Monthly Archives: June 2006
Darwinism’s great appeal: Empowering the ignorant and nurturing their self-esteem
| June 30, 2006 | Posted by William Dembski under Darwinism, Evolution |
More for amusement than anything else, I sometimes check the latest reviews of my books and those of my colleagues on Amazon. Here’s the beginning and end of a review of Icons of Evolution (authored by my good friend Jonathan Wells) posted three days ago: *********************************************** A review by a medical researcher, June 27, 2006… more
Accident or Design? Novel nanocomposites from spider silk–silica fusion (chimeric) proteins
| June 30, 2006 | Posted by Dave S. under Intelligent Design |
Spider silk and diatom silica structures are just accidents. We can’t design stuff like this ourselves but when we take these two complex things found in nature and combine them then all of a sudden it’s a design! Wheeeeee! Aren’t we smart! Novel nanocomposites from spider silk–silica fusion (chimeric) proteins more
New Counter-Culture ID-Friendly Magazine
| June 29, 2006 | Posted by William Dembski under Darwinism, Evolution, Intelligent Design, Philosophy, Religion, Science |
Check out SALVO: http://www.salvomag.com. It’s hard-hitting and in-your-face without being ponderous. I love the “fake” ads, like The Center for Human Enhancement’s ad that features a stylized human head with the caption “be perfect” and the recommendation to “visit upgrademe.com.” Denyse O’Leary as well as other allies have pieces in the premier issue (autumn 2006),… more
History of a conflict …
| June 29, 2006 | Posted by William Dembski under Darwinism, Education, Evolution, Intelligent Design |
Here is the archive for the NCSE webpage going back to 1996: http://web.archive.org/web/*/http://www.natcenscied.org. Let me know if you find anything interesting. more
The Miracle of Co-option
| June 29, 2006 | Posted by GilDodgen under Intelligent Design |
Over at evolutionnews.org (http://www.evolutionnews.org/2006/06/whats_up_with_ronald_numbers_a_2.html) Casey Luskin comments on an article coauthored by Ronald Numbers for the Journal of Clinical Investigation (“Defending science education against intelligent design: a call to action”). In this article we once again hear the bogus co-option argument as a proposed refutation of irreducible complexity: “…Michael Behe’s irreducible complexity argument ignores exaptation… more
Two Just So Stories
| June 28, 2006 | Posted by Barry Arrington under Intelligent Design |
“Just so story†is a phrase one hears often in the origins debate. Etymologically, the phrase is traced to a series of children’s stories by Rudyard Kipling in which he gave comical accounts of how various animals acquired their peculiar traits, including “How the Camel got his Hump,†“How the Rhinoceros got his Skin,†and… more
Jury Nullification – People Stripped of Their Power
| June 28, 2006 | Posted by Dave S. under Constitution, Courts, Laws, Legal |
This is a follow on to my earlier article urging people to write their congress persons in support of H.R. 2679, Public Expression of Religion Act of 2005. What I want to talk about here is how the people have been stripped of their right to have a jury judge the law – commonly called… more
Cornell ID Course Blog Open to Public
| June 28, 2006 | Posted by William Dembski under Intelligent Design |
The Cornell ID Course is open to any participants as long as they abide by the rules of engagement: The following rules will be strictly enforced: Ad hominem attacks, blasphemy, profanity, rudeness, and vulgarity will not be tolerated (although heresy will always be encouraged). However, vigorous attacks against a member’s position are expected and those… more
Scientific American Best Flame Award 2006
| June 28, 2006 | Posted by Dave S. under Intelligent Design |
Scientific American Best Flame Award 2006 more
Visigoths are Coming
| June 28, 2006 | Posted by scordova under Intelligent Design |
Access Research Network (ARN) is selling T-Shirts. more
Icons of Evolution
| June 27, 2006 | Posted by Dave S. under Intelligent Design |
Icons of Evolution Update: more
(Slightly Off-Topic) Introducing Another Bill–Bill Vallicella, the Maverick Philosopher
| June 27, 2006 | Posted by crandaddy under Off Topic, Philosophy |
For those of you enjoying the antics of those bungling buffoons over at the PT circus (I know I am!), I’d like to warn you that too much of that stuff will rot your brain. Never fear, however. I’ve got just the thing to remedy that. Bill Vallicella (aka the Maverick Philosopher) has a blog… more
Write to Your Congresscritters in Support of H.R. 2679
| June 27, 2006 | Posted by Dave S. under Intelligent Design |
First, my thanks to occasional UD commenter and blogger Larry Fafarman for bringing this to my attention. This bill, introduced in the U.S. House with 50 cosponsers, seeks to bar awarding attorney’s fees in lawsuits involving the 1st amendment establishment clause and limit the awards to injunctive relief. The multi-million dollar attorney fees collected by… more
The Triumph of Reason over Rhetoric at the Panda’s Thumb
| June 27, 2006 | Posted by William Dembski under Intelligent Design |
DaveScot beat me to the punch (see previous post). Just so you don’t have to wade through the 515 (and counting) comments on the Ron Numbers thread (if you must consult it, go here), here are some highlights. It is heavily edited, of course, but what I left out is even dopier than what I… more
Trouble In Paradise (or “When Good Atheists Go Bad”)
| June 27, 2006 | Posted by Dave S. under Intelligent Design |
Lenny Flank and PZ Myers, both positive atheists, are going for each other’s jugular on Panda’s Thumb. Myers thinks Flank is harming the cause because Flank refuses to agree that theists need to be lined up and shot and Flank thinks Myers is an idiot because Myers is alienating people in numbers so great that… more
Ray Kurzweil: Reprogramming Biology
| June 27, 2006 | Posted by Dave S. under Intelligent Design |
Reprogramming Biology by Ray Kurzweil, July 2006 Scientific American Biology is now in the early stages of a historic transition to an information science, while also gaining the tools to reprogram the ancient information systems of life. Our electronic devices typically update their software every few months, yet the 23,000 software programs called genes inside… more
Letter from Darrel Falk
| June 27, 2006 | Posted by William Dembski under Intelligent Design |
Below is a letter to me by Darrel Falk, a biologist on the faculty at Point Loma Nazarene University. Darrel and I have known each other for several years, and even though our views on ID diverge, we respect each other. The letter here is in response to my recent blog entry at UD on… more
Preface to Paperback Edition of NO FREE LUNCH
| June 26, 2006 | Posted by William Dembski under Intelligent Design |
My book NO FREE LUNCH is now, five years after its publication, appearing in paperback. I was asked to write a new preface to the paperback edition. Here is an excerpt: … Ironically, the very sketchiness of mathematical details that Wolpert claims prevents one from properly assessing the book does not prevent him from offering… more
Dean of Harvard Medical School endorses pro-ID book, medical professors revolt against Darwin
| June 26, 2006 | Posted by scordova under Education, Intelligent Design, Philosophy, Religion |
In addition to the engineers, physicists, chemists, and mathematicians who dissent from Darwin, anywhere from 33% to 60% of medical doctors dissent from Darwin (see Nearly Two-Thirds of Doctors Skeptical of Darwin’s Theory of Evolution, HCD Research Poll, also check out PHYSICIANS AND SURGEONS WHO DISSENT FROM DARWINISM). Pro-ID sympathies are reflected by the fact… more
“Teach No Controversy” (the alternative to “Teach The Controversy”)
| June 25, 2006 | Posted by William Dembski under Darwinism, Evolution |
[This just in from a colleague in Kansas:] We are distributing the multicolored brochure titled “Frequently Asked Questions About the New Kansas Science Standards” and explaining the message in more detail: A genuine scientific controversy over evolution clearly exists — its historical character alone guarantees that evolution contains subjective and controversial “narratives” about what happened.… more