One man's struggle against impermanence
John Wilkins is an aged, 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 a position as a Postdoctoral Fellow at the University of Queensland, in Australia. 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, which he is working into two books. One has been accepted for publication, and will come out in 2008; the other may be contracted soon. He is also interested in cultural evolution, philosophy of religion, Macintosh computers and his kids (they sort of make it a necessity, you know?).
If anyone knows of a tenurable, or even medium term, job in philosophy of biology, let me know. Have library, will travel. The contract runs out soon...
This blog is designed to host any random thoughts that happen to be passing through my forebrain at a given moment. So there will be errors...
Evolving God: A Provocative View on the Origins of Religion
Monkey Trials and Gorilla Sermons: Evolution and Christianity from Darwin to Intelligent Design (New Histories of Science, Technology, and Medicine)
Foundations of Systematics and Biogeography
Re-Engineering Philosophy for Limited Beings: Piecewise Approximations to Reality
Adaptive Thinking: Rationality in the Real World (Evolution and Cognition Series)
My personal page is here:
The previous instantiation of this blog is accessible here.
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Category: Creationism • Design
Posted on: March 20, 2008 9:35 PM, by John S. Wilkins
PZ Mydfgsers tried to see Expelled, Ben Stein's silly film about ID. He was asked to leave by some uniformed guard or policeman, as the producers had him on a Watch List or something. They let his family, and guest in, though. The guest was Richard Dawkins...
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Comments
... but satire is dead. It can't compete with real life.
Posted by: Duae Quartunciae | March 20, 2008 10:45 PM
Is this real life reflecting usenet? No, it can't be, even McNameless isn't this funny.
I sure hope PZ and Dawkins stay up late tonight to blog about this.
Posted by: Gary Bohn | March 20, 2008 10:59 PM
What's there to say but:
BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!
Posted by: Aaron Clausen | March 20, 2008 11:47 PM
Aaron, if you haven't, go take a look at Christine's post at AtBC.
Here
Might just piss you off.
Posted by: Gary Bohn | March 21, 2008 1:03 AM
You can't buy that kind of publicity. Okay, you can, but not too many people would have thought of it.
Scared the cat funny.
Posted by: Susan Silberstein | March 21, 2008 2:46 AM
Now, John, if only PZed had asked you to fill out his application form for him, this would never have happened.
Posted by: Bob O'H | March 21, 2008 5:27 AM
Will Myrrh now have a Leather Jacket with "Better Known Than Dawkins" on the back :o)
Does seem a bit strange to ban one of the players in a film from seeing it, especially as he had booked online using his real name.
Posted by: Chris' Wills | March 21, 2008 8:23 AM
I think the resulting Buzz in the Blogosphere will net (no pun intended) the Expelled! IDiots more paying patrons for their film, i.e. the outcome of this blogolalia will be to Win Ben Stein More Money.
Hope I'm wrong, though...hate to see IDiots win anything.
Posted by: Barn Owl | March 21, 2008 9:10 AM
Irony is alive
...and it's 7 feet tall, 400 lbs., and is only afraid of fire.
seriously, last night was the Frankenstein of irony.
I have a hangover this morning from imbibing too much of it.
I think I may have contracted type II diabetes, it was so sweet.
Posted by: Ichthyic | March 21, 2008 3:41 PM
This episode probably has long legs. We baby eating atheists can assure its longevity by not making pointing out obvious characterizations and cartoon posturing but by making valid examples.
For example it may be to our advantage to back off mentioning the duplicity angle concerning how the ID crowd perceives us. To wit: as they "Forgive our trespasses as we for give those against us."
As humorous as all of this is, please keep your "eyes on the prize" and minister to them with the undeniable force of our love for them (Without Invisible Supernatural Spooks' Confirmation, or WISSC.) For it is certain that as much as they claim to love us (amid their irrational protestations concerning our base nature, our apostasy, our intemperance and our doubt) we probably love them more. The proof being in works, not words.
It is improbable, but nice to think about, anyway, that WISSC could provide a fulcrum, a bending point, a pivot or hinge (take your pick) between the faithful and the doubters.
Posted by: Crudely Wrott | March 22, 2008 12:10 AM
I should mention that I was washed in the Blood of the Blessed Saviour at some unfortunate point in my life. (Read: Young and Dumb.) I then aged and got educated. (Read: Young but much more curious about this shit.) After that I attained this measure of success: Older, more educated, still curious but much harder to fool. And free of beliefs in Spooks.
Why is such a natural progression not more common in the general population? I am certainly not that special.
Posted by: Crudely Wrott | March 22, 2008 12:18 AM
Wait until they start suggesting that PZ was throwing rocks at armed troops while dressed in a saffron robe...
Posted by: John S. Wilkins | March 22, 2008 12:48 AM
You would think that a guy in Fresno wouldn't have anything to add to this, but, as Bill Nye liked to say, "please consider the following."
Posted by: Scott Hatfield, OM | March 22, 2008 3:27 AM
...or orchestrating the whole thing from his government in exile in Dharamorrisala.
Posted by: michaelf | March 22, 2008 3:10 PM