...and They're Creeping Up on Us

This year's Templeton Prize has been awarded to British cosmologist John Barrow. Barrow is a renowned physicist, who has made important contributions in several areas of cosmology and gravitational physics, most recently to understanding the possibility that the constants of nature are changing with time in a measurable manner. Barrow's interests and successes extend to his Directorship of the Millenium Mathematics Project, his authorship of a number of books and a successful physics-based play, his wonderful public lectures and the production of excellent Ph.D. students who have become well-known cosmologists in their own right. In short: he's an impressive guy. While I am an admirer of Barrow's science, I find his acceptance of the Templeton Prize unfortunate. Although I'm not going to make a huge fuss over it, I'm always a little disappointed when something like this happens. The Templeton Foundation isn't the Discovery Institute (although they were involved in ...