Author: Casey Luskin
British Newspaper Corrects the Record on Mistake About Intelligent Design Column
Richard Buggs, a member of Truth in Science, an organization in the U.K. which supports teaching intelligent design in schools, recently published an editorial in the Liverpool Daily Post. Truth In Science reports that the headline above the original editorial originally read: “Should religion be part of science teaching? YES: Dr Richard Buggs is on the Scientific Panel of Truth in Science.” Yet Truth in Science does not advocate putting religion into science teaching, and in fact the question which Dr. Buggs was asked to answer by the newspaper was actually “Should Intelligent Design be taught in school science lessons?” It should be obvious that Buggs, a botanist with a special interest in the ecology and evolution of plants, firmly Read More ›
Darwinists Giving Different Answers When Discussing Robert Pennock’s UCSD Lecture
As I noted earlier, some Darwinists have contacted me insisting that not all freshmen were required to attend the lecture by anti-ID philosopher Robert Pennock at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) (first described here). I felt it was clear that freshmen were required to attend the lecture, given that UCSD’s main student website, Tritonlink, stated, “All first-quarter freshmen are required to attend the event.” Wanting to be diligent, I decided to contact organizers of the lecture to find out the facts. What I found was that, when Darwinists inquired, they were given different answers than I was given. Additionally, I gained fascinating insight into the mindset of Robert Pennock himself. One Answer for Darwinists, a Different Answer for Read More ›
Follow-up on Junk-DNA
Since my post on “junk-DNA” last week, I would like to report a couple interesting discoveries on the topic. Wonderful List of References for Functionality of “Junk-DNA”I discovered a website at http://www.junkdna.com/new_citations.html which has compiled dozens of citations to articles discussing functionality for non-coding junk-DNA. The site also provides two quotations readers should consider: “…a certain amount of hubris was required for anyone to call any part of the genome ‘junk’.” — Francis Collins (2006) “You only believe theories when they make predictions confirmed by scientific evidence.” Star Trek Promotes the “Introns are Evolutionary Junk” MythLast last night I was amused by watching an episode of Star Trek: the Next Generation. The episode, called “Genesis,” featured the Enterprise crew “devolving” Read More ›
Darwinist Groups Stumbling Over Academic Freedom in Ouachita
As we recently reported, the Ouachita Parish School Board in Monroe, Louisiana, has passed a policy protecting Academic Freedom to Teach Scientific Evidence Regarding Controversial Scientific Subjects. The policy observes that “some teachers may be unsure of the district’s expectations concerning how they should present information on such subjects” and guarantees teachers the academic freedom to teach both scientific strengths and weaknesses of controversial scientific subjects: Toward this end, teachers shall be permitted to help students understand, analyze, critique, and review in an objective manner the scientific strengths and weaknesses of existing scientific theories pertinent to the course being taught. What could be less objectionable? Indeed, according to an article in the News Star in Monroe, Louisiana, a local attorney Read More ›
Mark Farmer’s Evolving Explanations
Mark Farmer has responded to Larry Caldwell’s original post about Farmer’s e-mails to Quality Science Education for All. Readers can decide for themselves whether Farmer’s explanation of what he wrote fits the tone of his original e-mails to Caldwell where Caldwell reported that Farmer enthusiastically asked: “Specifically I would like to know whether or not you support the word of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ being taught in our public schools. This is an issue I feel very strongly about and would need to know your position before making a decision to financially support QSEA.” Caldwell responded saying: Thank you for posting Mark Farmer’s response to my blog post. Farmer’s response is full of contradictions that might be amusing Read More ›