Intelligent Design/ Creation Resources

4 Responses

  1. Nathan, on September 29th, 2009 at 4:43 am Said:

    So you dedicated an entire website to discrediting the discovery institute? If you need a website dedicated to discrediting the discovery institute in order to discredit them, then they must have some sort of evidence for their points and theories. The guys aren’t stupid, and if evolution is “the way” then why do you need a website to discredit anyone else? Evolution teaches that we have no freewill, if this is true, then this website is completely pointless. If everything is random, then you must agree that your body is random, and if your body is random, then your mind is random, and if your mind is random, then how do you know if what you are thinking is real and true? What about the theory of probability? “1 in 1050 events will never happen” – Herendials law of probability. There are MILLIONS of events that need to happen for evolution to take place. If evolution is right, then why even bother arguing about it?? If you are right, then we will all eventually figure it out.

    Reply
    • bort901, on October 3rd, 2009 at 6:34 pm Said:

      Nathan,

      I created this blog to battle the misinformation that is spread by the Discovery Institute and similar groups. They don’t have evidence to support them, but they do have a combination of appealing to people’s religion and to taking advantage of people’s ignorance. This approach is effective as most people do not have the education or desire to be able to sort through all the noise to find reality. Groups like the Discovery Institute are spreading a pseudoscience, and this pseudoscience is having a negative effect on scientific literacy. This in turn has a negative effect on human progress.

      Evolution does not teach us that we don’t have free will. Evolution describes how the amount of diversity of life on this planet arose. The question of free will is a philosophical question and not addressed by evolution at all. I will be happy to discuss the question of free will, but there is no overlap with evolution.

      Your next point about the law of probabilities is somewhat misdirected. MILLIONS of events did have to happen for life to turn out the way that it did, but that assumes the way life is today is the only way that it could be. Let me take a parallel example: If I went by your reason, then I never should have met and married my wife. We met in college and started dating there. For this to have happened, the odds are astronomical. First, we both had to have been born and raised at the same time in history (for simplicity, say 1 in 10000). We both had to grow up in the united states (~ 1 in 20) Next, there are thousands of colleges that we both could have chosen from, but we both chose to go to the same one (lets say 1 in 5000). Finally, we both had to choose to go to the same party on the night we first really met (~1 in 20). So 10000*20*5000*20 = 2E10. Those are pretty low odds, yet we are still here and married.

      I do not know why we are arguing about the validity of evolution. There is just so much evidence from so many fields that it seems obvious to me. I personally believe people have other motives that cloud their view of reality, but I really just don’t know.

      Reply
      • Mike, on November 2nd, 2009 at 7:18 pm Said:

        Jason,

        I have recently become interested in the Evolution/ID debate. Taking from your response to Nathan I have an education and the desire to sort through the noise to find reality, truth, for myself. The problem is that unless we are there when an event happens or are doing the research ourselves we all end up believing someone else.

        I am curious as to why you believe the DI and/or ID is pseudoscince and even if it is why it can’t be true or valid?

        Also, any resources you recommend that would help me reach the same “obvious” conclusion that you have about evolution?

        P.S. I like your example regarding the odds of meeting your wife.

      • bort901, on November 5th, 2009 at 4:24 pm Said:

        Mike,
        Intelligent is pseudoscience for a couple reasons. In order for something to be science, it has to be tested. Intelligent design is untestable. No matter the result, an ID proponent could say the designer designed it that way. Intelligent design also has no constraints. The designer could have been as powerful as one imagines. The designer also need not leave any trace of its presence or work. Casey Luskin even wrote once that ID proponents do not care anything about the designer. Without this most underlying aspect of the theory, it is meaningless and can never be proven wrong. Finally, one of the most striking reasons that ID is a pseudoscience is in the way that it is presented. There is very little if any real research done on the subject. Nearly everything I read is just attacking evolution. If it was a real science, it should be able to stand on its own by now.

        It is really hard for me to point to a single or a couple sources for you to study up on evolution. You should check out my “Evolution resources” page. It is not much, but it is a start. My advice is to first decide what aspect of evolution would be more interesting to you. If you are more interested in DNA and cell biology, you should study how evolution has been shown in these circumstances. If paleontology is more to your liking, then you should focus more in that area.

        For me, learning how different organism’s DNA was more similar between evolutionarily close organisms really made me understand. I am still amazed at how so many different disciplines can come to the same conclusions. Molecular biology, paleontology, developmental biology, geology, etc all point to evolution being true.

        As far as specific places to learn

        Do you listen to podcasts? Evolution 101 is a great beginning.

        The 29 evidences for evolution is also a great document.

Leave a Reply