Sometimes reading the Old Testament can be depressing. In those tales of the peoples and times that led up to the coming of the Messiah, we see the testament of sin in its stark reality, and too often that is a reality we would rather avoid. The reading from Deuteronomy is one of those tellings we would rather just ignore, especially since we know from the rest of the Bible that the very warnings contained therein eventually befell God’s Chosen People. If the people whom God chose were so sinful that they could not even heed the warnings that God gave them directly, then what hope is there for us?

The Science and Technology Brief is a biweekly glance at interesting science and technology news and profiles on science and technology that is or will affect us all. For Tuesday: ‘The Sand Dunes of Titan’, ‘The ‘Shark Fin’ of Saint Helens’, and ‘Keeping it Real: Science at the Movies’.