Month: June 2008
Science’s Blind Spot Is Still There
When scientists decide they know what the right answer is, despite what the scientific evidence may indicate, then bad things can happen. This was the theme of my recent book Science’s Blind Spot, where I explored the history and consequences of the mandate for naturalism in science. For about two hundred years before Charles Darwin presented his theory of evolution, theologians, philosophers and scientific investigators promoted a series of religious and philosophical arguments that mandated purely naturalistic explanations for the history of the world. Darwin’s book, where he used a plethora of these metaphysical arguments for his otherwise scientifically weak theory of evolution, was something of a capstone for the movement. The foundation was in place, and as one historian Read More ›
More Similarities between Flagellum and Human-Designed Machines
In 1998, Darwinian biologist David J. DeRosier stated in the journal Cell, “More so than other motors, the flagellum resembles a machine designed by a human.” Firstly, it functions like a human-designed rotary engine that propels a bacterium through a liquid medium in the same way a propeller powers submarine through the ocean. A website devoted to rotary engine enthusiasts has observed that when it comes to the Rotary engine, “Nature always does it first.” The flagellum is basically a rotary engine, with a motor, a rotor, a stator, a bearing, a u-joint, and a propeller. Now it turns out that the flagellum has a clutch. According to recent Research Highlights from Nature: “A protein that allows the soil bacterium Read More ›
Louisiana: Do Forrest and the NCSE Really Oppose Religious Instruction in Evolution?
Reading Barbara Forrest’s impassioned plea on Richard Dawkins’ website against the Louisiana Science Education Act, one might get the impression she opposes injection of religion in biology classes (even though the Act isn’t intended to do that). Indeed, when I followed the link to her Louisiana Coalition for Science “open letter” to Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal, I found the following statement, with which I agree wholeheartedly: The Establishment Clause of the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution is violated when the government endorses a sectarian doctrine. . . On the other hand, Forrest is on the board of directors of the National Center for Science Education.
ABC’s Freudian Slip: Sneaking Evolution into Louisiana’s Public Schools
ABC’s political radar has the most accurate take on the Louisiana Science Education Act yet: And [Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal has] just signed a law allowing teachers to foster “critical thinking” about evolution–a law critics said could amount to sneaking the teaching of evolution in the public schools. *gasp!*Imagine that — critical thinking might actually lead to teaching evolution, rather than just indoctrinating students.
What to do in Canada this weekend? See Expelled, of course!
Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed starring Ben Stein opens today at theaters across Canada. Visit the movie’s official website at www.expelledthemovie.com for up to the minute news about the film and its Canadian release. Read a review of the film, Break Down the Wall: A Movie Review of “Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed”, by Douglas Groothuis, The Constructive Curmudgeon. For more information about the movie, more reviews of the film, and commentary by leading scientists and scholars, visit Discovery Institute’s Expelled Explained page. For more information about intelligent design and scientific research challenging Darwinian evolution, visit www.intelligentdesign.org. [Note: For a comprehensive rebuttal to the critics of Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed, please see: NCSE Exposed at NCSEExposed.org]