…and this is a 
Clear off a space on the floor near you, because soon you'll be rolling around laughing on it.
You may recall that John A. Davison, infamous advocate of Intelligent Design, started a blog of his own, titled Prescribed Evolution, back in November of 2005. It generated a lot of hilarity because it consisted of one post. This is it.
I have my own blog now, only because I have been banned from just about all the others. Since I am computer illiterate, don't expect very much from me. I welcome any comments about my published papers including my unpublished "An Evolutionary Manifesto: A New Hypothesis For Organic Change." I will tend to ignore any denigrations either of myself or my distinguished sources. I will also not take seriously comments from anonymous posters although I will respond provided they are civil.
There follows a comment thread. It's up to 847 comments now; it consists of Davison wondering where all the commenters are, lots of bickering, Davison threatening to ban DaveScot, DaveScot threatening to ban Davison from his blog, waa waa waaa, on and on. If I were trying to parody the inanity of the Designists, I couldn't have topped this.
But Davison could.
He has started a new blog, New Prescribed Evolution. Again, it consists of one post.
The original Prescribed Evolution blog got pretty cluttered so I am starting a new one. Hopefully I will be able to better manage this one than the original.
<snort>
That post has 157 comments right now. Almost all of them are by…John A. Davison.
This is hilarious.
Comments
Posted by: Caledonian
|
May 18, 2006 1:45 PM
At least he's not pretending to have a squid fetish to pad out his blog.
Posted by: coturnix
|
May 18, 2006 1:46 PM
Thank you for the warning to clear up the floor...that was good advice.
Is he unaware that a blog can have, like, more than one post? No need to start a new blog, just post something new...or is it because ID is incapable of coming up with anything new so why bother...?
Posted by: Andy Groves
|
May 18, 2006 1:56 PM
In the immortal words of Jon Fleming, "He couldn't get a clue if he was drenched in clue pheromones, dancing in a clue field in the middle of clue mating season, wearing a clue suit, and shouting, "Clooo! Cloooo! "
I love it so!
Posted by: CalGeorge
|
May 18, 2006 1:59 PM
Coming soon: The New New Prescribed Evolution.
Posted by: PZ Myers
|
May 18, 2006 2:00 PM
You'd think DaveScot would explain things to the poor man. Maybe he has, but he's so dumb he still can't figure it out.
Posted by: Dave S.
|
May 18, 2006 2:08 PM
Good ol John A. Davison ... blogdoms answer to the raving lunatic on the street. Good to see he's still ranting away at the walls.
Posted by: Bronze Dog
|
May 18, 2006 2:18 PM
I couldn't resist looking. Glad I finished my drink before skimming. You'd think the whole thing's about some theory of rudeness and bannination. The whole time, I was thinking, "Make with the science, already!"
Nope. Nothing except a lot of whining about who banned who for which alleged (and deleted) flame.
Posted by: Chris
|
May 18, 2006 2:33 PM
I genuinely feel bad for the guy. That's just sad. I thought for a moment about trying to explain to him that you can post more than once on a blog. Then I thought, if this guy is a frequent commenter on other blogs, and therefore knows that it is possible to write more than one post on a blog, but has yet to realize that he can write more than one post on his blog, then my pedagogical skills are simply not sufficient for me to explain this to him.
Posted by: thalarctos
|
May 18, 2006 2:37 PM
Hard to say which is funnier--his new tagline from the Patton quote, or the way he keeps saying over and over he's going to leave DaveScot's post up as an object lesson, then deletes them, and responds to them. It's like hearing one side of a phone conversation.
Of course, there's always the content of the comments, too. This was definitely worth the price of admission...
Posted by: deadman_932
|
May 18, 2006 2:46 PM
Great googly. I just spent 30 minutes of my lunch alternating between laughter and incredulity at the rantings of that old coot. In the end, I'm just left with the fervent hope that I never encounter the brain injury or demon that has seized his frontal lobes. Maybe a quick trephination with a hammer and wood chisel might help.
Posted by: J-Dog
|
May 18, 2006 2:50 PM
Reading his blog is like watching a train wreck... It was terrible, yet I was drawn to it... But seriously, this guy is scarry... I am surprised DaveScott and Dembski haven't called Homeland Security on him yet.
Posted by: thalarctos
|
May 18, 2006 2:51 PM
Oops, my mistake. I thought JAD was deleting those posts; looks like it was probably DaveScot who deleted all his own posts (although there's also an argument over that point, it seems).
Since that's no longer in contention for the funniest thing I've read over there so far, I'll replace it with this quote from JAD: "Well I am through being a gentleman."
Yes, I'd say so.
Posted by: Kristine
|
May 18, 2006 2:53 PM
"Is he unaware that a blog can have, like, more than one post?"
Coturnix, what's the matter with you? The poor man obviously cannot handle more than one thought per blog, and you want to get him all confused and nervous with your talk of multiple posts and such? Don't you know that multiple post pathways in one blog would be irreducibly complex, and point to the existence of an Intelligent Reader actually, truly, deeply interested in what Davison has to say? Unless Dembski wants to rebut that "intelligent blogging is not optimal blogging," which is why DaveScot acts so stupid, I guess.
Posted by: George Cauldron
|
May 18, 2006 2:57 PM
Isn't it kind of mean to make fun of a senile 77-year-old man?
20 years ago someone like Davison would have spent his 'golden years' writing angry letters to newspaper editors and writing angry articles that got rejected by journals. No one would have ever heard of him. Today we have blogs for such people. The effect of the internet has not been entirely benign.
Besides, the place where Davison really shines is on Larry Fafarman's blog, when he and Dave Scot bicker and threaten to kick each other's asses.
Posted by: Carlie
|
May 18, 2006 3:13 PM
It looks like he just doesn't know the difference between using the comment thread on one post and posting a new blog entry altogether. Shame, really. Someone should tell him about that.
Posted by: George Cauldron
|
May 18, 2006 3:24 PM
Starting a new blog whenever your old thread gets too big is sort of like selling your car when the ashtrays get full.
Of course, if he kept his OWN comments down to about 5% of their current level, the threads would never fill up.
Posted by: Corey S
|
May 18, 2006 3:33 PM
Obviously, Davison does not know the difference between a post and a comment.
Apparently, Kent Hovind's blog has not had a new post in two weeks and his Dr. Dinoweb site seems to be not updated. I wonder if this has to do something with the closure of DAL.
I commented on a post on the Doctor's one weekend in April. He should really take some time off.
Posted by: sdanielmorgan
|
May 18, 2006 3:35 PM
Jeez, thanks a lot. I got piss on me and dirt from the floor. Please don't post things that induce piss stains and floor dirt on people's clothes from now on.
;)
Posted by: rrt
|
May 18, 2006 4:24 PM
Holy CRAP.
Though I've heard of Davison in passing, I've never actually stared into this particular abyss. Wow. I truly can't believe he is sane.
Posted by: Bill
|
May 18, 2006 4:28 PM
New Prescribed Evolution was fun for a while until I came across this very scary bit:
"A chap by the name of Larry Farfarman has a new blog - I'm From Missouri:
im-from-missouri.blogspot.com/"
The thought of Larry F, DaveScot and JonD posting in the same place is just too horrible to contemplate! Run, my little neurons! Flee! Flee!
Posted by: just john
|
May 18, 2006 4:45 PM
Anybody else notice that under "Links," two of the three point to "How do I edit my link list?"
I have to wonder if his home is filled with pictures of families that came with the frames.
Posted by: CanuckRob
|
May 18, 2006 4:49 PM
It is so sad. Reminds me of the crap in high school where each little clique had it's own little spats and nobody else gave a tinkers dam but it was fun to observe.
Posted by: REBoho
|
May 18, 2006 4:50 PM
Maybe he banned himself from his first blog and had to start another one. Probably said something to himself that he regarded as either nonsubstantive or personally denigrating.
Posted by: Carlie
|
May 18, 2006 4:55 PM
Wow. Not only does he not understand how the world works, he doesn't even understand the parameters of his OWN JOB:
"Apparently, according to Dinger, if one retires at the rank of Associate Professor, which I most proudly did, one has misrepresented himself when he desribes himself as Professor Emeritus which I most certainly have. I sign my email that way and that is just about the only time I ever use the term Emeritus Professor. The term Professor is not restricted to rank rank any more than is the term Doctor. I thought everyone knew that."
So, then, I can call myself a CEO, since those kinds of terms aren't restricted by rank?
Posted by: BlueIndependent
|
May 18, 2006 4:56 PM
Wow. And it only took 5 posts for the self-agrandizement to start.
"Darwinists' worst nightmare"? Indeed. Growing stupidity is something to stay up at night about...
Posted by: Alexander Kjerulf
|
May 18, 2006 4:58 PM
Get this: Somebody already registered http://newnewprescribedevolution.blogspot.com
out from under John. Where will he go next?
Posted by: Kristine
|
May 18, 2006 5:04 PM
Oh, and way to "ignore his blog" due to its fearsome "scientific challenges," everyone. I'm trembling in my sandals. And that's an unexpectedly good phrase--the scientifically challenged!
And no violins about Davison's age--my mom is the same age.
Posted by: Ginger Yellow
|
May 18, 2006 5:04 PM
This has to be the most, well, Davison quote of all time: "If you can't address the significance of this blog to the current evolutionary scene, just don't post."
How on earth do you address the significance to the current evolutionary scene of a blog consisting of one post about how the blogger's old blog got "cluttered"? Even if we were to generously extend our analysis to the comments thread, it consists entirely of Davison talking to himself or ranting at another person whose posts have been deleted.
Posted by: just john
|
May 18, 2006 5:11 PM
Carlie: No, he said "rank rank!" In other words, a rank (position) that is rank (smelly nigh unto the heavens!)
Posted by: FishyFred
|
May 18, 2006 5:21 PM
He's not. He literally lost his marbles in the mid-80s and has been a raving loony ever since.
Posted by: FishyFred
|
May 18, 2006 5:23 PM
Whoops. "Literally" is the wrong word. I mean that he is literally not sane, so the fact that you joke about it is funny.
Posted by: just john
|
May 18, 2006 5:35 PM
FF: Maybe they were really special marbles.
Posted by: Jim Anderson
|
May 18, 2006 5:41 PM
Shameless, I know: it's time again for the classic dramas John A Davison orders a Pizza and John A Davison runs for office.
Posted by: Foggg
|
May 18, 2006 5:56 PM
Imagine Sartre had known Davison, Farfarman and DaveSpringer & made them his hell-confined protagonists in No Exit.
Posted by: Fredrock Flintstone
|
May 18, 2006 6:00 PM
That was me. Any good ideas what to do with it, email suvi (at) comcast.net. I'm happy to pass it off to someone who wants to run with it.
Posted by: windy
|
May 18, 2006 6:08 PM
Farfarman
What a fun name. Means 'Grandpa-man' in Swedish.
Posted by: udargo
|
May 18, 2006 6:08 PM
It's got to be some sort of brilliant, Andy-Kaufman-esque parody.
I mean, this is comedic genius: "[I]t is my responsibility to use every venue at my disposal to further the contributions of my predecessors to my own extension of their convictions in the form of a discussion of the subject of this blog."
Brilliant.
But what I want to know is why Dichard Rawkins doesn't have the cajones to show up in this guy's blog and refute his arguments. It's just like how Jngelina Aolie refuses to address my arguments on my blog as to why I'd be a better lover than Prad Bitt. Some people are afraid to confront the truth.
Posted by: Julie Stahlhut
|
May 18, 2006 6:22 PM
In the immortal words of Jon Fleming, "He couldn't get a clue if he was drenched in clue pheromones, dancing in a clue field in the middle of clue mating season, wearing a clue suit, and shouting, "Clooo! Cloooo! "
Omigod, Andy, now I'm rolling on the floor laughing!
Posted by: lovepettis
|
May 18, 2006 6:39 PM
A little peripheral, but I just found the best word to describe intelligent design's remake from creationism, and thought I'd share:
palimpsest \PAL-imp-sest\, noun:
1. A manuscript, usually of papyrus or parchment, on which more than one text has been written with the earlier writing incompletely erased and still visible.
2. An object or place whose older layers or aspects are apparent beneath its surface.
Posted by: Neslock
|
May 18, 2006 6:45 PM
You know what would have been really funny? If PZ had made the first 130 or so comments to this post...
Posted by: slpage
|
May 18, 2006 6:57 PM
I am so flattered and proud - he actually told DaveScot that he is worse than me...
True, Davison is most likely senile (he is definitely a crank), but he did at least get one thign right (re: DaveScot):
"You are an arrogant, domineering, intellectual bigot who is being used by a closet religious fanatic who doesn't even believe in evolution."
Posted by: slpage
|
May 18, 2006 6:59 PM
Also note that Davison's intellectual equal and pal Phil Engle, architect and evolution disprover, has weighed in...
Posted by: thalarctos
|
May 18, 2006 7:00 PM
JAD actually did make a biology funny, though (this one intentional). I liked his new species Sus springeriana (by comparison, Sus scrofa domesticus is the domestic pig).
Those two need to get a room.
Posted by: George Cauldron
|
May 18, 2006 7:27 PM
Get this: Somebody already registered http://newnewprescribedevolution.blogspot.com out from under John. Where will he go next?
returnofthesonofprescribedevolution? brideofprescribedevolution.com? prescribedevolutionmeetsgodzilla.com?
Posted by: Sean Foley
|
May 18, 2006 7:48 PM
returnofthesonofprescribedevolution? brideofprescribedevolution.com? prescribedevolutionmeetsgodzilla.com?
I suspect the next four installments will be
beneathprescribedevolution.blogspot.com
escapefromprescribedevolution.blogspot.com
conquestofprescribedevolution.blogspot.com
battleforprescribedevolution.blogspot.com
Posted by: George Cauldron
|
May 18, 2006 7:56 PM
Sometime soon we can expect themakingofprescribedevolution.blogspot.com.
Posted by: TheBrummell
|
May 18, 2006 8:05 PM
"I welcome any comments about my published papers including my unpublished "An Evolutionary Manifesto: A New Hypothesis For Organic Change." I will tend to ignore any denigrations either of myself or my distinguished sources."
OK, those two statements were worth a Kilo-Coulter of Dain Bramage each. Ouch.
I really, really want to comment about his published unpublished work.
Posted by: Kristine
|
May 18, 2006 10:03 PM
How about
prescribedevolution_thephantomflagella.blogspot.com
prescribedevolution_attackofthebones.blogspot.com
prescribedevolution_revengeofthemyth.blogspot.com
after which, a nice change of pace; something more literary
waitingforGod-oh.blogspot.com
"According to Dinger" would be a great name for a blog.
Posted by: Janne
|
May 18, 2006 10:16 PM
prescribedevolutiongonewild.blogspot.com
prescribedevolutionvsmechaprescribedevolution.blogspot.com
prescribedevolutionshristmascollection.blogspot.com
planprescribedevolutionfromouterspace.blogspot.com
Anyway, and a little sadly, it really does seem he is due for assisted living somewhere; it has all the hallmarks of someone who is not longer altogether present, intellectually.
Posted by: Stanton
|
May 18, 2006 10:16 PM
Out of curiosity, is the infamous Davescotspierre also banned here, too?
Posted by: BJN
|
May 18, 2006 11:08 PM
The sound of one hand whacking...
Posted by: goddogit
|
May 19, 2006 1:29 AM
The punchline (not that the lack of one lessens the level of humor provided bu JAD) will be if he takes the advice of those who have explained how to open new topics, instead of starting an entire new blog, only to then only allow himself one comment before opening a new thread.
Posted by: Rey Fox
|
May 19, 2006 1:42 AM
...in the house that Jack built.
Posted by: sockatume
|
May 19, 2006 3:06 AM
Dr. Wilson: Did you know your phone is dead? Do you ever recharge the batteries?
Dr. House: They recharge? I just keep buying new phones.
Posted by: Quetzal
|
May 19, 2006 8:23 AM
I'm not sure what the protocol is, but I thought ya'all might appreciate a link to a site where JAD spent quite a while "defending" his thesis: http://evcforum.net/cgi-bin/dm.cgi?action=msg&f=28&t=3&m=1. There were a couple of threads on ol' John. Before he was banned for being terminally illogical. Enjoy.
Posted by: CCP
|
May 19, 2006 10:44 AM
these comments, that's what's hilarious.
some of you people are pretty funny.
Got that?
Write that down.
Posted by: George Cauldron
|
May 19, 2006 10:50 AM
these comments, that's what's hilarious.
some of you people are pretty funny.
Got that?
Write that down.
You forgot to say "I love it so!"
Posted by: rrt
|
May 19, 2006 1:25 PM
It just got better (if that's even possible), although my amusement at this is starting to sour as I'm better grasping his genuine, sad lunacy. Anyway, Davison recently posted the following in response to some comments that he needs to learn how to make new posts (with a bit of editing out of unrelated ranting):
This is for all those who disapprove of the way I run my blog. There are a couple of reasons that my system is vastly superior to the usual method of introducing threads for discussion.
Sequential threads disappear into the sunset as they are replaced by new entries. My system is like history, continuous, complete and, since I hesitate to delete threads, irrevocable and permanent.
(snip)
Another, and much more important reason for my system, is that I have, to borrow a phrase from Dichard Rawkins, a "product to sell." It is called the Prescibed Evolutionary Hypothesis (PEH). I am not in the least bit interested in what other people have to say about either Fundamentalist, Bible-waving Creationism or Darwinian, chance-worshipping mysticisim. I have nothing but perfect contempt for both camps.
I have absolutely no clue how that second reason relates to his "vastly superior system."
Posted by: Annie Miz
|
May 19, 2006 1:26 PM
Even though I think this guy is a nut, I felt bad that he seemed so clueless about making new posts vs. adding comments to one post. I sent him a polite, neutral (in that I didn't say one way or another what I thought about him or his ideas) email suggesting how and why he might want to consider making new posts. I was concerned that I might be aiding, abetting and giving comfort to a new and improved nut, but it just seemed so pathetic....
Well, there was no need to worry. I see others have made the same suggestion via comments at his blog and he's told such folks to, basically, piss off and that his method is 'vastly superior' to the new post method...something about old posts disappering 'into the sunset' and his system is 'like history, continuous, complete...irrevocable and permanent'. I'm just glad he ignored all the advice and now I won't have any regrets about helping to create a more annoying nut.
BTW, is it unusual in his field to retire at the associate professor level with that much service? Just curious.
Posted by: Keith Douglas
|
May 19, 2006 3:59 PM
Someone I know (a clinical psychology student) once suggested that one could get a lot of psychopathology data by studying web boards and stuff ...
Posted by: Victoria Marinelli
|
May 20, 2006 2:32 AM
I'm flummoxed by the header of the "New" Prescribed Evolution blog: He says posts, not comments. The idea that he might have had "800 posts" on the previous blog renders a peculiarly off-base notion that he ever had that much to say.
Sorry to play "Captain Obvious" here, but geez!
Posted by: Roadtripper
|
May 20, 2006 12:33 PM
I hadn't seen seen "Davison Runs For Office" before. But as usual, truth is stranger than fiction. Here's the true story of Dr. Davison's bid for the office of governor of Vermont:
http://www.uvm.edu/~jdavison/platform.html
Enjoy, as the good Doctor holds forth on a variety of issues including education, gun control, the free press, and composting toilets.
Posted by: Matthew
|
May 22, 2006 6:47 PM
The thing is, if he can figure out how to make new blogs each time then he can figure out how to make new posts. So it seems to me that he knows what he's doing. He's just batshit crazy. He's right, his old blog did get cluttered. Even text takes a while to load when it's 800 comments long.