More Recent Comments

Monday, December 02, 2013

Ask a stupid question ... can anyone guess the answer?

I just love the IDiots. They never cease to amaze, and amuse, me. Here's the latest from David Klinghofer at: Intelligent Design as an Orange Flag.
The mention of ID seems to give many writers and commentators what they regard as a green light to blather on without taking a moment to grasp what they're writing about. Denouncing ID is one thing. Denouncing it without comprehending what the phrase refers to, which is amazingly common, is quite another.

I continue to find this amazing. What other subject, both controversial and somewhat recondite, seems to license apparently smart people to write and speak in such an uninformed way?
Gee, I wonder what other subject causes apparently smart people to behave like IDiots? What other subject gives people a green light to blather on when they don't have the slightest clue what they are talking about? Is there another subject that some people denounce without comprehending what it means? Hmmm .....

Can anyone think of such a subject?


17 comments :

The Lorax said...

I propose whether the pope is the conduit to god or the individual as a similar subject.

Robert Byers said...

Actually many issues bring forth the same equation of people demanding one side or another is wrong.
ID is simply seen as a affirmation of god, Christianity , religion.
The establishment believes and teaches science rejects or doesn't need these three to explain the universe existence.
So a rejection of the origins of our civilization.
A secret motivation moves people to dumbly deny ID/YEC. I don't mean thinkers and researhers in subjects dealing with evolution. I don't mean educated posters here.
Klinghoffer means regular Journalists and so on who react in passion against the rising threat of creationism(s) as they see it.
Its threatening their worldview and their expectations for the future of mankind.
Its a big deal in many circles at the top.
We live in dramatic days of a scientific revolution or failed revolution.
Politicians, University presidents, leaders in society, media, entertainment, cartoons,
and some of the public all have heard and feel the threat from a small band of conquist idors (sp) in the ID movement coupled with YEC disgruntled old natives.
New world orders in these issues seems to threaten and the upper class who rule the nations are afraid and so react in a hostile and careless way as Klinghoffer sees.
I don't think 15 years will pass before evolutionary biology is put back from a theoiry to a hypothesis and not a healthy one.

Unknown said...

Quantum mechanics?

Several scientific subjects, in fact, from bizarre "archaeology" to the neurosciences. Klinghoffer and ilk typically get neuroscience about as wrong as evolution, in fact.

Far too many know too little about science, except for the "conclusions" that they either like or dislike. On the other hand, only evolution seems to provoke a serious effort to overturn the "rules of evidence" in order to let nonsense pass as "science."

Glen Davidson

Konrad said...

Why do the words "fish" and "barrel" come to mind?

mregnor said...

"Is there another subject that some people denounce without comprehending what it means? Hmmm ..... Can anyone think of such a subject?"

Maybe bioethics?

colnago80 said...

I don't think 15 years will pass before evolutionary biology is put back from a theoiry to a hypothesis and not a healthy one.

Folks like booby have been warbling this song for 160 years now and tomorrow never seems to arrive.

Larry Moran said...

Hmmm .... why do the words "fish" and "barrel" come to mind ... again?

Anonymous said...

Irony meter broken again. I guess I should not buy any more of these.

Piotr Gąsiorowski said...

It's like the Watch Tower Society's recurring predictions of Armageddon, except that the WTS eventually gave up after their sixth or seventh try.

Mikkel Rumraket Rasmussen said...

I have worked on an unbreakable irony meter for a while, and it dawned upon me that the problem is with the fuse material. The challenge is to find a substance that will allow infinite levels of pure irony to flow unhindered through the circuitry without burning it out.

Ladies and gentlement, I present you with the solution: We need a small piece of ID-creationist brainmatter for fuse material. Irony simply won't affect it at all.

Larry Moran said...

Irony meter broken again. I guess I should not buy any more of these.

Sorry 'bout that. I forgot the warning.

Faizal Ali said...

Has anyone guessed the correct answer yet, Larry? :-)

steve oberski said...

DIPLOMACY, n. The patriotic art of lying for one's country.

- Ambrose Bierce

BIOETHICS, n. The religious art of lying for one's religion.

- Me

The whole truth said...

I'll take a stab at this. In the context of the quoted words of klinghoffer's above, and if he isn't just being sarcastic and actually wants an answer to his question, I'd say that the answer (in his mind) could be one or more of these:

creation
special creation of humans
God/Jesus/Holy Ghost/Satan/Angels/Demons
prophecy
miracles
christianity
religion
sin
consciousness
the bible, and especially biblical morality
supernaturality
prayer
worship
authority
'revealed' truth
klinghoffer and ilk's super dooper, extra special, authoritative connection with and knowledge of 'God', design, and absolutely everything else.


To answer Larry's version of the question, I'd first say evolution (which Glen Davidson already mentioned) and that one or more of these might fit too:

any of the particulars of evolution or evolutionary theory
science
reality
evidence
knowledge
actual history (whether it's about the universe, or the Earth, its age, and its life, or about the actual history of humans, and science)




athiesm



The whole truth said...

Now how did atheism get way down there? And it's misspelled too! :)

Robert Byers said...

I agree that few and far between know anything about most sciences. It is conclusions that they like or dislike or find interesting and give opinions upon.
Origin subjects really are complicated after all and demand careful study.
Polls on origin subjects are polling vague impressions or mere acceptance to trusted sources.
Most folks who believe in evolution just believe its based on scientific evidence. They haven't weighed the evidence themselves.
In fact in North america the great attention to origin subjects hurts evolution because its a unlikely idea for the origin of complexity and diversity in nature.
People reject it upon learning about it.


AMEN about the RULES OF EVIDENCE.
I accuse evolutionists of breaking the rules. Not on purpose but sloppy thinking.

Pedro A B Pereira said...

The answer is Evolution/ToE. Oh, the irony...

(there are others, though. Cosmology/QM abused by New Age nonsense springs to mind.)