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Intelligent Design

Beyond Belief: Ah, that’s the stuff…

YouTube Clips from the Beyond Belief Conference… Neil deGrasse Tyson tirade on Stupid Design Melvin Konner mocking Richard Dawkins Richard Dawkins on Religious Child Abuse Sam Harris replies to Scott Atran Steven Weinberg’s Crazy Old Aunt Analogy of Religion Sam Harris—Religion is only for lunatics and idiots

Parthenogenesis in Komodo Dragons

I blogged about the possibility of parthenogenesis in mammals a month or so ago. Here’s another newly discovered case of it in a higher animal. Virgin Dragon Prepares to Give Birth Dec 20, 1:36 PM (ET) By MARIA CHENG CHESTER, England (AP) – In an evolutionary twist, Flora the Komodo dragon has managed to become pregnant all on her own without any male help. She is carrying seven baby Komodo dragons. “We were blown away when we realized what she’d done,” said Kevin Buley, a reptile expert at Flora’s home at the Chester Zoo in this town in northern England. “But we certainly won’t be naming any of the hatchlings Jesus.” Other reptile species reproduce asexually in a process known Read More ›

Sea Urchin Design

A colleague wrote [my emphasis]: The S. purpuratus genome will help us “understand on sight the logic functions they execute in response to the sets of transcription factors in given cells at given times.” “The sea urchin genome will directly contribute to solving the principles of design of gene regulatory networks for embryonic development.” “Such principles can only be obtained by comparing network architecture in different animals developing in similar or different ways.” “The genome will not only provide the ‘code’ for development but will also contribute to linkage between gene regulatory networks and the actual realization of developmental events.” “It remains to connect the genes that execute these functions to the control circuitry that specifies their occurrence.”[1] 1. All Read More ›

Godless chic: Brought to you by spineless wonders

A friend pointed me to an article in the Los Angeles Times, extolling the current “godless chic,” which has attracted the attention of other bloggers here. There is the “your God is a fraud” thing (Jesus never existed; men stupider than him made him up) or Blasphemy Challenge thing (deny the Holy Spirit on YouTube and see if Anyone cares).

This isn’t surprising, of course. Given who is behind blasphemy chic, etc., the atheism in question is materialist atheism*, of which Darwinism is the creation story.

And Darwinism is itself a failing god. The intelligentsia believe with all their hearts but  Read More ›

University of Virginia Magazine airs Luskin and Cordova’s letters, somewhat abbreviated

[update: I just added the original text of Casey Luskin’s letter in addition to mine ]

In my post, UVa faculty alarmed by ID’s presence on their campus, I wrote about my concerns that another witch hunt was in the making.

I would like to thank the University of Virginia Magazine for publishing an abbreviated version of the letters to the editor which Casey and I wrote. The ID debate has dominated the last two issues in that section of the magazine.

The published version of the letters (including several by highly articulate pro-ID UVa alumni) can be found at: Origins of Life Revisited.
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The Dawkins-Dembski Briefwechsel I — “Evolutionary Algorithms”

Since Richard Dawkins thinks he has the right to reprint my letters to him by posting them over the Internet (go here), I’ll assume the same privilege applies to me. Let’s start with this exchange from the spring of 2000 (the paper in question became chapters 3 and 4 of my book NO FREE LUNCH):

—–Original Message—–
From: Richard Dawkins [mailto:richard.dawkins@SNIP.ac.uk]
Sent: Friday, May 05, 2000 1:13 PM
To: William_Dembski@baylor.edu
Subject: Re: Evolutionary Algorithms Chapter

Dear Dr Dembski

Your paper is quite well written, and is not stupid (like the writings of your colleagues). But you are not saying anything I didn’t say myself, in The Blind Watchmaker, even if more briefly:-

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Nick Matzke: NSCE Public Information Project Director

The Young Nick Matzke

TelicThoughts has a wonderful exchange going on with Nick Matzke: Eugenie Scott, director of NCSE, spreading false information. I will let the readers at UD comment and decide for themselves about the issues. However I thought the dialogue at that website was too juicy to pass up. I invite the readers to visit that exchange.

It was pointed out (HT Analyysi) that Nick Matzke, Public Information Project Director said:

Sternberg happens to be a creationist

Compare with the truth from Dr. Sternberg, PhD PhD himself:

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Dumb as a Bag of Hammers

In most if not all of the comments from the anti-ID crowd they focus on the farting sounds or what Judge Jones is actually saying. They entirely miss the point being made. The point is that what the judge is saying aren’t his own words. They’re the words he was given by the people pulling his string. In other words, he’s nothing but a talking doll mindlessly repeating verbiage supplied by others. Either the loyal opposition are all as dumb as a bag of hammers or they are purposely ignoring the point made by the satire. I’d guess more or less some of both on a case by case basis. The interesting thing is that none are acknowledging the point Read More ›

Flatulence removed from “The Judge Jones School of Law”

The Rembrandt of flash animation and I are working to enhance “The Judge Jones School of Law.” As a first step we have made the animation less offensive to more refined sensibilities. All the overt flatulence has therefore been removed. Go to www.overwhelmingevidence.com for the less objectional version of this animation (we are keeping the original, however, so that when the history of evolution’s demise is written, all versions of this animation will be available to historians).

Professional society: You can’t question Darwinism; acknowledge ID?

I am slowly rebuilding from a complete computer replacement. The best way to know what you would lose in such a case is to try finding it again. Anyway, the time lost foraging through the mess and rebuilding is gone for good.

But this for now: A friend has written me to complain that his professional association is hassling him because he has allowed the world to know that he thinks Darwin might be wrong. Read More ›

The motivation behind the Judge Jones School of Law

The other side is making much about my having attained yet another “new low” in being the creative force behind the Judge Jones School of Law (go to www.overwhelmingevidence.com). Just to be clear, my aim in this flash animation was not to shake up the convictions of convinced Darwinists. Rather, my aim was to render Judge Jones and his decision ridiculous in the eyes of many young people, who from here on will never take Darwinian evolution or him seriously. If the cost of accomplishing this is yet another lowering of my estimation in the eyes of PT or Richard Dawkins, that’s a price I’m only too glad to pay — heck, I regard that as a benefit of the Read More ›