Rucker Revisited

In a recent podcast with Mike Creavey,1 Bob Rucker reiterated his hypothesis that the Shroud was irradiated with neutrons, which explains how the radiocarbon dating could be wrong. His explanation, as ever, was clear and apparently compelling, and, most importantly, easily capable of being falsified – as indeed, I have no doubt, it will be […]

Three Wise Men

Emanuele Filiberto Pingone (1525 – 1582) Filiberto Pingone, Baron de Cusy, was one of the most senior members of the Court of Savoy. Born and brought up in Chambéry, he trained as a lawyer and rose to become senior legal advisor and court historiographer to Duke Emmanuel-Philibert whose busy reign included regaining and consolidating Savoyard […]

Ne sutor ultra crepidam

I learnt a new word today! “Ultracrepidarian.” It comes from the quotation above, which in turn comes from the Latin writer Pliny’s extraordinary encyclopaedia on every subject under the sun, called Naturalis Historia, On Natural History. Book 35 is about painters and painting, and Chapter 36 lists several of the most prominent of the age. […]

Teeth Revisited

A paper has recently been published at academia.edu by a Dental Surgeon,1 in which he thinks he can spot the line of the top of the lower teeth, which he calls the lower incisal plane. In a subsequent podcast on JP2 Catholic Radio,2 Dr John Sottosanti also observes the upper incisal plane, the line of […]