HH XIV Dalai Lama at Emory University

His Holiness XIV Dalai Lama, the spiritual and secular leader of Tibet in exile, came to Emory University from October 17 through October 19, 2010. Emory University runs a science initiative with His Holiness in India in order to integrate western science into the traditional monastic education for monks and nuns living in the community-in-exile.

His Holiness has always been known for his cosmopolitanism, and feels that this long term project is crucial for improving understanding of the world from both religious and scientific worldviews. This project is extremely important and proves how scientific and religious worldviews are compatible and able to enhance each other’s understanding of the world around us. The integration of two different disciplines and approaches creates a much more holistic way to understand how human beings function and interact with their surrounding environment.

Below, please watch the press conference with His Holiness and the president of Emory University. In addition to answering questions on the interaction between religion and science, His Holiness addresses the relationship between spirituality and secularism, politics, and the importance of fostering open societies.

Furthermore, His Holiness, humanitarian/actor Richard Gere, and Pulitzer Prize-winning writer Alice Walker discuss the interaction between art and spirituality. Although it is a short clip, it raises some interesting points and offers a new approach to art.

Truthiness in Science

The Colbert Bump has been scientifically proven!!! Surely Stephen will have to give credit to science for proving it, although I suppose he'll chalk it up to be something that he knew all along.

"Democrats who braved Colbert's mocking interviews, [Fowler] was surprised to find, not only saw the number of donations they received in the month after the show jump by one third, they raised 44 percent more money than their counterparts who did not go on the show. While the average candidate in Fowler's sample raises about $21,000 a month, Colbert's guests earned almost $30,000 after the broadcast."

Apparently, however, this only applies to Democrats, and Republicans on the show can actually experience a negative effect.  I guess that's how we can explain Huckabee's loss.

Big Waves

The guest on Stephen Colbert's World Water Day episode (episode #04039), Dean Kamen, has an amazing new invention developed by his company, DEKA Research, called a vapor compression distiller that is able to purify any water source into clean, distilled water without using filters, membranes, chemicals, or ion collection with no disposables of any kind. In one day, his machine can produce 1,000 liters of pure distilled water. Kamen also stated that 50% of diseases are caused by water-bourne pathogens.

"So what do you want to do with this [technology]?" Stephen asks.

"Well, since 1.1 billion people, 20% of the world's population, goes to bed every night sick or thirsty because they don't have access to water, clean water, we thought we'd put these in production, figure out how to get them placed around the world, and we'd wipe out 50% of human disease," Dean Kamen replies.

The only trick to placing these machines in areas where clean water is scarce is to make sure that everyone will have equal access to the water and the machines won't end up being controlled by corrupt police and government officials or by gangs.

Regardless, Kamen's vapor compression distiller will definitely be making big waves around the world. Way to go, Dean!