- Eugenie Scott takes on Ray Comfort and creationism. If you feel like it, you can also read Ray’s contribution. (From John.)
- 8 ghost detecting gadgets that can confirm your sanity. (From Steve.)
- As Emory sez, “putting the woo in womb” – can the propensity for superstitious beliefs exist before birth?
- If TV science was like real science. (From Dave.)
Probably the one ghost detector I’m looking forward to is Ghostwire. That actually look like fun!
About the Ray Comfort one:
The stupid, it hurts. Mama, it hurts so bad. This man is uneducated and incapable of processing information in any sort of coherent way. Of course the interpretation changes! It’s science!
It’s obvious that Darwin didn’t figure it all out. He was simply the first one to see evolution in the light of natural selection (do correct me if I’m mistaken.) Dalton also came up with an atomic theory where atoms were indivisible, but then we realized they were made up of smaller particles when we discovered electrons, so we changed atomic theory.
Then again, you couldn’t explain that to someone who is unwilling to think critically if it contradicts his views of a self-contradicting, primitive book written by primitive, murderous men. The light of reason can’t always pierce the shadows of religion.
@Gabriel: I agree, on so many levels. Comfort is definitely one of the stupidest people on the ‘Net. But he is also crafty, and lies intentionally (but poorly) all the time. This book is just another one of his badly planned falsehoods.
Eugenie, on the other hand, is so very enjoyable to read, as usual.
The saddest part about this whole fiasco, is that (I think) Ray genuinely believes his own nonsense. So he thinks he is doing good, even though he knows he is deliberately deceiving people.
When did “the ends justify the means” become a christian value? Has it always been that way?
As for the TV science bit, I take exception to panel three. Considering the constraints on what they have to do, they do a pretty good job about being scientific with what they do. And they use controls all the time.
@Gabriel:
When I read Comfort’s article, I threw up a little in my mouth.
It tasted like banana…
Ray hasn’t made an original statement in something like 10 years – he just recycles and rearranges the same nuggets of crap, every so often polishing one to keep it shiny. The stupid burns bright in that one…
Ok, reading that Comfort article just made me so super angry that I had to restrain myself from commenting. Ray just refuses to accept the evidence we have. This perhaps is not surprising considering he is a fully indoctrinated evangelist. I cannot understand how he can just say that he visited all these museums and all he saw was evidence of God’s creation. At that point you have got to accept that it will be impossible to argue with him. He’s crazy, absolutely stone cold bat poo insane. He’s in no position to debate science, it would be like me telling my uncle who is a priest how to run his church. I have no authority in a church, Ray Comfort has no authority in the Origin of Species.
@JayK – you are so right he’s been recycling the same misconceptions for ages.
face – palm
You can now read Comforts second contribution (his response to Genie’s rebuttal):
http://www.usnews.com/blogs/god-and-country/2009/11/02/ray-comfort-responds-to-genie-scott-on-creationist-origin-of-species.html
Caution, the stupid may make your head asplode.
I sort of comforted to know the role biological determinism plays in skepticism. It fuels my theory that we don’t have nearly the free will to be areligious that we would like to believe, and the loved ones we have who are woo masters are functioning within there design parameters. That doesn’t mean genes are everything, but its good to know they play a bigger role then was provable before.
god, what is wrong with my grammar and spelling? Sorry all.
I just posted something about this Comfort stuff (link through my name). I don’t even plan to read his “rebuttal.” Go away, silly man…
The role of androgens is to a large extent mediated by nitric oxide. Low nitric oxide increases androgen levels by disinhibiting the enzyme that is the rate limiting step in the synthesis of androgens in the body. Low NO causes high androgens which then cause higher levels of hair growth which expands the niche that the bacteria I am working with live in (which increases NO levels).
Low NO in utero (and also later) causes development more along the autism spectrum (my hypothesis) which leads to a more robust “theory of reality” and provides greater resistance to the “drinking of the Kool-Aid” that non-skeptics are more susceptible to.
http://daedalus2u.blogspot.com/2008/10/theory-of-mind-vs-theory-of-reality.html
What is interesting is that the extreme other end of the autism spectrum isn’t “neurologically typicalâ€, it appears to be schizophrenia.
http://www.sfu.ca/biology/faculty/crespi/pdfs/115-Crespi&Badcock2008.pdf
@dacy_ebd:
Did you have the misfortune of reading his Evolution: A Fairy Tale for Grownups? I did – I’ve been meaning to write a lengthy review of it but I’m hesitant to inflict it on the unwary. Not only does he recycle his usual arsenal of stupid, including “Are you a good person” and the various evolution = atheism/nazism/pure evil and such, but he actually plagiarizes other creationist websites to generate his 100-some-odd pages of word salad.
Props to US News for actually publishing an intelligent response to Comfort by an articulate, legitimate authority.
I find Tesla’s radio interesting, in that it’s very likely he did not know where his radio noise was coming from, and::
(Per Lawrence Krauss’ lecture at AAI 2009)
Possibly 1% of the static we used to get between TV channels (in the old pre-cable days) came from the Cosmic Background Radiation.
And that is IMHO totally cool.
@Sam Ogden:
“You can now read Comforts second contribution (his response to Genie’s rebuttal)”
I’m just happy to know Genie will have a chance to rebut some of his drivel. Although, as one commenter correctly replied, it’s an exercise in futility.
Still, at least on that particular site, Ray’s lies are now accompanied by truth and correction. On many other religious sites, they won’t be …
Genie’s final post on the matter:
http://www.usnews.com/blogs/god-and-country/2009/11/03/scientist-genie-scotts-last-word-to-creationist-ray-comfort-there-you-go-again.html