Recent Public Talks:

"Stephen Hawking and Black Holes: Where does God fit in?" (2018) WAACSA Lecture

"Does God Intervene in our lives? Reflections on non-interventionist divinity" (2017) Waacsa Lecture

"Big Bang: A different understanding of God" (2016)  Waacsa Lecture

Reflection

During free time on Saturday afternoon I headed by myself up into the mountains behind the conference centre. I looked longingly at a nearby summit, then after some hesitation, I could not resist the impulse and rather adventurously I started climbing. A bit foolhardy at my age, and alone at that. I threw aside my years of adhering to the maxim: Never climb alone! A cool breeze off-set the sun’s heat. There were several rock scrambles up sharp, white rocks, full of small quartz crystals, in rock beds which dipped steeply to the north. The fynbos was thick and prolific with new kinds of protea and erica. The aromatic scent of boegoe bushes caught my nose. Too beautiful for words. I reached the little summit and sat there alone for an hour, soaking up the sun, and looking out over the valley far below. I reflected on the conference talks, about the deep mystery inherent in the universe. And how close this mystery is to us. I thought of myself alone there, far from anybody. Nobody in the whole world knew I was there at that moment. I thought of the vulnerability of life. I thought about love and friends and family. I thought about my connectedness with people, as well as with the very plants and birds nearby. And how small and insignificant I was sitting there on that peak under the huge dome of the sky.

Quest for human origins

From the early 1960s until present I have been an avid follower of the science of human evolution. The problem I was trying to solve was, did human-ness arise suddenly by a direct intervention of God, or did it evolve gradually and incrementally as Darwin suggested? I have visited hominid fossil sites at Sterkfontein, Makapan and the Lake Turkana region in northern Kenya, and discussed this problem with many experts in human paleoanthropology, including Dr Meave Leakey and Alun Hughes. The photo shows me with Meave Leakey in Nairobi in 1995.

My search is on-going, but I am leaning very much towards gradualism and a non-interventionist approach to divine action in the universe.

I have shared my passion for human evolution with generations of my high school students, travelling far and wide across South Africa to immerse them in this exciting research and open up their minds to the philosophical and spiritual implcations it is generating. As Richard Leakey said, the gap between human and non-human is smaller than we like to think. We are all connected.

Sutherland observatory

The astronomical observatory at Sutherland is one of my favourite places. There is a mystique about it, a blend of high-tech, state-of-the art instruments and the austere open spaces of the Karoo landscape. Over the past thirty years I have taken hundreds of high school students to experience the unique milieu of Sutherland observatory.

CONTACT ME

b.jacoby@telkomsa.net

brianjacoby73@gmail.com 

Testimonials

We wish to express our sincere appreciation to you for the tremendous role you have played in assisting our son to achieve his recent success in the JMB examinations. We are deeply conscious of the fact that of all of our son's teachers, you have had the greatest single influence over him. (From parents, 1977)

I am writing to thank you for being the most awesome teacher that I have ever had, and for making science not so scary. In my previous school I had resigned myself to the fact that I would never be able to do any kind of science-orientated career, even though that is all I ever wanted to do. But in your classes I found myself actually understanding what was going on! You made it interesting, and fun, and I knew I wanted to do science again. (Matric student, 2008)

You have made science a completely different subject for all of us! You have such a passion for the subject, and you passed your passion on to us. I have found science fun for the first time. (Matric student, 2007)

Up to about Std 6 (Grade 8) I did not find science to be of any interest whatsoever. And then for the first science lesson at the beginning of my Std 7, this science master walked in and started telling us about the Mariner spacecraft to Mars and about various types of rocks. Suddenly science appeared fascinating! (From an ex-pupil of class of 1969, now professor of electromagnetic waves at a university in Canada, letter written 1990)

You honestly are a golden teacher, one of a kind. I wish that all science students could be taught by you. You are so patient especially with those who, like me, struggle with science. Thank you for sharing your knowledge with us. (Matric student, 2009)

To a great teacher: For the things I will always remember: astronomy lectures, weekends at Sutherland, the ease and clarity with which you explained something, and the joy which science gave me, I thank you. (Matric student, 1992)

I want to thank you, sir, for the amazing way that you have taught me science over the past five years. As you can easily see by my choice of study at varsity next year, your lessons indeed changed my life. (Matric student, 2005)

Services I offer

My hope is that I can offer my services to any individual, organisation or group, whether corporation, school or church.

I am available to give audio-visual presentations, talks or courses on topics ranging from practical astronomy for adults and children; human evolution with special mention of my various trips to hominid fossil sites such as Sterkfontein, Makapan and Koobi Fora (Kenya); philosophy of science.

Here are the titles of some talks I have given in the past:
"Using raised beaches around the Cape peninsula to date an ancient human archaeological site near Hangklip" given to SA Mineralogical Society in 1974.

"Astronomy in schools" to an international convention of variable star astronomers at SAAO in 1996.

"Karl Popper's philosophy of science" to UCT Science Education Unit Masters students (1994-1998)

"Dark matter and dark energy" an enrichment talk to specialised high school students (2007).

"Discovering God in science and geography" to a science and geography teacher conference organised by the Catholic Teachers Association (1976)

"The prophets: challenge to our comfort zones", a course of Lenten Lectures given to two parishes in Cape Town (1978)

"Teilhard de Chardin: priest-scientist", enrichment talk to certain high school students.

"Does a non-interventionist divine action in the universe clash with traditional Christian teachings?" to a small church group (2009)

"An appropriate philosophy of science education for Africa", paper delivered at Queen's University, Canada (1992)

"How does the philosophy of Plato and Aristotle affect our thinking today?", a course of enrichment for some high school students (1989)

"The story of human origins: my visit to Turkana", audio-visual talk to senior high school students and their parents (2007)