Showing posts with label all things considered. Show all posts
Showing posts with label all things considered. Show all posts
Monday, December 31, 2018
Monday, September 07, 2015
After Chaotic Journey Through Europe, Syrian Teacher Arrives In Germany
SEPTEMBER 07, 2015 4:32 PM ET
JOANNA KAKISSIS
4:00
Playlist
Transcript
The latest stage on the journey of a former teacher fleeing the war in Syria, who is hoping to find a new home for himself and his family in Germany.
Source
Photos (Courtesy) http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/eu-migrant-crisis-train-chaos-refugees-attempt-travel-hungary-germany-1517991
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Sunday, September 06, 2015
With Bold Words And Baby Steps, Pope Finds Fans Beyond His Flock
SEPTEMBER 06, 2015 6:29 PM ET
Among bishops and priests, Pope Francis is in familiar — and lighthearted — territory. But among non-Catholics in the U.S., the Pope's comments have also generated significant enthusiasm.Vincenzo Pinto/AFP/Getty Images
The phrase "papal encyclical" isn't one you'll commonly find in headlines in the secular world. But that's exactly where news of Pope Francis' 192-page letter on climate change landed in June.
The Pope wrote that humans are responsible for climate change, urging all people to do a better job of caring for the environment — and his words resonated far beyond the church.
The splash he made was nothing new, though. Before that letter, and since its publication, the Pope — who will be visiting the U.S. later this month — has made other bold pronouncements. His statements on gays and lesbians, income inequalityand abortion have earned Francis many fans outside the Roman Catholic Church.
Take Sami Hussain, for instance. A biologist in San Francisco, Hussain says he read the Pope's encyclical — the whole thing — and he came away impressed.
Hussain, who was raised Muslim, had already been paying close attention to Francis because of something the Pope said to reporters in 2013.
"If someone is gay and he searches for the Lord and has good will, who am I to judge?" Francis said then.
It was a major shift in tone from past Popes. Gay and transgender Catholics still can't take communion, but for Hussain, who is gay, the Pope's words represent a welcome change.
"Obviously he's not going to march in the Pride parade in San Francisco," Hussain says. "But I think taking baby steps towards acknowledging gay people, I think that's pretty bold coming from that sort of conservative background."
Pope Francis, at a prayer in St. Peter's Basilica at the Vatican on Sept. 1. During the prayer, the Pope announced he's allowing all priests in the church's upcoming Year of Mercy to absolve women of the "sin of abortion" if they repent with a "contrite heart."Riccardo De Luca/AP
Even people who have distrusted the papacy before are changing their minds.
"Past popes have been actually really scary to me," says Melanie Winkler, who was raised Jewish. Winkler says she and her friends near Hartford, Conn., have found a lot to like in Pope Francis.
"This is a new, very new generation of pope. Hopefully there will be a lot more interfaith cooperation, and just a more welcoming vibe overall."
But not everyone is feeling the vibe. According to Gallup, Francis's overall approval ratings dropped after his letter on climate change — led by a 27 percent decline among people who describe themselves as "conservative."
"Among Evangelicals, I think this pope is probably less popular than John Paul II," says Richard Land, the president of the Southern Evangelical Seminary in North Carolina. And it's not just climate change rhetoric at issue, he says: "When he talks about capitalism as an evil, I think most evangelicals don't believe that."
Another criticism of Francis turned up in NPR's informal survey of non-Catholics. Some skeptics say the Pope's positions are only a shift in tone, rather than a fundamental change in the doctrine of the church.
"When Francis first appeared on the horizon, I think it looked kind of hopeful," says Lisa Colletti, a former Catholic who now attends Quaker services. "But it's looking like now, it's more talk than action."
She likes what Francis has said about gays and lesbians, but she'd like to see him back it up.
"Well, he says, 'Who am I to judge?' But he's the one who can do something to change doctrine, and to change that the church carries out the things that it does," she says. "So he kind of is the one to judge, and to change the way that things are done."
Collettti also hopes Francis will do more to reform the way women are treated in the Catholic church. She's encouraged by Pope's announcement giving priests the discretion to forgive women who've had abortions, though only during the upcoming Holy Year.
But like so much of what Francis does, Colletti says, this is just a small step toward fixing a bigger problem.
Correction Sept. 6, 2015
In an early audio version of this story, we described Pope Francis as the first non-European pope. He is the first non-European pope in the modern era, but not the first ever.
Among bishops and priests, Pope Francis is in familiar — and lighthearted — territory. But among non-Catholics in the U.S., the Pope's comments have also generated significant enthusiasm.Vincenzo Pinto/AFP/Getty Images
The phrase "papal encyclical" isn't one you'll commonly find in headlines in the secular world. But that's exactly where news of Pope Francis' 192-page letter on climate change landed in June.
The Pope wrote that humans are responsible for climate change, urging all people to do a better job of caring for the environment — and his words resonated far beyond the church.
The splash he made was nothing new, though. Before that letter, and since its publication, the Pope — who will be visiting the U.S. later this month — has made other bold pronouncements. His statements on gays and lesbians, income inequalityand abortion have earned Francis many fans outside the Roman Catholic Church.
Take Sami Hussain, for instance. A biologist in San Francisco, Hussain says he read the Pope's encyclical — the whole thing — and he came away impressed.
Hussain, who was raised Muslim, had already been paying close attention to Francis because of something the Pope said to reporters in 2013.
"If someone is gay and he searches for the Lord and has good will, who am I to judge?" Francis said then.
It was a major shift in tone from past Popes. Gay and transgender Catholics still can't take communion, but for Hussain, who is gay, the Pope's words represent a welcome change.
"Obviously he's not going to march in the Pride parade in San Francisco," Hussain says. "But I think taking baby steps towards acknowledging gay people, I think that's pretty bold coming from that sort of conservative background."
Obviously he's not going to march in the Pride parade in San Francisco. But I think taking baby steps towards acknowledging gay people, I think that's pretty bold coming from that sort of conservative background.
Sami Hussain
Hussain is not alone in his feelings toward the Pope.
NPR conducted an informal, nonscientific poll about the Pope on Facebook — and got thousands of replies from mainline Protestants, Jews, atheists and agnostics. They praised the pope for talking about the problems of the world's poor, and for living in a modest apartment as opposed to the usual Vatican splendor.
"For the first time, I care about the Pope," says John Williamson, a Protestant from Grand Rapids, Mich., whose enthusiasm echoed many of the responses on Facebook.
In some cases, the affection non-Catholics have for Pope Francis can almost sound like a crush. Elise Overcash, a self-described Evangelical Christian in Seattle, was so moved by His Holiness that she decided to name her car after him.
"It's a 2014 Subaru Outback. Green. Its name is Pope Francis. We like to take it up to the mountains and drive it in around in the environment," Overcash says. "Who better to name it after than the Pope?"
It's not just NPR's survey that shows Francis is popular with non-Catholics. In February, a proper poll by the Pew Research Center put his approval rating at 74 percent among White mainline protestants, and 68 percent among people with no religious affiliation at all.
Sami Hussain
Hussain is not alone in his feelings toward the Pope.
NPR conducted an informal, nonscientific poll about the Pope on Facebook — and got thousands of replies from mainline Protestants, Jews, atheists and agnostics. They praised the pope for talking about the problems of the world's poor, and for living in a modest apartment as opposed to the usual Vatican splendor.
"For the first time, I care about the Pope," says John Williamson, a Protestant from Grand Rapids, Mich., whose enthusiasm echoed many of the responses on Facebook.
In some cases, the affection non-Catholics have for Pope Francis can almost sound like a crush. Elise Overcash, a self-described Evangelical Christian in Seattle, was so moved by His Holiness that she decided to name her car after him.
"It's a 2014 Subaru Outback. Green. Its name is Pope Francis. We like to take it up to the mountains and drive it in around in the environment," Overcash says. "Who better to name it after than the Pope?"
It's not just NPR's survey that shows Francis is popular with non-Catholics. In February, a proper poll by the Pew Research Center put his approval rating at 74 percent among White mainline protestants, and 68 percent among people with no religious affiliation at all.
Pope Francis, at a prayer in St. Peter's Basilica at the Vatican on Sept. 1. During the prayer, the Pope announced he's allowing all priests in the church's upcoming Year of Mercy to absolve women of the "sin of abortion" if they repent with a "contrite heart."Riccardo De Luca/AP
Even people who have distrusted the papacy before are changing their minds.
"Past popes have been actually really scary to me," says Melanie Winkler, who was raised Jewish. Winkler says she and her friends near Hartford, Conn., have found a lot to like in Pope Francis.
"This is a new, very new generation of pope. Hopefully there will be a lot more interfaith cooperation, and just a more welcoming vibe overall."
But not everyone is feeling the vibe. According to Gallup, Francis's overall approval ratings dropped after his letter on climate change — led by a 27 percent decline among people who describe themselves as "conservative."
"Among Evangelicals, I think this pope is probably less popular than John Paul II," says Richard Land, the president of the Southern Evangelical Seminary in North Carolina. And it's not just climate change rhetoric at issue, he says: "When he talks about capitalism as an evil, I think most evangelicals don't believe that."
Another criticism of Francis turned up in NPR's informal survey of non-Catholics. Some skeptics say the Pope's positions are only a shift in tone, rather than a fundamental change in the doctrine of the church.
"When Francis first appeared on the horizon, I think it looked kind of hopeful," says Lisa Colletti, a former Catholic who now attends Quaker services. "But it's looking like now, it's more talk than action."
She likes what Francis has said about gays and lesbians, but she'd like to see him back it up.
"Well, he says, 'Who am I to judge?' But he's the one who can do something to change doctrine, and to change that the church carries out the things that it does," she says. "So he kind of is the one to judge, and to change the way that things are done."
Collettti also hopes Francis will do more to reform the way women are treated in the Catholic church. She's encouraged by Pope's announcement giving priests the discretion to forgive women who've had abortions, though only during the upcoming Holy Year.
But like so much of what Francis does, Colletti says, this is just a small step toward fixing a bigger problem.
Correction Sept. 6, 2015
In an early audio version of this story, we described Pope Francis as the first non-European pope. He is the first non-European pope in the modern era, but not the first ever.
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Saturday, January 03, 2015
Military's Preschool Program Considered A National Model
JANUARY 01, 2015 4:21 PM ET
KAVITHA CARDOZA
NPR ED
'Military Children': Their Struggles, Sacrifices And Strengths
There are two million children of U.S. military servicemen and women. And by many accounts the military has long done a good job of helping with their education, especially in preschool.
Copyright © 2015 NPR. For personal, noncommercial use only. See Terms of Use. For other uses, prior permission required.
LOURDES GARCIA-NAVARRO, HOST:
The United States has 2 million military children. They often move from place to place. They live in communities around the country and on military bases all over the world. This week NPR is reporting on the lives of these children. By many accounts, the military does a good job educating these children, and its preschool system gets high marks. Kavitha Cardoza from member station WAMU in Washington, D.C., reports.
KAVITHA CARDOZA, BYLINE: If this is what you think the military sounds like...
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
UNIDENTIFIED MAN #1: You're on your way to Afghanistan, you understand?
UNIDENTIFIED MEN: Yes, sir.
CARDOZA: I found at military bases, you'll also hear a lot of this.
(SOUNDBITE OF BABY CRYING)
CARDOZA: Forty percent of military children are under the age of 5.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
UNIDENTIFIED MAN #2: Could I have hugs and kisses goodbye?
CARDOZA: Starting at 5:30 in the morning at a child development center at Camp Lejeune in North Carolina, Marines in camouflage uniforms carrying diaper bags and stuffed animals drop-off their children before they race to physical training.
JENNIFER RIALTA: Give Mom a kiss. I love you. I love you.
CARDOZA: Lance Corporal Jennifer Rialta signs in her 11-month-old daughter, Persephone.
RIALTA: It allows me to focus on work rather than, you know, worry about what's going on all day. If a parent can't be there themselves, they want to know that their kid's, like, taken care of and safe.
CARDOZA: Rialta's days can run long, so Persephone's been at the center since she was 2 months old.
RIALTA: It can go anywhere from nine to 12 hours, just depending on what's going on. All of a sudden you'll see her do, like, different things that I've never seen before. And I'm like, where did you get that from? I know we haven't taught you that.
PERSEPHONE: Mommy, mommy.
CARDOZA: Persephone's taking part in what's been called the largest employer-sponsored childcare program in the country.
BARBARA THOMPSON: Two hundred thousand children in 800 centers, 3,500 family child care homes, about 40,000 employees.
CARDOZA: That's Barbara Thompson, who oversees the military's child care system. At a time when Pres. Barack Obama is pushing preschool for all, the military child care system is being held up as a model. It boasts high teacher pay, affordable fees, mandatory training, accredited facilities and unannounced inspections. But Thompson says military childcare wasn't always as good. In the early 1980s, it was referred to as the ghetto of American child care.
THOMPSON: My center was a prefabricated chapel from southeast Asia that had actually fallen off the ship into the water. And there was just a bin of broken crayons.
CARDOZA: There were cases of child abuse and neglect. Some centers had staff turnover of 300 percent every year. All this came at a time when more women were joining the military, more single mothers and more families where both parents served, says Deborah Phillips, a professor of psychology at Georgetown University.
DEBORAH PHILLIPS: So the need of the military families ramped up for child care at exactly a time when these terrible conditions of child care were being exposed.
CARDOZA: That led to the Military Child Care Act of 1989, a law that tried to systemically improve the cost, convenience and quality at these centers. Marla Talley, who oversees childcare at Camp Lejeune, says commanders began to recognize how important childcare was to the military's primary mission - defending the country.
MARIA TALLEY: Whether they're on the rifle range and firing or they're qualifying, it requires them to concentrate on exactly what's happening so that they'll be prepared for their ultimate goal, which is going to war. I can't go and train if I'm worrying about whether or not my child is well cared for.
CARDOZA: The child development centers just on this base can now accommodate 1,600 children, from newborns to five-year-olds. That number is triple what it was before in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
TALLEY: I had a pediatrician friend at the Naval Hospital, and he said there's two things that Marines do well. They shoot their guns, and they make babies. When they come back, you can almost watch the calendar. Within nine or 10 months after big units return then there's lots more babies being born.
JACOB KING: What do you got? You got keys?
GRACIN KING: Yeah.
KING: (Laughter).
CARDOZA: Two-year-old Gracin King is toddling about the day care center in his Superman shoes, before being scooped up by his dad, Corporal Jacob King. He's a single father who works long hours on anti-tank missiles.
KING: This place stays open as long as I'm at work without charging more.
CARDOZA: The military subsidizes almost two-thirds of the cost of childcare. Teachers in the military are paid more than teachers at civilian childcare centers, $15 an hour versus less than $10 on average. They also get military benefits, and unlike their counterparts at civilian centers, teachers here have to complete a certain amount of professional development. Teachers Deloris Carter and Kristie Tegtmeier say they love it.
DELORIS CARTER: I mean, they pay for the training for you to make more money. They're always wanting you to better yourself.
KRISTIE TEGTMEIER: Just like they teach in the Marine Corps...
CARTER: I love it.
TEGTMEIER: ...Be the best you can be.
CARDOZA: What makes these centers so good is partly what would make any childcare center good. the teachers here also receive specialized training in how to help military children who face unique stresses, including their parents deploying for long periods of time. One way teachers help children process their feelings is through books.
UNIDENTIFIED WOMAN: All right. We have a book that we're going to read, and it's called "Mommy, You Are My Hero." And Mommy works at...
UNIDENTIFIED CHILDREN: Work.
UNIDENTIFIED WOMAN: At work, but what kind of job do you think she's doing?
UNIDENTIFIED CHILDREN: Duty.
UNIDENTIFIED WOMAN: She's doing - having - doing duty - the military. We always keep mommy where?
UNIDENTIFIED CHILDREN: In our hearts.
UNIDENTIFIED WOMAN: In our hearts. We always keep mommy in our hearts.
UNIDENTIFIED CHILD: And daddy.
CARDOZA: Studies suggests children with a deployed parent are more likely to develop behavioral and emotional problems. Teacher Christy Tegtmeier says she's seen it all.
TEGTMEIER: One time, a child came into the room, just very quiet, and said to me, my daddy left. And I said OK. And he looked at me, and he said, I promise I'll be good. I'll be good. You have to teach them that it is not their fault.
CARDOZA: Research also shows an uptick in child abuse and neglect during deployments, So teachers are trained to recognize and report such incidents. And Tegtmeier says when parents come back from war changed by their experiences, that's confusing for children, as well.
TEGTMEIER: Sometimes the kids will tell you that daddy's really quiet or daddy gets mad at me over little things. And you just have to kind of talk to them and say, you know, it isn't you. He's having a bad day.
CARDOZA: The military spent approximately $800 million last year on early childhood education. But many are worried spending cuts will trickle down to childcare centers. Deborah Phillips of Georgetown University says that would be devastating. She says the early child care system is one of the backbone programs of the military. Phillips says when civilian parents worry about the high cost of child care, she has a simple piece of advice for them.
PHILLIPS: If you want to be assured of having high-quality child care for your child in this country, join the military.
CARDOZA: For NPR News, I'm Kavitha Cardova.
Copyright © 2015 NPR. All rights reserved. No quotes from the materials contained herein may be used in any media without attribution to NPR. This transcript is provided for personal, noncommercial use only, pursuant to our Terms of Use. Any other use requires NPR's prior permission. Visit our permissions page for further information.
NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by a contractor for NPR, and accuracy and availability may vary. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Please be aware that the authoritative record of NPR's programming is the audio.
KAVITHA CARDOZA
8 min 15 sec
Playlist
NPR ED
'Military Children': Their Struggles, Sacrifices And Strengths
There are two million children of U.S. military servicemen and women. And by many accounts the military has long done a good job of helping with their education, especially in preschool.
Copyright © 2015 NPR. For personal, noncommercial use only. See Terms of Use. For other uses, prior permission required.
LOURDES GARCIA-NAVARRO, HOST:
The United States has 2 million military children. They often move from place to place. They live in communities around the country and on military bases all over the world. This week NPR is reporting on the lives of these children. By many accounts, the military does a good job educating these children, and its preschool system gets high marks. Kavitha Cardoza from member station WAMU in Washington, D.C., reports.
KAVITHA CARDOZA, BYLINE: If this is what you think the military sounds like...
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
UNIDENTIFIED MAN #1: You're on your way to Afghanistan, you understand?
UNIDENTIFIED MEN: Yes, sir.
CARDOZA: I found at military bases, you'll also hear a lot of this.
(SOUNDBITE OF BABY CRYING)
CARDOZA: Forty percent of military children are under the age of 5.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
UNIDENTIFIED MAN #2: Could I have hugs and kisses goodbye?
CARDOZA: Starting at 5:30 in the morning at a child development center at Camp Lejeune in North Carolina, Marines in camouflage uniforms carrying diaper bags and stuffed animals drop-off their children before they race to physical training.
JENNIFER RIALTA: Give Mom a kiss. I love you. I love you.
CARDOZA: Lance Corporal Jennifer Rialta signs in her 11-month-old daughter, Persephone.
RIALTA: It allows me to focus on work rather than, you know, worry about what's going on all day. If a parent can't be there themselves, they want to know that their kid's, like, taken care of and safe.
CARDOZA: Rialta's days can run long, so Persephone's been at the center since she was 2 months old.
RIALTA: It can go anywhere from nine to 12 hours, just depending on what's going on. All of a sudden you'll see her do, like, different things that I've never seen before. And I'm like, where did you get that from? I know we haven't taught you that.
PERSEPHONE: Mommy, mommy.
CARDOZA: Persephone's taking part in what's been called the largest employer-sponsored childcare program in the country.
BARBARA THOMPSON: Two hundred thousand children in 800 centers, 3,500 family child care homes, about 40,000 employees.
CARDOZA: That's Barbara Thompson, who oversees the military's child care system. At a time when Pres. Barack Obama is pushing preschool for all, the military child care system is being held up as a model. It boasts high teacher pay, affordable fees, mandatory training, accredited facilities and unannounced inspections. But Thompson says military childcare wasn't always as good. In the early 1980s, it was referred to as the ghetto of American child care.
THOMPSON: My center was a prefabricated chapel from southeast Asia that had actually fallen off the ship into the water. And there was just a bin of broken crayons.
CARDOZA: There were cases of child abuse and neglect. Some centers had staff turnover of 300 percent every year. All this came at a time when more women were joining the military, more single mothers and more families where both parents served, says Deborah Phillips, a professor of psychology at Georgetown University.
DEBORAH PHILLIPS: So the need of the military families ramped up for child care at exactly a time when these terrible conditions of child care were being exposed.
CARDOZA: That led to the Military Child Care Act of 1989, a law that tried to systemically improve the cost, convenience and quality at these centers. Marla Talley, who oversees childcare at Camp Lejeune, says commanders began to recognize how important childcare was to the military's primary mission - defending the country.
MARIA TALLEY: Whether they're on the rifle range and firing or they're qualifying, it requires them to concentrate on exactly what's happening so that they'll be prepared for their ultimate goal, which is going to war. I can't go and train if I'm worrying about whether or not my child is well cared for.
CARDOZA: The child development centers just on this base can now accommodate 1,600 children, from newborns to five-year-olds. That number is triple what it was before in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
TALLEY: I had a pediatrician friend at the Naval Hospital, and he said there's two things that Marines do well. They shoot their guns, and they make babies. When they come back, you can almost watch the calendar. Within nine or 10 months after big units return then there's lots more babies being born.
JACOB KING: What do you got? You got keys?
GRACIN KING: Yeah.
KING: (Laughter).
CARDOZA: Two-year-old Gracin King is toddling about the day care center in his Superman shoes, before being scooped up by his dad, Corporal Jacob King. He's a single father who works long hours on anti-tank missiles.
KING: This place stays open as long as I'm at work without charging more.
CARDOZA: The military subsidizes almost two-thirds of the cost of childcare. Teachers in the military are paid more than teachers at civilian childcare centers, $15 an hour versus less than $10 on average. They also get military benefits, and unlike their counterparts at civilian centers, teachers here have to complete a certain amount of professional development. Teachers Deloris Carter and Kristie Tegtmeier say they love it.
DELORIS CARTER: I mean, they pay for the training for you to make more money. They're always wanting you to better yourself.
KRISTIE TEGTMEIER: Just like they teach in the Marine Corps...
CARTER: I love it.
TEGTMEIER: ...Be the best you can be.
CARDOZA: What makes these centers so good is partly what would make any childcare center good. the teachers here also receive specialized training in how to help military children who face unique stresses, including their parents deploying for long periods of time. One way teachers help children process their feelings is through books.
UNIDENTIFIED WOMAN: All right. We have a book that we're going to read, and it's called "Mommy, You Are My Hero." And Mommy works at...
UNIDENTIFIED CHILDREN: Work.
UNIDENTIFIED WOMAN: At work, but what kind of job do you think she's doing?
UNIDENTIFIED CHILDREN: Duty.
UNIDENTIFIED WOMAN: She's doing - having - doing duty - the military. We always keep mommy where?
UNIDENTIFIED CHILDREN: In our hearts.
UNIDENTIFIED WOMAN: In our hearts. We always keep mommy in our hearts.
UNIDENTIFIED CHILD: And daddy.
CARDOZA: Studies suggests children with a deployed parent are more likely to develop behavioral and emotional problems. Teacher Christy Tegtmeier says she's seen it all.
TEGTMEIER: One time, a child came into the room, just very quiet, and said to me, my daddy left. And I said OK. And he looked at me, and he said, I promise I'll be good. I'll be good. You have to teach them that it is not their fault.
CARDOZA: Research also shows an uptick in child abuse and neglect during deployments, So teachers are trained to recognize and report such incidents. And Tegtmeier says when parents come back from war changed by their experiences, that's confusing for children, as well.
TEGTMEIER: Sometimes the kids will tell you that daddy's really quiet or daddy gets mad at me over little things. And you just have to kind of talk to them and say, you know, it isn't you. He's having a bad day.
CARDOZA: The military spent approximately $800 million last year on early childhood education. But many are worried spending cuts will trickle down to childcare centers. Deborah Phillips of Georgetown University says that would be devastating. She says the early child care system is one of the backbone programs of the military. Phillips says when civilian parents worry about the high cost of child care, she has a simple piece of advice for them.
PHILLIPS: If you want to be assured of having high-quality child care for your child in this country, join the military.
CARDOZA: For NPR News, I'm Kavitha Cardova.
Copyright © 2015 NPR. All rights reserved. No quotes from the materials contained herein may be used in any media without attribution to NPR. This transcript is provided for personal, noncommercial use only, pursuant to our Terms of Use. Any other use requires NPR's prior permission. Visit our permissions page for further information.
NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by a contractor for NPR, and accuracy and availability may vary. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Please be aware that the authoritative record of NPR's programming is the audio.
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Monday, April 21, 2014
Far From 'Infinitesimal': A Mathematical Paradox's Role In History
How a Dangerous Mathematical Theory Shaped the Modern World
by Amir Alexander
Hardcover, 352 pages
Here's a stumper: How many parts can you divide a line into?
It seems like a simple question. You can cut it in half. Then you can cut those lines in half, then cut those lines in half again. Just how many parts can you make? A hundred? A billion? Why not more?
You can keep on dividing forever, so every line has an infinite amount of parts. But how long are those parts? If they're anything greater than zero, then the line would seem to be infinitely long. And if they're zero, well, then no matter how many parts there are, the length of the line would still be zero.
That's the paradox lurking behind calculus. The fight over how to resolve it had a surprisingly large role in the wars and disputes that produced modern Europe, according to a new book called Infinitesimal: How a Dangerous Mathematical Theory Shaped the Modern World, by UCLA historian Amir Alexander.
The Jesuits: Warriors Of Geometry
Today, mathematicians have found ways to answer that question so that modern calculus is rigorous and reliable. But in the 17th century, those questions didn't yet have satisfying answers — and worse, the results of early calculus were sometimes wrong, Alexander tells NPR's Arun Rath. That was a sharp contrast with the dependable outcomes of geometry.
"Geometry is orderly. It is absolutely certain. And once you get results in geometry, nobody can argue with you," Alexander says. "Everything is absolutely provable. No sane person can ever dispute something like the Pythagorean theorem."
That orderliness had captured the attention of the Jesuits, who had been trying to cope with the crisis of the Reformation.
"If we could have theology like that," Alexander explains, "then we could get rid of all those pesky Protestants who keep arguing with us, because we could prove things."
But the debate over infinitesimals threw a wrench into that thinking.
The whole point of mathematics was to be certain, Alexander says. "Everything is known, and everything has its place, and there's a very orderly hierarchy of results there. And now, in the middle of that, you throw this paradox, and you can get all those strange results. That basically means that mathematics can't be trusted, and if mathematics can't be trusted, what else can?"
The 17th-century rivalry between English philosopher Thomas Hobbes, left, and English mathematician John Wallis lasted decades. Hulton Archive/Getty Images
So the Jesuits waged a war of letters, threats and intimidation against the supporters of the infinitesimal, a group that included some of Italy's greatest thinkers — Galileo, Gerolamo Cardano, Federico Commandino and others. In Italy, the Jesuits' victory was complete.
"Italy was — before the 17th century and into the 17th century — it was really the mathematical capital of Europe. It had the greatest mathematicians, the greatest mathematical tradition," Alexander says. "And by the time the Jesuits were done, that was gone. All of it. By the 1670s, Italy was a complete backwater in mathematics and the sciences."
An Infinitesimal Victory For The People
Meanwhile a similar situation was playing out in England, where civil war was also threatening upheaval. The aristocracy and propertied classes were desperate to hold onto their traditional power while lower class dissent fermented underneath. Thomas Hobbes, remembered today for his works of political philosophy like Leviathan, was also acknowledged at the time as a mathematician.
"He thought the only way to re-establish order was much like the Jesuits: Just wipe off any possibility of dissent. Establish a state that is absolutely logical, where the laws of the sovereign have the force of a geometrical proof," Alexander says.
Part of Hobbes' strategy included a campaign against the infinitesimal, championed in England by Hobbes' greatest rival, a mathematician named John Wallis. Today, he's remembered best for introducing the familiar ∞ symbol, and he helped found the Royal Society of London. Over three decades of correspondence between the two, Wallis argued vehemently for the infinitesimal — and for democracy.
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Wallis argued, "What you have to build now is some space where dissent can be allowed, within limits at least," Alexander says. "Build a society and build a social order from the ground up rather than imposing it by one single law."
Wallis' ideas eventually prevailed; Hobbes' opinions proved too unpopular, and fearing retribution from the rebels after they executed King Charles I, he pledged his allegiance to their new government in the 1650s.
A World Without Calculus: Would It Add Up?
What might have happened if the Jesuits and Hobbes had won out? What if the infinitesimal had been successfully stamped out everywhere?
"I think things would have been very different," Alexander muses. "I think if they had won, then it would have been a much more hierarchical society. In a world like that, there would not be room for democracy, there would not be room for dissent."
And more materially, he says, we might not have all the modern fruits of this kind of math. "Modern science, modern technology, and everything from your cell phone to this radio station to airplanes and cars and trains — it is all fundamentally dependent on this technique of infinitesimals."
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Tuesday, March 04, 2014
Roadside Service: Drive-In Church Brings God To Your Car
by Amy Kiley
March 03, 2014 4:00 PM
from WFME
Listen to the Story
All Things Considered
3 min 54 sec
Sun, surf and sermons: At the Daytona Beach Drive In Christian Church in Florida, parishioners attend services by parking their cars in a grassy lot. Amy Kiley/WMFE
When most people drive to church on Sunday, it's to sit for an hour-long service on uncomfortable wooden pews. Not at the Daytona Beach Drive In Christian Church in Florida.
As church attendance continues to decline in the United States, some parishes are doing what they can to draw congregants: embracing social media, loosening dress codes and even altering service times for big sporting events. At this church, people park in rows on the grass facing an altar on the balcony of an old drive-in theater. To hear the service, they switch on their radios.
Pastor Bob Kemp-Baird was skeptical of the church's approach when he was first recruited two years ago, but now says he understands that the worship style works for his congregation.
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"Is there a feeling of the presence of the holy in this place?" Kemp-Baird asks. "Is there a feeling that Christ's presence is made known? I do know: it lives here."
Liturgical purists might balk at a worship style in which even Communion isn't very communal. Parishioners in their cars drink wine from plastic ramekins with tiny rectangles of bread under the lids. As they do so, the radio pipes out instructions over organ music: "Remove this inner lid and, holding this cup, join me in prayer."
But for the parishioners of the , the drive-up approach works.
When Shirley Oenbrink was battling stage 4 cancer, attending church provided her with strength through her illness, she says. But during her year of chemotherapy, she says she could barely get out of bed, let alone into a church pew.
Now that she has beaten the cancer, having a private space during worship helps her cope with the emotional ups and downs of recovery.
"It the time to let the tears flow and you don't get questioned," she says. "I don't like for people to feel sorry for me. And when I cry, my eyes get big, my nose swells up ... I need to stay in my car."
For Russell and Teresa Fry, who are legally blind, the ability to walk to the church and hear the service through speakers is important. They say they both carry wounds from discrimination at churches they've attended in the past, and Teresa Fry says that makes her "standoffish."
"I don't want to get hurt. So I stand back and wait for a second to see how they're going to react to me with being visually impaired, because my eyes do jerk a lot," she says. "People sometimes think I'm kind of crazy when I'm not crazy."
The Frys say the church is a safe place for people who need privacy and healing, and that the congregation readily accepted them.
Other parishioners say the drive-in approach is perfect for those who have trouble walking or for antsy children who enjoy the open space. Others say they revel in the ocean air and Florida sunshine. And some say they like that the church welcomes the whole family, including pet dogs: When ushers hand out Communion, even the dogs get treats.
At the service's close, things get even livelier when people use their car horns to "clap."
Those who want human interaction can then gather in the fellowship hall, which used to be the theater's concession stand. Today, it offers a Christian tradition that transcends even locked cars: doughnut hour.
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