Blogging is likely to be light for the next week or so. I'm gearing up for some traveling, starting at the end of the week. On Thursday I'll leave for Chicago, to participate in the annual AAAS Conference. Over the weekend I will be in Parsippany, New Jersey to participate in the annual chess extravaganza known as the U. S. Amateur Team East. Me and my homeys are getting together for another, no doubt forlorn, go at the title. Then on Tuesday I'll be in Princeton to meet with an editor from Princeton University Press to discuss a new project. Stay tuned on that one!
Sadly, because of all the chaos going on in preparing for the trip, and since I'm obsessed with the Olympics, I completely forgot to watch Questioning Darwin tonight. I was one of the talking heads interviewed for the film. No problem, since the midnight rerun is about a half hour away. In the meantime, Slate has a review.
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You didn't miss much...half of the program (how the hell could they possibly call that mess a documentary?) consisted of testimonials by people miraculously 'healed' or TRVE BELIEVERS whose minds are welded shut so well they would never consider actually thinking. One man even said if he were to read 2+2=5 in his book of fables, he would absolutely accept it as true. I just don't think there is any hope for those kinds of people.
Off topic, but something Jason might find interesting: YECs have started responding to Pat Robertson's attacks on Ken Ham, after the debate. Here is one of them.
What is interesting is that his first argument against Robertson's OECism is exactly Jason's own argument, that the TOE requires unnecessary and immoral bloodshed.
This doc was pretty much useless. It was essentially a Darwin bio with clips of idiots with imaginary friends in between. It's like pick one....Darwin bio.....idiots rambling......absolutely no reason to combine the two.
Do you think you could take Bill Gates in chess?
I saw it. Ultimately, I was disappointed as it portrayed the two sides as if there are legitimately two sides to this issue. I guess at least viewers could see for themselves just how anti-intellectual creationist views are.
I agreed with a line from the Salon interview: "creationism is fundamentally anti-human."
I would go further and say that it displays a contempt for humanity's ability to aquire knowledge. It's funny how Ham mentioned relativism when that is what a creationist's position with regard to epistemology must be. Science must be reduced to an ideology in their minds. Once that is done to their satisfaction, it all becomes relative to a belief system.
Funny though how recalcitrant reality is though...I've tried to turn my crap into gold, but so far, I've been unsuccesssfull. I guess I don't have enough faith.
This documentary showcased some of the most stupid things I have heard from the mouth of Christians.