Regarding such uncomfortable arrangements, there’s a vague twist in the belief of the South Africans in both the witch doctor’s spells and in technology’s saving power. I suppose my dismissal of their perspective says more about my faith in technology than their faith in spells. It’s silly to ask the question of whether science and faith coexist. They do. Just look. Imagining from such an assertion, technology and miracles are equally mysterious, and become less so through intensive study. Neal Stephenson pointed out in one of his books that geeks became priests in the Middle Ages just as naturally as they do hackers now.

Both professions realize that you can’t take it with you. Fie on the materialism of the consumer and the metaphysicist.

My friend Peter Brinkerhoff (he of S.B. infamy) is back in America for a small break after a year in the (neither) Democratic (nor) Republic of Congo. He’s doing important work on a small scale, work that won’t win him Fulbright Fellowships or Time magazine covers, but will help lift ~1,000 Congolese from cyclical poverty to thriving entrepreneurship. Joel Belz describes the work of his fellow Ashvillian in glowing terms in a post to World Magazine.

I’m working on getting Peter set up with a blog. More to follow. Props to Jason for proposing the title and lead of this post.