Dembski knew

It's all a bit too convoluted to make for snappy copy, but Dembski had been using Harvard/XVIVO's animation in his lectures without permission…and now it's clear from his Design of Life book that he did so in full awareness that he had no right to do so.

Hey, I thought these Christian folk were supposed to be the morally upstanding ones. That's what they've always told me, anyway — have they been lying about that, too?

More like this

Peter Irons has again been having way too much fun with creationist shenanigans. Irons, you may recall, is a hot shot west coast lawyer who had a grand time with the Pivar situation, and has lately been nudging Dembski on the case of his misuse of the Harvard/XVIVO animation. Would you believe that…
This is just getting weirder and weirder. What kind of dummies are behind Expelled, anyway? First they lied about the premise of their movie to get interviews; then they copied Harvard/XVIVO's cell animations; then they threatened XVIVO with a lawsuit; now it turns out that they're using music from…
You all remember Dembski's recent faux pas — he was caught stealing a science video from Harvard/XVIVO for use in his Intelligent Design creationism lectures. Dembski has issued one of his patented not-pologies. He now declares that all of the allegations against him are false, but he now promises…
Most of you have probably already seen this: David Bolinsky accuses Expelled of theft. Bolinski is the professional who invested a great deal of time and money in generating the "Inner Life of the Cell" video, only to see it misappropriated, misinterpreted, and misused by creationists to promote…

Yes. Next question.

By Reginald Selkirk (not verified) on 26 Dec 2007 #permalink

To be fully correct, it is "Faith Based Reality."

By dogmeatib (not verified) on 26 Dec 2007 #permalink

God bless (so to speak), ERV.

You know, it would go a long way to restoring a sense of honor among the better IDiots and creationists if finally one of their spokespeople would come out and condemn Dembski's flagrant dishonesty. So far there's nothing but mush-mouthed nonsense, and circling of the wagons.

I mean, I have never found Dembski to be honest, which I have on occasion thought of others such as Behe and Paul Nelson (Dover, hearing Behe speak and work Q & A sessions, plus encountering Nelson on PT, have put a rest to those fantasies). But I can see how naive, ignorant, and reactionary folk might honestly think otherwise, so I wouldn't press them on the honesty issue over most of Dembski's dissembling rhetoric.

But this is a matter not just of intellectual honesty (which IDiots and creationists fail almost to a person), rather it is a matter of personal honesty. The personally honest IDists and creationists will condemn Dembski for violating the 8th commandment, the rest will not.

I think that we'll see that there's a strong correlation between intellectual dishonesty and personal dishonesty when Dembski's theft is largely ignored and/or excused.

Glen D
http://tinyurl.com/2kxyc7

Dishonesty at the Discovery Institute? I'm shocked! Shocked, I tell you!

It is possible that the Disco Dudes are serving a larger evolutionary purpose unbeknownst to us (and, obviously, themselves).

Dembski's antics could be co-evolving with the adaptation of animal laughter. Pretty soon the whole planet will be laughing.

'The Inner Life of a Cell' is perhaps a good example that some popular presentations of biochemical working at cellular level contain a "cibernetic" point of view, very attractive to IDers. The ideas of "order", "chains of cause and effect", "central and peripheral metabolism", etc., were good tools to advance in the pionneer times of Cell Biology. However, perhaps we need a different focus on the workings of cells. Contemporaneous proteomics and metabonomics helps us to understand a non-centered complex system. And if we want to reach a useful "science-based therapeutics", we must remember allways that cells are not designed machines, but historically evolved systems.

Dembski is a lying sac of Creationist Crap. Pretend to act shocked.

"Gasp" ... no, wait ... "Oh, no" ... nope, not right ... "OH MY GAWD!" ... hmm, needs work ...

Dembski's holy book contains a character called "The Father of Lies". However, if I remember correctly, he was one of the bad guys...

I have long maintained that the behavior of Dembski's goes well beyond the desperate actions of someone trying to defend an indefensible position.

There is something truly delusional and narcissistic about his view of the world. I suspect that he truly believes that he is some great revolutionary figure. In his mind, his lies are justified because he has been cheated of his proper place in the world.

By Tony Popple (not verified) on 26 Dec 2007 #permalink

Remember that the godly can do as they like. As someone obeserved above it's fine because their god told them to do it. And if he didn't then it's still OK as long as they go to confession and own up, sometime.

Actually these people are even less moral than the rest of us, at least IME. What does their morality teach them? To love all men and to be charitable and tolerant. And yet how do they view other sects who believe in the same god (vide, eg. Northern Ireland)? Let alone those who believe (or not) in some different god(s).

Once again, Dembski's been thoroughly ERV'd.

Now, if only someone could explain to me why I have the crushing urge to buy ERV a bunny.

#9

LoL! Touche!

It's ok, god told him to do it.

Not necessarily. ID takes no position on the identity of the designer. Dembski may have gotten his morals from slime creatures from the planet Weezle.

By noncarborundum (not verified) on 26 Dec 2007 #permalink

"May have?"

What does Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary say about this? Surely they have a policy against plagiarism.

By Ferrous Patella (not verified) on 26 Dec 2007 #permalink

I just called Homeland security.*

*Kidding.

Hey! Don't slander the innocent (if drippy) Weezlians!

By Pierce R. Butler (not verified) on 26 Dec 2007 #permalink

They're not innocent if they designed Dembski.

By noncarborundum (not verified) on 26 Dec 2007 #permalink

It's never shocking when creationists lie. It is eternally shocking when people believe them anyway.

By H. Humbert (not verified) on 26 Dec 2007 #permalink

If those secular-azis at the Discovery Institute had had the decency to display a copy of the Ten Commandments, none of this would have happened. 'Thou shalt not steal' may seem simple enough, but it's clearly really easy to forget.

You know what's especially disappointing about this? Chances are, if Bill had asked Hah-vahd and given standard disclaimers, they probably would've allowed the clip's usage within the context of a speech on a college campus. Like Barry Bonds, Bill probably didn't need to cheat, but he did. Now, with his fingers caught in the cookie jar, he appears to be trying to lie his way out of it.

You know, it would go a long way to restoring a sense of honor among the better IDiots and creationists if finally one of their spokespeople would come out and condemn Dembski's flagrant dishonesty.

Even if ID and creationism were views that one could come by honestly, no one could reach the position of spokesperson without a long history of lying and defending lies.

By truth machine (not verified) on 26 Dec 2007 #permalink

Not necessarily. ID takes no position on the identity of the designer.

Yes, except when it does. Ineffability of the Designer, theological question and all that.

By David Marjanović, OM (not verified) on 26 Dec 2007 #permalink

It is possible that the Disco Dudes are serving a larger evolutionary purpose unbeknownst to us (and, obviously, themselves).

So who would it be known to?

I know it's a joke and all, but "evolutionary purpose" is a seriously wrongheaded meme, and every instance of it sows misunderstanding.

By truth machine (not verified) on 26 Dec 2007 #permalink

Now, with his fingers caught in the cookie jar, he appears to be trying to lie his way out of it.

Those weren't lies, they were...

"street theatre".

:P

Not necessarily. ID takes no position on the identity of the designer.

Yes, except when it does. Ineffability of the Designer, theological question and all that.

Do I need a special set of tags for when I'm quoting tongue in cheek?

By noncarborundum (not verified) on 26 Dec 2007 #permalink

Hey, I thought these Christian folk were supposed to be the morally upstanding ones.

Well, intellectual property concepts and copyright are not in the Ten Commandments. Neither is there anything about highway speed limits.

I've said it before, and I'll say it again:

It's a good thing he's not an atheist.

Because if he were an atheist, he'd have no morality or decency, no reason to follow a code of ethics, and would act as if he could just do whatever he wanted.

And #35: The answer is "yes." We need a sarcasm font, stat.

Not necessarily. ID takes no position on the identity of the designer.

Yes, except when it does. Ineffability of the Designer, theological question and all that.

By David Marjanović, OM (not verified) on 26 Dec 2007 #permalink