Is religious belief irrational? Is reason irreligious? If not, how can the two be reconciled? Colin Adams, atheist humor columnist and math professor at Williams, and Ian Hutchinson, Christian speaker and nuclear physicist and engineer at MIT, share from their professional and personal experience that is at once academic, witty, and fun. From The Veritas Forum at Williams, 2010. Find more Forums at www.veritas.org.
Ian Hutchinson is a professor of nuclear science and engineering at MIT and has spoken widely about the intersection of science, faith, and culture. Hutchinson focuses on the theoretical and cultural issues beneath the historic relationship between science and Christianity. His most recent popular material focuses on the notion of scientism, the expansion of the methodology of science beyond its natural limits. Hutchinson is the author of *Principles of Plasma Physics* and an International Advisor to *Plasma Physics and Controlled Fusion*, one of the leading plasma physics journals in the world.
Colin Adams is a mathematician known for making mathematical concepts accessible to the general public. He is currently researching hyperbolic 3-manifolds and knot theory and is the author of *The Knot Book*, an accessible approach to knot theory. Beyond that, Adams contributes to a humor column for the *Mathematical Intelligencer*. Adams is a professor of mathematics at Williams College and has won the Haimo Distinguished Teaching Award from the Mathematical Association of America for his lighthearted, often comical presentations. Adams is a professed atheist who has taught a course on the subject.