January 17, 2015 – Smriti "Simmi" D. Isaac

A thought-provoking film on a myriad of issues – historical, social, and technological – this is one of several other science-based and WWII-oriented movies in the last couple of months.

Want to learn more about World War II and the communication infrastructure of the Nazis’ war strategy? More thrillingly, want to learn about how Churchill appointed a twenty-six year old mathematician-turned-cryptologist to break the code and intercept messages from the enemy that resulted in the war ending two years earlier than it would have otherwise? This is a fine story that explains just how that all happened.

Have an interest in the science of cryptology and the mathematical minds of young British men and one woman holed away in a country estate who worked on a machine that broke the German’s Engima code? And that very machine that was to become the foundational technology of modern computing as we know it? This is a story of Alan Turing, the British mathematician who led the efforts to conduct this hugely important, top-secret work.

Also, in case you wondered about the sexual orientation of Alan Turing – although why it should matter to you or anyone is beyond me – well, there’s plenty of back-story that addresses all that and more. As for the implications of his personal life-choices, the tragedy of it all is really quite sad.

And finally, as for any questions surrounding the state of matrimony and society’s expectations of it, the story also incorporates the matter-of-fact way in which marriages of convenience are not so strange after all.

Keira Knightly is quite effortless in her role as the one young woman who despite her proclivities with mathematical matters, conforms to society’s views of the professions best suited for young women, and yet, is no less determined than Turing to pursue her dreams and ambitions. As for Turing, portrayed by Benedict Cumberbatch, there is no doubt that a fine performance is given by Mr. Cumberbatch from beginning to end.

Again, no doubt a thoughtful film.

Posted on January 17, 2015 by Simmi D. Isaac — 4 Comments

Remembering Jean Drach

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January 17, I Corinthians 15:12 MSG

“^12-15Now, let me ask you something profound yet troubling. If you became believers because you trusted the proclamation that Christ is alive, risen from the dead, how can you let people say that there is no such thing as a resurrection? If there’s no resurrection, there’s no living Christ. And face it—if there’s no resurrection for Christ, everything we’ve told you is smoke and mirrors, and everything you’ve staked your life on is smoke and mirrors. Not only that, but we would be guilty of telling a string of barefaced lies about God, all these affidavits we passed on to you verifying that God raised up Christ—sheer fabrications, if there’s no resurrection.“

I Corinthians 15:12-15 MSG – A verse of the day from the Bible presented in Eugene Peterson’s contemporary version called The Message. Accompanied by a personal reflection below.

To a believer, the resurrection of Christ is a matter of pure faith and steadfast belief in the event of Christ having been raised up from the dead. This is no “barefaced lie” and no “smoke and mirrors”. It is not allegory or abstraction, either. It is the fundamental, factual truth upon which one’s faith is built upon. And death is no longer a scary proposition because we know that we are not contained in death. This is pure faith and nothing short of it. This is the message every believer holds dear, and especially in the reality of the physical loss of a dear one.