From The Big Bang To This Commentary
In 13.7, we aimed to present the passion, the drama, the social and intellectual relevance of science as one of the deepest expressions of engagement with the unknown, says physicist Marcelo Gleiser.
We named our science and culture commentary 13.7: Cosmos & Culture when it launched nearly nine years ago.
At the time, the universe was believed to be 13.7 billion years old. But according to data released from the Planck satellite since, it took a bit longer: 13.8 billion years from the Big Bang to this blog.
Here's how it (the commentary, not the Big Bang) came to be:
In the Fall of 2009, my friend and colleague, astrophysicist Adam Frank, was visiting Dartmouth. I had invited him to give a talk to promote his then new book, The Constant Fire: Beyond the Science vs. Religion Debate.
Walking back from lunch, we were discussing how science was wrongly perceived by many
