Shtty Music, Shitty Science

Shitty Music, Shitty Science

If I am not careful this will turn into a religion bashing blog, although the day they stop giving me so much damn fodder MAY (I am, at least, realistic) be the last time I rant about them.

Take the incredibly entertaining “Intelligent Design The Future” website (http://www.idthefuture.com). Run by the discovery institute (if you don’t know it check out it’s Wikipedia page here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Discovery_Institute).

One of their latest videos is a 10th anniversary celebration of “Icons of Evolution: science or myth?” by Jonathan Wells (see below). Needless to say….they think myth.

The interview is with Michael Behe (he of bacteria flagella being irreducibly complex fame), and why Icons is simple the best damn thing written since that other book they keep harping on about... The Bible.

Behe’s main point appears to be that scientists want evolution to be true, that without this guiding light we simply wouldn’t be able to cope. We want to see evolution, so we do. “some of this argument isn’t based on facts”. Well….it depends what bit your talking about really. Evolution is a theory, and I mean theory in the scientific sense (i.e. that the predictions the theory makes have been backed up numerous times, and no major flaws have been located that don’t fit within the parameters of the expected results). BUT the theory of evolution has been updated, take the ongoing argument of punctuated equilibrium versus Darwinian evolution.

Behe does manage to pull one right idea out of his fallacy filled hat. Just because a load of scientists say it is so, doesn’t mean it is. Right. The argument from authority is a logical fallacy for a reason. Don’t just listen, read up, look at the evidence, assess for yourself. I’m not quite sure that Behe can have done this, with no bias, and come to the same conclusion the rest of the world has.

Unfortunately he follows this up with: take anything that goes against what you think is true with a pinch of salt.

No.

Take EVERYTHING with a pinch of salt. Don’t just cherry pick what you want to hear.

Evolution is a theory because of the staggering amount of evidence for it. If, however, some evidence arose that invalidated the theory, it would be thrown out. That is how science works. It is not a static belief system, it is a rational look at the world.

Remember Behe: “People don’t like being lied to”.

Chris

p.s. as books if impact go I think On the Origin of Species is about Icons, Bockbuste