Ed Simon

The deadly “dance plague” of 1518 took place in a rapidly changing world where suddenly old verities were in question and a new media brought all manner of unconfirmed, superstitious ideas. Sound familiar?

Inherit the Wind’s creationist protesters may have held signs reading “I’m not descended from a monkey,” but the reality is that apes permeate our myths, religion, and literature precisely because it’s so obvious we’re related. Darwin may have provided the mechanism, but our own eyes tell us that there’s something eerily human in the eyes of our closest simian ancestors.

Our last genius, Stephen Hawking, died early Wednesday morning at his home in Cambridge, England at the age of 76. Scientific genius may trade in sober objectivity, logical proof, and rational…