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"Intelligent Design": Stealth War on Science
Revolutionary Worker ^ | November 6, 2005

Posted on 11/01/2005 6:27:26 PM PST by Tailgunner Joe

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To: VadeRetro

No. Ontology begets cosmology, the source of awe.


121 posted on 11/02/2005 2:15:09 PM PST by Louis Foxwell (THIS IS WAR AND I MEAN TO WIN IT.)
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To: Amos the Prophet
Are you related to the late, lamented Peg-the-Prophet? You be babblin' an' bubblin'.
122 posted on 11/02/2005 2:22:31 PM PST by VadeRetro (Liberalism is a cancer on society. Creationism is a cancer on conservatism.)
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To: Tailgunner Joe
bible thumpers who condemn homosexuality as "sin"

I'm not a bible thumper, and I condemn homosexuality because it hurts those who succumb to the behavior, causes plagues because it is unhygienic and perverse, and encourages unlawful behavior, like soliciting the under-aged, and ultimately breaks down society. My theory is that the awful effects of this lifestyle were codified in religious prohibitions in the past to simply instruct the populace in necessary constraints in order for the people to build a strong community. Just as many other moral values are useful in constructing a strong, viable society, suppressing homosexual perversion is important to the maintenance of a strong, healthy population. Those who would demoralize America of course, strongly support the homosexual agenda - it is quite transparent - you are traitorous mortal enemies to America, who should be vigorously excised from America.

123 posted on 11/02/2005 2:59:34 PM PST by GregoryFul
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To: so_real

All these groups want man, nature, the universe, to be as a machine, devoid of uncertainty and totally knowable by those elites, who can then claim a right to rule over the ignorant masses for the masses' own good. The elites are the top of the heap, king of the hill, keeper of the key, owner of the gold. They probably don't like Dirac either.


124 posted on 11/02/2005 3:16:30 PM PST by GregoryFul
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To: VadeRetro

Dunno the Peg. Do enjoy bubblin


125 posted on 11/02/2005 3:59:46 PM PST by Louis Foxwell (THIS IS WAR AND I MEAN TO WIN IT.)
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To: VadeRetro

an' babblin'


126 posted on 11/02/2005 4:01:11 PM PST by Louis Foxwell (THIS IS WAR AND I MEAN TO WIN IT.)
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To: occamsrapier; Alamo-Girl; betty boop

My hypothesis, although I have the distinct imnpression I am casting pearls before the swine...
Evolution is predicated on an hypothesis that change occurs from less complicated to more complicated. If this, or some version of this, is true then there must be some principle that allows it to be so. Otherwise it could be as easily said that the simple leads to the complex which leads to the simple, ie random change.
Why is it that the notion of higher and lower orders is predicated? On what basis is this apparent natural phenomenon determined? This is an area of research that has gone unexamined.
I propose that it be examined to determine laws of nature which seem to impose order on existence. Why should there be order? Why not rampant disorder?
If order, then, and more so, if processional - lower to higher - order there must be determinative dynamics that make it so. What is the nature of these dynamics?
This line of reasoning from natural observation must necessarily discard random selection or random processes as not capable of explaining phenomenon.
If I may jump to a possible conclusion, ID is a perfectly legitimate proposition to explain the phenomenological issues raised above.


127 posted on 11/02/2005 4:14:19 PM PST by Louis Foxwell (THIS IS WAR AND I MEAN TO WIN IT.)
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To: Amos the Prophet
Evolution is predicated on an hypothesis that change occurs from less complicated to more complicated.

This is not true. There is no assumption in the Theory of Evolution that any given change will result in a more complicated organism. In fact, it's entirely possible that particular niches are best filled by simpler organisms with narrower specialization, and redundant or overly-complex systems are "evolved out" of the mix for that niche.

128 posted on 11/02/2005 4:30:38 PM PST by RogueIsland
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To: blowfish
Too bad 'much more' doesn't include physical evidence...

Or two researchers who can agree on what it is.

129 posted on 11/02/2005 4:34:14 PM PST by RogueIsland
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To: Amos the Prophet; Alamo-Girl; marron; xzins; Diamond; cornelis; hosepipe

Really great post Amos. You look to the fundamental logic. Not a whole lot of people do that these days. Thank you.


130 posted on 11/02/2005 4:52:27 PM PST by betty boop
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To: Amos the Prophet
Evolution is predicated on an hypothesis that change occurs from less complicated to more complicated.

In on sentence you have moved into the ranks of the the truly, inexcusably ignorant. Why do you embarrass yourself posting such juvenile errors?

131 posted on 11/02/2005 4:55:13 PM PST by js1138 (Great is the power of steady misrepresentation.)
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To: Amos the Prophet
Before you argue that the direction of evolution is toward the more complex, ask yourself what is the dominant mode of life. What class of organism is the most numerous and comprises the overwhelming bulk of biomass? What class of organism is overwhelmingly the most successful by any objective standard -- numerous, adaptive, indestructible?
132 posted on 11/02/2005 4:58:49 PM PST by js1138 (Great is the power of steady misrepresentation.)
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To: Amos the Prophet

"Pearls before swine" But I thought you were above insults?

Your post is not a hypothesis, it is at best a question. But really it is the ID movement in a nutshell.

But let me go through it line by line, so that when I say this is an empty piece of nonsense idiocy, you won't think I'm just calling names.

"Evolution is predicated on an hypothesis that change occurs from less complicated to more complicated."

Not really, in fact evolution makes no claims about orders of complexity, let alone being predicated on them. Evolution is complexity neutral. There are principles that evolution postulates drive variation in organism, and complexity sometiems reuslts from those variations. But evolution says it is equally likely for things to become less complex. Animals that move underground gradually lose their sight, because sight is not needed in the darkness, and because sight organs are susceptable to disease and injury, so to begin with you preconcieved premise is wrong, and calls into question the expertise you avowed earlier when you told me to look into evolution. If you had looked into evolution, you would not have made this statement.

"If this, or some version of this, is true then there must be some principle that allows it to be so. Otherwise it could be as easily said that the simple leads to the complex which leads to the simple, ie random change."

There is a mechanism, it's called mutation plus selection.

"Why is it that the notion of higher and lower orders is predicated?"

This sentence is meaningless. Things have to be predicated on something. Perhaps you meant predicted. I'll assume so for the next sentence.

"This is an area of research that has gone unexamined. "

Actually no, all aspects of the generation of order in natural structures are under intense scientific scrutiny, and (you know its comming) all those scientists (more than 99%) agree that mutation plus natural selection is the best theory yet to explain them. The idea that there is no research is laughable, and again points out that you seem VERY ignorant of something you feel just fine talking about with authority.

"I propose that it be examined to determine laws of nature which seem to impose order on existence. Why should there be order? Why not rampant disorder?
If order, then, and more so, if processional - lower to higher - order there must be determinative dynamics that make it so. What is the nature of these dynamics?"

So far you have proposed a bunch of inaccurate (sometimes laughably so) assumptions. In the above paragraph, you then ask a series of questions. All of these are good questions, but NONE of them is a hypothesis. A hypothesis is a prediction, based on observation that can be subjected to verification through experimentation and further observation. But if that description is a little too vague for you, I'll make it easier, no hypothesis ends in a question mark.

"This line of reasoning from natural observation must necessarily discard random selection or random processes as not capable of explaining phenomenon."

Again another assumption, but still not a hypothesis. Also this assumtion is flatly wrong. Order arises from choas all the time. Randomness often makes ordered structures, the face on Mars, bucky balls, the fact that both Lincoln's and Kennedy's assassins had three names, all are random occurences of order, or as we call it coincedence. It's funny that english has a whole word for something you think can't happen. Snowflakes, for example, are ordered structures that come from random forces (cold, wind, crystal dynamics). Unless you are willing to say that God or some other unknown, superpowerful entity designs every snowflake. If you want to say that go ahead, but in science you need some kind of evidence for that, and since we can see the random forces at work(observe snowflake formation in a lab where the same forces yield different flakes), you will basically need a videotape of God chisleing little snowflakes.

The assumption that order cannot arise out of randomness is disproven everytime you play cards. All hands are dealt randomly, but you can still get four of a kind of a straight flush. Or are you saying God deals every hand of cards as well. Because you can say that, but that doesn't make it science. In the same way as all of inquisition era science was preoccupied with trying to find how many angels can dance on the head of a pin, a most antiscientific endeavor.

And before you throw thermodynamics at me, please stop. Don't make a fool of yourself. Entropy has no bearing over this. Entropy or the tendencay towards disorder has a very specific scientific meaning. It really stands for energy (heat) in space. As space increases, entropy (disorder) goes up if energy is constant. By this measure, the observed expansion of the universe means that all of the molecules on earth could line up in a picture of Elvis, and overall the universe would still be trending towards disorder and increasing entropy. Of course that doesn't really mater because the Earth is not a closed system and it's getting energy from the sun all the time. Put energy into a system and you entropy goes down; that is the definition of entropy.

"If I may jump to a possible conclusion, ID is a perfectly legitimate proposition to explain the phenomenological issues raised above."

It might be if you proposed a hypothesis. You haven't yet, so I don't know what ID is when you refer to it. That's how science works. Just saying "I think it's ID" which the close reader will see is all you said in this post, is meaningless. Provide a description for ID, a mechanism, empirical evidence supporting your conclusions, in a word provide SOMETHING. Just saying "I belive it is ID" is not ANYTHING.

So to summarize, you said a bunch of stuff as given, that was simply wrong. You asked a lot of questions, and then you said ID did it.

That is the ID movement in a nutshel. Make false attacks on real science, claim that there are deep unprobed mysteries of the universe, and then instead of probing the mysteries, as real scientists do, leap straight to the conclusion phase, SKIPPING THE SCIENCE PART (observe, hypothesis, experiment, verify). Now why on Earth would I have contempt for that?

Grade: F

Don't beat yourself up over it. The whole world saw Behe fail miserably to answer the same challenge last week. The entire ID community has failed to deliver a hypothesis for a decade. That means ID is not science. PERIOD.

You can't put it into science class until you have something.

Please feel free to give it another shot.


133 posted on 11/02/2005 5:21:20 PM PST by occamsrapier
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To: Amos the Prophet

"Evolution is predicated on an hypothesis that change occurs from less complicated to more complicated...."

Completely incorrect.


134 posted on 11/02/2005 5:25:16 PM PST by From many - one.
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To: betty boop

Except that Amos the Prophet is completely wrong in the premise.

Logic is useless if the premise is wrong.


135 posted on 11/02/2005 5:26:59 PM PST by From many - one.
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To: occamsrapier
Please feel free to give it another shot.

Amos can give it all the shots he wants, but when you start your critique of geography by saying New York City is the capital of japan, you aren't likely to improve.

Why is it that people think they can out think 150 years of science when they can't get the most elementary principles right?

136 posted on 11/02/2005 5:38:43 PM PST by js1138 (Great is the power of steady misrepresentation.)
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To: betty boop
Really great post Amos. You look to the fundamental logic. Not a whole lot of people do that these days. Thank you.

You mean, other than the fact that he got it completely and utterly wrong?

137 posted on 11/02/2005 5:46:37 PM PST by balrog666 (A myth by any other name is still inane.)
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To: From many - one.; Alamo-Girl; marron; xzins; Diamond; cornelis
Completely incorrect.

How so, From many - one? Please elaborate further.

138 posted on 11/02/2005 6:18:40 PM PST by betty boop
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To: From many - one.; Amos the Prophet; Alamo-Girl; xzins; marron; Diamond
Except that Amos the Prophet is completely wrong in the premise.

Please explicate the premise according to which Amos is to be falsified?

139 posted on 11/02/2005 6:20:51 PM PST by betty boop
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To: balrog666; Amos the Prophet; Alamo-Girl; marron; xzins; Diamond
You mean, other than the fact that he got it completely and utterly wrong?

Did he??? Please explain.

Can you point to the basic fault that queers his argument? Some of us would be really grateful to you if you could do that.

140 posted on 11/02/2005 6:24:15 PM PST by betty boop
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