Michael G. Todhunter, a creationist and geneticist had his letter to the editor published in Physics Today. He was responding to Addressing the public about science and religion by Murray Peshkin.
See: Volume 60, Issue 2, “Debate About Science and Religion Continues”
Being a PhD geneticist and a creationist, I was disappointed that Murray Peshkin did not give references for the statement “Hundreds of Darwin’s predicted missing links have been found.” I find quite the opposite.
The scientific turmoil behind whether birds are descendants of dinosaurs is but one example of how the popular press does not accurately reflect the disagreements in the scientific community. As Storrs Olson, curator of birds for the Smithsonian Institution, stated in a 1999 letter to National Geographic, “The idea of feathered dinosaurs and the theropod origin of birds is being actively promulgated by a cadre of zealous scientists acting in concert with certain editors at Nature and National Geographic who themselves have become outspoken and highly biased proselytizers of the faith. Truth and careful scientific weighing of evidence have been among the first casualties in their program, which is now fast becoming one ofthe grander scientific hoaxes of our age-the paleontological equivalent of cold fusion.”If Peshkin could provide some solid references, it would add credibilityto his opinion.
Also, equating Charles Darwin’s and Gregor Mendel’s theories does not work for me. Mendel observed inheritance patterns and developed a theory of Mendelian genetics, which is verifiable in simple reproducible experiments. His theory of genetic inheritance provides the mechanism for natural selection, which is observable. Darwin, on the other hand, postulated that natural selection would extend to species changes and therefore provide the mechanism for macroevolution. I have never found that to be observable. As traits are favored through selection, genetic information is reduced, not increased. Man’s very behavior exhibited through gene conservation activities is evidence that genetic information is not gained, as required for macroevolution to occur, but is actually lost.
Michael Todhunter
Bristol, Connecticut
In addition to publishing Todhunter’s letter, Physics Today published another letter by Moorad Alexanian (who is a signatory of the list mainted by www.dissentfromdarwin.org):
Note that consciousness and rationality are purely nonphysical….In addition, life cannot be reduced to the purely physical,so living beings are both physical and nonphysical.
Human rationality develops formal logic and creates mathematics to summarize data into laws of nature that lead to theoretical models covering a wide range of phenomena. However, scientists deal with secondary causes. First causes involve metaphysical (ontological)
questions, which regulate science. Without the ontological, neither the generalizations nor the historical propositions of the experimental sciences would be possible.it ought to be emphasized that advances in medicine and other practical applications of biology are based essentially on the results of laboratory experiments and not the
history of the evolution of life on Earth.
….
“a proposition is not a scientific theory at all unless it’s falsifiable in principle.” ….[but] the claims made by those advocating evolutionary theory can never really be falsified.Moorad Alexanian
University of North Carolina Wilmington
Bio of Todhunter (from AiG):
Michael Todhunter has spent 14 years in forest genetics research, industrial tree breeding research and project management. More specifically, he spent 5 of those years conducting research on genetics and physiology of black walnut trees, and 9 years of exotic species research, hardwood and southern pine improvement, and genetics research.
He spent the next 6 years as a statistical consultant and quality systems manager. He is currently President of the Mesa Consulting Group, Inc., which he founded in 1996. MCG’s primary business is consulting and training in applied statistical methods and comprehensive quality management systems for both manufacturing and service industries.
Education
B.S., Forest Management, University of Missouri at Columbia, December 1974. Graduated cum laude.M.S., Forest Genetics, University of Missouri at Columbia, December 1976.
Ph.D., Forest Genetics, Purdue University, May 1981.
Honors/Awards/Associations
Xi Sigma Pi, National Forestry Honor Society
Gamma Sigma Delta, National Agricultural Society
Phi Kappa Phi, National Science Honor Society
University Scholar, University of Missouri at Columbia, 1972-1974
Curators’ Scholar, University of Missouri at Columbia, 1971-1972
Phi Eta Sigma, National Honor Society
Bio of Moorad Alexian from his website:
EDUCATION
1964 Ph.D., Indiana University
1962 M.S., Indiana University1960 B.S., University of Rhode Island
EXPERIENCE
1989-present Professor of Physics, University of North Carolina at Wilmington1986-1989 Chairman and Professor of Physics, University of North Carolina at Wilmington
1984-1986 Visiting Professor of Physics, Southern Illinois University
1970-1986 Professor of Physics, Centro de Investigacion y de Estudios Avanzados, Mexico City
1980-1981 Visiting Professor of Physics, Montana State University
1964-1970 Senior Scientist, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory
SELECT PUBLICATIONS
Alexanian, M. 2007. Debate about science and religion continues. Physics Today (Letter). 60, number 2, pp. 10 &12.
Alexanian, M., Bose, S. 2006. Two-photon resonance fluorescence. Physical Review A 74, 063418.
Alexanian, M. 2006. Respect for the “human rights of nations.” Physics Today (Letter). 59:11-11.
Alexanian, M. 2006. Set Theoretic Analysis of the Whole of Reality. Perspectives on Science and Christian Faith (Letter). 58:254-255.
Alexanian, M. 2006. Gaussian cloning of coherent states with known phases. Physical Review A 73, 045801.
Alexanian, M. 2004. “Are Dangerous Animals a Consequence of the Fall of Lucifer?” Perspective on Science and Christian Faith (Letter). 56, number 3, 237=237.
Alexanian, M. 2004. Cavity broadcasting via Raman scattering. arXiv: quant-ph/0409105.
Bose, S.K. and M. Alexanian. 2004. Two-Photon interactions in Cavity QED in “Symmetries in Science XI” Bruno J. Gruber, Giuseppe Marmo and Naotaka Yoshinaga (eds.) Kluwer Academic Publishers, 2004
Alexanian, M. 2003. Cavity coherent-state cloning via Raman scattering. Physical Review A 67, 033809.
Alexanian, M. 2002. Physical and Nonphysical Aspects of Nature. Perspectives on Science and Christian Faith (Letter). 54:287-288.
Alexanian, M. 2002. Seven More Views on Intelligent Design. Physics Today (Letter). 55:10-11.
Alexanian, M. 2002. Humans and Consciousness. Perspectives on Science and Christian Faith (Letter). 54:65-65.
Alexanian, M., Bose, S. 2002. “Macroscopic” quantum superpositions:Atom-field entangled and steady states by two-photon processes. Physical Review A 65, 033819.
Alexanian, M., Bose, S. 2001. Generation of photonic superposition states by two-photon absorption. Journal Of Luminescence. 94-95:283-287.
Alexanian, M. 2001. The Last Word on Science, Religion and Creationists.May APS News.
Alexanian, M. 2001. APS News Readers Respond to “Creationism Versus Physical Science.” January APS News.
Alexanian, M. 2000. Teaching, Propaganda, and the Middle Ground. PhysicsToday (Letter). 53:80-80.
Alexanian, M., Bose, S. 2000. Comment on “Generation of Phase States by Two-Photon Absorption.” Physical Review Letters. 85:1136-1136.
Alexanian, M. 1999. Readers question “What is Science?” October APS News.
Alexanian, M., Bose, S. 1999. Two-photon absorption in strong fields. Journal Of Luminescence. 83-84:167-169.
Alexanian, M., Bose, S.K., Chow, L. 1998. Trapping and Fock state generation in a two-photon micromaser. Journal of Modern Optics. 45:2519-2531.
Alexanian, M., Bose, S., Chow L. 1998. Trapping and photon number states in a two-photon micromaser. Journal Of Luminescence. 76-7:677-680.
Alexanian, M., Bose, S.K. 1998. Population transfer in a three-level atom. Journal Of Luminescence. 76-7:674-676.
Alexanian, M. 1997. The Mbone’s connected to the school zone. Physics Today. 50:15-15.
Alexanian, M., Bose, S.K. 1995. Optical Stark Effects in the dynamics of a Raman coupled model. Journal Of Luminescence. V 66-7:48-50.
Alexanian, M., Bose, S.K. 1995. Unitary transformation and the dynamics of a 3-level atom interacting with 2 quantized field modes. Physical Review A. 52:2218-2224.
Alexanian, M., Bose, S. 1994. Dynamics of 2-level systems in glasses. Physical Review B-Condensed Matter. 50:15628-15631.
Alexanian, M. 1993. A nonlocal relativistic Quantum-Field Theory of extended objects. Nuovo Cimento Della Societa Italiana Di Fisica A-Nuclei Particles And Fields. 6:1049-1058.
Alexanian, M. 1992. One-dimensional dynamics for a discontinuous map. Physica A. 181:53-68.
Alexanian, M. Karim, O.A. 1991. Autocorrelation functions and the consistency of memory moments. Chemical Physics Letters. 179:41-47.
Alexanian, M. 1990. Enumerating alpha-calculators. Physics Today. 43:15.
Alexanian, M., Sanders, F.C. 1990. Equation of state for hard disks and spheres – the Kirkwood transition. Physica A. 164:424-439.