Uncommon Descent Serving The Intelligent Design Community

Gertrude Himmelfarb (1922–2019) cut loose from the Darwin parade before it was fashionable

Himmelfarb: Darwin usually engaged in rhetorical sleight-of-hand where “possibilities were promoted into probabilities, and probabilities into certainties, so ignorance itself was raised to a position only once removed from certain knowledge” (p. 335) Read More ›

Harvard astronomer tells us why ultra-complex physics theories come to exist

They are not principally data-driven. “In today’s fierce job market, fledgling scientists sometimes attempt to impress their senior colleagues with lengthy derivations marked by challenging mathematical complexity.” If he thinks evidence is important, that should rule out the multiverse. Read More ›

If Only Biologists Were This Smart!

For years, Darwinists have howled about Dembski’s “Explanatory Filter.” It was unscientific, they claimed. It is purely subjective. Etc. Yet, thinking human beings understand statistics fairly well and they know when to look for an explanation when the odds become too one-sided. Here’s an example of a government intelligence guy explaining how a poker cheat got caught. Plain and simple, the odds were too stacked against his winning streak. What put these bloodhounds on the trail of the alleged cheat wasn’t the phone in his lap, or the strange shape of the side of his cap. It was the numbers. The percentages. The law of averages. The wholly improbable, unprecedented, all but impossible string of perfect decisions and corresponding cash-outs Read More ›

Science News’s Top fossils in 2019 show a diminishing Darwin

From 518 million years ago: The remains document the Cambrian explosion, a rapid flourishing of life-forms, and include many organisms never seen before — even at the most famous Cambrian fossil site, Canada’s Burgess Shale Carolyn Gramling, “Science News’ favorite fossils of 2019” at Science News So even more fossils just popped into existence, just like that. No wonder even Darwin had doubts. From 290 million to 280 million years ago: For such an ancient critter, O. pabsti — one of the earliest amniotes, a group that includes reptiles and mammals — had a surprisingly efficient gait Carolyn Gramling, “Science News’ favorite fossils of 2019” at Science News So the long, long Darwinian period when the creature just stumbled uncertainly Read More ›

At The Scientist: “Junk RNA” is top science news in 2019

A "completely unknown biology," says a researcher. “There really is no framework in biology as we know it today that would explain how RNA and glycans could ever be in the same place at the same time" Read More ›

Welcome to the Brave New World of “Science”

by Emily Morales January 1, 2020 It’s a pretty scary thing when the world of respected science is turned on its head due to adherence and homage to the Idols of the Marketplace, as elucidated by 17th century statesman, Francis Bacon. Francis Bacon, credited as the “father” of the scientific method, spoke in detail in The Great Instauration concerning four types of idols occupying the minds of humans, which serve to get in the way of ascertaining and advancing knowledge of the natural world: 1) Idols of the Tribe, 2) Idols of the Cave, 3) Idols of the Marketplace, and, 4) Idols of the Theater. The Idols of the Marketplace were characterized as being the most menacing, as these creep Read More ›

Jerry Coyne is distressed by National Geographic going all “woo”

In general, National Geographic dances to Jerry Coyne’s tune where evolution is concerned and the decline he reports, if real, has continued during that same period. The only thing we really know is that the internet has drop kicked almost all magazines. Read More ›

Abortion, the leading cause of deaths worldwide in 2019

Of course, first, a happy new year! However, as we ponder the cultural consequences of inherently amoral evolutionary materialistic scientism, the following clip should give us pause: >>More human beings died in abortions than any other cause of death in 2019, a new report indicates. A heartbreaking reminder about the prevalence of abortion, statistics compiled by Worldometers indicate that there were over 42.3 million abortions world-wide in 2019. The independent site collects data from governments and other reputable organizations and then reports the data, along with estimates and projections, based on those numbers. When contrasting the abortion numbers to other causes of death, including cancer, HIV/AIDS, traffic accidents and suicide, abortions far outnumbered every other cause. By contrast, 8.2 million Read More ›