Monthly Archives: December 2009
Podcasts in the intelligent design controversy
| December 30, 2009 | Posted by O'Leary under Podcasts |
1. Scientocracy Rules Welcome to the Scientocracy, where unless you fully accede to the consensus view, then your opinion not only doesn’t matter, it might even be dangerous. On this episode of ID the Future Casey Luskin shows how a recent move to redefine scientific literacy from an understanding of science into wholesale capitulation to… more
Whale Evolution? Darwinist ‘Trawlers’ Have Every Reason To Be Concerned
| December 29, 2009 | Posted by Robert Deyes under Intelligent Design |
“Of all whale species, by far the noisiest, chattiest, most exuberant, and most imaginative is the humpback. It is the noisemaker and the Caruso of the deep, now grating like an old hinge, now as melodious as an operatic tenor” (1). These were the words of the late oceanographer Jacques Cousteau in his epic volume… more
Coffee!! I am now an Examiner columnist … ?
| December 29, 2009 | Posted by O'Leary under Intellectual freedom |
Go here for my first column (“Some claim that Satan is a great motivator, just like God”). Sure, especially if you think you could save money by having hellfire heat your house, and here for my second, (“Faked embryos back at PBS, December 29, 2009.”) No really. The fudged embryos are back. As a “learning… more
Coffee! Darwin’s granddaughter tosses the fat white woman to the snarks … but then …
| December 29, 2009 | Posted by O'Leary under Culture, Darwinism |
A friend references this poem, written by one of Charles Darwin’s granddaughters, comfortably seated in a train, which gives you some idea of the family’s values in general: O fat white woman whom nobody loves, Why do you walk through the fields in gloves, … to which G. K. Chesterton riposted. How do you know… more
Darwinism and popular culture: Is business a Darwinian enterprise?
| December 28, 2009 | Posted by O'Leary under Darwinism |
Recently, a correspondent was advising me that business is about Darwinian competition. Naturally, my mind wandered to self-described Darwinian capitalist Conrad Black, who did not fare too well in the United States’s justice system. Admittedly, Canadian journalists were inclined to give him a bad rap because of his habit of suing journalists, so I will… more
I didn’t know about this conference – and it features Michael Denton too
| December 27, 2009 | Posted by O'Leary under Self-Org. Theory |
Tom Heneghan advises, “As Darwin Year ends, some seek to go ‘beyond Darwin,’” (Reuters Faith World: Religion and Ethics, December 14, 2009). So I was intrigued by a conference held at UNESCO here in Paris recently about scientists who believe in evolution but want to go “beyond Darwin.” Organised by French philosopher of science Jean… more
Susan Mazur’s Exposé of the Evolution Industry
| December 26, 2009 | Posted by Jonathan Wells under Intelligent Design |
New Zealand journalist Susan Mazur has published a fascinating book about some of the current controversies among evolutionary biologists. The book is a loosley edited collection of interviews with, and comments about, various people, including the Altenberg 16. Her favorites are the “two Stus” — Stuart Newman and Stuart Kauffman. Despite the fact that Mazur… more
Uncommon Descent Contest 19: Spot the mistakes in the following baffflegab explanation of intelligent design theory
| December 26, 2009 | Posted by O'Leary under Uncommon Descent Contest |
In a review in First Things by David B. Hart, of Richard Dawkins’s The Greatest Show on Earth, we are informed – on the mag’s cover – that Dawkins “gets a gold star” for his book of that name (January 2010 Number 199). Indeed, he does get the gold star from reviewer Hart. Hart is… more
Darwin skeptic Suzan Mazur is one fine journalist
| December 25, 2009 | Posted by O'Leary under Darwinism, Origin Of Life |
Here is her interview with David H. Koch, a Darwin-thumping multi-millionaire who has done much to front the cult to the public (“Evolution Sea Change?: David H. Koch Weighs In ,” Archaeology Today, February 17, 2009). Mazur made headlines last year when she wrote about the Altenberg 16, scientists who met in Austria to plan… more
The Problem(s) With Penguins
| December 25, 2009 | Posted by Cornelius Hunter under Intelligent Design |
Penguins have always been a problem for evolution. Their flippers, for instance, are supposed to be the vestiges of wings. “Say again …?” you say? That’s right, according to evolution penguins are supposed to have evolved from an earlier bird with wings. The bird morphed into a penguin and the wings morphed into the penguin’s… more
Darwinism and academic culture: Mathematician Jeffrey Shallit weighs in
| December 24, 2009 | Posted by O'Leary under Darwinism, Mathematics |
You can tell that Darwinism is failing when it attracts completely ridiculous attacks like this one, on Signature in the Cell (Harper One, 2009). The gist is that Nagel thought Meyer’s book a prize.* But Shallit says, Meyer claims, over and over again, that information can only come from a mind — and that claim… more
Darwin’s Boulders and the human face of induction
| December 23, 2009 | Posted by David Tyler under Intelligent Design |
As a young man aboard HMS Beagle, Charles Darwin was fascinated by erratic boulders. After completing his voyage, he wrote several papers about their origin. Tierra del Fuego was of particular interest, for he found boulder trains at different elevations at a place known as Bahia San Sebastian, which faces the Atlantic Ocean. Darwin actually… more
Peer review: Life, death, and the British Medical Journal
| December 23, 2009 | Posted by O'Leary under Peer review |
Here the controversy erupted over an article critiquing estimates of war deaths. Researchers from Canada, the UK and Sweden have slammed the influential British Medical Journal (BMJ) for publishing an error-filled study on global war deaths, refusing an equivalent rebuttal article and having a flawed peer-review process. Apparently, the contested article took issue with the fact… more
Podcasts in the intelligent design controversy
| December 22, 2009 | Posted by O'Leary under Podcasts |
Bored by bickering relatives or co-workers over the holiday season? Check these out: 1. What makes Darwinism politically correct? This episode of ID the Future features Robert Crowther interviewing CSC senior fellow Dr. Jonathan Wells on his book, The Politically Incorrect Guide to Darwinism and Intelligent Design. Dr. Wells explains the peer-pressure involved with Darwin’s… more
Stephen Meyer at Humanevents.com
| December 22, 2009 | Posted by Granville Sewell under Intelligent Design |
go here more
Human evolution: Ardipithecus, humans, and chimps
| December 21, 2009 | Posted by O'Leary under Darwinism, Human evolution |
Someone wrote to me recently, asking Ever since the reporting of more
Dr. William Dembski at ID The Future
| December 21, 2009 | Posted by Clive Hayden under Education, Intelligent Design, Science |
Dr. William Dembski was recently interviewed by Casey Luskin at Intelligent Design The Future. The Design of Life: What the Evidence of Biological Syste… Intelligent Design The Future Dembski’s The Design of Life: Discovering Signs of Intelligence in Biological Systems is discussed, which he coauthored with biologist Dr. Jonathan Wells. The question discussed is whether… more
Climategate at Wikipedia vs. Conservapedia
| December 21, 2009 | Posted by William Dembski under Climate change, Global Warming |
Go here for Wikipedia’s treatment of Climategate and here for Conservapedia’s treatment of it. True to form, Wikipedia argues that the hacking of the CRU server changes nothing. Conservapedia, by contrast, treats Climategate as further confirmation that AGW is a ruse. Interesting is the following quote from their Climategate article: It was reported that, despite… more
“The Known Universe”
| December 20, 2009 | Posted by William Dembski under Cosmology |
Here’s a fun video produced by the American Museum of Natural History: more
Climategate: If you can’t stand the cold, get out of the freezer
| December 20, 2009 | Posted by O'Leary under Climate change |
Yes, there has definitely been a chill around climate science in recent weeks. Brrr!! Patrick J. Michaels, who used to study and write about climate, comments on Climategate: After Messrs. Jones and Mann threatened a boycott of publications and reviews, half the editorial board of Climate Research resigned. People who didn’t toe Messrs. Wigley, Mann… more