Monthly Archives: December 2006
Flash Animation Contest: “There is no God and Richard is his prophet”
| December 22, 2006 | Posted by William Dembski under Just For Fun |
I’m considering offering $250 for the winning entry in a flash animation contest. I’d like the flash animation to incorporate the following elements: (1) Portray Richard Dawkins as a cult deprogrammer. (2) Portray a 7-year old Stephen Colbert as the theist he must convert to atheism. (See http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UuXpysYEhgA and below) (3) Employ 10 classic Dawkins… more
Don’t fire him . . . Just make his work-situation a living hell
| December 22, 2006 | Posted by William Dembski under Constitution, Courts, Culture, Darwinism, Evolution, Intelligent Design, Legal, Science |
The Scientist reports today on the unfolding Congressional probe into the Sternberg case. The following paragraph caught my attention: NCSE spokesman Nicholas Matzke said his group was not part of an effort to dismiss Sternberg. “A lot of people at the Smithsonian were mad because their journal was dragged into a political issue. We wanted… more
The Vise Strategy Revisited
| December 22, 2006 | Posted by William Dembski under Courts, Culture, Darwinism, Education, Evolution, Intelligent Design, Legal |
Barbara Forrest, the official historian for the anti-ID side, has a piece of revisionist history in the latest Skeptical Inquirer (see here). It is titled “The Vise Strategy Undone.” Since I’m the inventor of the Vise Strategy and one of the principal targets of her piece, let me offer a few corrections: (1) I wrote… more
ID is Dead?
| December 22, 2006 | Posted by Dave S. under Intelligent Design, Just For Fun |
They say ID is dead yet they just can’t stop talking about it on Panda’s Thumb. I counted 21 mentions of “ID” and “Intelligent Design” on just the home page without expansion of any articles or comments. If they believe ID is dead that means the thumbsters are necrophiliacs. Gross. I’ll add that to their… more
Beyond Belief: Ah, that’s the stuff…
| December 21, 2006 | Posted by Dave S. under Intelligent Design |
YouTube Clips from the Beyond Belief Conference… Neil deGrasse Tyson tirade on Stupid Design Melvin Konner mocking Richard Dawkins Richard Dawkins on Religious Child Abuse Sam Harris replies to Scott Atran Steven Weinberg’s Crazy Old Aunt Analogy of Religion Sam Harrisâ€â€Religion is only for lunatics and idiots more
The Sound of Taxonomy Exploding
| December 21, 2006 | Posted by Dave S. under Intelligent Design |
“The phylogeny of the animals is currently incompletely resolved and has undergone major reorganisations over the past few years, mainly as a result of analyses of rRNA gene sequences”… more
Settlement Puts Lid on Thought
| December 21, 2006 | Posted by Dave S. under Constitution, Courts, Education, Evolution, Laws |
Settlement puts lid on thought By LARRY TAYLOR Published on: 12/21/06 Once again, the potent combination of a liberal judge and the deep pockets of the American Civil Liberties Union have proved too much to overcome. more
Parthenogenesis in Komodo Dragons
| December 21, 2006 | Posted by Dave S. under Intelligent Design |
I blogged about the possibility of parthenogenesis in mammals a month or so ago. Here’s another newly discovered case of it in a higher animal. Virgin Dragon Prepares to Give Birth Dec 20, 1:36 PM (ET) By MARIA CHENG CHESTER, England (AP) – In an evolutionary twist, Flora the Komodo dragon has managed to become… more
Sea Urchin Design
| December 21, 2006 | Posted by Dave S. under Intelligent Design |
A colleague wrote [my emphasis]: The S. purpuratus genome will help us “understand on sight the logic functions they execute in response to the sets of transcription factors in given cells at given times.†“The sea urchin genome will directly contribute to solving the principles of design of gene regulatory networks for embryonic development.†“Such… more
Godless chic: Brought to you by spineless wonders
| December 21, 2006 | Posted by O'Leary under Intelligent Design |
A friend pointed me to an article in the Los Angeles Times, extolling the current “godless chic,” which has attracted the attention of other bloggers here. There is the “your God is a fraud” thing (Jesus never existed; men stupider than him made him up) or Blasphemy Challenge thing (deny the Holy Spirit on YouTube… more
Where Science Fails, Financial Intimidation Wins
| December 21, 2006 | Posted by Dave S. under Constitution, Courts, Evolution, Laws, Legal |
The “science” of evolution can’t withstand even mild criticism so they resort to financial intimidation to win the day. Cobb county, Georgia, didn’t teach evolution at all in their high schools. A few years ago they decided to start teaching it and placed the following sticker in the textbook: This textbook contains material on evolution.… more
Evolutionary Logic: In the beginning were Adam and Steve
| December 21, 2006 | Posted by William Dembski under Darwinism, Evolution |
It would be nice to see some transitional forms of Adam and Steve evolving into Adam and Eve. With computer animations, those will no doubt be forthcoming. Carnal Knowledge | How we evolved into male and femaleBy Faye Flam Inquirer Staff Writer According to scientists, the very first organisms to dare engage in sex were… more
A Simple Request
| December 21, 2006 | Posted by crandaddy under Off Topic, Religion |
After mulling over the recent blasphemy challenge brouhaha, I have a concern I’d like to express. Spiritual matters aside, I want to draw attention to the potential psychological ramifications of committing such an act as the challenge requires. As long as the person remains an atheist (or at least a non-Christian), I see no problems.… more
The Dawkins-Dembski Briefwechsel II — “Blasphemy is a Victimless Crime”
| December 20, 2006 | Posted by William Dembski under Culture, Evolution, Religion |
Richard Dawkins continues to publish my past emails to him without permission and I continue to return the favor. The following correspondence is current and remarkable. The subject hearder “Blasphemy is a Victimless Crime” is Dawkins’s. I’ve omitted the portions of our correspondence not relevant to this theme. =-=-=-=-=- Date: Wed, 20 Dec 2006 09:35:39… more
Quote of the Day — Karl Popper
| December 20, 2006 | Posted by William Dembski under Culture |
Here’s a quote that connects with DaveScot’s plea in the previous post: Once one has sacrificed one’s intellectual conscience over a minor point one does not wish to give in too easily; one wishes to justify the self-sacrifice by convincing oneself of the fundamental goodness of the cause, which is seen to outweigh any little… more
Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do.
| December 20, 2006 | Posted by Dave S. under Religion |
I found the images of young people in “The Blasphemy Challenge” giving up their immortal souls on a dare disturbing enough to make me weep for them. I’m not rationally convinced we have immortal souls to give up but certainly the possibility exists. Imagine on judgement day that was you in the video and it… more
University of Virginia Magazine airs Luskin and Cordova’s letters, somewhat abbreviated
| December 20, 2006 | Posted by scordova under Intelligent Design |
[update: I just added the original text of Casey Luskin's letter in addition to mine ] In my post, UVa faculty alarmed by ID’s presence on their campus, I wrote about my concerns that another witch hunt was in the making. I would like to thank the University of Virginia Magazine for publishing an abbreviated… more
The Blasphemy Challenge Rewards Participants for Demonstrating Non-Belief
| December 19, 2006 | Posted by GilDodgen under Religion |
My shortest UD post ever. The link says it all. http://blasphemychallenge.com/ “There’s only one catch: We want your soul.” more
The Dawkins-Dembski Briefwechsel I — “Evolutionary Algorithms”
| December 18, 2006 | Posted by William Dembski under Darwinism, Evolution, Intelligent Design, Just For Fun |
Since Richard Dawkins thinks he has the right to reprint my letters to him by posting them over the Internet (go here), I’ll assume the same privilege applies to me. Let’s start with this exchange from the spring of 2000 (the paper in question became chapters 3 and 4 of my book NO FREE LUNCH):… more
Nick Matzke: NSCE Public Information Project Director
| December 18, 2006 | Posted by scordova under Intelligent Design |
TelicThoughts has a wonderful exchange going on with Nick Matzke: Eugenie Scott, director of NCSE, spreading false information. I will let the readers at UD comment and decide for themselves about the issues. However I thought the dialogue at that website was too juicy to pass up. I invite the readers to visit that exchange.… more