Monthly Archives: March 2007
Is ID science?–a 30-year old opinion
| March 31, 2007 | Posted by Granville Sewell under Intelligent Design |
In 1978-79 I was visiting professor in the computer science department at Purdue University, when the student newspaper (the Exponent) published a letter to the editor comparing “creationists” to “flat-earthers”. My reply, given below, was published a few days later. The reason I thought this 30-year-old letter might be of some interest to UD readers… more
Priestley Medalist George Whitesides on Origin of Life
| March 31, 2007 | Posted by Dave S. under Intelligent Design |
These are excerpts from the cover story of the March 26, 2007 issue of Chemical and Engineering Times dealing with the origin of life. Read the whole article at the link provided. Revolutions In Chemistry Priestley Medalist George M. Whitesides’ address The Cell and the Nature of Life. I believe that understanding the cell is… more
A Mere Stack of Stones
| March 31, 2007 | Posted by Dave S. under Intelligent Design |
Someone I correspond with sent me this. It’s a good example of how the design inference has been employed for practical matters. On the subject of stacked stones in the wilderness, here is a little story that may be interesting. In my legal practice my most prominent pro bono case was to seek the first-ever… more
Off Topic: Personal Computer Humor
| March 31, 2007 | Posted by Dave S. under Humor |
My daughter who works at Dell sent me this. I thought it might be appreciated by all who’ve witnessed the deluge of Mac vs. PC television adverts. more
Quote of the day: Arthur Koestler on “Corporate Orthodoxy”
| March 31, 2007 | Posted by William Dembski under Culture, Religion, Science |
“Galileo’s conflict with the church could have probably been avoided if he had been endowed with less passion and more diplomacy; but long before that conflict, he had incurred the implacable hostility of the orthodox Aristotelians who held key positions at the Italian universities. Religion and political oppression play only an incidental part in the… more
Friday Musings: The Credible Versus The Incredible
| March 30, 2007 | Posted by GilDodgen under Intelligent Design |
When considering design versus no design in both cosmology and biology, one thing seems strikingly obvious: The default position is backwards. Concerning cosmology, the fine-tuning of the universe for life would appear to be prima facie evidence for design. One can either choose to believe (at least provisionally) that this is the case, based on… more
The Illusion of Knowledge Revisited
| March 30, 2007 | Posted by Barry Arrington under Intelligent Design |
This morning the New Scientist web site posted an article entitled “Is Dark Energy an Illusion?â€Â See here: http://space.newscientist.com/article/dn11498-is-dark-energy-an-illusion.html Here is the lead sentence:  “The quickening pace of our universe’s expansion may not be driven by a mysterious force called dark energy after all, but paradoxically, by the collapse of matter in small regions of… more
Who doubts common descent? You’d be surprised
| March 30, 2007 | Posted by O'Leary under Intelligent Design |
Here at Uncommon Descent, a longish combox discussion started recently – which spread here after I reposted some of my own comments at the Post-Darwinist – on whether the intelligent design guys would gain or lose credibility if they kicked out the young earth creationists (YECs, the folk who believe that the Bible teaches that… more
Terry Gross interviews Richard Dawkins and Francis Collins
| March 29, 2007 | Posted by leebowman under Culture, Evolution, Philosophy, Science |
Richard Dawkins and Francis Collins are at it again, however not face to face this time, but as guests on alternate days on NPR’s ‘Fresh Air’ with Terry Gross. She asks pertinent questions but as always, remains objective, taking no position on either side. In Wednesday’s interview, Dawkins takes a moment reading from page 15… more
Evolving Hardware
| March 29, 2007 | Posted by William Dembski under Comp. Sci. / Eng., Evolution, Intelligent Design |
Here’s an article on evolving hardware developed by Norwegian scientists. Favorite quote: “Every creature in nature is a product of evolution, and did I mention that creationism is just bull? What the team has done is add evolution to hardware (Norwegian), all hardware that you and I have used so far is made the creationism… more
Darwin’s Dangerous Idea: The Disturbing Legacy of America’s Eugenics Crusade
| March 29, 2007 | Posted by scordova under Intelligent Design |
[Event announcement] One hundred years ago on March 9, Indiana passed the world’s first forced sterilization law. Two years later, Washington State enacted a similar measure. Both laws were part of a crusade to breed better humans known as “eugenics.” Promoted by evolutionary biologists in the name of Darwinian natural selection, eugenics led to the… more
The Wisdom of Starbucks — Allowing All Sides a Place at the Table
| March 29, 2007 | Posted by William Dembski under Culture, Intelligent Design |
Here’s what’s appearing on Starbucks coffee cups that’s relevant to our concerns: The Way I See It #224 Darwinism’s impact on traditional social values has not been as benign as its advocates would like us to believe. Despite the efforts of its modern defenders to distance themselves from its baleful social consequences, Darwinism’s connection with… more
High School Biology Teacher Fired
| March 29, 2007 | Posted by Dave S. under Intelligent Design |
Veering From Evolution Fired teacher explains his presentation By Christopher Stollar / The Bulletin Published: March 25. 2007 5:00AM PST On Wednesday, March 14, eight days into a new job teaching biology at Sisters High School, Kris Helphinstine showed a class of freshman and sophomore students pictures of naked corpses, a Nazi swastika and Charles… more
The Evolution of the Long-Necked Giraffe — A Preview
| March 28, 2007 | Posted by William Dembski under Darwinism, Evolution, Intelligent Design |
Granville Sewell asked me to post this: “The Evolution of the Long-Necked Giraffe” A Preview of W.E.Loennig’s Part II By Granville Sewell Darwin’s story of how the giraffe got its long neck is perhaps the most popular and widely-told story of evolution. It is popular because it seems plausible: giraffes with slightly longer necks enjoyed… more
More reasons paleoanthropology has a bad reputation and ID continues its advance
| March 28, 2007 | Posted by scordova under Intelligent Design |
Not long ago an anthropologist resigned in ‘dating disaster’. Now we learn world famous paleoantrhopologist Leakey Manipulated His Apelike “Skull 1470†to Look Human . Dr. Leakey produced a reconstruction that could not have existed in real life…. let’s see if Leakey will recant. Let’s see if the textbook publishers will fix the mistake. His… more
“Eugenics was Darwin’s only gift to medicine”
| March 28, 2007 | Posted by scordova under Intelligent Design |
Respected doctor and professor of neurosurgery Michael Egnor reports in Darwin, Mendel, Watson and Crick, and Al Gore: Darwin’s theory impeded the recognition of Mendel’s discovery for a third of a century, and Darwin’s assertion that random variation was the raw material for biological complexity was of no help in decoding the genetic language of… more
Deniers Bad; Herd Followers Good???
| March 28, 2007 | Posted by Barry Arrington under Intelligent Design |
The recent dustup surrounding the SMU design conference highlighted a rhetorical tactic that has become fashionable in the anti-ID herd. This tactic is to smear IDists with the “denier†tag, as if mere denial is self-evidently bad. Herewith, a reflection on famous deniers in history from another forum in which I participate (used with permission):… more
If you could be a fly on the wall — now you can!
| March 28, 2007 | Posted by William Dembski under Darwinism, Intelligent Design |
Rarely does the public catch a glimpse of how Darwinists actually behave toward colleagues who disagree with their view of biological origins. Thus, as a public service, I’m presenting here a correspondence, initiated by Darwinists and unsolicited by our side, that provides readers of this blog with such a glimpse. Briefly, a Johns Hopkins biologist… more
The arsonist’s tale: Misconceptions about intelligent design
| March 28, 2007 | Posted by O'Leary under Intelligent Design |
When people examine a new idea for the first time, they often approach it from a basis of older, assumed ideas which cause confusion. They can’t really evaluate the new idea properly until the source of confusion has been identified. In discussing the intelligent design controversy with people, I sometimes hear the following comment: If… more
Freeman Dyson comments on ID
| March 27, 2007 | Posted by William Dembski under Intelligent Design |
The following exchange is from the newsletter CCNet 66/2007 – 27 March 2007: Christopher Morbey: Dear Professor Dyson: Thanks for taking time to answer questions! I’m wondering if you have an opinion regarding the new interest in “intelligent design” as an independent mode of explaining an event. Typically, pervading opinion demands that events occur only… more