2014

No, really, this is what their headline reads (if not redacted): “Chinese microscopic fossil find challenges Darwin’s theory” Apparently, they are allowed to talk that way in China. Fancy. The Cambria explosion proved that most major animal phyla were fully developed in this relatively short time. This troubled Darwin because the absence of transitional forms has always been problematic for his theory. Darwin had hoped that these intermediates would appear in the fossil record but this has not happened. Evolutionists say that these “missing links” were either too small or too soft-bodied to be fossilised in the pre-Cambrian layer. What is more troubling for Darwin’s theory is the Chinese discovery of microscopic fossils of soft sponge embryos in this pre-Cambrian Read More ›

Here’s a thought experiment readers might find interesting. Consider the following description of an entity: It cannot in principle be detected empirically. It might, nevertheless, exist. If it does exist, the scope of its explanatory power would be breathtaking in that it would explain quite literally everything except for its own existence. Even though it cannot be detected empirically, some people infer its existence based on their interpretation of actual observations. It has been invoked to explain the apparent “fine tuning of the cosmos” for the existence of life. It has been invoked to explain the origin of life on earth in the face of the extreme improbability that life would arise spontaneously. It has existential implications for many religious Read More ›

One of the favourite tactics of hyperskepticism is to brazenly dismiss what is objected to as a myth, misconcept or word magic, etc; even while in the real world, one must deal with it day by day as blatant reality. Oops. This has been happening with FSCO/I and linked concepts such as dFSCI. As a simple example of the undeniable reality of functionally specific complex organisation that depends on proper arrangement of parts according to a wiring diagram (which is informational) to achieve function, I again bring to the table a classic, the Abu-Garcia 6500 C3 mag reel, with its exploded view “wiring” diagram: The need for proper functionally specific information rich organisation of correct parts to get it to Read More ›

In my previous post, Six bombshells relating to H. L. Mencken and the Scopes Trial, I exposed six journalist bombshells relating to the Scopes trial in Dayton, Tennessee, in 1925. I also accused Mencken of lying on nine particular points – a charge for which I shall provide substantiation in today’s post. Mencken’s Nine Major Misrepresentations – An Executive Summary What did Mencken lie about, in his reporting on the Scopes trial? First, Mencken lied about the key point at issue in the Scopes Trial, which was not whether the theory of evolution could be taught in Tennessee’s public high schools, but whether the evolution of man from “lower animals” could be taught as a scientific theory to high school Read More ›

The most common explanation for the formation of planet Earth is that it formed by gravitational collapse from a cloud of particles (gas, ice, dust) swirling around the Sun.  Specifically, the idea is that small planetesimals form as the various particles clump together (perhaps initially by cohesion, then by gravity), eventually growing into planets.  Known as the “accretion hypothesis,” this is the standard model of planet formation, not just for Earth, but for nearly all planets.* Significant debate continues regarding the formation of the Moon, but the most widely-held hypothesis is that the Moon formed in a similar way via accretion of impact material produced by a violent collision between a Mars-sized object and the Earth. For purposes of the Read More ›