Intelligent Design
gregladen | February 5, 2014In the Spring of 2010, evangelical Bible scholar Bruce Waltke, in speaking about the overwhelming evidence for evolution, said “To deny that reality will make us a cult, some odd group that is not really interacting with the real world.”
In response to this, Ken Ham, president of Kentucky’s Creation Museum, commented, “What he is saying ultimately undermines the authority of God’s word.”
Both statements seem to be true. (I don’t think you necessarily need to have faith in a god to accept the basic logic of Ham’s statement.) Also, that’s really all you need to know about young earth…
gregladen | January 9, 2014As you know, Bill Nye has agreed to engage in a debate about evolution with Ken Ham at the Kentucky Creation Museum. You may also know that I suggested that this debate was a bad idea, not so much because it is Bill Nye doing it (he’s a great spokesperson for science and science education) but because the whole idea of a debate is questionable for a number of reasons (discussed here).
Bill recently made a few comments on the debate on CNN.
Here, I’d like to list a handful of the points I’d make if I was doing this debate.
It is not necessary or even possible to argue against “creationism…
gregladen | January 9, 2014Bill Nye on CNN:
I think Bill is going to make excellent points in this debate. I don't think changing creationists minds is the point, as Bill Nye says. I also like Nye asking about the sincerity of the creationist point of view. I wish him the best of luck.
And not just luck, but Science-Power. Because we're right and they're wrong.
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A rollicking adventure through the rift valley and rain forests of Central Africa in search of the elusive diminutive ape known locally as Sungudogo.
More on science education HERE.
Also, check out my novella,…
gregladen | January 2, 2014Word on the street is that Bill Nye is going to debate Ken Hamm at the Creationism "Museum" on February 4th. This is a bad idea for several reasons.
First, Bill Nye is not really an expert on evolution and is actually not that experienced in debates. Being really really pro science and science education isn't enough. When they went in after Osama Bin Laden (my errand distant cousin) they did not send people who are really really against terrorism. They sent in Seal Team Six with a huge amount of support such as Army Rangers and such and even that was risky.
Second, there isn't a debate so…
gregladen | February 13, 2013The The Origin Of Species by Charles Darwin was published over 150 years go. At the time, several different alternative theories of the origin and history of life were being discussed in the West. Some of these theories were theological. Theological ideas included a literal translation of the bible, with the flora, the fauna, and humans created in three separate but related creation events on a freshly made earth just a few thousand years ago. Another theological idea had an Abrahamic God's hand involved in the history of life but in ways we were not likely to understand until after death…
gregladen | January 8, 2012Mike Haubrich, of Tangled Up in Blue Guy blog, has documented a discussion between a biologist, a commenter, and the Discovery Institute (a creationist "think" tank). No apes were harmed during this incident, but one of them may be rather embarrassed. It's quite intresting, have a look: Cornelius Godsplains Science to a Scientist
gregladen | December 29, 2011I mention the New Hampshire anti-evolution bills at The X Blog. Here's an update from the NCSE:
The two antievolution bills in the New Hampshire legislature attracted the attention of the Concord Monitor (December 29, 2011). As NCSE previously reported, House Bill 1148, introduced by Jerry Bergevin (R-District 17), would charge the state board of education to "[r]equire evolution to be taught in the public schools of this state as a theory, including the theorists' political and ideological viewpoints and their position on the concept of atheism," while House Bill 1457, introduced by Gary…
gregladen | December 7, 2011Why we still have to take creationism seriously:
Adventures in Defending Evolution:
gregladen | October 26, 2011Suppose you are an intelligent, thoughtful person with a thirst for information, a desire to be challenged, and a tendency to not accept received knowledge at face value. You are embedded in a traditional Christian culture where most of your family, your child's teachers and friends and those friends' families, the people where you and your spouse work and most people in your social circles assume that Evolution is "only a theory" and should be taught, if at all, along side alternative theories such as that the earth is 6,000 years old and was created in seven days. But you don't want that…
gregladen | September 23, 2011Sir David Attenborough:
"Evolution is an extremely powerful idea that lies at the heart of biology. At the same time, it's a sufficiently simple concept that there's no good reason why it should be left out of the primary curriculum. If creationism is discussed, it should be made clear to pupils that it is not accepted by the scientific community."
Details here.
Don't forget about Sir David's new project.
gregladen | June 25, 2011Apparently, when you make a movie, there's this box of stuff left over that someone has to own. It can include things like the original unedited film/video, from which the director and editors selected/cherry picked what they wanted to include, as well as various correspondences and documents and stuff.
The company that produced that horrid piece of drek known as "Expelled! No Intelligence Allowed" has gone out of business (a little Darwinian process at work, may we assume?) and the box of stuff that resulted from that film is now on the auction block. The auctioneer's gavel will strike this…
gregladen | June 13, 2011Miss USA contestants have been asked for the upcoming beauty contest if evolution should be taught in US schools. In a seemingly unrelated question, they are also to be asked if they would ever pose nude for photographers. It is not clear what the correct answer to either question is supposed to be.
My understanding is that the questions have already been asked, and the videos of the answers will eventually be posted on the Miss USA web site. Which is a site I only view for the important social issues discussed there.
"The girls are scared to death. They witnessed with Carrie Prejean…
gregladen | May 9, 2011Florida Senate Bill 1854 would have required a so-called "thorough presentation and critical analysis of the scientific theory of evolution" which is code word in US state legislatures these days for "taught along side Intelligent Design Creationism as an alternative to established scientific reckoning of the nature and history of life on earth." Whe the state legislature adjourned a few days ago, that bill died a quiet death .
In 2009, before introducing a similar bill, SB 1854's sponsor, Stephen R. Wise (R-District 5), announced his intention to introduce a bill requiring "intelligent…
gregladen | March 30, 2011For that special organization or person that makes you throw up a little in your mouth when you hear about their latest aggravating attack on our children's education, by way of making fun of something that is not really all that funny, DontDissDarwn Central annually awards the highly alliterated angs-ridden accolade: The Upchucky. And this year's award is bestowed, nay, foisted on Answers in Genesis, for their latest dumb-ass venture, the Noah's Ark Park.
"rooted in outright opposition to science...[this] hostility to science, knowledge and education does little to attract the kind of…
gregladen | January 6, 2011It is difficult to imagine how point mutations, a large number of which are neutral, a certain number of which are deleterious, and a tiny number of which are fitness-enhancing, can add up to the sorts of evolutionary diversity and adaptive elegance we see in real life. However, there are only two possible explanations for what we see in nature: 1) Evolution happened more or less as we think it did or 2) God created life and made it look exactly like evolution happened. Take your pick. I'm betting on number 1.
People will get mad at me for suggesting that it is hard to figure how all this…
gregladen | January 4, 2011Ken Miller and Henry Morris answer questions from the audience.
Since these videos are scattered across the blog, I'll put them all here. The final one is at the bottom.
Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4
Thanks to the NCSE
gregladen | January 3, 2011According to the Louisville Courier-Journal, the developers building the new Noah's Ark museum in Kentucky are asking for the gummit to build 'em a road to the place. The State Transportation Cabinet, as they call it there, is officially stating that no commitments have been made, which I'm sure means, "The deal's done and we'z gonna build that road before you ask about it again" or words to that effect.
This is not that unusual or abnormal, actually. State transportation departments normally make road improvements when new things are built. Why, in Kentucky, the state spent 45 million…
gregladen | January 3, 2011The other day, a science teacher remarked that a student who had previously declared herself to be a creationist, and who's parents had previously expressed concern over the teaching of evolution, was suddenly all talky-talky and engaging the teacher in more or less polite and friendly discussion about the topic, coming to visit the teacher outside of class and everything.
I thought at the time, "That's unusual. But it does happen."
What I wasn't thinking is that a recent court decision supports the idea of a teacher who teaches evolution to christians, who does not cave when the…
gregladen | December 26, 2010I hereby nominate Oklahoma as the Stupidest State in the Union.
According to KTEN, Brecheen is using the tired old argument that because creationism exists as a belief it must be taught in science classes. This is exactly like saying that because some crazy people think bigfoot is real, bigfoot must be included in science classes.
"If we really are going to use science in the classroom, let's use the full science, let's not just be selective in our science. That's what my legislation is designed to do," Brecheen said.
Idiot.
Creationism of any form, including "intelligent design," simply…