Gregory Sloan’s talk was very different than I expected. I assumed the Café would be focused on the history of the events surrounding Galileo’s trial, but I was pleasantly surprised by how much Professor Sloan broadened the discussion. He was an engaging lecturer, and I enjoyed how he integrated astronomy with history and current events. I was also impressed by how knowledgeable he was on the subject, considering his background has almost nothing to do with what he ended up talking about.

His opinion on the traditional “battle” of science versus religion made a lot of sense to me. While I don’t think that the conflict between science and religion can be written off in all cases, it does seem to be a simplification of deeper issues that mostly go ignored. In a time when science increasingly plays a role in the average person’s life, the idea that science and religion don’t have to be mutually exclusive is important. I appreciated Professor Sloan sharing his perspective with us, and he definitely made me consider possibilities that I hadn’t before.