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To: MineralMan
According to the link below, over 700 scientists named Steve support evolution. Such lists are useless. This list of 600 isn't even news, and is quite an old list. Few of the scientists on it are even involved in the biological sciences.

Finally, the Theory of Evolution isn't a popularity contest.

The two lists are pretty obviously different in intent.

The point of the first is that being a skeptic about certain aspects of Darwin's theory of evolution primarily through natural selection does not equate to being anti-science or scientifically inept.

The point of the second is to ridicule the first.

Whether or not either succeeds in their fulfilling their respective intentions, it's clear that one cannot legitimately judge the two lists by the same standards since their goals are so different.
296 posted on 06/23/2006 1:43:39 PM PDT by mjolnir ("All great change in America begins at the dinner table.")
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To: mjolnir
The point of the first is that being a skeptic about certain aspects of Darwin's theory of evolution primarily through natural selection does not equate to being anti-science or scientifically inept.

Nope. It's point is to fool people into believing that the "controversy" about the validity of evolutionary biology is, in any way, scientific.

In fact, the truth of the purpose of the list, and the manner in which it was procured, leaves any reasonable observer to conclude that the Discovery Institute, who is responsible for it, had no goal in mind except to defraud the public and to bear false witness against science and those who practice science.

Those bastards.

The point of the second is to ridicule the first.

No, because you can't ridicule something that is, itself, already ridiculous.

The point of the second was to rebut the first and the notion that there was actually anything scientific about the "controversy" surrounding evolution.

And to press home that point, the sponsors of the second petition limited signatories to those who name was "Stephen" or a variation thereof (in honor of the late great Dr. Gould.) That excludes 99% of the population.*

But even counting only 1% of the folks who we would statistically expect to sign it, the second petition has more signatures in absolute numbers than the first.

*Think of it as the scientists taking on the anti-science group with not only one hand tied behind their backs, but 99% of their body tied behind their backs...

314 posted on 06/23/2006 2:47:49 PM PDT by WildHorseCrash
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