Thought it all started with a big bang? Well, not so fast. If a new theory turns out to be true, the universe may not have started with a bang. In the new formulation, the universe has never been a singularity, nor an infinitely small and infinitely dense point of matter. In fact, the universe Read More…
Author: DonaldM
Writing Science Fiction Helps Students Understand Science Better
A recent study published in Issues in Teaching Earth Science suggests that having student write a science fiction story incorporating a concept helps them understand the concept better. Students in an introductory college geology course engaged in one of two exercises to learn more about the concept of cross cutting relationships, a major principle in Read More…
Miracles: Can They Happen?
A few days ago we had a post on Science, Miracles, and Benny Hinn, highlighting portions of Bill Dembski’s new online book The Faces of Miracles. It seems appropriate this time of year to consider miracles. After all, in the Christian world, this month we’re celebrating an event that can only be described as a Read More…
Science Says It, So It Must Be So, Right?….Right?…Right?
Science says it, so it must be so, right? Well, here we have one of the most famous studies of all time coming under fire for presenting false data and conclusions. Shocking (pun intended). Sixty-plus years ago, Yale University professor Stanley Milgram used a fake shock-torture setup to show that people are frighteningly easy to Read More…
What Does It Mean To Be Human? Don’t Ask A Darwinist
“What does it mean to be human?” is one of the fundamental questions we all ask. Every once in a while something happens to remind us that those influenced by Darwinism usually only answer the question with “not much”. As a case in point, just today it’s being reported that the father of a son Read More…
Ohio Bill Protects Student’s Right to Religious Expression – Will Teaching Creationism Be Next?
Last week, the Ohio House of Representatives passed HB 164, the “Ohio Student Religious Liberties Act of 2019. The purpose of the bill is to protect the rights of students to religious expressions without penalty in the public school classroom. Under this bill, a student cannot be given a punative grade for simply expressing their Read More…
Voice Cloning Is Here. What Did You Say, Dear?
Welcome to the wonderful world of voice cloning (VC). In the same way digital technology can be used to alter photos, VC can be used to literally create speech of someone’s actual voice. All that’s needed is a five second sample of the target speaker and you can make them say anything! “…Researchers …are now Read More…
Interview with Berlinski on “Human Nature”
In a couple of prior posts, here and here, we mentioned David Berlinksi’s new book Human Nature. Here’s a podcast of Berlinksi being interviewed by Jonathan Witt, regarding the book. On this episode of ID the Future, philosopher, mathematician, and Discovery Institute Senior Fellow David Berlinski answers questions from Jonathan Witt about Berlinski’s celebrated Read More…
New Book by David Berlinski Challenges the Darwinian View of Progress
Evolution News has announced the publication of a new book by David Berlinski entitled Human Nature. In Human Nature, Berlinski takes aim at the standard narrative of history in our secular culture, the fatuous Whig view that sees human life and human nature on an upward-inclining plane, evolving toward ever greater, even god-like enlightenment. In Read More…
Matzke is Back on the Flagellum Horse
In October 2006, Nick Matzke, a name not unfamiliar to denizens of UD, and Mark Pallen co-authored a review article for Nature Review of Microbiology regarding the status of research into the evolutionary origins of the bacterial flagellum. Matzke and Pallen felt the need to write such an article because since the publication of Michael Read More…
My Tribute to Phillip Johnson
Many of us here were greatly influenced by Phillip Johnson’s books, articles, and lectures. Indeed, if not for Johnson, this blog might never have come to be. Like so many, I was saddened to learn of his death on November 2nd. While several of Johnson’s fellow academics and colleagues have written some wonderful tributes to Read More…
The United Methodists and NOMA
Before I put the issue with the United Methodist Church and Discovery Institute to rest, I want to make one last comment on the UMC’s Statement on Science and Technology, which I wrote about the other day. One of the most significant assertions in the statement is “We preclude science from making authoritative claims about Read More…
Faith and Science — the Confused View of the United Methodist Church
I’ve already written here about the recent dust-up between the United Methodist Church (UMC)and Discovery Institute. Being involved with this has caused me, as a United Methodist, to take a closer look at some of the official statements of the UMC on science. As regular UD readers will likely know, the church has banned Discovery Read More…
United Methodists Bar Intelligent Design From General Conference
The United Methodist Church (UMC), whose motto is “Open Minds, Open Hearts, Open Doors” has barred Discovery Institute from having an information table in the exhibit hall at their upcoming quadrennial General Conference this May. After submitting an application to be in the exhibit hall per the established process, Discovery Institute was informed that they Read More…
John West of Discovery Institute Answers on Questions Re: Ball State Univeristy
Today, Discovery Institute’s Dr. John West, provided a helpful Q & A write-up on Evolution News and Views. The article, entitled Clarifying the Issues at Ball State: Some Questions and Answers addresses the most salient points about the recent letter sent to Ball State’s President, Dr. Joanne Gora, which I wrote about here on UD Read More…