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15 Answers to Creationist Nonsense [THE FINAL DEBUNKING]
Scientific American ^ | 17 June 2002 | John Rennie

Posted on 06/17/2002 3:10:50 AM PDT by PatrickHenry

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To: AndrewC
Now you seem to have a misconception that to doubt and thus not accept an interpretation requires some sort of intellectual payment to hold that view.

Well Andrew, it seems to me that the creationists are the ones trying to apply the scientific method to support their religious views...and if you want to be taken seriously in the context of a scientific argument, then yes, in fact, this will require you to clearly and unambigously state your interpretation. Otherwise you will convince no one. Then again, maybe this is not your purpose given your statement below....

Finally, I hope that you as a scientist are not asserting that the happenings here are science.

So are you saying no one here takes scientific arguments seriously here on FR? What point are you trying to make here?

1,461 posted on 06/20/2002 12:31:29 PM PDT by RightWingNilla
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To: AndrewC
Ah, I see what happened. You were quoting one of jennyp's earlier posts. I need to read the WHOLE post before flying off the handle.
1,462 posted on 06/20/2002 12:31:44 PM PDT by Nebullis
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To: Physicist
I missed your post the first time. My thoughts are with you while you have to deal with this.
1,463 posted on 06/20/2002 12:36:37 PM PDT by jennyp
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To: Nebullis

An other point is gene duplication. Of course he doesn't deny that gene duplication occurrs ... his concern is that a duplicated gene can mutate in such a way that it produces a protein that is harmful to the organism.

This is really a red herring. Organisms generally die from mutations via loss of function.

Really? That's interesting. It certainly helps the case for gene duplication.
1,464 posted on 06/20/2002 12:39:55 PM PDT by jennyp
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To: Phaedrus
I've known for some time that you would not be pleased. I live 2 doors down . . .

Ugh, I'm moving!

Naah, we're still all conservatives here. Big tent. Happy happy comrades-in-arms. "Rebels are we, born to be free, just like the fish in the sea...". Kumbayaaa my Lord, Kumbayaaaaa...

1,465 posted on 06/20/2002 12:45:51 PM PDT by jennyp
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To: AndrewC

Why would God - who created the cells in the first place - have to limit Himself in such a way?

Why did Ford have to limit themselves by painting all Model T's Black?

"Mysterious are the ways...." As I said, you two have painted yourselves into an unfalsifiable position.

1,466 posted on 06/20/2002 12:48:27 PM PDT by jennyp
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To: AndrewC

Neither city populations nor company revenues are designed.

They are a consequence of design.

No they're not. They're not designed. Nobody, except in Communist countries, sits down with a plan and marks out how big cities or companies will be.

If you're arguing that the pattern is a side-effect of systems that are designed, then even there I think you're wrong. The pattern may be a side-effect of systems of interconnected parts, yes, but that still begs the question of whether biological systems were designed or not.

1,467 posted on 06/20/2002 12:53:25 PM PDT by jennyp
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To: Nebullis
Repeats are used at histone binding sites which are indirectly involved in regulation of transcription.

Which is exactly why I wrote direct role, as in the typical transcription factor-binding element route.

If I understood Gore3000 correctly, I believe he was extrapolating the data (which has existed for 20 years) demonstrating that some enhancer elements are located intronically. These sequences are very minor in comparison and generally not what is referred to as junk.

I do believe the genome harbors a substantial amount of pseudogenes, relics from our evolutionary history that are of no value now. Studies are emerging in other speices as well are showing that even when the gene function is no longer required the gene remains and is free to mutate and in several cases it is no longer expressed. This is basically what I am referring to as genetic "garbage". Why would a creator/ID force put those sequences there de-novo?

1,468 posted on 06/20/2002 12:56:24 PM PDT by RightWingNilla
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To: jennyp
Zipf's law is seen in randomly generated words too.

http://netec.mcc.ac.uk/WoPEc/d ata/wopsafiwp1.html
1,469 posted on 06/20/2002 1:01:26 PM PDT by Doctor Stochastic
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To: CWRWinger
Do you receive monetary benefit by perpetuating the scam?

I feel for you. You've tied your religious faith to the belief that the universe behaves in a certain way, and now that you're faced with hard evidence that it does not, all you can do is to lash out at me personally. Or perhaps you're grasping at the straw that I really am on the take, and that by focusing on my motives you can avoid the necessity of swallowing the indigestible facts of the universe. But alas, anyone who knows my history here can tell you that I act on principle, and in any case the facts still remain.

If impugning me further will help you to get through what must be a difficult time, I won't hold it against you.

1,470 posted on 06/20/2002 1:18:43 PM PDT by Physicist
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To: RightWingNilla
I argue my points, not those of others unless I make them my point. I need no support to hold my views. I do need justification when I promote them to others. I do not promote my views when I reject the assertions of others. Nor is it necessary for me to promote my views when doing so. Thus I need no evidence or support of my views when rejecting those of others. It is only when I try to convince others that evidence is required. When proposing that others reject a view, evidence supporting that proposition is required. When proposing that others accept my view, evidence supporting that propostion is also required. One does not require the others evidence.

Now if you have been here there seems to be a rigorous definition of a scientific theory(or what you would consider science). None of the matters accomplished on this forum meet that definition. Therefore I do not conclude that we are doing science on this forum. You, however, in post 1437 make a statement which seems to compel me to come up with an alternative theory because of science.You seemed to strongly disagree with my interpretation of the data. Typically in science when this happens we are required to present an alternative model(s) to fit the data (in a clear and straightfoward manner if you wish to be taken seriously).

That is why I asked you if you thought we were doing science here. Finally, you turn my question into a challenge of scientific arguments. No. My point is again stated, I am under no requirement to come up with an alternative to your interpretation of the data. I still note that you are certain and seemingly do not allow that luxury to others.

1,471 posted on 06/20/2002 1:19:35 PM PDT by AndrewC
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To: Doctor Stochastic
Did you mean this citation?

Random-text models have been proposed as an explanation for the power law relationship between word frequency and rank, the so-called Zipf's law. They are generally regarded as null hypotheses rather than models in the strict sense. In this context, recent theories of language emergence and evolution assume this law as a priori information with no need of explanation. Here, random texts and real texts are compared through (a) the so-called lexical spectrum and (b) the distribution of words having the same length. It is shown that real texts fill the lexical spectrum much more efficiently and regardless of the word length, suggesting that the meaningfulness of Zipf's law is high. ZIPF'S LAW AND RANDOM TEXTS

1,472 posted on 06/20/2002 1:24:15 PM PDT by AndrewC
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To: jennyp
No they're not. They're not designed.

I repeat, they are a consequence of design.

1,473 posted on 06/20/2002 1:27:56 PM PDT by AndrewC
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To: Maceman
I am basing my argument on Romans 5:12-21. This passage is crystal clear in its teaching that by one man sin entered the world and then death by sin. Therefore, since death could not have existed before Adam sinned, neither could macro-evolution have existed. Theistic Evolutionism, for the Christian, consequently becomes an untenable ‘belief system’. God said that He made the heavens and the earth and all that is in them - in six days. Christians should believe Him.

I don’t see where Genesis 3:22 implies what you claim that it does. In fact, it presents no conflict with my argument. At the time God makes this statement, Adam and his wife had already sinned and were under the sentence of death. God could not allow them to continue forever in their sinful condition and apparently the “tree of life” would have provided that. The answer was to simply prevent Adam from ever getting to the tree so God drove him from the garden and set up a guard at the entrance.
1,474 posted on 06/20/2002 1:31:42 PM PDT by Daniel_in_Babylon
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To: jennyp
As I said, you two have painted yourselves into an unfalsifiable position.

Changing words now to help a dead argument. We are truly witnessing evolution. You must have acquired faith. Solitary statements aren't logical proofs.

1,475 posted on 06/20/2002 1:36:35 PM PDT by AndrewC
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To: Physicist
RE:Post 1,470

You didn't answer the question.

Do you receive monetary benefit by perpetuating the scam?

You'll have to admit, the government provides a lot of funding for evolutionism and other disasters. Many in this land get involved with moral compromise in order to receive the monetary benefits from the government largess.

I am not suggesting you have obtained moneys illegally, though in the evolutionist scheme, that could be considered justifiable.

1,476 posted on 06/20/2002 1:41:38 PM PDT by CWRWinger
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To: AndrewC
I do need justification when I promote them to others. I do not promote my views when I reject the assertions of others. Nor is it necessary for me to promote my views when doing so. Thus I need no evidence or support of my views when rejecting those of others.

Then why bother posting to this thread? Are you trying to argue with yourself? I guess we cant argue with you since we don't have a clue what your position is on these matters. I hope you are enjoying your (free?) time Andrew.

1,477 posted on 06/20/2002 1:45:17 PM PDT by RightWingNilla
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To: AndrewC
That's one. The Santa Fé Institute also has some papers, one of which shows that Zipf's law can be derived from randomly generated text (some letters and some blanks). I would argue that Zipf's law has little empirical content.
1,478 posted on 06/20/2002 1:51:27 PM PDT by Doctor Stochastic
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To: RightWingNilla
Then why bother posting to this thread?

Because I do promote some of my views. Its just that I don't allow others to tell me what they are and how to defend them. You seem to have a great blindness to your arrogating approach to discourse. You do have a clue to my view on these matters(or at least you should). I don't think the evidence shows that the human genome is 95% junk. I posted some evidence in post 1400.

1,479 posted on 06/20/2002 1:57:28 PM PDT by AndrewC
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To: CWRWinger
Do you receive monetary benefit by perpetuating the scam?

You are virtually accusing Physicist of being a con artist. Your conduct is deplorable. Are you of the opinion that there are no con artists among creationists?

1,480 posted on 06/20/2002 2:07:04 PM PDT by PatrickHenry
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