…and this is a 
Biology needs to explain gravity?
Category: Humor • Kooks
Posted on: May 16, 2008 2:16 PM, by PZ Myers
Is your lunch hour safely over? If not, wait a while before watching another interview with Ben Stein. I can't believe what an idiot this man is; it's not just that he's ignorant, but that he has these bizarrely inappropriate notions about biology. He complains about "Darwinism" because it doesn't explain why are there laws of gravity and thermodynamics, or where physics and gravity come from (Bonus lunacy! He claims Darwin said gravity was intelligently designed!). He keeps making these insane assertions in interview after interview, too; does he ever think, or notice that gravity is not a product of biological processes? Did someone tell him gravity was produced by sucking or something?
We all know, after all, that gravity is actually produced by the 4th dimension, which is not what you think it is. Just ask a smart rabbit, who even shares some other sentiments with Stein.
(Whatever you do, don't send that comic to Ben Stein — he might think it's a serious hypothesis.)
Comments
The sound of that man's voice has started to induce reations of physical pain. In fact, my ears mught just be bleeding right now.
Posted by: Jeff Arnold | May 16, 2008 2:25 PM
no
Posted by: Rev. BigDumbChimp | May 16, 2008 2:27 PM
I think what Stein is trying to say when he brings up gravity and thermodynamics is that "Darwinism" doesn't, as an exclusively biological concept doesn't "explain" these things; But the existence of an intelligent designer on the other hand does "explain" them. ID is therefor the stronger theory. . .
Completely wrong of course, but I think I at least see the point he is trying and failing to make.
Posted by: Max Fagin | May 16, 2008 2:27 PM
There are only two explanations.
1. Stein is just babbling like Coulter or Goebbels and could care less what he is saying or how true it is.
2. Stein is showing symptoms of dementia. Alzheimers, Parkinson's, Creutzfeld-Jacob, Vascular, something. In other words his brain is beginning to resemble swiss cheese.
I'd say it is 60:40 dementia. Being deliberately stupid doesn't seem like a good long term strategy.
Posted by: raven | May 16, 2008 2:30 PM
How long before some astute interviewer (not 'Gorgeous George' here) hauls off and plows Stein in his smug, stupid fucking face?
Betcha Avi Lewis'd do it, at least verbally.
Posted by: Brownian, OM | May 16, 2008 2:33 PM
I'm going to respectfully disagree. Stein is constantly proving himself to not be that complex. I really think that he thinks the ToE is supposed to explain gravity and the evolution of the universe.
He's so deep in an echo chamber that there is no amount of outside stimuli that will wake his sorry ass up to reality. There is no one that he listens to on his side that is telling him that he is wrong. Have you heard anyone on the anti-evolution side say anything about some of the outrageous things he's said? You'd think there would be someone on the anti-evo side that has to recognize some of the damage he is doing.
Then again, the more he talks the more people are hearing him and it's free publicity for the anti-evos, whether its good info he's disseminating or not.
Stick a fork in him, he's done.
Posted by: Rev. BigDumbChimp | May 16, 2008 2:34 PM
Going by the rabbit's explanation linked above, Mr. Stein apparently has little depth. This could explain why he seems to be soaring through the stratosphere (i.e. he's high as a fricken kite).
Posted by: Kaf | May 16, 2008 2:34 PM
If Stein is suffering some form of dementia, apologists better not use it to excuse his evil vapidity, like they did with Heston.
My grandfather died of Alzheimer's, and at no point during his decline did it impell him to be a fucking douchebag.
Posted by: Brownian, OM | May 16, 2008 2:36 PM
This interview is by far the most ridiculous one I've heard so far and actually had me literally banging my head on my laptop at some points. If Stein actually believes that people are telling him that he isn't allowed to believe in god, he really IS a raving lunatic, though I have a feeling he's more of a dishonest philanderer...
Posted by: Maria | May 16, 2008 2:36 PM
That's not gravity; it's his career.
Posted by: Warren | May 16, 2008 2:37 PM
"Did someone tell him gravity was produced by sucking or something?"
I think we're all aware by now that Stein has "possessing gravitas" and "sucking" completely reversed.
I suppose it's no more surprising than that "gravity is caused by matter expanding" theory...
Posted by: Spiderbrigade | May 16, 2008 2:38 PM
I don't know whether I miss having sound on this computer right now, or not. I suspect it's the latter.
Posted by: Shadow | May 16, 2008 2:38 PM
Why so vicious with your comments about Stein? If he has dementia, his comments will be harmless and go unnoticed. But if you keep attacking him vehemently, you'll just give him more publicity.
Posted by: stushie | May 16, 2008 2:38 PM
I liken Stein to Muhammad Saeed al-Sahhaf (aka Baghdad Bob and Comical Ali), who reported that American troops were committing suicide by the hundreds at the gates of Baghdad and that the city would never fall while American tanks were clearly visible in the streets behind him.
Stein has no grip on reality. He's the best weapon that the forces of reason have against the creationists: as long as we use him as our straw man, we can make creationists look like the buffoons that they are.
Posted by: Hephaestus | May 16, 2008 2:39 PM
Well, that would explain a lot.
Posted by: MikeM | May 16, 2008 2:45 PM
Your right. To be fair, Stein could just be psychotic. Mentally ill in the medical sense.
Delusions can be treated. A few weeks of zyprexa or abilify and he may come to and realize what a fool he was.
Posted by: raven | May 16, 2008 2:46 PM
I've seen the line attributed to several people, and I don't know which is correct, but it seems appropriate: He is so far off he's "not even wrong."
Posted by: MS | May 16, 2008 2:46 PM
Hi Stushie. You may be unaware of this, but there's a country called the USA that's just a bit south of my home in Canada that are full of whackos with ideas like Stein. They even made a shitty movie about their ideas, starring Stein. They seem like kooks worth ignoring, except for the fact that they wield enormous political power and have nothing better to do with their lives than dedicate them to ruining the last thousand years of social progress.
Ignoring them is exactly the wrong thing to do. That's how they keep getting interviews in which the interviewers nod thoughtfully while Stein expells this kind of bullshit.
Seriously, a society in which the question "How come Darwinism can't explain gravity?" isn't met with a team of EMTs and immediate admittance to a suitable psychiatric ward is what happens when you ignore these kooks. And it's a crying fucking shame that we happen to be living in one.
Posted by: Brownian, OM | May 16, 2008 2:47 PM
I'm a little surprised Ben Stein is still talking about that whole "gravity" thing. He must not be keeping up with the news in the evangelical scientist community - they refuted gravity with a theory of Intelligent Falling almost three years ago.
Posted by: Ben | May 16, 2008 2:47 PM
Damn it.
At least George is still good looking, even if he's not much use for much else...
I'm terribly disappointed.
Posted by: Kim | May 16, 2008 2:50 PM
They had safety goggles in the precambrian? Wow!
Stein's in so deep of a hole right now he's doing the sucking.
Can we nominate Stein for some sort of an antimolly?
Posted by: blf | May 16, 2008 2:53 PM
"Why so vicious with your comments about Stein? If he has dementia, his comments will be harmless and go unnoticed."
Well, because unfortunately that's not how it works. People often listen to people who have serious mental health issues. I'd bring up Hitler and his Syphilitic induced insanity at this point, but I don't want to fall pray to Godwin's Law. Oops. Damn!
Posted by: Dahan | May 16, 2008 2:53 PM
Ben Stein talks about gravity because he has none.
Posted by: Peter Mc | May 16, 2008 2:55 PM
There once was a man named Stein
If you forget, I'll remind
From his mouth would squeak
Like a sphincter that leaks
Noises that should come from behind.
(Hey, I tried:)
Posted by: Umbo | May 16, 2008 2:58 PM
I think what Stein is trying to say when he brings up gravity and thermodynamics is that "Darwinism" doesn't, as an exclusively biological concept doesn't "explain" these things; But the existence of an intelligent designer on the other hand does "explain" them. ID is therefor the stronger theory. . .
I get what you're saying here, but it doesn't make Stein look any less ignorant even when you put this kind of spin on it. There are good scientific theories for understanding those things, but Stein is completely ignorance of them. He's using that ignorance as his basis for his belief in a supreme being. Not only is that bad science, but it's bad religion.
Posted by: Mark B | May 16, 2008 3:00 PM
ahem ... Stein is completely ignorant of them ...
when will I learn to use preview.
Posted by: Mark B | May 16, 2008 3:03 PM
Did someone tell him gravity was produced by sucking or something?
Did somebody already make the "If gravity were produced by sucking then Stein would be a black hole" joke? If not, dibs.
Posted by: rob | May 16, 2008 3:04 PM
Maybe he is saying things so batshit nuts nobody can parody him? Personally I think he trying to drag the discussion into physics because it's not the biologist strong suite.
Posted by: Bob L | May 16, 2008 3:05 PM
I think it is time for the men in white coats* to pay Mr. Stein a visit.
* Medical orderlies from a psych ward, not the Super Scientist Justice League.
Posted by: Ben | May 16, 2008 3:05 PM
Does this look like Borat to anyone else?
Posted by: Manduca | May 16, 2008 3:06 PM
Sastra, a commentator I hold much admiration for, really said it best over on Ed Brayton's blog. She accurately (in my opinion) identifies what leads a person like Stein to spout such horribly confused criticisms of the theory of evolution. I hope she doesn't mind my quoting her for anyone who hasn't read it:
http://tinyurl.com/6qbppb
Posted by: H.H. | May 16, 2008 3:08 PM
Wow. He seemed so sane back in the days of "win ben stein's money"
Posted by: Gavel Down | May 16, 2008 3:10 PM
This is likely to be just as bad....comes on tomorrow a.m. on Book T.V.
You Devils:
http://www.booktv.org/program.aspx?ProgramId=9256&SectionName=&PlayMedia=No
Posted by: GBruno | May 16, 2008 3:10 PM
Stein conflates 'Darwinism' with scientific naturalism. When he refers to Darwinists, he simply means Scientists who subscribe to methodological naturalism. i.e. all real scientists.
He and many other neo-Creationists feel that Darwin was somehow responsible for making science naturalistic. Which is on par with the idea that Darwin caused the holocaust.
Posted by: Quidam | May 16, 2008 3:13 PM
At the next 'Dover' they should put him on the stand as a witness. "THIS is what happens when we stop teaching science".
Posted by: slang | May 16, 2008 3:17 PM
@brownian:
"Seriously, a society in which the question "How come Darwinism can't explain gravity?" isn't met with a team of EMTs and immediate admittance to a suitable psychiatric ward is what happens when you ignore these kooks. And it's a crying fucking shame that we happen to be living in one."
I love you, man.
Posted by: ballookey | May 16, 2008 3:17 PM
That's it! I am declaring Poe's Law on Ben Stein. Or, as I should call him, Ricardo Lopez, Arnold Cross, and Simon St. James, the three actors who have been hired by comedy central to play Ben Stein over the years. Nice try, Comedy Network, but you can't put one over on me!
Posted by: Behold! the Megasiah! | May 16, 2008 3:19 PM
Has anyone tried leaving a comment on this video? So far there are zero comments. They appear to be getting sucked into moderation. (at least mine was).
Posted by: Greg Laden | May 16, 2008 3:20 PM
As we know, we're not Stein's intended audience for these statements. To his target audience, his statement makes perfect sense. To them, "Darwinism" isn't just a scientific theory about biology, it's an entire atheist belief system and a competitor to Christianity. They think that we believe it explains everything about life, the universe, and everything. They also think it's the source of our morality and values. With that mindset, the fact that "Darwinism" doesn't explain gravity is a damning indictment of "Darwinism".
Posted by: ndt | May 16, 2008 3:21 PM
Perhaps Stein can't recognize the difference between news and parody?
http://www.theonion.com/content/node/39512
Posted by: JasonG | May 16, 2008 3:22 PM
The theory of intelligent falling -- god is sucking on all of us.
Posted by: qedpro | May 16, 2008 3:23 PM
I think what Stein is saying is that science ("Darwinism")does not explain why there is gravity or thermodynamics or life, etc. Science only tells us how (or more accurately, is only a model of how) but not the "why". Why is there the universe instead of nothing. Why do we exist to ask such questions, etc. To him (and many others), the only way to explain why we exist is to invoke God. Some of us, though, are content to accept that it just is; there does not need to be a purpose.
Posted by: SteveM | May 16, 2008 3:24 PM
Evolution doesn't explain what causes diseases either and Germ Theory is just a theory.
Posted by: Mena | May 16, 2008 3:30 PM
qedpro #40
make that the theory of intelligence failing
Posted by: Sally | May 16, 2008 3:31 PM
From #5
That won't happen, because Stein plays a totally different guy when he steps back into reality. He only says things like "doubt" and "it has failings". He must know how insane the things he says are, and tones them down.
Posted by: Dennis n | May 16, 2008 3:31 PM
Are we sure The Onion is not behind Expelled and paying Ben Stein?
Evangelical Scientists Refute Gravity With New 'Intelligent Falling' Theory
http://www.theonion.com/content/node/39512
On a more serious note I have heard Xtians who claim that gravity is "just a theory" and deny it as a force of nature. They claim hell is literally in the center of the earth and our sin holds us to earth as it separates us from hell; i.e., prevents us from falling directly into hell.
This view does have some explanatory power. It can explain how Jesus ascended into heaven after his resurrection. (Before his resurrection he willed himself to the planet which is obvious because he walked on water.)
Give me some time to dig up the internet site where I saw this.
P.S. Will someone please provide a link to html codes usable in these posts.
Posted by: Prof MTH | May 16, 2008 3:31 PM
When a creationist speaks of "Darwinism" they're using a word that has no real meaning. It's just a pointer to the pile of strawmen knocking around inside their hollow heads.
"Darwinism" = Whatever aspects of reality a given cretinist refuses to accept.
What Stein is saying has no meaning at all in the real world. But he doesn't even notice this, because he isn't living in the real world.
Posted by: phantomreader42 | May 16, 2008 3:31 PM
Here is the main "There is no gravity", Copernicus, Newton & Darwin are Kabbalistic plotters site.
Perhaps Ben Stein's next movie, if anyone is dumb enough to finance it:
http://www.fixedearth.com/
Posted by: Jaycubed | May 16, 2008 3:39 PM
Ok, here is where I read about the denial of gravity:
http://www.christiandiscussionforums.org/v/showthread.php?p=1060805#post1060805
They also deny evolution, atomic theory, plate tectonics, and global warming. here is one quote, "Physics in of itself is a very sketchy field of "science", because its so uncertain of itself and always incapable of replicating their hypothesis or experimentation."
Posted by: Prof MTH | May 16, 2008 3:41 PM
I should have said:
Perhaps Ben Stein's next movie, if anyone needs a big enough tax writeoff to finance it:
http://www.fixedearth.com/
Posted by: Jaycubed | May 16, 2008 3:41 PM
A guy in a bar last nite said I looked like a young Ben Stein. I didn't even pretend to be polite; I told him to get the hell away from me. He said he's actually going to see Expelled. I tried to explain how wrong the movie was and he just didn't get it. Sigh.
Posted by: PG | May 16, 2008 3:41 PM
I thought gravity was produced by cats? ;)
(Stein ... someone needs to use the hook to get him offstage. He's way overstayed his allotted time in public.)
Posted by: P J Evans | May 16, 2008 3:52 PM
@#3
No. Stein is smarter than that.
Stein is purposefully making an error in logic. Perhaps someone can remind me what the name of the fallacy is.
He is implying a condition of Darwinism that we can test, a hypothesis. Namely, Darwinism explains Gravity. For his Fundamentalist/Creationist audience, they will have already been prepared for this hypothesis. He tests the hypothesis by asking scientists to demonstrate how Darwinism explains Gravity. When they fail to do so by either looking back at him with a stunned look of being presented with lunacy in the guise of reasonable question or by attempting to explain that the hypothesis is flawed, otherwise known as evading the question, he claims that the hypothesis is falsified. Hence, Darwinism is disproved.
Here's an example of that sort of fallacy in action... We know that antibiotics are claimed to solve all sorts of ills. Then explain to me how you would use antibiotics to fix a warp core breach? What? You can't? Therefore, we must conclude that antibiotics are merely an elaborate hoax.
But Stein is not an idiot. He knows that his hypothesis are bogus. He is simply a huckster and he must be gleeful for all the chatter he is generating.
Of course... I've been wondering why he uses the word "Darwinism" as opposed to "Evolution." I haven't given Darwinism much thought for ages. It's a philosophical concept. It isn't science. Evolution is what we observe. Natural selection, genetic drift, etc are theories explaining our observations of evolution. What Stein and his ilk seek to do is to religion-ify science by equating a philosophy related to the science as the science itself and then transpose that philosophy into the realm of religion.
In this context, his question begins to make some sense. Can Darwinism, the religion, explain Gravity? I am not sure if the Creationists really want more competition in the religious playing field. Using the same sort of rules for validation as any other religion, I think Darwinism has an answer for Ben Stein's question:
http://rinzewind.org/archives/2008/05/11/fisica-para-biologos/
(originally found on Bad Astronomy http://www.badastronomy.com/)
Posted by: MutantJedi | May 16, 2008 3:54 PM
So wait, if hell is in the center of the earth and our sin is what's weighing us down, then...anorexics are the holiest people on earth next to midgets? This answers everything.
Posted by: Gavel Down | May 16, 2008 3:55 PM
I suspect that (part of) the problem is that he sees SCIENCE as a monolithic, evil force; after all, he thinks atheists substitute Science for God. If god is monolithic (leaving aside that whole, untidy trinity business that Christians subscribe to) then surely SCIENCE is an evil subversion of that monolithism?
Dragging the analogy along a bit, is it possible that he sees the different scientific disciplines (physics, chemistry, biology) as being the "unholy trinity" of Science? Does he think that science likewise tries to (in deliberate falsehood) claim the all-knowing, all-seeing, all-benevolent attributes of deity? Surely not....
Posted by: cicely | May 16, 2008 3:57 PM
PG, that sounds like the weirdest attempted pick-up ever. "Has anyone ever told you you look like a young Ben Stein? I'm going to see Expelled, y'wanna come? Could you say the words 'voodoo economics' for me? Hey, what say you and I go for a little walk--I got a new bottle of Clear Eyes™...."
Posted by: Brownian, OM | May 16, 2008 3:59 PM
I saw the interveiw last night and wanted to puke... Ive gotten to the point of which nothing Stein says shocks me anymore... But watching George in that interveiw was painful. When interveiwing an evangelical about a bill allowing state censorship of Canadian films(in Canada, its bill c-10) he tore a strip off the nutbag. Watching this I could tell George had little knowledge of science and none on the IDiot movement (which is comparable to one of the bowel)... Just another reminder of why I dont watch "the hour"...
Posted by: Exoditetyr | May 16, 2008 4:00 PM
Well, the religious are fond of fasting.
Posted by: kmarissa | May 16, 2008 4:00 PM
It's kind of funny really. To Xtians "Darwinism," isn't just a stand-in word meaning scientific naturalism. It is the diametrically opposed evil opposite of a faith based ontology and therefore must be the opposite of what they believe in all ways. Since it is the opposite of their religion, it MUST have all the characteristics of their religion: somehow they infer both that it should be a complete theory and that it should be capable of being used as an underpinning for morality. No scientist would ever claim that our knowlege of the unverse will EVER be complete, and using basing a moral code upon "survival of the fittest" makes no more sense than basing it upon mitosis, or covalent bonding. Both are mirages created by their illusion that science is trying to be a religion and failing at it. There's no surprise that science fails at a task it isn't attempting.
Posted by: Jim A. | May 16, 2008 4:01 PM
Greg: (#38)
It's the CBC... they don't give a crap about their audience so I doubt they even bother posting comments.
George is usually a good interviewer but he just sucked as badly here as did BS.
Posted by: Kaddath | May 16, 2008 4:08 PM
Some of us, though, are content to accept that it just is; there does not need to be a purpose.
I'm content in not having a purpose to reality, but I still want to know why it came into being. Cause need not imply purpose.
Posted by: Sarcastro | May 16, 2008 4:10 PM
@#53 cicely --
Posted by: Etha Williams | May 16, 2008 4:12 PM
So, would you get on with that. The physicists have pretty much stalled on further understanding of gravithy. Oh yeah, they have a law and all, but you know its just a law after all and not complete, certainly not a fact...maybe the biologists should take a crack at it. The effects of gravity on the human physique seem to be the most important issues in society...
Posted by: George | May 16, 2008 4:13 PM
Because I must be a closet masochist, I am still trolling blogs talking about Expelled.
This might be the best one ever -
It excoriates Stein and Expelled for -
wait for it-
.
.
.
Advocating mixed race marriages
No, I'm not kidding
It says - "The message of the movie is not about creationism but to trap Christians into accepting, tolerating, promoting and engaging in interracial relationships and marriage."
and "The purpose of this movie is not to defend creationism but to demonstrate how evil white racism is because it is the same as evolution."
http://tarobb.blogspot.com/2008/04/trap-is-set.html
Boy, was I wrong. After I saw the last interview with Stein linked from this post I was finally convinced that it was about evolution causing gravity.
Posted by: Benjamin Franklin | May 16, 2008 4:14 PM
Ben's next topic:
How does gravity explain PYGMIES + DWARFS???
Posted by: DwarfPygmy | May 16, 2008 4:17 PM
We've had a stirling explanation of gravity for almost a hundred years. It's a little thing called general relativity.
Kind of disturbing that Stein gets so warm a reception on a seemingly liberal show like The Hour. Apparently, "normal people" really just don't have a clue about anything.
Posted by: J | May 16, 2008 4:20 PM
Eww, eww! I followed your link, Benjamin Franklin, and eww! That has got to be the first time I've ever seen Darwin vilified by a Christian (and a truetrade; one, not like David Twaddle or Kenny) because he advocated against racism and slavery:
What perverse little cariacatures of men and women these people are.
Posted by: Brownian, OM | May 16, 2008 4:22 PM
"How does gravity explain PYGMIES + DWARFS???"
It doesn't. But by contrast, we all know that the theory of gravity as proposed by Pastafarianism DOES explain dwarfs and pygmies very well.
Since gravity is caused by the FSM pushing down on us, dwarfs are shorter because the FSM is pushing down on them harder than others.
Hey! Pastafarianism explains MORE than the traditional theory of gravity, I guess it must be correct.
Posted by: MaxFagin | May 16, 2008 4:26 PM
So evolution is bad because it's not racist enough?
Posted by: Dennis N | May 16, 2008 4:26 PM
Oh I get it ... now that he's gone after the Darwinists for their Darwinism, Ben's now setting his sights on the Newtonists and their Newtonism!
Go fig.
Posted by: Ms Kate | May 16, 2008 4:27 PM
raven:
Funny, he induces symptoms of Tourette's in me.
Posted by: Epikt | May 16, 2008 4:28 PM
Well, Phil Plait asked us not to tell PZ about this, but ... it's just too perfect in connection with this post.
http://rinzewind.org/archives/2008/05/11/fisica-para-biologos/
PZ, if you would, please check out this comic for exactly what was asked for: a biological explanation for gravity!
~David D.G.
Posted by: David D.G. | May 16, 2008 4:35 PM
They had safety goggles in the precambrian?
Well, the fossil rabbits needed eye protection ....
Posted by: Julie Stahlhut | May 16, 2008 4:35 PM
Science, Materialism, Methodological Naturalism, Darwinism, Gravity, Evolution, Social Darwinism...
For Ben Stein, the strategy is to blur the distinctions between these terms, confluate them into one big pot, without ever pronouncing its name, atheism.
This is not someone who doesn't undestand these terms, this is someone who wilfully amplifies a pre-existing confusion in the general public's mind and is very good at exploiting the fact that people underestimate him.
This is the art of Neo-Conservative propaganda.
These people are not interested with analysis, historical exactitude, terminology, truth. They are only interested with maintaining their preferred ideology.
Posted by: negentropyeater | May 16, 2008 4:39 PM
I don't speak the language, but I can figure this out and found seeing this to be hilarious:
Posted by: Dennis N | May 16, 2008 4:40 PM
I think I learned that in Physics 100, Teach the Controversy version: "Gravity doesn't pull--the Earth sucks!" That's about all I remember of the 70s.
Posted by: Monado | May 16, 2008 4:48 PM
I think he is trying to pollute the definition of evolution for an already uneducated public. By lumping a large set of misinformation together, it will be harder to strip away the fallacies to explain the actual facts. It is giving the average joe debating tactics that will wear away the resolve of anyone attempting to explain evolution to someone misinformed.
Posted by: Mad_Dugan | May 16, 2008 4:49 PM
In related news:
http://overcompensating.com/comics/20080515.gif
Posted by: Hank Roberts | May 16, 2008 4:49 PM
Aw come on people give Ben a break, gravity really *does* suck...
Posted by: Mike | May 16, 2008 4:50 PM
Thanks, Brownian! (re #8.) My dad got awfully forgetful in his 90s, and not only did he "lend" his life savings to younger women, he also agreed when they asked him, an atheist since the age of 12, if he believed in God. Of course, he was going deaf, too, as well and refused to admit it. Let's not tar all senile seniors with the "Ben Stein" brush.
Posted by: Monado | May 16, 2008 4:55 PM
Aw come on people give Ben a break, gravity really *does* suck...
Hey, if the earth didn't suck we'd all fall off..
Posted by: next to last comic standing | May 16, 2008 4:59 PM
Quit kissing Ben Stein's ass. Call a spade a spade. He's getting well paid to lie. It worked great for his earlier career as a speechwriter. And it served him well as he pretended to be a school teacher in Ferris Bueller's Day Off.
The man lies for money. He's not stupid, so quit making excuses for him. Not stupid, vile.
Posted by: Dagger Up The Strap | May 16, 2008 5:00 PM
Damn, I missed that. The spousal unit doesn't care for Strombo's reporting style so I only watch The Hour when he's out. (Now, if he'd return the favour for Pardon the Interruption...) I suspect that George Stromboulopoulos is just giving Stein the freedom to show us all what an idiot he is. But a few pointed questions would be nice.
Posted by: Monado | May 16, 2008 5:05 PM
2. Stein is showing symptoms of dementia. Alzheimers, Parkinson's, Creutzfeld-Jacob, Vascular, something. In other words his brain is beginning to resemble swiss cheese.
mmm...now I'm all hungry.
BRAINS....er....CHEEEESSE...
Posted by: Marc | May 16, 2008 5:09 PM
Oh, that's easy. You merely suspend the antibiotics in a holomatrix approximating antiparticles, and then you send a reverse-polarity tachyon pulse through the holomatrix to bind the baryons to the structural integrity field. That'll seal the breach right up, and as a side effect, increase the efficiency coefficient of the Jeffries Tubes by about 15 Cochranes.
/Treknobabble
Posted by: stogoe | May 16, 2008 5:13 PM
When I was in middle school my parents sent me to one of those summer camps for gifted kids (a href="http://cty.jhu.edu/">CTY). They had various activities for us to choose from to keep us occupied when we weren't in class. One of them was Stage a Fake Protest (or something along those lines)...we made silly signs and went around the campus chanting, "Down with gravity! Newton was a commie!"
We all thought it was quite plainly ridiculous, but looking back, I wonder if some people might have thought we were being serious. Poe's Law and all...
Posted by: Etha Williams | May 16, 2008 5:14 PM
Wow, I can't believe no one has mentioned this cartoon, discussed previously by the Bad Astronomer, which demonstrates exactly how biology can explain gravitation. Seriously, forward this to Ben Stein, maybe it'll shut him up.
Posted by: Randall | May 16, 2008 5:34 PM
Post #65
Um, the guy's a white supremist and active promoter of Stormfront.
Hence it makes sense that someone who believes (Hitler = Good) would reject the argument (Darwin = Hitler; Hitler = Evil => Darwin = Hitler) for the argument (Darwin = Racial Equality and Integration; Racial Equality and Integration = Evil; Hitler = Racial Segregation and white supremecy; => Hiter = Good && Darwin = Evil && Hitler != Darwin) ) (*Ick*).
from BF's linked site:
Thomas Robb: (heavy sarcasm on TR's part): Do you want to preserve your racial heritage? If you do, then you are (perhaps unknowingly) supporting evolution. Do you want your son or daughter to marry within your racial family? If so you are a racist! Do you feel more comfortable around white people? If you do then you are a racist! And if you are not careful - you might become a Nazi.
Um, yes. If you do those things, you are a racist...
Um, I never really got why white seperatists don't want to be called racist and claim they aren't racists. If they are actually honest to their beliefs, wouldn't they claim that yes, they are racists and yes, they believe racism to be a good thing?
Posted by: woozy | May 16, 2008 5:35 PM
BizarroStushie: "If he has dementia, his comments will be harmless and go unnoticed."
I am agree completely. Us am living in beautiful world where us am only hearing wise and rational people.