What A Wonderful World
Here is an amazing photo that I took at Victoria Falls in Zimbabwe. Mah rabu maasecha Hashem!
In other news, the comments section to Rabbi Menken's post is getting especially fascinating. Rabbi Menken doesn't seem to be able to decide what he is proposing, or doesn't understand the ramifications of what he is saying. Originally he insisted that "the Rambam's statement itself is evidence that Chazal possessed knowledge of the physical world beyond what was known to other cultures.” He also claimed that the Rambam derived this position (that Pi is an irrational number) from Chazal. This in turn means that Chazal's statement (that Pi equals three, rather than giving a fraction) provides evidence (in Rabbi Menken's words, "the obvious implication") that they knew Pi is an irrational number. However, Rabbi Menken simultaneously claims that he is not attempting to use the Gemara to prove that Chazal were ahead of their time! Rabbi Menken doesn't seem to realize that he is completely self-contradictory and illogical. Oh well, at least most of the blog commentators appear to recognize that.
The other interesting thing is when someone asked Rabbi Menken about Rabbi Meiselman completely misrepresenting Rav Soloveitchik's statements in The Emergence of Ethical Man, which I showed to be completely clear in black and white. Rabbi Menken first responds with an uncivil insult that I am "not a rational actor" and thus not to be trusted (despite the fact that the distortion is completely visible for everyone to see), and then says that it is easy to contact Rabbi Meiselman to find out the explanation. This is hardly a satisfactory response from someone who has praised Rabbi Meiselman's book to the heavens, claiming that Rabbi Meiselman accurately presents the view of Rav Soloveitchik!
I think that this is why I love the natural world so much. It's so genuine and authentic.