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John Wilkins is an eternal student, who thinks philosophy of biology is at least as interesting as politics or sport and twice as important. He has a PhD from the University of Melbourne and worked at the University of Queensland, in Australia, before taking up a research fellowship at the University of Sydney. After a varied career, involving factories, gardening, civil service, publishing, graphics, public relations but not, unfortunately for the CV, driving a truck, John finally completed his thesis on species concepts in 2004, which he has worked into two books.
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Republican antiscience
Category: Creationism • Design • Evolution • Humor • Politics
Posted on: May 6, 2007 8:46 PM, by John S. Wilkins
Did you like this post? If so, please click on the "Share this" link above and add it to your favourite social bookmarking service, or submit it to the Open Laboratory 2009 via the link on the left bottom of the page. Many thanks. John.
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Comments
This cartoon insults apes.
Posted by: chris y | May 7, 2007 2:25 PM
This cartoon insults apes.
Posted by: chris y | May 7, 2007 2:26 PM
Not being a US citizen, the very concept of a question like "raise your hand if you don't beleive in evolution" in a serious political setting is ludicrous. Whats next, raise your hand if you can't do 4 x 4?!?!?! simon says raise your hand?!?! When do they break out the tape player and do musical chairs?
Posted by: josh | May 8, 2007 7:02 AM
Monkeys are funny.
Posted by: PENIX | May 8, 2007 12:09 PM
Raise your hands if you don't believe in the fairy tale of evolution. Okay, now us evolutionists will depict you as monkeys in a cartoon. We just love ad hominem attacks- since we lack common sense, we act like kids.
Posted by: Tom | May 8, 2007 12:21 PM
Wow Penix, thats cute. Defending the republicans by claiming that those of us with working brainstems rely on Ad-hominem attacks?
Am I the only one who remembers the 2 men paid by republicans to hold signs up which were to the effect of "Gay men for Gore" and act flamboyantly homosexual in an attempt to turn backward rednecks, hicks,and idiots away from voting for him?
Ooh, or the time Bush himself funded a series of calls of dubious legality which started off with "Would you vote for Senator X if you knew s/he was once a heroin addict?"
"Common Sense" is in fact defined as your ability to perceive the way the world works. If you don't believe in Evolution, you yourself lack common sense.
For the love of your god, If your so ignorant as to not believe in evolution, it would be better for us all if you'd just kill yourself. You'd free up some precious non-renewable resources for those of us who matter.
Posted by: Haha | May 8, 2007 12:33 PM
Hey Tom, monkey see, monkey do. Hypocrite.
Posted by: Matt | May 8, 2007 12:52 PM
Tom--
There is a reason that evolutionary biology is such a strong scientific field. Science is not based on fairy tales. It is based on empirical evidence. Can you, using the scientific method, disprove the observations of thousands of scientists from over a hundreds years? If you can, you'll be a scientific superstar.
Posted by: Lee | May 8, 2007 1:56 PM
I just find one serious problem with this cartoon (I think it was an unintended funny part): one does not need to believe in evolution. There is such an amount of evidence, that it would be at this point highly improbable for creationism (meant "people do not descend from monkeys" kind of creationism)to be a viable idea.
It is as if I had to "believe" that when you connect two chambers, one with hot and the other with cold gas, the final temperature is going to be in the middle of the initial temperatures. There is a theoretical chance for one of the gases to stay cold, one to stay hot, but ... highly insignificant.
Posted by: steppen wolf | May 8, 2007 2:20 PM
I just find one serious problem with this cartoon (I think it was an unintended funny part): one does not need to believe in evolution. There is such an amount of evidence, that it would be at this point highly improbable for creationism (meant "people do not descend from monkeys" kind of creationism)to be a viable idea.
It is as if I had to "believe" that when you connect two chambers, one with hot and the other with cold gas, the final temperature is going to be in the middle of the initial temperatures. There is a theoretical chance for one of the gases to stay cold, one to stay hot, but ... highly insignificant.
Posted by: steppen wolf | May 8, 2007 2:21 PM
I just find one serious problem with this cartoon (I think it was an unintended funny part): one does not need to believe in evolution. There is such an amount of evidence, that it would be at this point highly improbable for creationism (meant "people do not descend from monkeys" kind of creationism)to be a viable idea.
It is as if I had to "believe" that when you connect two chambers, one with hot and the other with cold gas, the final temperature is going to be in the middle of the initial temperatures. There is a theoretical chance for one of the gases to stay cold, one to stay hot, but ... highly insignificant.
Posted by: steppen wolf | May 8, 2007 2:23 PM
My apologies, a window came up, saying the post was not going through. Apparently it did. My apologies again, I did not mean to be annoying.
Posted by: steppen wolf | May 8, 2007 2:25 PM
Making fun of someone for denying the obvious is not a personal attack, its just funny.
Posted by: feratu | May 8, 2007 4:59 PM
Belief is empty. Knowledge is direction.
Where'd that come from?
It came from the angst generated by some who make the problem more complicated than it is: that is, what is is, what aint aint.
Of course, I could be wrong.
Posted by: Crudely Wrott | May 9, 2007 12:56 AM
That is to say that I see people who I judge to be basically sound in reason and security describing a cartoon as though it was aimed at them. Of course it was aimed at you (and I) because the cartoon presupposes that you can indeed think for yourself, I'm glad you can, hopefully without dragging an entire planet with you into the land of "Gee, that's not nice."
Reality check. Life is not nice. Never has been. It is, though, as successful to those who eat as it is offensive to those who are eaten. That, I think, is the end of it. Of course there is the problem of multiple points of view and broad opinion.
I could be wrong.
Posted by: Crudely Wrott | May 9, 2007 1:06 AM
From what I know of their biographies, the three candidates who raised their hands were probably answering the question sincerely. The more interesting issue involves the response of the other seven, most of whom would claim that water boils in the freezer and freezes on the stove if it would win 'em votes. Of course some of the candidates are probably on the record about the issue and can't easily change their tunes, and it isn't impossible that some of them just couldn't bring themselves to pander that much. The more interesting possibility is that they mostly think that endorsing Creationism is not longer a political winner. We can hope.
Posted by: Jim Harrison | May 9, 2007 2:32 PM
Hey infidels,
I have a book here. It's even older than any of your science books. It says that man was created by a big ghost, in a puff of smoke (well, the smoke is my own flourish, but I'd bet there was at least a little). Try to top that with a bunch of research, fossils, and common sense! Fools!
The Bible says we should build our house on a foundation of stone, NOT sand. My house is firmly rooted in ghosts, fairy tales, and lack of curiosity about the world. And I BELIEVE every word of it. I have to believe it, because of this looming threat of eternal suffering. (You hear that, God? Don't shoot. We love you!)
Just because you can prove something doesn't mean it's true!
Posted by: Jeff | May 9, 2007 4:47 PM
This is odd. Going to Catholic school all my life. I was told we have faith. Not true knowledge. Plus I was told not all stories in the Bible were true or God would be worse than the devil because he killed more people in the Bible than the Devil. I have read the vast majority of it. Most people who claim evolution is fake have definitly did not read the Bible. People "Faith" you are gambling essentially. Any preist will tell you this. I don't see why people don't research the hell out of their religion. It's a matter of suffering for all eternity in hell. Don't stop their take a history lesson when the Book was written.
Posted by: JusanInfidel | May 9, 2007 5:11 PM
A true scientist doesn't believe in anything, not even evolution. There are two types of people: those that believe there are two types of people and those who start out agnostic and try to prove the proposition true or false by weight of evidence and observation.
Posted by: jimbino | May 9, 2007 5:33 PM
If you don't believe in Jesus, you ought to be sterilized.
Heil Hitler!
Posted by: B. Fergusson | May 9, 2007 5:34 PM
Now now. Republican's aren't all bad.
Check out this post for a better idea as to why.
Its not propaganda, I promise.
Posted by: Jon-Michael | May 9, 2007 5:36 PM
"Just because you can prove something doesn't mean it's true!"
Wow, that one I have to remember...
prove
/pruv/ -[proov] verb, proved, proved or prov·en, prov·ing.
–verb (used with object)
1. to establish the truth or genuineness of, as by evidence or argument: to prove one's claim.
Posted by: Geert | May 9, 2007 5:43 PM
sooo...they're monkeys...? You could have just done what is popular these days and made them Hitler. Because, when someone doesn't agree with you, they're idiots or evil.
Posted by: hypocrites | May 9, 2007 5:57 PM
Frankly, I find the whole idea of forcing your beliefs, whether they be right or wrong, onto someone else quite ludicrous. Sure, I believe in evolution, but I have friends who do not, and I respect them for that even though we have had many discussions regarding this. I am not a biological archeologist, so my understanding of evolution is rudementary at best, but I feel that it is right, and they feel thet their religion infused belief is correct. As long as we don't try to beat eachother up over it, I think we canboth get along believing the things that make us feel good about ourselves.
Posted by: Tamerlane | May 9, 2007 6:08 PM
Tamerlane, I applaud your compassion for people of other beliefs. I'll assume you offer the same respect to people who don't believe in gravity, and those who firmly support racism (as long as it is sincere racism).
Sorry, but while it may be politic to allow people their delusions at a dinner party, this is a science website, and no place to show deference to the enemies of science. They send so little deference back in return anyway.
Posted by: Jeff | May 9, 2007 7:33 PM
I wished they'd asked two follow-up questions:
"A show of hands please, how many of you believe that the Earth is only 4000 years old?"
"How many of you believe that the sun revolves around the Earth?"
Posted by: Baron Earl | May 11, 2007 3:39 PM
A lot of people are commenting that this isn't fair and that its not big deal that they don't beleive in evolution.
This is false. This event did not happen in a vacuum. In the US, people are actively fighting AGAINST basic science being taught in SCIENCE classes. We have problems funding basic research, heck we have problems funding basic education. We are also, by many estimates, entering into a KulturKampf between so called 'secular progressives' and 'traditionalists'. These are hardly minor events.
So for someone running for the presidency, head of the beauracracy, to 'not beleive' in evolution, well, its HIGHLY SIGNIFICANT in that context. THere are people in every country that don't beleive in evolution, they don't need to be made fun of. But only a few countries, like the US and increasing apparently, Australia, are there organized polarizing forces on either side of that debate. Its funny and stupid that people like Thabo Mbeki think HIV doesn't cause AIDS, until you realize that he was setting state policy. Here, someone that beleives HIV doesn't cause AIDS can be safely left alone as a fool, but there, they have to be openly opposed.
Posted by: nygdan | May 12, 2007 4:52 PM
I also feel compelled to point out this nice little blog entry,
http://strangemaps.wordpress.com/2007/04/03/97-%e2%80%93-where-and-how-evolution-is-taught-in-the-us/
Where and how evolution is taught in the US.
Posted by: nygdan | May 12, 2007 4:59 PM