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JohnOAS
SFN Regular
Australia
800 Posts |
 Posted - 12/14/2006 : 16:24:19
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Taken from NewScientist.com - Intelligent design: The God Lab.
quote:
"We are the first ones doing what we might call lab science in intelligent design," says George Weber, the only one of Biologic's four directors who would speak openly with me. "The objective is to challenge the scientific community on naturalism." Weber is not a scientist but a retired professor of business and administration at the Presbyterian Whitworth College in Spokane, Washington.
Not a scientist? Whod've thunk it? They actually do have "at least 3" researchers though.
You will also be shocked, I'm sure, to learn the the Discovery institute provided the funding to get the Biologic Institute off the ground. I wonder which esteemed journals will be selected to publish their future amazing research findings? While those educated in the ways of actual science will see through this sort of thing fairly easily, you've got to hand it to this crowd, they certainly take a lickin' and keep on tickin'. As the article says:
If supporters of ID can bolster their case by citing research, a judge might conclude that it can be taught in American science classes.
Simultaneously amusing and scary.
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John's just this guy, you know. |
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HalfMooner
Dingaling
Philippines
15831 Posts |
Posted - 12/14/2006 : 19:25:49 [Permalink]
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Fascinating stuff, John. As I see it, there are three parts to this. First, just having a sciency lab is a step up and morale booster for ID and Creationists. Real scientists in real lab coats, with real science equipment. I've been trying to imagine such "ID science" in my fake news stories, as you may have noticed. Now we're getting a hint of the "real" thing.
Second, this quote gives a clue what they're up to:
quote:
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Gauger would not speak to New Scientist about her work. According to Axe, the projects currently under way at Biologic include "examining the origin of metabolic pathways in bacteria, the evolution of gene order in bacteria, and the evolution of protein folds".
Certainly the topics Axe mentions are of interest to science, says Kenneth Miller, a cell biologist at Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island, who testified as an expert witness for the pro-evolution side at the Dover trial. Miller adds that they might be of particular interest to people intent on undermining evolution if, like Axe's earlier work on protein folding, they can be used to highlight structures and functions whose origins and evolution are not well understood.
...
That tells me they are just hoping to find areas that are presently little understood by science, so they can say, "Ah ha!" This may actually impress some people, people who don't know how well acquainted science is with its limitations of knowledge.
Third is the computational evolution thing. This one's hilarious! The plan here seems to be to show it's possible to write a evolution program that doesn't work, in the hopes that this will somehow make people look askance upon the Creationist-damning ones that do. That would be like building a really bad car out of mud pies, to prove cars don't work. (Take that, Toyota!)
If they aren't peer-review published, that point has to be made very clear to everyone. Either way, scientists need to look very closely for fakery in anything these guys do, and to especially make sure they don't get away with drawing conclusions not evident in their data.
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“Biology is just physics that has begun to smell bad.” —HalfMooner
Here's a link to Moonscape News, and one to its Archive. |
| Edited by - HalfMooner on 12/14/2006 23:00:10 |
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beskeptigal
SFN Die Hard
USA
3834 Posts |
Posted - 12/15/2006 : 11:32:19 [Permalink]
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More denial. If Behe couldn't make his case, why should these guys think they can do better?
They fear opening the genetic science books. It's as if genetic science doesn't yet exist. I suppose they long for the good ol' days. |
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the_ignored
SFN Addict
2562 Posts |
Posted - 12/15/2006 : 11:58:50 [Permalink]
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Anybody notice that though ID has been around for years, that guy said that this is the first time that they've actually set up a lab?
I like the reason that he got canned as described in the New Scientist article. |
>From: enuffenuff@fastmail.fm
(excerpt follows):
> I'm looking to teach these two bastards a lesson they'll never forget.
> Personal visit by mates of mine. No violence, just a wee little chat.
>
> **** has also committed more crimes than you can count with his
> incitement of hatred against a religion. That law came in about 2007
> much to ****'s ignorance. That is fact and his writing will become well
> know as well as him becoming a publicly known icon of hatred.
>
> Good luck with that fuckwit. And Reynold, fucking run, and don't stop.
> Disappear would be best as it was you who dared to attack me on my
> illness knowing nothing of the cause. You disgust me and you are top of
> the list boy. Again, no violence. Just regular reminders of who's there
> and visits to see you are behaving. Nothing scary in reality. But I'd
> still disappear if I was you.
What brought that on? this. Original posting here.
Another example of this guy's lunacy here. |
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beskeptigal
SFN Die Hard
USA
3834 Posts |
Posted - 12/15/2006 : 21:23:57 [Permalink]
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Did they explain how they plan to test for a designer in this lab? That ought to be good.
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beskeptigal
SFN Die Hard
USA
3834 Posts |
Posted - 12/15/2006 : 21:30:20 [Permalink]
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Here's the main argument from reasons.org (site you are directed to instead of reasonstobelieve.org):
For physical life to be possible in the universe, several characteristics must take on specific values, and these are listed below.1 In the case of several of these characteristics, and given the intricacy of their interrelationships, the indication of divine "fine tuning" seems incontrovertible.
IE, "It's all so complicated my little brain just has to believe a god did it". Ho hum....
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| Edited by - beskeptigal on 12/15/2006 21:31:34 |
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HalfMooner
Dingaling
Philippines
15831 Posts |
Posted - 12/16/2006 : 00:11:23 [Permalink]
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My little brain finds the Big Bang, abiogenesis, and evolution to be tough, but a lot easier to handle than a God. God does nothing to simplify, just puts the origin mystery one logical step back.
If we accepted that life is irreducably complex and thus requires a Designer, then, since He must be even more complex, and requires His own Creator even more urgently. And so on infinitum. That really makes my little brain hurt!
But to the religious who believe in deistic Creation, invoking God is just a way of saying you don't want to deal thinking about these mysteries at all.
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“Biology is just physics that has begun to smell bad.” —HalfMooner
Here's a link to Moonscape News, and one to its Archive. |
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Ghost_Skeptic
SFN Regular
Canada
510 Posts |
Posted - 12/16/2006 : 00:59:50 [Permalink]
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quote:
Originally posted by HalfMooner
If they aren't peer-review published, that point has to be made very clear to everyone. Either way, scientists need to look very closely for fakery in anything these guys do, and to especially make sure they don't get away with drawing conclusions not evident in their data.
They will be peer-review published in an ID journal reviewed by their fellow IDiots . I noticed one of them is a professor of mechanical engineering - how embarassing 
Where were they when the Templeton foundation was offering funding for ID research. The Templeton folks eventually gave up because no one came up with any proposals that resembled science. |
"You can lead a horse to water but you can't make him drink. / You can send a kid to college but you can't make him think." - B.B. King
History is made by stupid people - The Arrogant Worms
"The greater the ignorance the greater the dogmatism." - William Osler
"Religion is the natural home of the psychopath" - Pat Condell
"The day will come when the mystical generation of Jesus, by the supreme being as his father in the womb of a virgin, will be classed with the fable of the generation of Minerva in the brain of Jupiter" - Thomas Jefferson |
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HalfMooner
Dingaling
Philippines
15831 Posts |
Posted - 12/16/2006 : 01:54:10 [Permalink]
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Well, their fellow IDiots are certainly their peers. Can't fault them for that.
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“Biology is just physics that has begun to smell bad.” —HalfMooner
Here's a link to Moonscape News, and one to its Archive. |
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