Happy Darwin Day!

As expected, I couldn’t get organized enough to do anything, but I did have a GREAT time working… (yeah, right…).

Anyway, what I would have done had I had the time, was to write a very nasty letter to the local paper about the Associated Press story they ran on Saturday. The story, by Dylan T. Lovan concerns Ken Ham’s new book Darwin’s Plantation: Evolution’s Racist Roots. You can get the article online here. Mr. Lovan tries to be fair and quotes some scientists rightfully defending Darwin’s honour, but in general, the article takes Ham’s stupidity serious. The article also seems to me to accept Ham’s rather jaundiced view of evolution: that is a progress from lower to higher, inferior to superior and that obsolete ’survivals’ of the primitive may be found. This recalls the ’social Darwinism’ of the early twentieth century that had a hold on what passed as social science back then, but this is merely a continuation of age old xenophobia and ethnocentricism. Let us not forget that the Bible was categorizing many a people as “cursed” long before Darwin set foot on the HMS Beagle.

The article also ignores the fact that Hitler–who Ham accuses of being a Darwinist–actually spoke a lot about God, destiny and so forth: trappings not of science but of religion. The personality cults of Stalin and Mao also smack of religion, and the transhistorical state or race that demands total loyalty in many dictatorships certainly occupies the role of a deity. The tremendous scale of the atrocities of the 20th century need careful examination and their causes are probably complex. It is way too simplistic to claim that without the theory of evolution these crimes would have been minimized or prevented. The huge scale of the murders was also due the larger populations than at pre-scientific times and the technology to transport and murder millions of people did not exist in previous centuries. And lets not forget all the biblical justification for slavery, stories of God demanding genocide and all that. Funny how Ham forgot about those little gems of biblical wisdom…

Anyway, I was going to write something like that for Darwin Day and send it off to the newspaper, but I didn’t, so I typed up a short version here.

DINOSAURS TODAY (caution, bad language)

I was checking through the list of creationist speakers at the Revolution Against Evolution and found this happy family, Steve, Dana and Paul Grohman, who speak across the US through their outfit, A Creation Seminar. They are next speaking in Jackson, Louisiana on Feb 24-27 and then Center, Texas on March 2-5. Anyway, they spout the usual crap about dinosaurs in the Bible and then claim that they actually have REAL LIVE (post-flood) DINOSAURS!  Cool. Here’s what they say about them:

An assistant pastor was speaking to his pastor about us before we arrived.  “No, you don’t understand these people are not just showing up in a Honda Accord with a briefcase and a Bible asking, ‘Where’s the prophet’s chamber?  We’re here to preach a revival.’  These people have dinosaurs onboard and they are going to be hatching stuff in our backyard.”

In 1841 Richard Owen coined the term “dinosaur” which means “terrible lizard”.  And as discussed in Seminar Session #2 in the pre-flood world everything lived longer, in most cases hundreds of years, and therefore grew larger.  Keep in mind that reptiles never stop growing.  

Are dinosaurs in the Bible? Yes, they are.  See Session #3 for 2-hours of information on this topic.  We have several children’s dvds on these animals.  Creation for Kids (two-hour, mini seminar for those 9 to 15), Dinosaurs (public elementary), Noah’s Ark & Dinosaurs (Christian elementary) and What is Science? (public or Christian elementary).  Look at our itinerary (conference schedule) and see if we will be at a church near you. You can also visit pet stores and possibly see one or more of these post-flood dinosaurs.

Holy Jebus B. Gobley™ Dinosaur Dude! Here are the dinosaurs he will bring.

Yup, this stupid little lizard is “Owen”. This is what they say about him:

We named him Owen because Richard Owen first coined the term “dinosaur” or terrible lizard back in 1841. The first dinosaur fossil ever assembled looked just like an iguana; therefore, they named it an Iguanadon. Owen is the modern day descendant to the dinosaur we commonly call the iguanadon.  He now lives with a family in Richmond, Indiana.

Fuck, he lives with a family in Indiana. The freakin’ Flintstones, probably. Good thing this frickin’ miserable excuse of a Iguana(don) is a vegetarian, eh? Otherwise, he’d gobble little Pebbles right up.

And look at the logic here:

Rhodee is a Chlamydosaurus, commonly known as a frilled dragon. Originally from New Guinea and Australia these modern day dinosaurs have become prized pets. She feasts on mice, crickets and other rodents. Her temperament is much like that of a dog, and she is quite affectionate. Most people are familiar with the frilled dragon as the dinosaur who spat at and killed the big guy in Jurassic Park as he was attempting to steal the dinosaur embryos.  She does open her frill while she chews and when she is protecting her territory (emphasis added).

OK, this is kind of a neat little critter. My cats would like me to bring one home, I’m sure. But simply because this thing has a frill and a movie dinosaur (was it really based on a real dinosaur?) also had a frill is hardly a good reason to make little Rhodee out to be the frilly frickin’ queen of the neo-freaking Jurrasic! Notice how the common name for Rhodee’s species “frilled dragon” is then used to describe the dinosaur that ate the fat dude in the movie, a blatant and stupid attempt at reinforcing the rather dubious association our “experts” are trying to affirm. Here’s another one:

Perry is a brown, male basilisk.  He is a very good-natured reptile.  The brown basilisks are fairly common and inexpensive. They, like Rhodee eat rodents and small bugs. Notice the resemblance between the Newmans and Perry [other "dinosaurs" on the site] and a  parasaurolophus or sailfin.  Notice the crest on the back of each of their heads. 

 

A parafrickingsaurolophus? My shattered frickin’ nerves! This is a parasaurolophus:

They were huge! Way bigger than breadboxes! Whatever the hell a basilisk is, it ain’t (I warned you there was bad language) a parasaurolophus.

Notice how the real dinosaur has legs that point pretty much downward from the side of the animal. Kind of like chickens (ok, not counting the wings…). Perry, Rhodee and Owen have legs that stick out to the side (or even upish, in Perry’s case) and then down.  That’s because they are lizards or whatever. Not dinosaurs.

Ok, here is the last one on the site:

Kincaid is a Chinese water dragon. He delights on a range of insects.  Notice his name includes the word DRAGON!  Notice that the scientific name for many reptiles include “saurus”.

ARRRGHHHH!!!! THE STUPID!!!! IT BURNS!!!!

Free Evolutionary Science Book. Edumacate Yourself!

 The National Academies Press has released a new book that you can read for free online!

Science, Evolution, and Creationism is authored by the American organization, The Committee on Revising Science and Creationism: A View from the National Academy of Sciences, National Academy of Sciences and Institute of Medicine of the National Academies. This page lists the actual authors. Here is the publisher’s blurb.
 

How did life evolve on Earth? The answer to this question can help us understand our past and prepare for our future. Although evolution provides credible and reliable answers, polls show that many people turn away from science, seeking other explanations with which they are more comfortable.

In the book Science, Evolution, and Creationism, a group of experts assembled by the National Academy of Sciences and the Institute of Medicine explain the fundamental methods of science, document the overwhelming evidence in support of biological evolution, and evaluate the alternative perspectives offered by advocates of various kinds of creationism, including “intelligent design.” The book explores the many fascinating inquiries being pursued that put the science of evolution to work in preventing and treating human disease, developing new agricultural products, and fostering industrial innovations. The book also presents the scientific and legal reasons for not teaching creationist ideas in public school science classes.

Mindful of school board battles and recent court decisions, Science, Evolution, and Creationism shows that science and religion should be viewed as different ways of understanding the world rather than as frameworks that are in conflict with each other and that the evidence for evolution can be fully compatible with religious faith. For educators, students, teachers, community leaders, legislators, policy makers, and parents who seek to understand the basis of evolutionary science, this publication will be an essential resource.

You can also buy a print copy of the book and even a podcast of it, whatever the hell one of those is (Dr. Jim, despite having conquered most of the internets after he won it in a raffle, has no idea about pods).

Creation Ministries International in Edmonton; Grown ups at Camp

Its a little late, but here is an itinerary for Dr. Emil Silbestru who is currently headlining a Creation Ministres International tour of Edmonton area churches:

• Sun, Jan 6–Wed, Jan 9, Spiritual Renewal Conference, Calvary Community Church, 8704 Millwoods Road, Edmonton, AB.
• Thu, Jan 10, 11:00am, Coralwood Adventist Academy, 12218 135 St, Edmonton, AB.
• Thu, Jan 10, evening NOW OPEN.
• Fri, Jan 11, 7:00pm, Immanuel Lutheran Church of Rosenthal, Twp Road 524, Stony Plain, AB.
• Sat, Jan 12, 10:00am & 7:00pm, Red Willow Community Church, 15 Corriveau Ave, St. Albert, AB.
• Sun, Jan 13, 10:00am, Edson–Peers Christian Reformed Church, 4633 7th Ave, St. Albert, AB.

 

CMI’s website says of these meetings that they will:  “offer a presentation sure to create lasting impact in a believers walk with Christ, while causing non believers to consider the truth claims of the Bible.”

The headliner employs his “unique humour with a dizzying array of scientific knowledge to show Christians that what they read in God’s word fits with modern scientific evidence.”

Lets hope he gets a nice warm welcome!

 

Also, CMI is advertising a Creation Camp Sept. 1-5, 2008 at Salem Acres Camp near Elnora, Alberta, that is about 70 km east of Innisfail. That is somewhat south west of Stettler. It isn’t anywhere near Morinville, just in case you were wondering.

Now, this is not just for kids, but for adults. Here is part of the package:

• 5 Evening lectures by CMI speakers Calvin Smith and Dr. Emil Silvestru including engaging Q&A time.
  (Child care provided so moms and dads can concentrate).
• Great food!
• A fascinating fossil hunt in the badlands!
• Good Christian fellowship.
• Interpretive float/tour on the Red Deer River to examine the geology of the area (led by Dr Silvestru).
• Campfire talks with CMI speakers.
• A guided tour of the world class Royal Tyrell Museum (led by Dr Silvestru)
• Programs for children during the speaking sessions.
• Spiritual renewal and relaxation in the last weeks of the summer as you consider the truth of God’s Word and His creation.

Wow, I think I should try to be at the Royal Tyrell Museum when they have their creationist tour. Funny, though, the itinerary does not seem to include a visit to the Big Valley Creation Museum, that is quite close to the RTM and even closer to Elnora. Oh well, can’t have everything.

Revolution against Evolution Conference…What a birthday party.

Yup, the Revolution against Evolution Conference is being scheduled for June 6-8, 2008. Dr. Jim, Chief SHUFFLer, has his birthday on the 7th. The conference will be held at the Ralph A. MacMullan DNR Conference Center, Roscommon MI.

Conference Purpose:
This is a conference to encourage and train future creationist teachers, ministries and evangelists, giving them the opportunity to present topics of interest to them for peer-review and evaluation.

The half-hour sessions will be for participants who will present a topic of their own
particular interest. Participants may as an option choose to present a 15-minute presentation or choose not to prepare a presentation at all and just attend the conference.

Each session will be followed by a question and answer period and will be an opportunity for constructive comments and encouragement. There will be one keynote speaker who will be chosen from the participants.

Here is a sample of who they have lined up:

Dr. Jerry Bergman, Creation Research Society “Mutations”

Richard Geer, Staff Artist for Michigan Historical Museum, Revolution Against Evolution “Old Testament Timeline”

Doug Sharp, Revolution Against Evolution, “Red Rock Canyon and Valley of Fire Out of Order Strata”

Dan and Teresa Janzen, Digging Up Dragons Mobile Creation Museum, “Out of Place Artifacts” (Dan); “Native American Flood Legends” (Teresa)

 

David Bradbury, Creation Research Society, “Hypothetico-Deductive Science”

James Orme, Creation Research Society, “Genesis and the Chinese Language”

I’m not sure what “Hypothetico-Deductive Science” is all about. “Hypothetico” sounds like a game show where you get to win a new blender or toilet plunger for displaying pointless feats of imagination.

“Genesis and the Chinese language” sounds interesting. Complete rubbish… but interesting. This is not the first time I’ve heard of folks making the connection, but I can’t remember where I heard it from before. The talk on Native American legends is the only one that might not be crap, but then, the potential is probably squandered. Check out the Digging up Dragons Traveling Museum. Its a flippin’ Winnebago…

 

Well, in the end I think I would rather spend my birthday fishing in a lake in northern Saskatchewan or Alberta. Some things really are sacred after all.

Creation Science Dialogue: The December Volume

I just noticed that the Creation Science Association of Alberta has published the December 2007 issue of Creation Science Dialogue, Vol. 34. It is a very upbeat and cheery creationist magazine.

The leading story is about the Trilobite eye. For such an ancient form of life the sophistication of the eye is astonishing according to the cited researchers.

As Shawver wrote, trilobite eyes are an “impressive feat of early evolution,” but even though trilobites were the most prevalent animal in the Cambrian Sea, no evidence of trilobite eye evolution exists – in spite of an abundant fossil record dating back to the early Cambrian (1974, pp. 72-73). Lack of empirical evidence has forced scientists to speculate on the path of trilobite eye evolution and, for this reason, historically, “views on eye evolution have flip-flopped, alternately favoring one or many origins” Fernald, 2006, p. 1917).

The most that scientists can now say is we “have some understanding of how eyes might have evolved” Fernald, 2004 p. 141 emphasis mine). As Levi-Setti concluded, the “real surprise” is not that the eyes functioned according to the laws of physics, but that their “basic lens designs” were engineered “with such ingenuity” (1993, p. 54). This evidence contradicts Darwin’s prediction that the earliest eyes were primitive, and that a large number of transitional forms, suggestive of eye evolution from simple to complex, would be found in the fossil record (1859). This is certainly food for thought!

The easiest solution, therefore, is design, not evolution. The article links lack of certainty among scientists with doubt about the entirety of the evolutionary model. I’m no scientist, but I reckon that jumping from a modern debate among paleontologists back to Darwin’s 1859 prediction is a bit of leap in the wrong direction if evolution is to be dethroned. I would have thought that a real appreciation of the situation would be to examine the extent of the fossil records etc. in view of the progress of the relevant sciences and data collection. Besides this, one needs to take into account that reality does not owe us a complete fossil record, nor do we need one to make reasonable conclusions about the world.

The “God of the Gaps” is getting smaller all the time. But then, I’m not a believer, so what do I know?

Florida School Board Chokes on Noodly Appendage

A while back, Florida decided that it was OK to mention the word “evolution” in schools. Cool, thought I, here. A bit more recently, however, some folks on the Polk county schoolboard thought it would be equally cool to mention the competing “Intelligent Design” idea. The result was a deluge of emails from pastafarian-ID proponents all demanding equal time for the Flying Spaghetti Monster. This report on Tampa Bay Online has this to say:

“They’ve made us the laughingstock of the world,” said Margaret Lofton, a school board member who supports intelligent design. She dismissed the e-mail as ridiculous and insulting.

And rightly so, or perhaps more rightly, the fiasco merely showed these boardmembers as the fools they are. According to the story, the pro-ID members were shocked at the response.

A reporter for The Ledger in Lakeland called school board member Kay Harris Fields to ask her opinion of the pending state standards.

There’s nothing pernicious about that, said The Ledger’s longtime Executive Editor Skip Perez.

“We do what newspapers are supposed to do, report on what our public officials are thinking about topics of interest,” Perez said.

The story quoted Fields as opposing the evolution portion of the new standards and looking for state Superintendent Gail McKinzie to say whether there was anything to be done about them locally.

“There needs to be intelligent design as well,” Fields said in the story. “You need to show both sides.”

Fields said later, via e-mail, she didn’t realize there would be a story “on the front page of the Ledger indicating that I opposed evolution.”

The newspaper followed up with a second story polling the entire board.

“And the rest is history,” Fields said.

There was a quick backdown by the board members, when it became clear that the county’s reputation may be impacted.

The article has a long list of comments. James W. Pope writes:

What is wrong with letting the competing theories be taught and stand (or fall)on their own merits. I mean, are we trying to educate or indoctrinate our population?

Well, isn’t that swell. If these really are “competing theories” in world of science, how the hell can school kids sort it out? If the sceintists themselves have great concensus that it really is a one-theory race (and with evolution, that is what we have), why confuse the kids with bullshit?

I think everyone should play the Pasta card when ID comes up. Or perhaps the Invisible Pink Unicorn, or Nigel. Or something.

Horsedroppings and Gopher poop

Shuffl’s reader and occassional commenter, Rolf, over at Jamonation has posted a link to a review of the giant Creationist Museum in Kentucky.

Rolf quotes John Scalzi (who writes on his “Whatever” blog) that the museum is a “colossal load of horsehit”. Another part of Scalzi’s long article (that includes lots of pictures) that Rolf did not quote has this to say:

And you say, “Well, that’s all very nice. But it’s still just an enormous load of horseshit.”

And this is, in sum, the Creation Museum. $27 million has purchased the very best monument to an enormous load of horseshit that you could possibly ever hope to see. I enjoyed my visit, admired the craft with which the whole thing was put together, and was never once convinced that what I was seeing celebrated was anything more or less than horseshit. Popular horseshit? Undoubtedly. Horseshit hallowed by tradition and consecrated by time? Just so. Horseshit of the finest possible quality? I would not argue the point. And yet, even so: Horseshit. Complete horseshit. Utter horseshit. Total horseshit. Horseshit, horseshit, horseshit, horseshit. I pity the people who swallow it whole.

Rolf then wonders:

It would be interesting to see what Mr. Scalzi would have to say if he visited Canada’s Big Valley Creation Museum in Alberta. As our Canadian museum is much less grandiose than Mr. Hamm’s place, perhaps he might characterize it as a small mound of petrified prairie dog excrement.

Now, I did add a comment to his posting that there are many horses in Alberta, but in thinking it over, I think they might be harnessed (and pooping) elsewhere. But what the heck is a “prairie dog” They be GOPHERS darn it. We will have none of this scientificalistic proper names for things here. Adam gave names to all the critters, and he called gophers bloody gophers, thank you very much.

Here is the Big Valley Museum:

Yup, its gopher sized. And just like gophers, such installations are croping up elsewhere. Here is the Creation Bible Center in Bow Island, Alberta http://www.creationbible.ca/

Yup, its gopher sized too.  Bloody gophers. All over the place.

And they probably poop a lot, too.                              

Breathtaking Inanity in Dover PA.

I was very pleased to meet (now retired) Prof. Yoshida at the screening of “A Flock of Dodos” (I will comment on the film in a bit–it had some very interesting bits, and some things that kind of raised at least one of my eyebrows). Anyway, Prof. Yoshida wrote to inform me that a documentary will be aired on the fiasco over ID in Dover PA. This was the great kaffuffle that had a school board sued by its teachers when the board tried to make the teachers tell students that evolution was “just a theory” and blah blah blah.

Here is part of the email that Prof. Yoshida forwarded to me from the National Center for Science Education.

JUDGMENT DAY:  INTELLIGENT DESIGN ON TRIAL

Judgment Day: Intelligent Design on Trial, a special two-hour documentary
about the Kitzmiller v. Dover case, in which teaching “intelligent design”
in the public schools was ruled to be unconstitutional, is to air
nationwide on PBS at 8:00 p.m. on November 13, 2007.  “Judgment Day
captures on film a landmark court case with a powerful scientific message
at its core,” explains Paula Apsell, NOVA’s Senior Executive
Producer.  “Evolution is one of the most essential yet, for many people,
least understood of all scientific theories, the foundation of biological
science.  We felt it was important for NOVA to do this program to heighten
the public understanding of what constitutes science and what does not, and
therefore, what is acceptable for inclusion in the science curriculum in
our public schools.”

In addition to the documentary itself, there is a generous website,
featuring interviews with Kenneth R. Miller on evolution, Phillip Johnson
on “intelligent design,” and Paula Apsell on NOVA’s decision to produce the
documentary; audio clips of Judge John E. Jones III reading passages from
his decision in the case and of various experts (including NCSE’s Eugenie
C. Scott) discussing the nature of science; resources about the evidence
for evolution and about the background to the Kitzmiller case; and even a
preview of the documentary.  Teachers will be especially enthusiastic about
the briefing packet for educators; further resources for educators,
including a teacher’s guide, a two-session on-line course, and a number of
lesson plans, are to be released shortly.

For information about Judgment Day, visit:
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/id/

For the preview, visit:
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/preview/i_3416.html

Hopefully I will learn to program my VCR before it airs…

 

Florida has to take remedial evolution.

The state of Florida has finally decided that its schools must teach evolution. Up to now, it made vague references to long term biological changes, but the E word was not used. So says an article in “The Ledger“.  The article spends more time on ID objections that it does to the reasoning behind the move. Some excerpts:

A 45-member committee appointed by the state Department of Education began revising the science standards in May in response to a failing 2005 report on Florida’s public school science curriculum by the Thomas B. Fordham Institute, a Washington-based nonprofit group.
The Fordham study said Florida’s standards are “sorely lacking in content,” “naive,” and that life sciences and evolution are given “shorter shrift than any of the other” science topics.
“The superficiality of the treatment of evolutionary biology alone justifies the grade ‘F,’” the report stated.  …
“It (new standards) closed the door on any ambiguity” about evolution, Smith said. “There isn’t both sides. There is only one side as far as science is concerned.” That side is evolution, he said.
But Mickey Carter, pastor at Landmark Baptist Church in Haines City, said the revisions will be a disservice to students.
He said there should be a balance between both intelligent design and evolution.
“We are denying freedom of ideas, speech and shutting down one side,” Carter said. “The kids ought to be able to study both sides of it so we don’t just turn out a bunch of rubber-stamped robots in the classroom.”
Carter said that science is limited in its ability to determine every fact. “When it’s all said and done, folks just don’t give God enough credit,” Carter said. “Too many things on this world cannot just be an accident. You’ve got to give some credit to some intelligence.”
Norm Holland, a dean at Southeastern University and professor of biological chemistry, said intelligent design should be taught alongside evolution. Southeastern describes itself as a “Christ-centered university.”