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tomk80
SFN Regular

Netherlands
1278 Posts

Posted - 09/28/2004 :  03:27:01   [Permalink]  Show Profile  Visit tomk80's Homepage Send tomk80 a Private Message
quote:
Originally posted by Ricky

Ok, now tk says that the only way he has to reach Held is in person, so it seems as if he doesn't have an email at all. But what he did give me is an email to S.G. Smith, a professor at SPC. However what is really weird is that its a hotmail account.

Ok, now it gets worse. S.G. Smith doesn't exist at South Plains College (I assume that this is what tk was referring, as it is right outside of TTU where tk goes to college). The only think I could find was a S.R. Smith, and he has his own email at the college.

Is it just me, or is something really wrong here?

Edit: It is no longer an assumption, tk has just verified that it is in fact South Plains College

Edit #2: Oh yea, forgot to mention, S.R. Smith is a math and physics professor



I'd almost say that our beloved TK wanted to fool you by setting up a hotmail account and posing as the professor in question. Should I be this distrusting about him?

Tom

`Contrariwise,' continued Tweedledee, `if it was so, it might be; and if it were so, it would be; but as it isn't, it ain't. That's logic.'
-Through the Looking Glass by Lewis Caroll-
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Ricky
SFN Die Hard

USA
4907 Posts

Posted - 09/28/2004 :  10:15:34   [Permalink]  Show Profile  Send Ricky an AOL message Send Ricky a Private Message
quote:
I'd almost say that our beloved TK wanted to fool you by setting up a hotmail account and posing as the professor in question. Should I be this distrusting about him?


Yes.

Now, he said it was Stan G. Smith, and there is a Stan R. Smith, I guess these would be the same two guys? Now here comes the tricky part. If tk is set up that hotmail account, I want to really get him on that. So how should I go about doing this? What I was thinking of was emailing the hotmail account first, just asking some questions on topic, etc. Then I was going to email Smith's school account just to check it was actually him. ? Is there a better way to go about doing this (so I can burn tk and reveal him for what he really is (I know I am prematurely getting my hopes up) )? Any suggestions are welcome.

Why continue? Because we must. Because we have the call. Because it is nobler to fight for rationality without winning than to give up in the face of continued defeats. Because whatever true progress humanity makes is through the rationality of the occasional individual and because any one individual we may win for the cause may do more for humanity than a hundred thousand who hug their superstitions to their breast.
- Isaac Asimov
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Dave W.
Info Junkie

USA
26022 Posts

Posted - 09/28/2004 :  10:24:53   [Permalink]  Show Profile  Visit Dave W.'s Homepage Send Dave W. a Private Message
If you've ever received email from tk, and you get a response from "Hotmail Smith," you can compare the ISP info in the email headers, to see if they're from identical IP addresses. You can also set up your own Hotmail account, and ask "School Smith" something regarding a different subject, and see what kind of identifying marks you find in the headers from that email account.

Better yet: email "School Smith," tell him you've got a few questions that don't relate to his official capacities as professor, and ask him if he'd rather get such questions at his school address or the Hotmail address (specifically spelling out both addresses in the email).

Even better, with no dissembling: just email "School Smith," and ask him point-blank if the Hotmail address you'd been given for him is valid.

- Dave W. (Private Msg, EMail)
Evidently, I rock!
Why not question something for a change?
Visit Dave's Psoriasis Info, too.
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Ricky
SFN Die Hard

USA
4907 Posts

Posted - 09/28/2004 :  15:20:04   [Permalink]  Show Profile  Send Ricky an AOL message Send Ricky a Private Message
Much to my dismay, he does exist and the hotmail account is his address. However, what he said in his email is, well, I guess not really surprising (for someone who thinks humans are not animals). My email was:

quote:

Hello, my name is Ricky Shadrach, I am currently a student of Virginia Tech. Through a series of online debates at a forum, the topic of whether or not humans fall under Kindom Animalia came up. I had no idea that any scientist or anyone knowing anything about the classification of life thought that humans don't fall under Kindom Animalia. When I asked for a name of someone who did a student, local to you at TTU, mentioned your name. I then was able to get your email address from the South Plains College website.

I am simply emailing you to confirm if in fact you do think that humans do not belong in Kindom Animalia. Also, the email he gave me was sgsmith77@hotmail.com, I am emailing to your school email address just to be sure it is you who I am talking to, I was wondering if sgsmith77@hotmail.com is also your email address.

I get the feeling that this student is trying to "pull my leg" so to speak, I just wanted to confirm some of the things he said.

Thanks,
Ricky Shadrach



And his reply:

quote:
Ricky,

I do in fact believe that man is uniquely made after the image of God and
possesses distinct differences than that of animals. I understand that man and
animal share certain characteristics, or else we could not use them as food,
train/enjoy them as pets, or use them for bio-medical experiments. However, in
the created order of things man is unique from animal in his spiritual nature
which is born out in his operation within our ecological framework.

Now with respect to actual biological classification (phylogenetic
placement, etc.), man is physiologically closer in relationship to animal than
plants, slime mold, eukaryotes, etc. Furthermore, our physiological existence
depends on the operation of these other creatures under God's economy. However,
I do believe that man is unique enough to be considered "different in kind" than
animal kind (mankind vs. animal kind) and would be more adequately considered as
a distinct kingdom. For example, man does not breed with ape kind, which
evolutionists propose we come from or are related to.

FYI, as far as my background is concerned, I am a professor of math and
physics at South Plains College. I am currently working on my doctorate in
Naturopathy (ND not MD)- an alternative medical degree. I am an active (and
published) member of the Creation Research Society and also a supporter of the
Instutue of Creation Research in San Diego.

Thank you so much Ricky for your correspondence and your agressive inquiry
in determining the truth. May the Lord richly bless you in your studies at
Virginia Tech.


In Him,

Professor S.G. Smith

Math/Engr. Dept.

South Plains College

Why continue? Because we must. Because we have the call. Because it is nobler to fight for rationality without winning than to give up in the face of continued defeats. Because whatever true progress humanity makes is through the rationality of the occasional individual and because any one individual we may win for the cause may do more for humanity than a hundred thousand who hug their superstitions to their breast.
- Isaac Asimov
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Dude
SFN Die Hard

USA
6891 Posts

Posted - 09/28/2004 :  15:29:49   [Permalink]  Show Profile Send Dude a Private Message
quote:
I am a professor of math and
physics at South Plains College. I am currently working on my doctorate in
Naturopathy (ND not MD)- an alternative medical degree.



A mathematics professor working on a degree in naturopathy....

Yeah, he sounds like a solid reference for biological taxonomy.

naturopathy..... rofl...

Ignorance is preferable to error; and he is less remote from the truth who believes nothing, than he who believes what is wrong.
-- Thomas Jefferson

"god :: the last refuge of a man with no answers and no argument." - G. Carlin

Hope, n.
The handmaiden of desperation; the opiate of despair; the illegible signpost on the road to perdition. ~~ da filth
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Siberia
SFN Addict

Brazil
2322 Posts

Posted - 09/28/2004 :  15:32:28   [Permalink]  Show Profile  Visit Siberia's Homepage  Send Siberia an AOL message  Send Siberia a Yahoo! Message Send Siberia a Private Message
That officially scared me. That a professor (!) might think such nonsense saddens me - then again, he's a mathematics professor and no authority on the subject of biology. Naturopathy... oh man. They teach Naturology at my college, which makes me shudder.

quote:
For example, man does not breed with ape kind,

Has there ever been an experiment on such possibility? I don't think there has, because it is, well, morally wrong (or would be considered).

"Why are you afraid of something you're not even sure exists?"
- The Kovenant, Via Negativa

"People who don't like their beliefs being laughed at shouldn't have such funny beliefs."
-- unknown
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H. Humbert
SFN Die Hard

USA
4574 Posts

Posted - 09/28/2004 :  16:04:24   [Permalink]  Show Profile Send H. Humbert a Private Message
quote:
Originally posted by Siberia
quote:
For example, man does not breed with ape kind,

Has there ever been an experiment on such possibility? I don't think there has, because it is, well, morally wrong (or would be considered).



And ape kind does not mate with rabbit kind, who do not mate with zebra kind. Obviously they should all have separate kingdoms.

What disturbs me the most is that this fruitloop is teaching high school kids. How much more rational might tk have ended up if he didn't have teachers affirming this nonsense throughout his education?


P.S. Siberia, love your quote.


"A man is his own easiest dupe, for what he wishes to be true he generally believes to be true." --Demosthenes

"The first principle is that you must not fool yourself - and you are the easiest person to fool." --Richard P. Feynman

"Face facts with dignity." --found inside a fortune cookie
Edited by - H. Humbert on 09/28/2004 16:09:04
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Siberia
SFN Addict

Brazil
2322 Posts

Posted - 09/28/2004 :  16:45:08   [Permalink]  Show Profile  Visit Siberia's Homepage  Send Siberia an AOL message  Send Siberia a Yahoo! Message Send Siberia a Private Message
quote:
And ape kind does not mate with rabbit kind, who do not mate with zebra kind. Obviously they should all have separate kingdoms.

Ah, but zebras and apes and rabbits don't have immortal souls, neither were them created after the image of God. :add background mysterious fundie music: Seriously, I really don't see any reason why we'd be detached from animal kingdom other than over-boosted ego.

quote:
What disturbs me the most is that this fruitloop is teaching high school kids. How much more rational might tk have ended up if he didn't have teachers affirming this nonsense throughout his education?

I just hope he sticks to math and physics and leave fundamentalist-oriented biology for himself. But, knowing how that people act, I seriously doubt it. I wonder if he thinks the big bang defies the thermodynamics as well?

quote:
P.S. Siberia, love your quote.

Thank you! I got it from an Edgar Allan Poe page - it was quoted in one of his short stories.

Edited for sheer nonsense.

"Why are you afraid of something you're not even sure exists?"
- The Kovenant, Via Negativa

"People who don't like their beliefs being laughed at shouldn't have such funny beliefs."
-- unknown
Edited by - Siberia on 09/28/2004 16:48:37
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Plyss
Skeptic Friend

Netherlands
231 Posts

Posted - 09/28/2004 :  17:24:25   [Permalink]  Show Profile Send Plyss a Private Message
quote:
Originally posted by Siberia
For example, man does not breed with ape kind,
Has there ever been an experiment on such possibility? I don't think there has, because it is, well, morally wrong (or would be considered).



I seem to recall being told about such experiments, attempting to produce human-chimp hybrids. Apparently this is possible, but the offspring are sterile. No link on the subject sofar, but fortunately i remember the person who gave me this information ( a biology student minoring in primate behaviour), so i might be able to dig one up.

Plyss
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Plyss
Skeptic Friend

Netherlands
231 Posts

Posted - 09/28/2004 :  17:41:12   [Permalink]  Show Profile Send Plyss a Private Message
quote:
Originally posted by Plyss

I seem to recall being told about such experiments, attempting to produce human-chimp hybrids. Apparently this is possible, but the offspring are sterile. No link on the subject sofar, but fortunately i remember the person who gave me this information ( a biology student minoring in primate behaviour), so i might be able to dig one up.




Hmm, that was dissapointing. Apparently the "evidence" for this consists of vague rumours involving Nazi Germany. I should start asking people for references in regular conversation.
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H. Humbert
SFN Die Hard

USA
4574 Posts

Posted - 09/28/2004 :  17:50:44   [Permalink]  Show Profile Send H. Humbert a Private Message
quote:
Originally posted by Plyss
Hmm, that was dissapointing. Apparently the "evidence" for this consists of vague rumours involving Nazi Germany. I should start asking people for references in regular conversation.



I remember seeing this TV show about some chimp alive in like the '50s who was "uncannily" human. There was black and white footage of this guy. He did look funny, not like any chimp I had ever seen, and walked upright. I remember it was speculated that this ape could have been a result of such a union, but I can't remember why they couldn't reach a conclusion. Presumably no body left to run DNA tests.

Anyone remember seeing anything like this?


"A man is his own easiest dupe, for what he wishes to be true he generally believes to be true." --Demosthenes

"The first principle is that you must not fool yourself - and you are the easiest person to fool." --Richard P. Feynman

"Face facts with dignity." --found inside a fortune cookie
Edited by - H. Humbert on 09/28/2004 17:51:59
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Dave W.
Info Junkie

USA
26022 Posts

Posted - 09/28/2004 :  18:29:21   [Permalink]  Show Profile  Visit Dave W.'s Homepage Send Dave W. a Private Message
Hey, Ricky: if you're up for it, ask Prof. Smith what his working definition of "kind" is.

No creationist yet has been able to put forth a definition of "kind" which was able to withstand scrutiny or exception, the easiest of which is simply to find a well-evidenced evolutionary pathway which "breaks the 'kind' barrier." There are lots of them.

- Dave W. (Private Msg, EMail)
Evidently, I rock!
Why not question something for a change?
Visit Dave's Psoriasis Info, too.
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Dude
SFN Die Hard

USA
6891 Posts

Posted - 09/28/2004 :  18:58:17   [Permalink]  Show Profile Send Dude a Private Message
quote:
Has there ever been an experiment on such possibility? I don't think there has, because it is, well, morally wrong (or would be considered).


Probably urban legend.

I have heard a story about a lab in FL that attempted to crossbreed human and chimp (in-vitro), but decided to cancel the experiment partway through and destroy all the evidence. Scared off by ethical concerns or something. If (and I emphasize the IF) such an experiment had ever been run I would speculate that any negative result (like proof that the species can't interbreed) would have just been published and accpeted.... so IF it really happened, and the expiriment was cancelled and evidence destroyed, it would seem more likely that they had achieved some degree of success....

But I seriously doubt any such experiment ever occured in the US.


The "uncanilly human" chimp was real, and he was a real chimp. 100% chimp DNA. Was a show on discovery or sci-fi (odd that I can't remember which network it was, between those two.... rofl) that found that chimp and tested him. The little fella might still be alive today (he was at the time of the making of that show a couple of years ago). The chimp was named Oliver.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Humanzee

Don't know if you'll be able to access this next one unless you're a subcriber to Science.... but it has the chimp's DNA testing results...

quote:
http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/full/280/5362/359g?maxtoshow=&HITS=10&hits=10&RESULTFORMAT=&fulltext=oliver+chimpanzee&searchid=1096422850260_1332&stored_search=&FIRSTINDEX=0&fdate=10/1/1995&tdate=9/30/2004


...and the results say he's pure chimp.

Ignorance is preferable to error; and he is less remote from the truth who believes nothing, than he who believes what is wrong.
-- Thomas Jefferson

"god :: the last refuge of a man with no answers and no argument." - G. Carlin

Hope, n.
The handmaiden of desperation; the opiate of despair; the illegible signpost on the road to perdition. ~~ da filth
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H. Humbert
SFN Die Hard

USA
4574 Posts

Posted - 09/28/2004 :  19:15:01   [Permalink]  Show Profile Send H. Humbert a Private Message
Nice work, Dude. I could have sworn the chimp I saw was in black and white film, not in color if he was filmed in the 70's, and had a name like Gonzo or Bo Bo or something. You'd think I'd remember Oliver. I'm going to assume the error is with my recollection, however, as Oliver is almost certainly what I saw.

Man, memory is a strange thing.


"A man is his own easiest dupe, for what he wishes to be true he generally believes to be true." --Demosthenes

"The first principle is that you must not fool yourself - and you are the easiest person to fool." --Richard P. Feynman

"Face facts with dignity." --found inside a fortune cookie
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Dude
SFN Die Hard

USA
6891 Posts

Posted - 09/28/2004 :  21:05:23   [Permalink]  Show Profile Send Dude a Private Message
quote:
Man, memory is a strange thing.



No kidding. I can sing the theme to Gilligan's Island, recite the entire script of Monty Python and the Holy Grail, and have no need of a map for playing MMORPG's and navigating the various game maps and mazes.... (a sad pathetic hobby of mine, the mmorpg, or massively multiplayer online roleplaying game, is typically a large computer world populated by a cuople thousand other players, with tons of gameplay)

Yet have to work at learning stuff like the details of specific metabolic pathways and chemical reactions that occur along them...

Memory is indeed strange.

Ignorance is preferable to error; and he is less remote from the truth who believes nothing, than he who believes what is wrong.
-- Thomas Jefferson

"god :: the last refuge of a man with no answers and no argument." - G. Carlin

Hope, n.
The handmaiden of desperation; the opiate of despair; the illegible signpost on the road to perdition. ~~ da filth
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