Wednesday, May 7, 2008

Creationists think "Scientific Evidence" Means "Scientists Talking"

It is often said in the reality-based community that all one need do to reveal the scientific illiteracy of ID creationists is let them talk. Here comes Casey Luskin with today's example:

"Bailey charges that "the film is entirely free of scientific content—no scientific evidence against biological evolution and none for 'intelligent design' (ID) theory is given." But last time I saw the film, it featured well-credentialed scientists arguing that natural selection lacks information-generative power and arguing the digitally-encoded information in DNA and highly efficient micromachines and factories in the cell strongly indicate an intelligent cause."

Apparently, to Luskin "scientific evidence" means "scientists talking". No wonder these guys think ID is the scientific equivalent of evolution, and that writing their screeds qualifies as science. They are apparently unaware that scientific evidence is falsifiable replicable evidenciary testing of a hypothesis. Well-credentialed scientists can argue anything they want, claim anything indicates anything they please. Until they get into the lab and, you know, actually put their musings to the test, it's not science.

3 comments:

Doppelganger said...

Who are these "well credenitaled scientists"? I sure hope he doesn't mean Dembski....

ScienceAvenger said...

Of course he does. Of course, the IDers never want to be consistent with their argument from authority, because if they did, they'd have to acknowledge that 99% of "well-credentialled scientists" think they are full of hooey.

Erik John Bertel said...

By the way if you want a laugh and want to get a preview of what the creationists want to teach, go visit this site that one of the creationists posted at my millenniumwriting.com blog:

Check this out if you want to win $10,000.00
http://www.intelligentdesignversusevolution.com/

Some excerpts from this site:

God Doesn't Believe in Atheists
Contrary to popular opinion, the existence of God can be proven

Scientific Facts from the Bible: Shows the scientific facts that existed in the Bible long before "science" became aware of them. (Nothing like going to a two thousand year old book to get the latest scientific information, huh?)

And the classic "Win $10,000 for the proof of evolution".

Thank god the entry is free. Read such classic arguments as “Just as a building is absolute proof there was a builder (no building ever built itself), creation is absolute proof there is a Creator." Ouch, you got me there! I surrender.

And the ever popular, "The more scientists have searched for the transitional forms that lie between species, the more they have been frustrated." Newsweek, November 3, 1980. I guess the two legged snake doesn't cut the mustard for the creationists anymore, link: http://millenniumwriting.wordpress.com/2008/04/10/fossil-snake-shows-its-leg-to-the-expelled-crowd

Erik John Bertel
Author Flores Girl: The Children God Forgot and the MillenniumWriting.com Blog