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PZ Myers is a biologist and associate professor at the University of Minnesota, Morris.
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…it is wrong for a man to say that he is certain of the objective truth of any proposition unless he can produce evidence which logically justifies that certainty. This is what Agnosticism asserts; and, in my opinion, it is all that is essential to Agnosticism. That which Agnostics deny and repudiate, as immoral, is the contrary doctrine, that there are propositions which men ought to believe, without logically satisfactory evidence; and that reprobation ought to attach to the profession of disbelief in such inadequately supported propositions.
[Thomas Huxley]
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Category: Creationism • Entertainment
Posted on: May 14, 2006 7:44 AM, by PZ Myers
News from The Panda's Thumb: tonight, The Simpsons is all about the creationist pseudo-controversy, and Lisa gets arrested as an evilutionist. Let's all tune in!
I was unimpressed. There were a few good barbs thrown at the creationists, but in the end the matter is settled by something trivial (Homer looks like an ape; yet again, the lazy Simpsons trope of the stupid Homer resolves the story), and of course they caved and pandered to the false dignity of the dominant tribal superstition. Eh.
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Comments
Posted by: aiabx
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May 14, 2006 11:38 AM
Hey, what's with the picture? I thought creatures evolved upwards.
I approach the show with cautious optimism. The Simpsons have pulled in their horns on religion before, I hope they have the guts to go for the kill.
Posted by: Steve
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May 14, 2006 4:15 PM
For some reason, I expect them to pander to the religious majority. We'll see how it goes.
Posted by: Troutnut
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May 14, 2006 7:13 PM
Heh... "Now Lisa's the Ralph."
Posted by: HP
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May 14, 2006 7:14 PM
Flanders: We want you to teach alternatives to Darwinian evolution!
Skinner (confused): You mean .... Lamarckian evolution?
Posted by: HP
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May 14, 2006 7:23 PM
Okay, I haven't watched TV in a while.... How long has this six-bladed razor been around?
Posted by: Blue Mako
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May 14, 2006 7:28 PM
"This video will evade all your questions".
Heh.
Posted by: daenku32
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May 14, 2006 7:39 PM
That was awesome. I missed probably half of it, but the parts I caught made me laugh..
"Degree in Thruthiness"
Posted by: Carlie
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May 14, 2006 8:11 PM
I thought "Now Lisa's the Ralph" was the best line, with a close second of "Daddy, was Mommy a monkey? I don't remember", with third as "Bambi, who set the forest fire and killed your mother? Evolution? Oh, that's horrible!"
Pretty good, but gave evolution evidence short shrift, and the bit with Homer at the end was really funny, but a cop-out. It skewers well, but wouldn't convince anyone.
Posted by: NelC
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May 14, 2006 8:37 PM
Well, it's only a twenty-minute cartoon, so it's hardly going to use in-depth debate. It's also a series, so each episode has to end with the status quo restored, so it isn't going to convince anybody of anything.
OTOH, it sounds as if the IDists got the short end of all the jokes, and as everyone who's a Simpsons fan knows, Lisa is the voice of truth in the show, so if she's an evolutionist, the script-writers have made their position adequately clear.
Posted by: George Cauldron
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May 14, 2006 10:56 PM
Say what you like, I bet Dembski & DaveScot didn't like it...
Posted by: Rev. BigDumbChimp
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May 15, 2006 7:28 AM
Lisa "We had a test today and all the answers were "God Did it"
Posted by: Steve
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May 15, 2006 8:45 AM
I liked the bit where Creationism was explained as everything being "blinked" into existence, in an "I Dream of Jeannie" fashion.
Posted by: Bruce
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May 15, 2006 10:50 AM
I thought the funniest bit was the creationism exhibit at the museum with the Doobie Brother's "What A Fool Believes" playing in the background. But it could be because I just like the Doobie Brothers?
Posted by: TheBrummell
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May 15, 2006 11:24 AM
"I liked the bit where Creationism was explained as everything being "blinked" into existence, in an "I Dream of Jeannie" fashion."
That was in Family Guy, broadcast an hour later. Now the Family-Guy-is-not-a-rippoff-of-Simpsons ragers will be all over you. Duck!
Posted by: wilco
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May 15, 2006 11:27 AM
> I liked the bit where Creationism was explained as everything being "blinked"
> into existence, in an "I Dream of Jeannie" fashion.
Uhm, I'd been drinking a little by that point, but wasn't that on Family Guy, where there was a literal Jeannie/genie "blinking" everything into existence? (Although the Creation Myth in the Simpsons also "blinked" everything into existence.)
I, too, was a little disappointed that they didn't manage to work in a least one or two actual thought-provoking questions during the trial.
Family Guy, OTOH, pretty well made up for it all with the typical crudeness describing the Big Bang.