Life Without a Net
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The Real Crocoduck and Design
This is Tiktaalik. It was discovered by Neil Shubin and several of his colleagues, who had been looking for it for over a decade. In many ways, Tiktaalik is the scientific equivalent of the Crocoduck. It really is a transition between two modern forms of life — fish and amphibians. The details of Tiktaalik‘s “transitional nature” are very interesting, … Continue reading
More on Billboards
Predictably, PZ Myers is a fan of the new billboard. He’s about as outspoken and in-your-face as atheists get, and by any standards I can think of, the billboard isn’t nearly as inflammatory as some of PZ’s stunts. He has this to say: Might it stir a little resentment, maybe even sting Christians a little … Continue reading
Intelligent Design? Not Really
If life has been designed so intelligently, why does our design give so many indications of being unintelligent? What do I mean by that? When we look at things that have been designed intelligently, we see a number of characteristics: efficiency, specificity, foresight, etc. Good engineers design things that accomplish their purpose directly, with as … Continue reading
Stealth Attack Ad Hominem
We’re all familiar with the argumentum ad hominem. Out of all the logical fallacies, it might be the most common on the internet. A person commits an ad hominem when he cites a character defect as a way to defeat an argument. “That guy is an asshole. Don’t listen to anything he says.” Over the … Continue reading
Celebrating Thanksgiving
Ed: This is a repost from last year, but upon re-reading it, I don’t think I can add anything to it, nor do I wish to retract anything I’ve said. So I’ll just repost it as-is. To all my readers, thank you as always for your support, and have a lovely Thanksgiving if you happen … Continue reading
Pope: Condoms ok for gay sinners, not straights
In a rather shocking twist of faiththink, der Popenfurer has decided that it might be ok some of the time for male prostitutes to use condoms. But the church is still against condoms, and they don’t help decrease the spread of AIDS. Unless you’re a male prostitute. Or something. …the statement was something of a milestone … Continue reading
Teaching and Indoctrination
Among the many words we tend to misuse and conflate, teaching and indoctrination are two of the most important. In order to fully understand the danger of religious indoctrination we must understand just what indoctrination is, and how it differs both in method and effect, from teaching. Teaching, in it’s most basic form, is the reduction of … Continue reading
“Mixed Marriage” and Children
What a horrible situation this is! But it’s not rare. I know at least a half a dozen atheists who are or were married to Christians. And most of them have children. I catch a lot of flack for this, but it’s my considered opinion that nonbelievers should not marry believers, and vice versa. There’s … Continue reading
Atheist Ponies Up for Creation Science
Godlessons has a great idea. Like me, he’s very interested in seeing if Creation Science advocates know how to do science. More than that, he wants to see some good science in support of creation. So he’s started the Creationist Science Fair. Read the blog here. If you’re not familiar with the basic mechanics of … Continue reading
Evolution Predicts Gaps in the Fossil Record
Today, I want to address a very common claim by Creation Scientists (sic!). It is said that the geologic column is incomplete, and that there are huge gaps where there ought to be gradual change. What these poor scientific illiterates do not understand is that according to the theory of natural selection, we should not expect … Continue reading
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