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Author Topic:   Why TOE is not accepted
nator
Member (Idle past 2199 days)
Posts: 12961
From: Ann Arbor
Joined: 12-09-2001


Message 136 of 318 (228090)
07-31-2005 11:08 AM
Reply to: Message 132 by Faith
07-31-2005 10:15 AM


Re: The creationists evolutionists
quote:
So they all say, such is the mantra here, and apparently everywhere as the Spectator article affirms. Just define science as anything that arrives at evolution (but don't notice that's what you're doing) and you can effectively silence the creationists.
No, that's not what happens.
Science was around before evolution was figured out, you know.
Reverend Segewick and his collegues figured out that the Biblical flood couldn't have happened using science a generation before. The Geologic column was also developed before Darwin.
All you need to do science is a falsifiable hypothesis which explains the evidence better than the best current theory, positive evidence in support of your hypothesis, and good scientific methodology.
It would be incredibly exciting if Creationists had anything like this to offer, but they haven't so far.
quote:
The article brings out an important question I think: What are the evos afraid of?
The fear is that religious dogma will replace rational science in public education. The fear is that superstitious ignorance will be legislated over evidence.
quote:
If you're all so committed to science as the way to truth, why are you so worried about letting the creationists have their say in any public arena whatever?
The Creationists can publish all of the crackpot popular press books they want to allong with the Raelians and the alien abduction folks.
If they want to publish in real professional scientific journals, however, they need to up the quality of their work.
quote:
Why wouldn't you just expect that the science would correct the errors?
The few papers which get submitted, I have read, are often so bad that they never get to the point of being able to be corrected. They are just amateurish, ignorant silliness.
You might recal at this point that many real scientific papers submitted by real professional scientists are not accepted for publication. Science is very, very picky. It's got to be very good work, and there are almost always revisions or more research to do before publication is granted. IOW, it's bloody difficult, detailed, strenuous work.
quote:
But they're SO afraid that creationists might mislead the public. How very odd if they have so much faith in science.
What you are forgetting, Faith, is that while science's purpose is to painstakingly figure out how nature works, Creationists' sole purpose is to mislead the public.
Creationists don't spend their time peering through microscopes or doing fiels research. Creationsts spend their time preaching to the science-illiterate masses, trying to get converts.
Combine that with the woeful science education most children get in public school and the obvious disdain our current political leaders have for higher education and academia (even though they produce most of the country's technological innovation and medical advances), it's no surprise that our culture distrusts people who are "too smart."
No wonder Japan and China are beating us. Their cultures value intellectual acheivement and intelligence. We value simpleminded cowboys.
quote:
I have simply given up on the problem, for the sake of peace and especially for the sake of Christian education: I just think Christian creationists should not fight to get creationism into the public schools but simply leave the schools.
I think that will create a underclass of science-illiterate religious zealots who can recite passages from the Koran, Bible but won't have the understanding of basic Biology necessary to make informed medical descisions for themselves or their children.
quote:
On the other hand, barring them from presenting their case in any and all public fora is a bit, well, fascistic I would think.
Would you consider it fascist to treat Flat Earth proponents in the same way?
This message has been edited by schrafinator, 07-31-2005 11:09 AM

This message is a reply to:
 Message 132 by Faith, posted 07-31-2005 10:15 AM Faith has replied

Replies to this message:
 Message 141 by Faith, posted 07-31-2005 2:53 PM nator has replied
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jar
Member (Idle past 423 days)
Posts: 34026
From: Texas!!
Joined: 04-20-2004


Message 137 of 318 (228100)
07-31-2005 11:47 AM
Reply to: Message 128 by Faith
07-31-2005 9:36 AM


Re: The creationists evolutionists
Actually, that is not evidence but rather simply another assertion. It's an Editorial.

Aslan is not a Tame Lion

This message is a reply to:
 Message 128 by Faith, posted 07-31-2005 9:36 AM Faith has replied

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Faith 
Suspended Member (Idle past 1474 days)
Posts: 35298
From: Nevada, USA
Joined: 10-06-2001


Message 138 of 318 (228109)
07-31-2005 1:07 PM
Reply to: Message 137 by jar
07-31-2005 11:47 AM


Re: The creationists evolutionists
Actually, that is not evidence but rather simply another assertion. It's an Editorial.
Didn't claim it was evidence, merely support -- as in moral support -- to counter robinrohan's editorial/polemic Message 124.
This message has been edited by Faith, 07-31-2005 01:08 PM

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 Message 137 by jar, posted 07-31-2005 11:47 AM jar has not replied

NosyNed
Member
Posts: 9004
From: Canada
Joined: 04-04-2003


Message 139 of 318 (228110)
07-31-2005 1:08 PM
Reply to: Message 132 by Faith
07-31-2005 10:15 AM


Afraid of?
What are the evos afraid of? If you're all so committed to science as the way to truth, why are you so worried about letting the creationists have their say in any public arena whatever?
Wasting time is what they are afraid of. The creationists can have their say in a lot of public arenas and they do so. There isn't time for hashing over stuff long done with.
Why wouldn't you just expect that the science would correct the errors? But they're SO afraid that creationists might mislead the public. How very odd if they have so much faith in science.
The errors have been corrected. There is every reason to be concerned about the presentation of misleading material. The stuff posted here is exactly that sort of material.
When ID is brought up here we ask for the support for it. When the same rehashed material the errors of which has been pointed out over and over is brought forth it only proves that correcting the errors doesn't help. They are simply trotted out yet again.
If you have something to back up any of the creationists views then we continue to await it.
So they all say, such is the mantra here, and apparently everywhere as the Spectator article affirms. Just define science as anything that arrives at evolution (but don't notice that's what you're doing) and you can effectively silence the creationists.
Would you show, extactly, where this biased definition is? Science, all of it, has a particular approach to learning things. It is applied across the board. You claim bias? Show it!
This message has been edited by AdminJar, 07-31-2005 12:10 PM

This message is a reply to:
 Message 132 by Faith, posted 07-31-2005 10:15 AM Faith has replied

Replies to this message:
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crashfrog
Member (Idle past 1496 days)
Posts: 19762
From: Silver Spring, MD
Joined: 03-20-2003


Message 140 of 318 (228122)
07-31-2005 2:50 PM
Reply to: Message 132 by Faith
07-31-2005 10:15 AM


Re: The creationists evolutionists
If you're all so committed to science as the way to truth, why are you so worried about letting the creationists have their say in any public arena whatever? Why wouldn't you just expect that the science would correct the errors?
Being convinced by a weight of evidence requires mental training. You actually have to train yourself to judge a proposition based on the evidence.
A surprising (and disheartening) portion of American society doesn't have this training, and as a result, they judge the validity of positions based on one or more of a number of other criteria, like:
1) How attractive the speaker is
2) How little evidence there is for the proposition (on the assumption that "things are never what they seem"; seriously, there have been creationists on this board who have been convinced that evolution is false because its supported by all the evidence)
3) The degree to which it is consistent with what their mother told them
4) How the proposition makes them feel
5) The enthusiasm with which the proposition is opposed by its detractors (i.e. "there must be something to it if they're so against it.")
etc. All you have to do to observe the truth of this is to watch the American spectacle of politics.
If the public at large was prepared to judge creationism on its true merit, there would be zero opposition to its promulgation. Apparently a slight majority of Americans are not able to do that.

This message is a reply to:
 Message 132 by Faith, posted 07-31-2005 10:15 AM Faith has not replied

Faith 
Suspended Member (Idle past 1474 days)
Posts: 35298
From: Nevada, USA
Joined: 10-06-2001


Message 141 of 318 (228123)
07-31-2005 2:53 PM
Reply to: Message 136 by nator
07-31-2005 11:08 AM


It's about freedom
So they all say, such is the mantra here, and apparently everywhere as the Spectator article affirms. Just define science as anything that arrives at evolution (but don't notice that's what you're doing) and you can effectively silence the creationists.
No, that's not what happens.
Science was around before evolution was figured out, you know.
And lost its standards when evolution rolled around. Now science -- real science, true science -- is done in the service of this gigantic unprovable fairy tale. Sad.
Reverend Segewick and his collegues figured out that the Biblical flood couldn't have happened using science a generation before. The Geologic column was also developed before Darwin.
No news there. They had many wrong ideas about what kind of evidence the Flood would have left, so if they found reasons to believe that it couldn't have happened that particular way, that is NOT proof that it DIDN'T HAPPEN AT ALL, merely that they had a wrong idea about what kind of evidence it would leave.
You can't "figure out" that something *didn't* happen, Schraf. Certainly not when what happened looks like it might be very different from what is now happening, which both evolutionism and creationism believe. All the most plausible scientific reasoning cannot PROVE or DISPROVE something occurred or didn't occur a certain way in the past. All that's happened is that somebody came up with a very plausible argument. I've said this a million times but in answer I'm snowed under by all the "proofs" people then trot out to prove me wrong, as if extrapolations from observable geological conditions, or mathematical calculations about the effects of meteors could actually prove something true or false THAT CANNOT BE SUBJECTED TO REPLICATION and TESTING.
Are you familiar with the CBS program "Numbers?" This genius mathematician comes up with formulae to predict the behavior of criminals so that the FBI can catch them. He's OFTEN WRONG -- it's part of the drama. The crooks don't behave as his numbers predict they will and he has to go back and rethink the problem. But he is in a situation where he can TEST his formula you see -- he knows if it works or not by how the crooks behave.
The point is that if hypotheses always need correcting when there is the real opportunity of testing them and correcting them, how on earth do scientists get away with declaring something proved that happened in the past that has absolutely NO way of being tested and corrected, validated or falsified?
All you need to do science is a falsifiable hypothesis which explains the evidence better than the best current theory, positive evidence in support of your hypothesis, and good scientific methodology.
There is no such thing as a falsifiable hypothesis about the PAST. The best you can come up with is a MORE PLAUSIBLE explanation for something than some other explanation, but you CAN'T PROVE IT and all one can do then is argue plausibilities and interpretations ad infinitum. Yes I know this is denied here, but all that happens next is another offering of a plausibility.
It would be incredibly exciting if Creationists had anything like this to offer, but they haven't so far.
Creationists have come up with a very reasonable hypothesis about how the geological column was formed, but evolutionists use their own plausibilities to shoot them down, calling their own plausibilities science and the creationists' something else. But on both sides all that is possible is plausibilities and the ones with the loudest credentials win. I admit that's a bit of a caricature but only a bit.
The article brings out an important question I think: What are the evos afraid of?
The fear is that religious dogma will replace rational science in public education. The fear is that superstitious ignorance will be legislated over evidence.
How little trust they have in their science!
If you're all so committed to science as the way to truth, why are you so worried about letting the creationists have their say in any public arena whatever?
The Creationists can publish all of the crackpot popular press books they want to allong with the Raelians and the alien abduction folks.
If they want to publish in real professional scientific journals, however, they need to up the quality of their work.
I'm not going to argue about the professional journals as I can't judge any of that. I'm merely talking about speaking in a public auditorium, which was one incident mentioned in the Spectator article where evolutionists attempted to prevent creationists from speaking. Efforts to prevent communication on that level suggest partisan censorship to put it nicely.
But they're SO afraid that creationists might mislead the public. How very odd if they have so much faith in science.
What you are forgetting, Faith, is that while science's purpose is to painstakingly figure out how nature works, Creationists' sole purpose is to mislead the public.
Of course I dispute that, but what if it were so? In a free society all opinions should be heard. If they can get invited or muster payment for the public venue let people hear them. Trust people to sift through the ideas. There's so much misleading trash out there everywhere as it is on every conceivable subject, but you want to suppress the views of creationists?
Creationists don't spend their time peering through microscopes or doing fiels research. Creationsts spend their time preaching to the science-illiterate masses, trying to get converts.
Well, again I doubt your characterization but it's a free country, Schraf, in case you've forgotten, and it sounds like you have.
("Masses?" How Marxist of you). But "science-illiterate?" With all the science programs on TV? It can't be because the information isn't available.
Combine that with the woeful science education most children get in public school and the obvious disdain our current political leaders have for higher education and academia (even though they produce most of the country's technological innovation and medical advances), it's no surprise that our culture distrusts people who are "too smart."
That's always been a problem in America, a tendency to anti-intellectualism. It's true in the churches as well, and I object to it also. It wasn't always the case. The Church was the originator of both universal elementary education and schools of higher education in the West.
I simply don't equate creationism with anti-intellectualism as you do. There are plenty of anti-intellectuals with a knee-jerk arrogant belief in evolution. In fact I tend to equate technology-mindedness with the deterioration of higher education myself, which used to be concentrated in the liberal arts. It isn't creationism that's bringing down education. One of the reasons I think Christians need to desert the public schools IS because they'll get a better education at home or in a Christian school.
Be that as it may, being in favor of suppressing anyone's point of view suggests something at odds with our free society.
No wonder Japan and China are beating us. Their cultures value intellectual acheivement and intelligence. We value simpleminded cowboys.
America once set the standards in education Schraf. I have my own opinions about why it has deteriorated and it has nothing to do with cowboys. It's more about liberalism and "relevance" and lowering standards so as not to make anybody feel bad, but I'll leave that for another argument.
I have simply given up on the problem, for the sake of peace and especially for the sake of Christian education: I just think Christian creationists should not fight to get creationism into the public schools but simply leave the schools.
I think that will create a underclass of science-illiterate religious zealots who can recite passages from the Koran, Bible but won't have the understanding of basic Biology necessary to make informed medical descisions for themselves or their children.
You are very misinformed. If it creates an underclass it will be unfortunately those left in the public schools.
On the other hand, barring them from presenting their case in any and all public fora is a bit, well, fascistic I would think.
Would you consider it fascist to treat Flat Earth proponents in the same way?
Absolutely. I'd be embarrassed for them but let them do their best to persuade. What are you afraid of? The marketplace of ideas will sort it all out without all this handwringing and need to control everybody, which IS fascistic or totalitarian.
This message has been edited by Faith, 07-31-2005 02:53 PM

This message is a reply to:
 Message 136 by nator, posted 07-31-2005 11:08 AM nator has replied

Replies to this message:
 Message 143 by crashfrog, posted 07-31-2005 2:59 PM Faith has not replied
 Message 146 by nator, posted 07-31-2005 4:34 PM Faith has replied
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lfen
Member (Idle past 4707 days)
Posts: 2189
From: Oregon
Joined: 06-24-2004


Message 142 of 318 (228125)
07-31-2005 2:58 PM
Reply to: Message 124 by robinrohan
07-30-2005 10:31 PM


Re: The creationists
In order to really understand a subject, you have to study it for years.
STUDY!?? I should say not! We know that that is the code word used by evolutionists and other evil scientists for "indoctrination"! It's all that time studing that cements all those false theories into an inpenetrable brain washing.
Had you firmly eschewed the temptation to study you wouldn't have gone and gotten yourself brainwashed, now would you? And now you are reduced to being a tool in the hands of the evolutionists used to induce others to engage in that pernicious studying that leads to indoctrination and brain washing.
Ahhh, Robin, I'll miss you now that you've been reduced to a mindless thrall of the evolutionists. :-(
lfen

This message is a reply to:
 Message 124 by robinrohan, posted 07-30-2005 10:31 PM robinrohan has not replied

crashfrog
Member (Idle past 1496 days)
Posts: 19762
From: Silver Spring, MD
Joined: 03-20-2003


Message 143 of 318 (228126)
07-31-2005 2:59 PM
Reply to: Message 141 by Faith
07-31-2005 2:53 PM


Re: It's about freedom
The point is that if hypotheses always need correcting when there is the real opportunity of testing them and correcting them, how on earth do scientists get away with declaring something proved that happened in the past that has absolutely NO way of being tested and corrected, validated or falsified?
Where do you get this crazy idea that you can't test the past?
Did it occur to you that everything that happens winds up in the past? How could we test anything if we couldn't test the past?

This message is a reply to:
 Message 141 by Faith, posted 07-31-2005 2:53 PM Faith has not replied

Faith 
Suspended Member (Idle past 1474 days)
Posts: 35298
From: Nevada, USA
Joined: 10-06-2001


Message 144 of 318 (228128)
07-31-2005 3:03 PM
Reply to: Message 139 by NosyNed
07-31-2005 1:08 PM


Re: Afraid of?
The bias is shown in the article, which is all I was commenting on. However, the bias is in the assumption of the unprovable theory of evolution. That is a bias, it is not an established fact and all you can do is shout me down about that, you cannot prove it one way or the other.
The topic WAS their having their say in a public arena. Evos apparently tried to prevent it or succeeded in preventing it.
As for this sense of urgency about wasting time and all that, what's the rush? Evolution v creation is about the past, not about anything that is done in the laboratories or the field. Actually if evolutionism is wrong then there IS a lot of time-wasting going on in the labs as we speak, as they set up experiments based on that false assumption. But as far as anything practical goes, medicine etc., what's the urgency? This argument affects none of that.
This desire to control people is really wrongheaded.
I'm sure there's plenty of scientific talent out there if that's what you want to tap into, among the noncreationists, and lots of money for discovering the best and the brightest and channeling them into the fields for which they show talent. What IS this worry about creationism? It seems highly irrational as I think more about it. Simply make sure there ARE programs that do what you want them to do. Why make the entire country conform to your wishes? If the creos fail to educate their children they'll know it soon enough as they have no desire to let their children fail. Meanwhile leave it to natural processes to sort itself out. All this feverish need to micromanage everything is a bigger worry than that some students won't be taught science as you'd like. Besides, people grow up and they don't stop learning. What IS all this worry here? Frankly it's nutty!
This message has been edited by Faith, 07-31-2005 03:04 PM

This message is a reply to:
 Message 139 by NosyNed, posted 07-31-2005 1:08 PM NosyNed has not replied

Replies to this message:
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jar
Member (Idle past 423 days)
Posts: 34026
From: Texas!!
Joined: 04-20-2004


Message 145 of 318 (228132)
07-31-2005 3:11 PM
Reply to: Message 144 by Faith
07-31-2005 3:03 PM


Re: Afraid of?
It's called the Theory of Evolution. The Theory of Evolution.
It's not proved. No one has ever said it was proved. You have been told repeatedly that science is based on tentativity.
The theory is tentative. Evolution is the FACT.

Aslan is not a Tame Lion

This message is a reply to:
 Message 144 by Faith, posted 07-31-2005 3:03 PM Faith has not replied

nator
Member (Idle past 2199 days)
Posts: 12961
From: Ann Arbor
Joined: 12-09-2001


Message 146 of 318 (228151)
07-31-2005 4:34 PM
Reply to: Message 141 by Faith
07-31-2005 2:53 PM


Re: It's about freedom
quote:
And lost its standards when evolution rolled around.
How so?
Can you please briefly explain what the standards of science were like for, say, Reverend Segewick, Lyell and Galileo compared to when Lamarc and Darwin were proposing their competing theories?
quote:
Now science -- real science, true science -- is done in the service of this gigantic unprovable fairy tale.
Again, can you please explain what the tenets of "real, true science" are compared to what you say is perhaps "false science"?
In particular, I am interested in knowing how the "pre-" and "post-evolution" sets of scientific tenets have affected the reliability of results.
For example, are double blind experiments less reliable now than before Darwin?
quote:
You can't "figure out" that something *didn't* happen,
Schraf.
Sure you can. At least, for all practical purposes, in the real world, we can ignore the fantastical and magical silliness.
What do you think forensics is all about?
It's about eliminating the unlikely and impossible until all you are left with is the probable and the possible.
quote:
Certainly not when what happened looks like it might be very different from what is now happening, which both evolutionism and creationism believe.
Not sure what you mean, but everything that happens leaves evidence, Faith. Certainly a worldwide flood would have left evidence. Of course, you can invoke all sorts of magic to explain why the natural history of Earth doesn't look anything like what is recounted in Genesis, but then we have left reality and science and entered religious post-hoc reasoning, AKA apologetics.
quote:
All the most plausible scientific reasoning cannot PROVE or DISPROVE something occurred or didn't occur a certain way in the past.
Science can't prove anything.
But, if you mean that science cannot show a greater or lesser probability of something having happened, then you are dead wrong.
That, along with constructing explanitory frameworks to describe how these events occur in concert to produce phenomena, is the essence of science.
quote:
All that's happened is that somebody came up with a very plausible argument.
...that is supported by 150 years of making millions of specific predictions which have been borne out with a very high degree of accuracy.
This isn't just a semantic argument, Faith. There is real physical evidence to support the ToE, as much as you would like to ignore it.
quote:
I've said this a million times but in answer I'm snowed under by all the "proofs" people then trot out to prove me wrong, as if extrapolations from observable geological conditions, or mathematical calculations about the effects of meteors could actually prove something true or false THAT CANNOT BE SUBJECTED TO REPLICATION and TESTING.
Sure it can.
Observations can be and are replicated all the time.
Thousands and thousands of different Geologists over the last 200 years observe that the Jurassic geologic layer is always found below the Cretatious and above the Triassic. With very few exceptions, (which are understood) this pattern is NEVER seen deviate.
Each scientist who, yet again, observes this ordering of the layers confirms the hypothesis that the Geologic Column describes the history of past geologic activity on Earth.
quote:
The point is that if hypotheses always need correcting when there is the real opportunity of testing them and correcting them, how on earth do scientists get away with declaring something proved that happened in the past that has absolutely NO way of being tested and corrected, validated or falsified?
Do you reject all forensics?
quote:
There is no such thing as a falsifiable hypothesis about the PAST.
Huh?
So, I can't make a retrodiction about what I might find in a fossil layer if evolution is true?
Hypothesis: If evolution is correct, we will find less complex life in the lowest geologic layers and more complex life in the higher layers.
Confirmation: We do, indeed, find more complex life in higher layers and less complex life in lower layers.
Potential Falsification: If evolution were not true, then there would be no reason to see complex life only in the higher layers and not in lower layers.
quote:
The best you can come up with is a MORE PLAUSIBLE explanation for something than some other explanation, but you CAN'T PROVE IT
Welcome to science.
We can't PROVE anything. There are no certainties, only statistical probabilities. We can't PROVE that the sun is going to rise tomorrow morning, but we can predict with a very high probability that it will.
We can't PROVE that a dropped pencil will fall to the floor, but we can predict with a very high probability that it will.
We can't PROVE that allele frequencies in populations change over time, but we can predict with a very high probability that they have, and do.
quote:
Creationists have come up with a very reasonable hypothesis about how the geological column was formed,
It isn't reasonable. It's a very poor hypothesis that ignores much of the evidence.
quote:
but evolutionists use their own plausibilities to shoot them down,
No, we use evidence found in nature to shoot it down. Reality shoots it down.
quote:
calling their own plausibilities science and the creationists' something else.
Science is evidence based. Creation science is revelation based. Science begins with all of the evidence and formulates explanations using ALL of the vidence.
Creationists start with their desired conclusion and cherry pick the evidence that supports this pre-conceived conclusion and ignore or twist any evidence that is inconvenient.
That's why they can't be said to do science.
quote:
But on both sides all that is possible is plausibilities and the ones with the loudest credentials win. I admit that's a bit of a caricature but only a bit.
Really? Then how was this middle school girl able to get her scientific study published in JAMA if it's all about the credentials?
She had no credentials. What she did have, though, is a great experiment and excellent methodology.
quote:
But "science-illiterate?" With all the science programs on TV? It can't be because the information isn't available.
Most of the science programming on TV is pretty bad. Although I am happy to see that there are shows like Penn and Tellers Bullshit! and Mythbusters starting to come about.
To close, I'll just say that I am not in favor of restricting anyone's right to make a speech. The antidote to stupid or wrong speech is always more speech, not less.
It is the very obvious goal of the Creationist movement, however, to get their religion taught in public school classrooms, and to gut the Biology curriculum of all of it's real science.
I find that to be incredibly dangerous for our future as a free industrialized nation that is increasingly dependent upon sophisticated technology that fewer and fewer of us understand.

This message is a reply to:
 Message 141 by Faith, posted 07-31-2005 2:53 PM Faith has replied

Replies to this message:
 Message 147 by Faith, posted 07-31-2005 4:56 PM nator has replied

Faith 
Suspended Member (Idle past 1474 days)
Posts: 35298
From: Nevada, USA
Joined: 10-06-2001


Message 147 of 318 (228156)
07-31-2005 4:56 PM
Reply to: Message 146 by nator
07-31-2005 4:34 PM


Re: It's about freedom
Scientific standards: I explained well enough already. Evolution is an idea that can't be tested or replicated. Science can. Much science is done in the name of evolution that is true science but evolution itself can't be tested or replicated, proved or falsified. That's what I meant. I think I was pretty clear about it.
I have no doubt there is plenty of evidence of the past. The problem is interpreting it in a way that can be tested. The past is not testable. Think about it. Yes, forensics is the scientific approach to the past, but it can only produce plausibilities that can't be tested when we're talking about very old events.
The consistencies that are found in the ordering of the geological strata and their fossil contents that can be predicted from past discoveries do not prove evolution. They merely prove that there is such a consistency in the geological record, which is already known. The consistency isn't as perfect as you claim, however, but I won't dispute it at the moment. Even if it were, evolution is merely one plausible explanation for it. There is no way to test it.
Hypothesis: If evolution is correct, we will find less complex life in the lowest geologic layers and more complex life in the higher layers.
Confirmation: We do, indeed, find more complex life in higher layers and less complex life in lower layers.
Potential Falsification: If evolution were not true, then there would be no reason to see complex life only in the higher layers and not in lower layers.
Not necessarily so. There may be another explanation for the apparent order.
Actually there are plenty of things that science can prove and has proved, as I said. You can do this with anything in the present, anything that is observable and replicable. That's what the scientific method is for. That's why civilization has come as far as it has technologically speaking. You CAN set up experiments that can be replicated. The little girl's experiment is replicable. It's about ongoing phenomena that can be tested.
But you can't with evolution or anything in the past.

This message is a reply to:
 Message 146 by nator, posted 07-31-2005 4:34 PM nator has replied

Replies to this message:
 Message 148 by CK, posted 07-31-2005 5:04 PM Faith has not replied
 Message 151 by nator, posted 07-31-2005 5:30 PM Faith has replied

CK
Member (Idle past 4157 days)
Posts: 3221
Joined: 07-04-2004


Message 148 of 318 (228161)
07-31-2005 5:04 PM
Reply to: Message 147 by Faith
07-31-2005 4:56 PM


More waffle - let's get specific
Here are 2 really really simple questions
1) List what you consider to be the true sciences (notice I ask about Discipline not particular theories)
2) give 3 examples of where the application of modern (post 1940s) "creation science" has provided an innovation or some other concrete form of scientific progress ((note I'm not asking here for examples of scientists who believed in Biblical Creation, rather for how the application of that belief led to a scientific breakthrough).
This is two lists I ask for - LISTS, we can get into commentary later.
This message has been edited by Charles Knight, 31-Jul-2005 05:11 PM
This message has been edited by Charles Knight, 31-Jul-2005 05:18 PM
This message has been edited by Charles Knight, 31-Jul-2005 05:39 PM

This message is a reply to:
 Message 147 by Faith, posted 07-31-2005 4:56 PM Faith has not replied

Replies to this message:
 Message 149 by MangyTiger, posted 07-31-2005 5:14 PM CK has replied

MangyTiger
Member (Idle past 6383 days)
Posts: 989
From: Leicester, UK
Joined: 07-30-2004


Message 149 of 318 (228166)
07-31-2005 5:14 PM
Reply to: Message 148 by CK
07-31-2005 5:04 PM


Re: More waffle - let's get specific
2) give 3 examples of where the application of "creation science" has provided an innovation or some other concrete form of scientific progress.
Call me cynical but you probably should have specified "Newton was a Creationist when he wrote Principia doesn't count".

Oops! Wrong Planet

This message is a reply to:
 Message 148 by CK, posted 07-31-2005 5:04 PM CK has replied

Replies to this message:
 Message 150 by CK, posted 07-31-2005 5:19 PM MangyTiger has replied

CK
Member (Idle past 4157 days)
Posts: 3221
Joined: 07-04-2004


Message 150 of 318 (228168)
07-31-2005 5:19 PM
Reply to: Message 149 by MangyTiger
07-31-2005 5:14 PM


Re: More waffle - let's get specific
very good point - got a better wording? this could make a quite good OP you know...

This message is a reply to:
 Message 149 by MangyTiger, posted 07-31-2005 5:14 PM MangyTiger has replied

Replies to this message:
 Message 152 by MangyTiger, posted 07-31-2005 5:34 PM CK has not replied

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