I first discovered EvC a while back, simply because evolution is an interesting topic, and I was aware that there are still a lot of people out there that believe the Earth was created in 6 days, and Adam and Eve lived in the garden of Eden, etc etc. Sounded like that would be an interesting debate to follow so I went surfing and ended up here.
I still hang around because there are a lot of intelligent people here who have a lot of interesting things to say. I don't post much, unless I feel I can add something useful to a discussion, or feel strongly about the particular subject being discussed. However, I do lurk and read a lot for the intellectual stimulation, especially when bored at work! I've also just this year started studying part-time for a science degree as a mature-age student. So I do learn some useful stuff here too.
There's the old saying that in social situations you should never talk politics or religion. Often it's true because it can get ugly. Or try talking science and your often answered with a "huh?". This is all rather unfortunate because they are some of the most interesting things to discuss. Thankfully, all of these enjoy much attention here.
I've learned some things about happenings elsewhere in the world that doesn't make the local news. For example, I first learned of the biology textbook controversy in Cobb County GA here on EvC. This grabbed my attention because my wife was living in Cobb when I first met her and I spent some time there, and it was quite a nice area. It was therefore somewhat disturbing to hear of that textbook situation, kinda brought the creationism issue a bit 'closer to home'.
Some of my views have been changed, I used to have a generally low opinion of Christianity, but EvC has showed me that there are some Christians who are reasonable and intelligent. Unfortunately it's also showed a few who are extremely ignorant, and there are one or two people who I would actually consider offensive, but reasoned scientific debate usually shows peoples' true colours.
I'm thinking I'll be hanging around EvC in the background, and sometimes the foreground, for a long time to come.
On the 7th day, God was arrested.
™ Version 4.2
