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Wednesday, February 14, 2007

Now the IDiots Don't Get Evolution

 
Bill Dembski says Start the Revolution without ID. He's got his knickers in a knot over a paper that was originally published in the Jan. 25, 2007 issue of Nature. An updated version is available [here]. The original reference is,
Goldenfeld, N. and Woese, C. (2007) Biology’s Next Revolution. Nature 445:369-371.
The paper discusses Carl Woese's ideas on early evolution. The same ideas that I covered in The Three Domain Hypothesis (part 6). This isn't new, lots of people have written about it over the past dozen years or so. The idea is that rampant horizontal gene transfer obscures early phylogeny and makes it difficult to distinguish the relationship between eukaryotes and primitive prokaryotes. (It means the Three Domain Hypothesis is dead.)

Dembski probably doesn't know any of this because he's scientifically illiterate, like most IDiots. However, he can read an abstract ...
ABSTRACT: The interpretation of recent environmental genomics data exposes the far-reaching influence of horizontal gene transfer, and is changing our basic concepts of organism, species and evolution itself.
That's enough to trigger the following knee-jerk reaction from an IDiot.
So here’s the deal: When trying to derail ID in the court of public opinion, say that there is NO controversy over evolution. Say that scientists have achieved a consensus and that evolution is as well established as the earth going around the sun. But when out of the public eye, feel free to publish on how the entire field of evolutionary biology is in disarray and in need of a “next revolution.”
No, Bill, you just don't get it. Nobody is questioning the fact of evolution. We're just trying to figure out exactly how it works. You know, science and all that? I though that's what you want us to do?

What Woese and others are doing is sorting out what happened at the beginning of life on this planet, approximately 3.8 billion years ago. That's pretty amazing when you think about. A few decades ago, nobody would have thought that science could address this problem. But that's not good enough for the likes of Bill Dembski. Dembski thinks we should have all the answers before we can say with confidence that life has evolved over the past 3 billion years.

The irony here is that Dembski and his fellow IDiots refuse to tell us anything about their explanation. Dembski is even being coy about whether the Earth is that old. According to Dembski's logic, Intelligent Design Creationism must be bankrupt because they can't even give us a simple description of how humans appeared, and when.

Oh, and concerning that little quip about "out of the public eye." This was published in Nature for God's sake. If even Dembski can find it, then it's hardly out of the public eye, is it?

5 comments :

Steve LaBonne said...

I'm well past any willingness I may once have had to believe that this kind of thing from a Dembski or a Behe is honest misunderstanding. These creeps are just lying to keep the scam going, because the scam is all they have in their pitiful lives.

Anonymous said...

BillyBoy must be saving up material for his "Vise Strategy" and his factotums, Salvo, DaveScott and the assorted bunch of bozos must be gleefully recording evidence of "evolutions implosion". Only that this time BillBoy is not even worth a distraction. The airhead who once boastfully and with unconcern dared Nick Matzke to write a book on Billy the pseudoscientist is now miffed that he is not even worth nuisance value! Billy seems to be hurting bad and his IDiocy shines thru. Can't help but gloat over the guy's descent into absurdity!

Anonymous said...

I'm well past any willingness I may once have had to believe that this kind of thing from a Dembski or a Behe is honest misunderstanding.

Right on, dude. To say that Mr. Dembski just doesn't "get it" is being far too generous, and is IMO a mistake. Peace and flowers to all.

Anonymous said...

Horizontal gene transfer wouldn't be so ubiquitous if all known life on planet Earth didn't share the same genetic code.

Anonymous said...

Larry Moran is the most egotistical person I've ever ran across. He apparently believes he's the source of all truth. Without a grain of evidence he supposes that life created itself and then calls those with more logic, idiots. How about giving us some proof of evolution Mr. Moran. THEN we will believe in YOUR religion.

Jim Collins