Gerald E. Marsh

General Interest

SENSE, THOUGHT, AND CONSCIOUSNESS

Posted on Posted in Biology, Essays in Science, General Interest

The late 19th and 20th centuries brought a revolution in the scientific understanding of the universe around us, one whose effects are still being felt around the world as it forces people to change their conception of the universe and the place of human beings within it.  Perhaps the greatest remaining mystery is the nature of consciousness itself, which has been a subject of human inquiry for at least the last several millennia. In this essay, I discuss the nature of thought and consciousness and argue that that consciousness and thought are natural biological phenomena.

Updated version (4 April 2016)

SENSE, THOUGHT & CONSCIOUSNESS-Rev 1 (2016)

ENERGY FOR THE FORESEEABLE FUTURE

Posted on Posted in General Interest, Nuclear Policy, Politics

(with S. Fred Singer)

Many people believe that wind and solar energy are essential for replacing nonrenewable fossil fuels. They also believe that wind and solar are unique in providing energy that’s carbon-free and inexhaustible. A closer look shows that such beliefs are based on illusions and wishful thinking.

Op-Ed in The Bridge: Linking Engineering and Society (Winter 2015)

Published quarterly by the National Academy of Engineering

Singer-Marsh_Bridgev45n4

 

THE PRESIDENT JUST DOESN’T GET IT

Posted on Posted in General Interest, Politics, USA Today Magazine

USA TODAY MAGAZINE-November 2014

Defeat of the Islamic State cannot be achieved by solely military means and, most especially, not by Western military actions such as the air strikes—even if given the cover of a coalition containing Arab nations; nor can military operations decrease the spread of beliefs upon which radical Islam is based.

USA TODAY-MARSH-MIDEAST

THE HUMAN CONDITION AND THE 21st CENTURY

Posted on Posted in Biology, General Interest, Politics

The phrase “the human condition” has come to mean many things to different people, but here it simply refers to what history has shown to be the inescapable features of being human.  In this essay we take a look at current trends, what they foretell for the remainder of this century, and how the characteristics that make us human might affect the evolution of those trends.

PDF:  THE HUMAN CONDITION

Spring Has Sprung, but the Middle East Remains a Muddle

Posted on Posted in General Interest, Politics, USA Today Magazine

USA Today Magazine (January 2013)

 

The Arab Spring was a dramatic result of a policy failure on the part of Arab countries. For many decades they have used the Israeli-Palestinian conflict to divert the attention of their own citizens, the so-called “Arab street”, from their own economic and domestic failure to deliver a decent life to their people.

USA TODAY Jan2013

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