That @#%^#^ DI list again

Over at The Questionable Authority, Mike re-iterates something I've been saying for years about the DI's "Dissent from Darwinism" signatories, 700 individuals who the DI's flacks claim "have signed the list because it is their professional opinion that the evidence is lacking for the claims for the ability of random mutations and natural selection to account for the complexity of life.":

What basis does Douglas Keil, who is listed as having a PhD in "Plasma Physics" have for forming a professional opinion on evolutionary biology? How about Jeanne Drisko, "Clinical Assistant Professor of Alternative Medicine" at the University of Kansas School of Medicine? Or Aaron Miller, who has a PhD in physics? Or mathematician Gary Dilts? Or "research meteorologist" John Brown? Or Baylor physical chemist John Burba? or Why on earth would I think that any of those people is in any way, shape, or form competent to form a professional opinion on a topic that falls outside their claimed area of professional expertise?

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Drisko has a lengthy page over at QuackWatch. I doubt that she even knows what the scientific method is.

By TrekJunkie (not verified) on 23 Jan 2008 #permalink

Here is the page you mention.

By John Lynch (not verified) on 23 Jan 2008 #permalink

When I looked at the list in summer 2006, I found biology faculty listed from these Christian colleges: Franciscan University of Steubenville, Malone College, Azusa Pacific University, Belhaven College, Belmont University, Biola University, Cedarville University,Emmanuel College, Grove City College, Huntington University, LeTourneau University, Liberty University, Lubbock Christian University, Missouri Baptist University, Mount Vernon Nazarene University, Northwestern College, Piedmont College, Simpson College, Southwestern Adventist College, Southwestern University, Union University, Wheaton College, William Carey College. You can check out their statements of faith to find out what individuals had to believe in order for employment.

I'm convinced that almost all the signatories to this list are there for religious motives. I have been doing a bit of analysis on subsamples of the "Dissenters from Darwinism" list (see Who are the "dissenters from Darwinism"?) using information on their religious views and activity available on the internet. Evidence for such motivation is there for almost every individual one looks into.

Drisko's Alternative Medicine is 99% lies. I doubt she is trying to find the 1%. Her title could be more concisely given as: Clinical Liar.

At least she will never be promoted to Father of Lies.

By JohnnieCanuck, FCD (not verified) on 24 Jan 2008 #permalink

TrekJunkie gets it right in the first comment by noting that it is their understanding of the scientific method that matters. If these scientists are being paraded about to claim that the evidence for evolution fails to meet the stringent requirements of the scientific method, then they do not necessarily need to be evolutionary biologists. So, while DI certainly stretches away from biologists because it must in order to find more people willing to sign on, the fact that they are not biologists is not a good point on which to criticize them. There are plenty of inaccuracies in their material that should be highlighted, as opposed to suggesting (intentionally or not) that only scientists in the correct field have anything useful to contribute.