Monthly Archives: January 2007
The latest from O’Leary’s non-materialist neuroscience blog Mindful Hack
| January 31, 2007 | Posted by O'Leary under Intelligent Design |
… what about Dolly the sheep? New vaccines? The chess computer? New antibiotics? Alternative energy sources? Yes, all these discoveries are exciting, but, as Horgan notes, they depend on existing science. They do not forge new frontiers in our understanding of our world. Science journalist John Horgan created a minor stir a decade ago with… more
Cheap, safe drug kills most cancers
| January 31, 2007 | Posted by Dave S. under Biology, DCA, Off Topic, Science |
Cheap, safe drug kills most cancers New Scientist has received an unprecedented amount of interest in this story from readers. If you would like up-to-date information on any plans for clinical trials of DCA in patients with cancer, or would like to donate towards a fund for such trials, please visit the site set up… more
Irreducible Complexity in Mathematics, Physics and Biology
| January 31, 2007 | Posted by scordova under Intelligent Design, Science, Self-Org. Theory |
There is a new paper on Irreducible Complexity by renowned mathematician Gregory Chaitin: The Halting Probability Omega: Irreducible Complexity in Pure Mathematics Milan Journal of Mathematics, Vol. 75, 2007. Ω is an extreme case of total lawlessness; in effect, it shows that God plays dice in pure mathematics. On the surface Chaitin’s notion of Irreducible… more
The “Blasphemy Challenge” Makes National TV
| January 30, 2007 | Posted by GilDodgen under Intelligent Design, Religion |
Click here first, then click on the javascript link: Click here to view your video, “‘Blasphemy Challenge’” Check it out. Gil more
“there is a strangeness in the air”, a quasi ID-friendly essay in Dennett and Hofstadter’s 1981 book on intelligence
| January 29, 2007 | Posted by scordova under Intelligent Design |
In 1981 Dennett and Hofstadter edited a compilation of essays entitled The Mind’s I: Fantasies and Reflections on Self & Soul . The book is a compilation of essays by Dawkins, Morowitz, Searle, Alan Turing, and several other big names on the nature of mind and intelligence. Since ID implies a mind of some sort,… more
Classic Darwinian Texts — (soon to be, if not already) On the Ash Heap of History
| January 28, 2007 | Posted by GilDodgen under Darwinism, Intelligent Design, Philosophy |
I just pulled out my 1972 edition of Jacques Monod’s “classic” work, Chance and Necessity, subtitled A Philosophy for a Universe without Causality. From the back cover: The outstanding French biochemist, winner of the Nobel Prize, here explains to the layman his revolutionary approach to genetics and its far-reaching ethical and philosophical implications. For some… more
J. Scott Turner in the Chronicle of Higher Education — ID is asking the right questions!
| January 27, 2007 | Posted by William Dembski under Darwinism, Evolution, Intelligent Design |
The ‘POINT OF VIEW’ article on p. B20 of the 19Jan07 issue of The Chronicle of Higher Education is entitled, “Why Can’t We Discuss Intelligent Design?†The author is J. Scott Turner, Associate Professor of Biology at SUNY’s College of Environmental Science and Forestry. The by-line states, “His latest book, The Tinkerer’s Accomplice: How Design… more
Darwinism Can’t Explain the Evolution of Music? Memes to the Rescue!
| January 27, 2007 | Posted by GilDodgen under Intelligent Design |
On another forum I wrote: It seems to me that the arts, and music in particular, present a real problem for Darwinism. How would such an ability come about in a step-by-tiny-step fashion and what would be the survival value of the transitional intermediates, or even the end product? (Never mind what mutations would be… more
Why intelligent design is not a tool for Christian evangelism
| January 26, 2007 | Posted by O'Leary under Intelligent Design |
Just recently, I had occasion to write to a Christian university student who is sympathetic to the idea that the universe shows evidence of intelligent design, but afraid to defend that view for fear of ruining his academic career. So he wants to do Christian evangelism instead, on the theory that evangelism will help in… more
Eric Pianka, meet John Reid
| January 26, 2007 | Posted by William Dembski under Darwinism, Education, Science |
Australian ID critic Robyn Williams recently interviewed Melbourne neuroscientist John Reid, who is also a self-proclaimed expert in overpopulation and how to deal with it. Eric Pianka was the talk of this blog last year for recommending Ebola as the instrument of choice for reducing the world’s population by 90 percent (use UD’s search feature… more
“Public access equals government censorship”
| January 26, 2007 | Posted by William Dembski under Culture, Intelligent Design, Science |
The big publishers of scientific journals are, not surprisingly, concerned about how open access to information on the internet is cutting into their profits. Apparently they are now hiring PR people to try to keep their market share, and the PR people are counseling that the very concept of open access needs to be undermined.… more
“Irreducible Complicity: Disappointing Darwin” by Roddy Bullock
| January 26, 2007 | Posted by Dave S. under Intelligent Design |
Irreducible Complicity: Disappointing Darwin by Roddy Bullock Question: What do you call a person who hypothesizes an unseen intelligent being and searches outer space for confirming material evidence? Answer: A scientist. Question: What do you call a person who hypothesizes an unseen intelligent being and searches inner space for confirming material evidence? Answer: A religious… more
Colorblind or Psychotic? You be the judge…
| January 26, 2007 | Posted by Dave S. under Intelligent Design, Just For Fun, Off Topic |
Evolution Pundit Glenn Davidson’s Website more
When Arrogance and Stupidity Collide
| January 25, 2007 | Posted by William Dembski under Darwinism, Evolution, Intelligent Design |
Rubbish like this should steel us to work doubly hard to put these people out of business. Flock of Dodos: Behind Modern Creationism & Intelligent Design Cambridge House Press, Inc. (release date 02.28.07) By Barrett Brown, Jon P. Alston Book Description What is creationism? Is it science, theology, both, neither? Who’s behind it? What does… more
Why “You Evolved, Darnit!†Is Bad Ed. Policy
| January 25, 2007 | Posted by leebowman under Constitution, Darwinism, Education, Intelligent Design |
Do you believe in ‘individual liberty, limited government, free markets, and peace’? These are some of the CATO Institute’s principles, and if you agree, then you may well agree with Andrew J. Coulson’s latest pronouncement regarding mandated school policies, not the least of which is prohibiting the mere mention of alternate scientific theories of origins,… more
Solexa: A development which may lead to measuring claims of ID proponents
| January 25, 2007 | Posted by scordova under Intelligent Design |
Some of the claims by ID proponents have not been adequately explored because of the cost issues involved in doing large-scale whole-genome sequencing of numerous individuals. Not even Warren Buffet has the trillions of dollars needed to accomplish such a massive amount of gene sequencing. At least not today, but maybe in the future! The… more
Biology’s Next Revolution
| January 25, 2007 | Posted by Dave S. under Intelligent Design |
Biology’s next revolution by Nigel Goldenfeld and Carl Woese Nature 445, 369 (25 January 2007) For those without access to Nature click here for a copy of the article. This link added on 5/11/2007. The emerging picture of microbes as gene-swapping collectives demands a revision of such concepts as organism, species and evolution itself. more
McGrath vs. Dennett on the future of atheism
| January 24, 2007 | Posted by William Dembski under Religion, Science |
This year’s Greer-Heard Point-Counterpoint Forum pits Alister McGrath against Daniel Dennett (last year’s pitted me against Michael Ruse): The Greer-Heard Point-Counterpoint Forum in Faith and Culture is a pilot program of New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary. The Forum is designed to provide a venue in which a respected evangelical scholar and a respected non-evangelical scholar… more
Dissenting from Darwin
| January 24, 2007 | Posted by William Dembski under Darwinism, Evolution |
Increasinginly I find that those with doctorates in the natural and engineering sciences are asking, “What can I do to help in the fight against Darwinism?†For some this will involve research bearing directly on Darwinian theory. But there is also another way to help. Many in the media and the public still do not… more
The Social Amoeba Genome: More Evidence of Front Loading
| January 24, 2007 | Posted by Dave S. under Intelligent Design |
On a listserve which shall remain nameless a botanist yesterday was casting about for a good representative of a colonial protozoan. Having read up on the model organism Dictyostelium discoideum (common name “social amoeba”) a couple years ago and blogging on it then I immediately suggested it and described why it is a model for… more