Uncommon Descent Serving The Intelligent Design Community

Type
post
Author
Denyse O'Leary
Date
October 6, 2020
Categorized
Culture, Intelligent Design, Science
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The journal Nature defends its right to cover politics

Denyse O'Leary
October 6, 2020
Culture, Intelligent Design, Science
No one says Nature can’t be active in politics and publish screeds of this type. What its staff can’t do—because nobody can—is be both a participant and a referee. They’ve chosen to be participants, fine. Then, “Listen to science” has as much clout as “Listen to the union boss” and “Listen to the corporate head office.” Which is to say, the next time they bellyache that people don’t listen to science, all one can respond is, “Take a number and wait. Meanwhile, suck it up.” Read More ›
Type
post
Author
Denyse O'Leary
Date
October 6, 2020
Categorized
Academic Freedom, Education, Intelligent Design
Tagged
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End of tenure forecast. What about academic freedom?

Denyse O'Leary
October 6, 2020
Academic Freedom, Education, Intelligent Design
That may reduce tuition fee bloat but it won’t be good for academic freedom, a point that Vedder acknowledges: “The rise in political correctness has been accompanied by a decline in tolerance of alternative points of view.” The thing is, absence of academic freedom makes many degrees worth much less—unless all a student wants to know is how to be unemployed and resentful, with a bunch of letters after his name. Read More ›
Type
post
Author
Denyse O'Leary
Date
October 6, 2020
Categorized
Cambrian explosion, Genetics, Intelligent Design
Tagged
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Cambrian Explosion may have involved new genes

Denyse O'Leary
October 6, 2020
Cambrian explosion, Genetics, Intelligent Design
Researchers: “The genetic mechanisms underlying these events are unknown, leaving a fundamental question in evolutionary biology unanswered.” and “Contradicting the current view, our study reveals that genes with bilaterian origin are robustly associated with key features in extant bilaterians, suggesting a causal relationship.” = the genes originated with the bilaterians (creatures with two distinct sides). Read More ›
Type
post
Author
Denyse O'Leary
Date
October 6, 2020
Categorized
Animal minds, Intelligent Design, Logic and Reason, Mathematics, Mind
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Robert J. Marks: Pigeons can solve the Monty Hall problem. But can you?

Denyse O'Leary
October 6, 2020
Animal minds, Intelligent Design, Logic and Reason, Mathematics, Mind
The dilemma pits human folk intuition against actual probability theory, with surprising results. But the howler is that pigeons tended to get this right more easily than humans - at least in one study. (Another study found that it depended on the humans’ age.) Read More ›
Type
post
Date
October 6, 2020
Categorized
Control vs Anarchy, Defending our Civilization, Geo-strategic issues, rhetoric

Culture Revolution insurgency escalator

kairosfocus
October 6, 2020
Control vs Anarchy, Defending our Civilization, Geo-strategic issues, rhetoric

As background, let us first refresh our memory on the BATNA concept and the Overton Window: Where, let us further refresh on centres of cultural influence . . . as well as the Machiavelli challenge of timely, prudent change: Now, let us expose the 4th Generation Colour Revolution playbook and operational patterns, so that we may begin to better recognise what has been going on and where we now are: Next, let us bear in mind the crooked yardstick effect: The matter of clarifying political spectra will help: Let us further set that in the global geostrategic context: Now, we can have a more focused discussion on where we are going over the next 3 to 15 months, in the Read More ›

Type
post
Author
Denyse O'Leary
Date
October 5, 2020
Categorized
Darwinism, Evolution, Genetics, Intelligent Design
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(Reformed) New Scientist 9: Survival of the Luckiest

Denyse O'Leary
October 5, 2020
Darwinism, Evolution, Genetics, Intelligent Design
At New Scientist: “But evolution can also occur through a non-adaptive process called genetic drift, whereby a gene may become dominant in a population purely by chance… ‘Genetic drift can definitely be a significant driver of evolution,’ says Miles.” Read More ›
Type
post
Author
Denyse O'Leary
Date
October 5, 2020
Categorized
Culture, Intelligent Design, Science
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At The Scientist: “… who will believe us again?”

Denyse O'Leary
October 5, 2020
Culture, Intelligent Design, Science
One gets the feeling that many science boffins don't "get" what is happening. It won't be easy to make "Trust the science" mean what it used to. On the ground, it now means something between "Sign on to this superstition rather than that one." and "Do what you're told or else!" Read More ›
Type
post
Author
Denyse O'Leary
Date
October 5, 2020
Categorized
Culture, Darwinism, Evolution, Intelligent Design, Media, speciation
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The Economist: Hybrids have “upturned” evolutionary theory

Denyse O'Leary
October 5, 2020
Culture, Darwinism, Evolution, Intelligent Design, Media, speciation
At The Economist: "These findings muddy Darwin’s concept of speciation as a slow and gradual process. Biologists now know that in the right circumstances, and with the help of hybridisation, new species can emerge and consolidate themselves in a mere handful of generations. That is an important amendment to evolutionary theory. " Read More ›
Type
post
Author
Denyse O'Leary
Date
October 4, 2020
Categorized
Animal minds, Evolutionary psychology, Intelligent Design, Mind
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What happens when a pair of evolutionary anthropologists try their hand at dealing with existential grief, anxiety, and depression?

Denyse O'Leary
October 4, 2020
Animal minds, Evolutionary psychology, Intelligent Design, Mind
Probably, any perspective that sees humans as merely evolved animals will offer platitudes and prescriptions for suffering, rather than insight or inspiration. Read More ›
Type
post
Author
Denyse O'Leary
Date
October 4, 2020
Categorized
Fine tuning, Intelligent Design, Religion, theism
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At Mind Matters News: Believers in God detect patterns more easily

Denyse O'Leary
October 4, 2020
Fine tuning, Intelligent Design, Religion, theism
Researchers: ""Individuals who can unconsciously predict complex patterns, an ability called implicit pattern learning, are likely to hold stronger beliefs that there is a god who creates patterns of events in the universe, according to neuroscientists at Georgetown University." Read More ›
Type
post
Author
Denyse O'Leary
Date
October 4, 2020
Categorized
Culture, Intelligent Design, Mathematics, Naturalism
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Mathematical Association of America gone Woke: Math is created by humans

Denyse O'Leary
October 4, 2020
Culture, Intelligent Design, Mathematics, Naturalism
Math is not, of course, created by humans but only recognized by humans—a critical distinction. 2 + 2 = 4, even if the Woke burn down research labs under the banner of “2 + 2 = 5!” The biggest losers will, of course, be those with the fewest private resources when public ones are destroyed. Read More ›