal relationships and having reverence for something is part of understanding that you're in a reciprocal relationship with it. It's not something that you're just mining for resources. And it's not something that you are worshiping in the sense of, you know, basing yourself and saying, Oh yes I'm not worthy kind of story. That's not what it's about. Of course you're worthy. You're an organism here on earth. Of course you're worthy. You are worthy of the oxygen. You're worthy of the food. You're worthy of the warmth and the shelter and the many gifts that the Earth and sun provide us. Yucca: You are part of earth. We're not just on earth. We are part of earth. Mark: Yes, we are earth Yucca: Our, yeah our bodies are. This planet, when we talk about the formation of the planet, we're talking about the formation of us.  Mark: yes. And it can be hard sometimes because of the nature of the way academic disciplines have been divided up to understand that kind of big picture thinking because we have a little box called geology and we will have a little box called biology. And. Those kinds of, I won another wearily and and the physicist just sort of step back and chuckle about the whole thing. But that's the world isn't in those little boxes. That's those are just categories that humans have used to try to narrow down the enormity of what we're trying to understand into digestible bites. Yucca: a new box. That's a little bit bigger, still a box, but it's a great box, a new field, which is geobiology  is trying to look at those merge, those two fields that we've considered to be so separate and look at them together and go, okay. What's how does. How do things flow from the biotic to the Abiotic. And is that even a valid distinction when we're talking about a living planet like Earth and it's really a new field, Robert Hazen, I think has this, his name has a lot of incredible books and some lectures on like the great courses Mark: Hm. Yucca: interested in getting into that, seeing the evolution of mineralogy and biology as not being separate as being completely woven together. Mark: It's really cool and really timely. I mean, we do know from the history of the Earth that, that you know, gigantic algal blooms, for example, that have created huge amounts of oxygen have totally tipped the scales of the biotic activity in the world and change the climate, which has resulted in greenhouse conditions or in snowball earth. So the timeliness of this is very important because we are coming to understand that the primary driver of change in our atmosphere is humanity. It's it is biology. It's not it's not volcanoes it's us. Yucca: Yeah, they have a part, but not in the scale that we're seeing, Mark: Right? Yucca: right. That this is, and that doesn't make humans bad. Mark: No. Yucca: There's a jump that people often go to of, Oh, well, humans are causing this change and therefore humans are bad and everything would be better if we weren't around. That's pretty, in my opinion, pretty far to go. And I think it's lazy, right? To just choose to say, Oh, well, humans are bad. Humans are totally destructive. Instead of going, humans are powerful. We can do these changes. How do we be responsible with the power that we do have? How do we make sure that we aren't harming any even more? How do we make sure that we're restoring what has been harmed and improving the situation for more life and more of quote, unquote nature. Mark: Right. I don't know that I would use the word lazy, but I think we have a propensity to want to divide things in a dualistic sense, into good and bad. And the truth is that in almost all cases, things are complex. They're not good or bad. They're kind of good for some by some measurements and kind of bad by other measurements. And. Humanity is a remarkable species just by any measure, the simple fact that you and I are speaking across thousands of miles to have this conversation, so it can be recorded and downloaded by all these people all over the world is it's just an extraordinary achievement. And to. To denigrate that or to dismiss it, I think is simply to miss out on one of the many wonders of living. Because humans are just remarkable. The art, the music, the dance, the science, all of it is just remarkable, but that said, we are powerful drivers at this point of change. And the question is, which way do we want to drive? Yucca: Yeah. Mark: And given how adaptive we are, even if we've made a big mess, even if the Anthropocene continues, the biodiversity crash continues. The climate change continues. Humans are so adaptable that we are likely to persist even under very extreme conditions. So. My mind has always been to what kinds of values and models can we seek to get out there in the world as much as possible today so that those people then can maybe live a more sustainable life? Yucca: A lot of this is about that we're talking about, right? These principles, what are the things that are going to help us to do that? And the first two that we've talked about, the critical thinking, right? This can be as simple as, huh. If I pollute the water that I'm drinking, what's going to happen. Right. And then also the reference for the Earth and view of it as sacred that it's worth taking care of and protecting. And of course, when We say earth, but earth and cosmos. We're talking about reality. Mark: What is? Yucca: yeah, you don't have to. We're not specific to, although humans we're here on earth. We're part of earth, but we're not excluding everything else by saying earth. Mark: Well, because even at our scale, even at the relativistic scale, everything really is blurred into everything else. The. the Earth is bombarded by solar, radiation and solar wind and meteoroids and all kinds of Yucca: Of space debris. Mark: of space stuff all the time that is coming to add to our world. And to pretend that we are in this little capsule going around a star is. It's not reality. It doesn't hold up to that first principle of skepticism and critical thinking. So if you understand that it's all blurry, then revering, this earth is really not quite enough because there's that star up there, that's driving everything. And that star is a part of the system. And that system is a part of. A galaxy and the galaxy is part of a supercluster and the superclusters, it just goes on  Yucca: Laniakea to the cosmic web, to the observable universe and who knows what more Mark: Yes. Yucca: and how little of it we can see. Mark: So we Revere the Earth and the cosmos because man, they're cool. Yucca: Yeah. Mark: They're just so incredibly cool. Yucca: And by day it's also us, GRADITUDE Mark: Yes. And the next principle actually relates closely to this because if you're really aware of just how wow. the Earth and cosmos are the next principle, which is gratitude becomes a lot easier and gratitude is Its gratitude. Actually, it sounds like a noun, but it's not, it's a verb. Gratitude is something that you do. And it's those moments that we take when we go, wow. That was really beautiful. Or look at that flower or God that smells good. Or that's the best tasting chocolate I think I've ever had. Those acknowledging those moments and kind of gathering them to you in a way that informs that your life is joyous because atheopagan ism is a path that's about being as joyous as possible. It's about being happy as well as being effective and being an exponent for a better world. It's about just being happy because pleasure and happiness are good. It's good for you to be happy. So gratitude is something that, I mean, I know I could do a better job at it. I know I could I feel like there's no ceiling to how grateful one could possibly be. Maybe the Dalai Lama has hit the ceiling. I don't know. But I know that I certainly have farther to go.  Yucca: You too. Yeah. That's something that ritual and we've done a whole episode on this as well, but ritual can really help facilitate Mark: Yes. Yucca: and grow that sense of gratitude, which grows our own happiness, as you're saying and health as well Mark: Yes. For sure. Happier people are healthier people. They just are. I mean, Yucca: more effective. Mark: yes Yucca: Happier person is better able to take care of other people and to focus more. And all of those things. Mark: Yeah, I absolutely agree. So, yes, gratitude. And there are lots of different kinds of gratitude practices. There are people who just before they go to bed, they recount, you know, three things that I was grateful for today. There are people who have a gratitude jar and they put some, they write something down and stick it in the jar every day. And then at some point in the year, they take them all out and read them and then burn them and start over wonderful ritual practice. Um, Yucca: Is a great place for that too, because it sets the tone for your day. Okay. HUMILITY Mark: It announces I'm already coming into a world that gives me gifts that I feel great about now. Let's see. What's up. Yeah. So, that leads me to the fourth principle that we're going to talk about today, which is humility. And I find that gratitude and humility and reverence for the Earth and cosmos all kind of tied together. Because if I really comprehend the scope and scale of the Earth itself, not. Not to mention the cosmos, just the Earth itself in terms of its age and its size. Then I will understand that I am small and temporary and that whatever my concerns are, whatever my attitudes are or my initiatives that. They need to be understood in the context of a being that is small and temporary. And so I feel humility is a really important quality for us to have as non theists pagans because you know, we're not lording over people and telling them what to do. That's not what we're here about. What we're here about is being the best people we possibly can be and doing that in a way. With with a grasp reality, as much as possible and a solid set of things that we find sacred and of value and and a real sense of joy of gratitude as we go forward. So, and you know, I'll say I, I struggled with this when I was younger, I was taught to be really arrogant. My father was just a narcissistic asshole. And I just sort of followed along, trying to be like dad you know, very much a know it all kind of person. And what I found is that the less of that I exhibit in my life, the better my life gets and the truer, it feels so. Which I'm sure is one of the reasons why humility came up early in the list as I was developing the list. These are not in priority order, by the way, the atheopagan principles are the, are basically just in the order that I thought of them and wrote them down. Yucca: Yeah, Mark: so, Yucca: Touching on humility. This is one of those terms that can have very different emotional connotations for people. And when we say humility, we're not talking about belittling oneself, right. We're small, but that doesn't mean that we suck or that we're not important or that we're not worthy of love and attention and all of those things and respect, but that. It's really tying back into that gratitude where it's with the humility. Part of it is a recognition that the world doesn't owe us something. We are part of the world. And if anything, we owe the world, not that people should just be giving to us and no matter what all of that, um, That arrogance there's it really ties into that, that self-awareness and gratitude that just leads to a contentment and a humble outlook. Mark: Yeah. Yeah, because I mean, it's a little tail chasing in a way, because once again, You know, it's complex. All these things are true at once. Yes, I am small and temporary and trivial. Yes, I am amazing. It is amazing that I am here. I can do amazing things that is really fucking cool. And I'm small and temporary. And. My, whatever things I do in the grand course of the universe's history will inevitably be trivial, but it doesn't matter because I have that core understanding that I'm amazing at the same time. And we can hold all of those. We can be filled with gratitude for the gifts, the various genetic gifts and educational gifts and cultural gifts that we've been given. As well as to understand ourselves as being small and temporary and deserving of humility holding all of that together without flopping over into shame or Poor self-esteem on the one hand or narcissism and arrogance on the other hand is a part of the balance holding that's so necessary for us as non theist pagans. Yucca: With that those two understandings at once I think are epitomized by the sense of looking out at the dark starry sky and getting that incredible sense of, ah, I'm tiny and the universe is so fast and I'm part of it Mark: Yes, I am. Part of all this, all that extending out farther even than light has ever reached this planet. I'm part of all of it. Every molecule that makes me up arose shortly after the big bang and Yucca: and it's both true Mark: wow. Yes. It's all true. It's true. Yup. And you know, it's kind of an amazing thing to be able to get up in the morning and look in the mirror and say, hello, big bang. Good morning. Good morning, Starburst. How are you today? And you know, we've talked a lot in this podcast about how being a science-based pagan, being a. An earth revering pagan. A lot of it is about just learning to pay attention, looking for, you know, the little details of beauty and what nature is doing and how things are changing over the course of the seasons and all that. And I think that this is one of those places where this is true also that Noticing when we're given an opportunity to be kind of arrogant and we choose to be humble instead, noticing when we're provided with something unexpected and joyous. And we can be grateful about that, you know, keeping track of these meaningful events in our lives, because it's so easy for life to just turn into this sort of rush of. Not necessarily meaning associated moments, just kind of running through the routine and we're here to celebrate, you know, that's what our, that's what our religious path is for. We're here to celebrate and to be good people and to help other people celebrate and to make the world as good for other beings as we can. And that requires some cataloging. No you have to keep score at some level. You have to keep track of the good stuff. In order to remind yourself to be grateful Yucca: And learn to focus on that because it's a choice. Mark: Very much as a, as someone who has struggled with depression, when that filter drops down over my eyes, I can't see the good stuff. I just can't. And it's not that it isn't there, even though that voice in my head lies and says, it's not there. And I've been through enough cycles of this now that I know that's not true. But it sure seems true because that voice speaks with a lot of authority. So that's the first four of the 13 atheopagan principles. Love to have your feedback. We take. Email at thewonderpodcastQs@gmail.com, which is the wonder podcast, all one word Q s@gmail.com. Love to hear from you about this. And as I said, we'll be going over the rest of the principles in subsequent episodes. But not next week, we'll do something else next week. Just to kind of keep things mixed up in lively. UPDATE ON THE ATHEOPAGAN SOCIETY Yucca: Before we finish up for today, we did want to remind folks about the Atheopagan Society.  Mark: It's a nonprofit religious organization that we founded to to keep the ideas that the principles and values of atheopaganism moving forward into beyond the life of any one person and to help support atheopaganism around the world. Yucca is the chair of the council of the Atheopagan Society. And I serve on the council. We had a meeting last night and so we can report out some of the stuff that's going on with that. You want to start in on that Yucca Yucca: Sure. We'll, we've been, you know, we have our quarterly meetings and we're still getting our feet underneath ourselves, but we've been working with different committees, especially the educational committee, putting together material that can be used by anyone. So again, this is not a membership organization. You don't have to pay any dues. This is just the service that we're putting out to be available for anyone. But  working with that.  The clerical committee has worked on putting together material for anyone who wants to be a cleric and material like weddings. What other things are on that Mark? Mark: The introductory guide book for clerics includes a section on pastoral counseling. On conducting weddings on conducting funerals and working with the dying and on conducting other rites of passage, like naming ceremonies and passages into adulthood and all that kind of stuff. And it's downloadable from the Atheopagan Society website, which is theAPsociety.org. You can also see the bios of the members of the council there and download the bylaws if you're curious see what events are coming up all those kinds of things. So it gives you an overview about what the society is up to. We also talked quite a bit about diversity, equity and inclusion, which is something that's very important to us as a value. We're still trying to figure out how best to pursue DEI initiatives within the atheopagan community, but it is important to us and we're still looking for the right ways to. To conduct ourselves that way. Possibly by developing a statement and then an implementation plan for that statement. But it's early days yet. And we need help in order to do that because we don't have a whole lot of diversity on the Atheopagan Society council right now. And we really need more voices to be involved in that. Yucca: Exactly. Yeah. And so that's something that is, that really is taking a lot of our focus. Mark: Yes. Yucca: So, Mark: In the edge. Oh, go ahead. Yucca: Oh, I was going to say, and we were also talking about different media outreach and what ways that the society can really best serve the community and what platforms do we use to reach people and all of that. So that's another thing that we, of course, always really welcome input from folks on. Mark: Yes. And the last thing that I'd want people to be aware of is that we have begun discussions about an in-person atheopagan con. Or something like that. An in-person gathering in 2022. The, this is still a very nebulous concept, but we're looking at doing something somewhere in the middle of North America, probably the Denver area, because there are beautiful national parks nearby and it's air traffic hubs. So it's cheaper to fly into for people. We. We don't know exactly what it would be yet, but we know that there's a lot of interest in doing this and I've interacted with so many people online, especially over the last year that I want to hug. If they want to be hugged, Yucca: It'd be great to give you a hug. Mark: I would. Wouldn't that be great? Yucca: You know, all of this zoom it's would be wonderful to see people in person and know. Mark: it would be really great. So that has begun. And we're starting to gather a committee together that can help to produce that event. And that'll be a production of the Atheopagan Society. And we'll use our corporate nonprofit umbrella as the producer. So exciting things happening. And we just wanted to make sure that you knew about them now, not everybody who is a non theist pagan is an atheopagan. And we want to be clear about that. But if you want to come play with us, you're welcome to. Yucca: Yeah  Mark: and I don't know. I think that's about it. Yucca: I think so, but I'm glad we got to touch on that as well. A little bit in this episode. So yeah, as always, this has been wonderful. Thank you, Mark. Mark: I've really enjoyed it. Thank you so much. Yucca. See you next week.    

How have the planet's minerals evolved? If we want to understand the origins of life on earth, and how early life developed, we need to understand the earth itself and what it was made of. When US mineralogist Robert Hazen was asked if he knew what minerals existed on early Earth, he started a research journey that led to a new idea – mineral evolution – a theory that proposes that the mineralogy of terrestrial planets and moons evolves because of the varied physical, chemical, and biological processes that lead to the formation of new minerals.  Join Robert Hazen in discussion with UNSW Sydney geologist and astrobiologist Martin Van Kranendonk as they discuss the story of Earth, mineral evolution, where carbon fits into all of this, and the rich challenges of doing science and being able to study nature. --- The Centre for Ideas' new series of international conversations brings the world to Sydney. Each digital event brings a leading UNSW thinker together with their international peer or hero to explore inspiration, new ideas and discoveries.

From the American Geophysical Union in San Francisco, Roland Pease talks with Diana Roman of the Carnegie Institution for Science in Washington DC about the tragic White Island volcanic eruption in which at least eight tourists died. Aurora Elmore of National Geographic and Arbindra Khadka of Tribhuvan University in Kathmandu Nepal discuss the state of Himalayan glaciers and climate change. Robert Hazen of the Carnegie Institution for Science in Washington DC tells Roland about the research area called geobiochemistry and Hilairy Hartnett of Arizona State University explains why it may not be easy to find life on extra solar planets. Buzzing insects that sting and fall into your food can be annoying. But perhaps we should think twice before taking aim with the fly swatter because bug populations around the world are in rapid decline. This worries CrowdScience listener Daria; she wants to know what will happen to our food production without the help from our tiny friends – the pollinators? And what can she do, as a city-dweller, to help the bugs? The dollar value of agricultural services that insects supply – for free – is estimated to be 350 billion dollars worldwide. For scientists, a major challenge is the lack of long-term studies of insects on a global scale – in fact – entomologists worry that species are dying out faster than we can document their existence. The culprits, they believe, are climate change, invasive species, land-use and pesticides. CrowdScience speaks to the scientists who want to save the bugs; one project capitalises on the chemical signals that attract certain species of pollinators while others are building ‘bee hotels’ to encourage native bees back into our cities. (Image: Smoke from the volcanic eruption of Whakaari, also known as White Island. Credit: Reuters)

This week’s programme comes from the world’s largest earth sciences conference, the American Geophysical Union in San Francisco. Roland Pease talks with Diana Roman of the Carnegie Institution for Science in Washington DC about the tragic White Island volcanic eruption in which at least eight tourists died. Aurora Elmore of National Geographic and Arbindra Khadka of Tribhuvan University in Kathmandu Nepal discuss the state of Himalayan glaciers and climate change. Robert Hazen of the Carnegie Institution for Science in Washington DC tells Roland about the research area called geobiochemistry and Hilairy Hartnett of Arizona State University explains why it may not be easy to find life on extra solar planets. (Image: Smoke from the volcanic eruption of Whakaari, also known as White Island. Credit: Reuters) Presenter: Roland Pease Producer: Julian Siddle

Miltä kuulostaa evoluution käsite elottomien mineraalien kohdalla? Yleensä evoluutio merkitsee uusien eliölajien kehittymistä varhaisemmista elämänmuodoista. Mutta nyt puhutaankin kivien maailmasta? Käsitteen loi yhdysvaltalainen mineralogi Robert Hazen tutkimusryhmänsä kanssa. Aurinkokunnan alussa miljardeja vuosia sitten mineraaleja oli kymmeniä, mutta planeettojen tiivistymisen myötä mineraalien määrä alkoi kasvaa. Etenkin graniittien syntyminen, laattatektoniikka ja hapellisen elämän kehittyminen saivat aikaan uusia mineraaleja. Varsinkin meidän kaltaisen elämän muodostuminen tuotti yli 2 500 uutta mineraalia. Geologi Kari Kinnunen sanookin, että elämää ei olisi ilman kiviä ja mineraaleja eikä maapallolla olisi näin rikasta mineraalilajistoa. Nyt mineraaleja on löydetty noin 5000. Mistä mineraalievoluutiossa on kysymys? Siitä kertoo kolme geologia Satu Hietala Geologian tutkimuskeskuksesta, Arto Luttinen Luonnontieteellisestä keskusmuseosta ja Kari Kinnunen. Toimittaja on Teija Peltoniemi. Valokuvassa on kvartsimineraali ametisti Pelkosenniemeltä. Mineraalin kiderakenne näkyy kuvassa hyvin. Koru- tai jalokivinä käytetyt mineraalit syntyivät jo varhaisissa vaiheissa.

The story of Earth is a 4.5-billion-year saga of dramatic transformations driven by physical, chemical and biological processes. The co-evolution of life and rocks unfolded in an irreversible sequence of evolutionary stages. Each stage re-sculpted our planet’s surface; introduced new planetary processes and phenomena; and inexorably paved the way for the next.

New research from a team led by Carnegie’s Robert Hazen predicts that Earth has more than 1,500 undiscovered minerals and that the exact mineral diversity of our planet is unique and could not be duplicated anywhere in the cosmos.

A team of Carnegie scientists have found “beautifully preserved” 15 million-year-old thin protein sheets in fossil shells from southern Maryland.  The team—John Nance, John Armstrong, George Cody, Marilyn Fogel, and Robert Hazen—collected samples from Calvert Cliffs, along the shoreline of the Chesapeake Bay, a popular fossil collecting area. They found fossilized shells of a snail-like mollusk called Ecphora that lived in the mid-Miocene era--between 8 and 18 million years ago.

Dr. Robert Hazen, Carnegie Institution for Science, Geophysical Laboratory The story of Earth is a 4.5-billion-year saga of dramatic transformations, driven by physical, chemical, and—based on a fascinating growing body of evidence—biological processes. The co-evolution of life and rocks, the new paradigm that frames this lecture, unfolds in an irreversible sequence of evolutionary stages. Each stage re-sculpted our planet's surface, each introduced new planetary processes and phenomena, and each inexorably paved the way for the next. This grand and intertwined tale of Earth's living and non-living spheres is only now coming into focus. Sequential changes of terrestrial planets and moons are best preserved in their rich mineralogical record. "Mineral evolution," the study of our planet's diversifying near-surface environment, began with a dozen different mineral species that formed in the cooling envelopes of exploding stars. Dust and gas from those stars clumped together to form our stellar nebula, the nebula formed the Sun and countless planetesimals, and alteration of planetesimals by water and heat resulted in the approximately 250 minerals found today in meteorites that fall to Earth. Following Earth's growth and separation into the core, mantle, and crust, mineral evolution progressed by a sequence of chemical and physical processes, which led to perhaps 1500 mineral species. According to some origin-of-life scenarios, a planet must evolve through at least some of these stages of chemical processing as a prerequisite for life. Once life emerged, mineralogy and biology co-evolved, as changes in the chemistry of oceans and atmosphere dramatically increased Earth's mineral diversity to the almost 5000 species known today.

Discover the secrets to unlocking creativity, even if you don’t consider yourself creative; learn how geology factors into the evolution of life on Earth; and explore the genius inventions of the engineers of ancient Greece and Rome.

Reconstructing the rise of life during the period of Earth’s history when it first evolved is challenging. Earth’s oldest sedimentary rocks are not only rare, but also almost always altered by hydrothermal and tectonic activity. A new study from a team including Carnegie’s Nora Noffke, a visiting investigator, and Robert Hazen revealed the well-preserved remnants of a complex ecosystem in a nearly 3.5 billion-year-old sedimentary rock sequence in Australia.