Monday, November 14, 2005

The Beauty of Creation

This weekend I had the wonderful opportunity of spending time deer hunting. Having the ability to be in the woods before daylight and watching the sun rise and the woods come to life is like seeing creation being reborn each morning. It is a tremendous privilege that I encourage everyone to try. You do not have to be a hunter to enjoy witnessing the tremendous events that occurs each morning.

Having hours to think and recollect, it reminded me of my beliefs and my thankfulness for the earth that has been entrusted to us. It also reminded me of alternate viewpoints and of the following:

Harvard to Prove Life Began Without ‘Major Grant’

A new multi-million dollar Harvard University effort to study the origins of life in the universe seeks to prove that life did not begin with “a major grant” from an intelligent source, but rather sprang up spontaneously and entirely without purpose.

The university will fund the research with $1 million per year in a number of multi-million dollar facilities, employing some of the best minds in science to establish that the complexity of life started with no plan, no design, no forethought and no intelligent creative agent.

“Harvard University has proven over the years that the more complex something is, the less likely you are to find any intelligence behind it,” said an unnamed university spokesman. “In fact, this ‘origins of life’ project started out as an accidental ink spill on paper, and it just developed from there.”

The university said the study should take several million years to complete and is unlikely to produce any meaningful result.


I find it difficult to understand how "chance" could have created what we witness every day. I am sure that most of my blogging friends will have mixed reviews. The author of this satire is Scott Ott.

10 Comments:

Blogger The New Albanian said...

"Intelligent design" theories in the free markeplace of ideas aren't troubling to me, but I can do without the bait and switch that seems inevitably to follow, i.e., "now that you've acknowledged 'intelligent design,' you must concede that the 'God' in question is Christian -- and let me sell you this code of Christian ethics as part of the deal."

11/14/2005 09:04:00 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Evolutionary theory consists of both micro evolution and macro evolution. It is the macro evolution that contains certain major logical flaws which cannot be overcome scientifically.

Intelligent design is also unproven and in some ways unprovable, but it at least makes legitimate attempts to offer more reasonable explanations for what we observe in nature. Intelligent Design theory does not make any attempt to define who or what entity is responsible or what the motive is behind the design. This is in contrast to Religious Creationism that utilizes many parts of the Intelligent design theory but states the designer is the God of the Bible. This requires faith.

The public educational establishment is almost unanimously opposed to exposing children to Intelligent Design Theory and continually refers to it as religious Creationism, even though the two theories are actually quite different. That also is what is occurring with the responses here. Substituting Intelligent Design theory and Religious Creationism would be the same as saying all who believe only in evolutionary theory are all atheists. This would also be an injustice and totally wrong.

While Creationists are free to use the arguments of Intelligent Design to support their own religious views, one need not be member of any religion to be a proponent of the Intelligent Design theory. Intellectuals, Atheists, Agnostics, and Neo-Darwinists who argue otherwise, exhibit either their total ignorance of the theory, or their willingness to misrepresent the facts.

I, being a Christian with a Bachelors degree in Chemistry and several years of post-collegiate study believe that the attitudes of most people buying into the naturalistic philosophy of Darwinism and never acknowledging the evidence of Intelligent Design in our environment and living organisms is arrogant. It is every bit as legitimate a theory as the one proposed by Charles Darwin, whose beliefs were limited by his ignorance of the various biological processes that science has since revealed.

Why any intellectual or scientist living in the 21st century would so dogmatically commit themselves to this single, largely assumptive, and at least partially discredited theory for so many years, without even attempting to look at other possibilities, is a testament to their narrow-mindedness and intolerance for truly independent thought. There are as many legitimate studies and scientists on both sides of the argument. To just simply write off one side does not show a rational or logical decision making.

Behaving as if there is an exclusive handle on the truth (which you always hold me accountable for) underlying all living things, in spite of the overwhelming evidence to the contrary, and reacting like spoiled children whenever anyone attempts to break down the façade does not show intellectual thought. The phrase “don’t confuse me with the facts” seems appropriate in the responses I am seeing related to this topic. In my opinion and all available facts, Neo-Darwinism is based as much on the philosophy of naturalism, as it is scientific evidence, and any proponents of Evolutionary theory who insist that Intelligent Design is somehow a more religious theory, should familiarize themselves with the concept of, “the pot calling the kettle black.”

I think both theories are legitimate for study and comparisons.

11/14/2005 11:48:00 AM  
Blogger Jeff Gillenwater said...

"never acknowledging the evidence of Intelligent Design"

Perhaps you could share what you consider to be scientific evidence of Intelligent Design and expain how it can be empirically proven or disproven.

11/14/2005 12:14:00 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

The current teaching in our educational system related to what you say is accepted is not science as defined by the scientific method. In fact, both of the current Theories being discussed meet the first 3 steps of the scientific method but neither meets the 4th.

I. The scientific method has four steps
1. Observation and description of a phenomenon or group of phenomena.
2. Formulation of a hypothesis to explain the phenomena.
3. Use of the hypothesis to predict the existence of other phenomena, or to predict quantitatively the results of new observations.
4. Performance of experimental tests of the predictions by several independent experimenters and properly performed experiments.

Theories of the Big Bang nor evolution can be reproduced by scientific methods nor can the Theory of Intelligent design.

Therefore either both should be taught or neither. I think neither is a disservice to everyone.

I am confident that if you truly do study the information enough, you too would agree. But I won't hold my breath. Fear you could be wrong is a strong motivator for actions.

Just as the media dictates what we read and hear most of the time, these same type of individuals squelch the voice of real scientists that disagree with the current illogical reasoning in the mainstream. There is ample information available for people to learn if they are willing.

11/14/2005 02:10:00 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Doesn't come off as harsh. It comes off as being indoctrinated into a narrow minded viewpoint.

I will also say it again. The established scientific community you pursue is only one part of all the scientists. Follow the ongoing RATE (Radioactivity and the Age of the Earth)study.

Physicist Dr Russell Humphreys was still at Sandia National Laboratories when he and Dr John Baumgardner (still with Los Alamos National Laboratory)got involved in this study.

The data is compelling even if it is sponsored by an organization pro-religion. You cannot argue with the facts of this as well as thousands of other studies.

The problem comes because these studies are not allowed to be published because of fear and idealogical viewpoints such as yours. Let's talk about intolerance in this arena.

11/14/2005 03:12:00 PM  
Blogger The New Albanian said...

(Shrug) -- Having perused the thread, I come back to what I wrote 14 hours ago.

11/14/2005 11:31:00 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I anticipated your condemnation of these 2 scientists and their research.

I don't say this very often, but you are just flat out wrong in your responses.

It really shows your lack of knowledge and your extreme bias and predjucdice.

Here is a very partial list of the hundreds of scientists working on Intelligent design and all of these are working in institutions or businesses that our outside of a religious organization.

There are hundreds more!!

Craig Perman, M.S. Chemistry
He has a B. A. Chemistry University of Northern Iowa and a M. S. Chemistry, University of Northern Iowa as well. He presently works for 3M Company as a Bioanalytical Technologist. He is responsible for the development of new PTFE based EmporeTM products for the analysis of pollutants and drugs from environmental and biological matrices.

David Phillips, M.A. Paleoanthropology
He has a B.A. in Physical Anthropology with minors in Biology and Geology from the California State University of Northridge (CSUN) and a M.A. in Paleoanthropology with highest honors from CSUN as well. Professor Phillipps is pursuing his Ph.D. in Paleontology. He is professor of physical sciences at the Masters College and works at the Paleontology lab for the La Brea Tar Pits.
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John W. Oller, Jr., Ph.D. General Linguistics
He has a B.A. in Spanish and French with a minor in Education from Fresno State University and a M.A. and Ph.D. in General Linguistics from the University of Rochester, New York. Dr. Oller's dissertation was on The Coding of Information in Natural Languages: A Psycholinguistic Theory. An elected member of the New York Academy of Sciences, Dr. Oller is an experimentalist and measurement specialist in language, literacy, communication, and intelligence. He has authored or co-authored thirteen professional books and more than two hundred professional articles. In 1984, he won the Modern Language Association Mildenberger Medal, an international prize for the best book on foreign language teaching. Dr. Oller is currently a Professor of Communicative Disorders, Head of the Department of Communicative Disorders and Director of the Doris B. Hawthorne Center for Special Education and Communicative Disorders at the University of Louisiana.

Jay L. Wile, Ph.D. Nuclear Chemistry
He has a B.S. in Chemistry and a Ph.D. in Nuclear Chemistry from the University of Rochester in New York. He was granted three research grants which were given in-part by the National Science Foundation. Dr. Wile was given the Westinghouse Science Talent Search Certificate of Honor for Science Service. He has memberships with the American Chemical Society, the American Physical Society and the American Association for the Advancement of Science.
Andrew C. McIntosh, Ph.D. Combustion Theory
He has a D.Sc. in Applied Mathematics from the University of Wales with first class honours, a Ph.D. in the Theory of Combustion from the Cranefield Institute of Technology and a DSc in Mathematics from the University of Wales. Dr. McIntosh is a Reader (second-highest teaching/research rank in U.K. university hierarchy) in Combustion Theory at Leeds University, U.K. He has contributed chapters to 10 textbooks dealing with combustion theory and published over 80 research papers.

Alexander V. Lalomov, Ph.D. Geology
He has a M.S. in Geochemistry Leningrad State University and a Ph.D. in Submarine Geology from the USSR National Research Institute of Ocean Geology. Dr. Lalomov is a member of the Society of the Geological Society of USSR (Russia since 1992), the Geographical Society of Russia, and the Ecology Union of Russia.

Tom McMullen, Ph.D. History and Philosophy of Science
He has a B.S. in Chemical Engineering from Washington State University, a M.S. in Engineering Administration from Southern Methodist University and a M.A. and Ph.D. in the History and Philosophy of Science from Indiana University. Dr. McMullen is a member of the History of Science Society and the American Association for the Advancement of Science.

Kurt P. Wise, Ph.D. Geology (Paleontology)
He has a B.A. in Geophysical Sciences (majored in Geology while close to a second major in Biology) from the University of Chicago, and a M.A. and Ph.D. in Geology (Paleontology) from Harvard University where Stephen J. Gould was his principal advisor. Dr. Wise has published in the Journal of Paleobiology, received the Certificate of Distinction in Teaching two years in a row from the Harvard-Danforth Center for Teaching and Learning, Harvard University, and is a member of the National Center for Science Education and the Paleontological Society. He also taught Paleontology and Biosystematics at the Institute for Creation Research Graduate School and has assisted ICR in previous tours to Mt. St. Helens, the Grand Canyon, and Yellowstone. Dr. Wise is currently Director of Origins Research and Associate Professor of Science, Division of Mathematics and Natural Science, Bryan College, Dayton, TN.

David P. Livingston, Jr., Ph.D. Archaeology and Ancient History
He has a B.A. in General Science from Wheaton College, a M.A. with honors in Old Testament Studies from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School and a Ph.D. in Archaeology and Ancient History from Andrews University. He also studied Archaeology and Hebrew for one year at the Institute for Holy Land Studies in Jerusalem and two years of graduate studies in Ancient History at Dropsie University in Philadelphia. Dr. Livingston has directed fifteen seasons of excavations in Khirbet Nisya, which is 11 miles north of Jerusalem. He has also participated in excavations in Jerusalem, Jericho, Jezreel, Bourgata and Gezer.

Paul Ackerman, Ph.D. Psychology
He has a B.S., M.S. and Ph.D. in Psychology from the University of Kansas. Dr. Ackerman is currently an assistant professor of Psychology and the Assistant Chairperson of the Psychology Department at Wichita State University.

Keith H. Wanser, Ph.D. Condensed Matter Physics
He has a B.A. in Physics from California State University, Fullerton, a M.A. in Physics, and a Ph.D. in Condensed Matter Physics both from the University of California, Irvine. Dr. Wanser is currently professor of Physics at California State University, Fullerton. He has received seven patents and over 1 million dollars in grant and contract awards. Before beginning his teaching career, Dr. Wanser worked for McDonnell Douglas Astronautics as a senior scientist and the Optical Sciences Division, Naval Research Laboratory, Washington, DC. He received the School of NSM 1996 oustanding research award.
For a detailed look at his accomplishments, etc., click here

Edmond W. Holroyd, III Ph.D. Atmospheric Science
He has a B.S. in Astrophysics with a minor in Physics from the University of Rochester and a Ph.D. in Atmospheric Science from the University of New York at Albany. Dr. Holroyd has been a meteorologist and research physical scientist since 1974 for the Bureau of Reclamation, Denver Office, Colorado, and field offices. He has also been Adjunct Professor since 1999 at the University College, University of Denver, GIS department. He is a member of the American Meteorological Society and the Weather Modification Association.

Donald E. Chittick, Ph.D. Chemistry
He has a B.S. in Chemistry from Willamette University and a Ph.D. in Chemistry from Oregon State University. His research interests include programmed instruction for which he was granted a U.S. patent and also alternate fuels in which he holds both U.S. and foreign patents. He was awarded recognition in Outstanding Educators in America, is listed in Who's Who in the West and in American Men and Women of Science. He is a member of the American Chemical Society. Dr. and Mrs. Chittick received the Bent Twig Award in 1986 from Citizens for Public Education.

Raul E. Lopez, Ph.D. Atmospheric Science
He has a B.S. in Physics and Math from the University of Puerto Rico and a M.S. and Ph.D. in Atmospheric Science from Colorado State University. His areas of experience are in Meteorology, Lightning, Convective Cloud Systems and much more. Dr. Lopez has published over forty-five papers in scientific and professional journals. He has also published over ninety conference papers and technical reports.

Arlo Moehlenpah, D.Sc. Chemical Engineering
He has a B.S. in Chemical Engineering from Washington University, a M.S. in Chemical Engineering from the University of Minnesota, and a D.Sc. in Chemical Engineering from Washington University. He has served on the faculties of Macalester College, Wisconsin State University, and San Joaquin Delta College and has industrial experience with Shell Oil, Rohm & Haas, Monsanto and Hydro-Air Engineering. Dr. Moehlenpah has been a registered professional engineer since 1972.

Robert Hermann, Ph.D. Mathematics
He has a B.A.(with honors) in Mathematics with a minor in Physics from John Hopkins University, a M.A. and a Ph.D. in Mathematics from American University. He is current professor of Mathematics at the U.S. Naval Academy and has taught Mathematics for almost 40 years now. Dr. Hermann has published 62 articles in 28 different refereed journals from 13 countries and has written 5 books. He has presented 31 papers at meetings of scholarly societies and published 45 abstracts. He has presented over 2,000 scientific disclosures. His efforts have been directed towards popularizing nonstandard analysis.

Otto E. Berg, B.A. Physics/Chemistry
He has a B.A. in Physics and Chemistry from Concordia College, Moorhead, Minnesota. He was on the research staff and also a consultant for three years to the NASA Goddard Space Center at the University of Maryland. He has also been a consultant since 1991 to the NASA Goddard Space Center at the Calvert Institute, Maryland for nucleation and growth processes related to the formation of presolar grains and planets. Mr. Berg is also a retired member for the NASA Meteoroid Environment Panel and the International Committee on Space Research, Meteoroid Panel. He received an Honorary Doctorate-Honoris Causa in 1994 for major contributions in space research and received the 1977 NASA Exceptional Achievement Medal (only two conferred in 1977).

Malcolm A. Cutchins, Ph.D. Engineering Mechanics (Technical Advisory Board)
He has a B.S. in Civil Engineering (Structures) from Virginia Tech and a M.S. and Ph.D. in Engineering Mechanics from Virginia Tech. Dr. Cutchins is Professor Emeritus of Aerospace Engineering at Auburn University where he taught for over 33 years. He received the Birdsong Merit Teaching Award in 1997, the Outstanding Faculty Award(college-wide), College of Engineering twice in 1967 and 1976, the Outstanding Faculty Award, AE Department in 1981, the Engineer of the Year Award, ASPE in 1985, and the IR-100 Award in 1976. Dr. Cutchins is well-published and has performed research for NSF, the USAF, and NASA.

Patrick Young, Ph.D. Analytical Chemistry
He has a B.S. in Chemisty from the University of Rio Grande and a Ph.D. in Analytical Chemistry with Minors in Organic and Physical Chemistry from Ohio University. He received the Donald F. Clippinger award for superior research by a graduate student. After graduation he initiated an in-depth research program on the study of lyotropic liquid crystals where he received U. S. patent as co-inventor of a Kevlar® polymer and process modification improving critical properties in high performance composites. Kevlar® is used in space-age applications and bullet-proof vests. Dr. Young has been active in the research and development of Mylar® film products for capacitor and thermal transfer media applications. He has been technical service manager, research group leader, and chemist at Dupont Laboratories since 1984. Dr. Young was voted one of the outstanding young men of America in 1989 and voted one of the outstanding young men of science in 1993.

Ron Samec, Ph.D. Physics
He has a B.A. in Astronomy and a M.A. in Science Education, Physics concentration from the University of South Florida and a Ph.D. in Physics from Clemson University. Dr. Samec has taught physics and astronomy at Butler, Millkan, and Bob Jones Universities. He currently teaches at Bob Jones University. He is a member of the American Physical Society (APS), the American Association of Physics Teachers (AAPT), the American Astronomical Society (AAS), Full Member, the Astronomical Society of the Pacific (ASP), and the International Astronomical Union (IAU) among others. Dr. Samec has published over 100 papers.

Daniel W. Reynolds , Ph.D. Physical Organic Chemistry
He has a B.S. in Chemistry from the University of Texas, San Antonio, a M.A. in Synthetic Organic Chemistry from the University of Texas, Austin, and a Ph.D. in Physical Organic Chemistry from the University of Texas, Austin. He was a postdoctoral fellow at the Southwest Texas State University, San Marcos and published 8 papers. Dr. Reynolds was a developmental scientist for six years. He has been a research investigator for the past six years.

Gary Locklair, Ph.D. Computer Science
He has a B.A. in Chemistry and a B.S. in Computer Science from California State University, Sacramento, a M.S. in Computer Science from the University of Idaho, and a Ph.D. in Computer Science from Nova Southeastern University. He worked for nine years as software programmer and manager, analyst, software engineer, and various other positions for companies like LaserJet and Hewlett-Packard. Dr. Locklair is currently professor and chair of the computer science department at Concordia University, Wisconsin.

Michael Oard, M.S. Atmospheric Science
He has a B.S. and M.S. in Atmospheric Science from the University of Washington. He was a research assistant at the University of Washington for five years. He was a meteorologist with the National Weather Service, Great Falls, Montana for 30 years and lead forecaster for 20 years. Mr. Oard was published in the Journal of Meteorology among others.

Jerry R. Bergman, Ph.D. Evaluation and Research
He received a B.S. with major areas of study in Education, Psychology, and Biology, a M.Ed. in Psychology and Counseling, and a Ph.D. in Evaluation and Research with a minor in Psychology from Wayne State University, Detroit, Michigan. He also received a M.A. in Social Psychology from Bowling Green State University and a M.S.B.S. in Biomedical Science from the Medical College of Ohio, Toledo. Dr. Bergman has published over 350 papers in secular journals as well as creation science publications.

Emmett L. Williams, Ph.D. Materials Engineering
He received a B.S. and M.S. in Metallurigical Engineering from Virginia Tech and a Ph.D. in Materials Engineering from Clemson University. He has seventeen years of both academic and industrial experience including research on thermodynamics of nitriding reaction in stainless steel, metallurgy and failure analysis of nuclear and air craft structures, surface studies of aircraft alloys, use of scanning electron microscopy, and much more.

Edward A. Boudreaux, Ph.D. Chemistry
He received a B.S. in Chemistry from Loyola University, a M.S. in Chemistry, and a Ph.D. in Chemistry both from Tulane University. Dr. Boudreaux has published 30 papers in peer-reviewed journals, made 18 contributions to chapters in scientific books and review articles, was author and/or co-author of 4 technical books, presented over 54 scientific research presentations at national and international conferences and symposia, and presented over 30 invited scientific lectures at national and international institutions. He is a member or has been a member of Sigma Xi, the Chemical Society of London, International Society of Quantum Biology, Southeastern Theoretical Chemistry Association, Louisiana Academy of Sciences, and the American Chemical Society(Board Member, Louisiana Section). Dr. Boudreaux has spent 29 years in graduate education and research at the University of New Orleans. He is Professor Emeritus of Chemistry.

Jerry M. Simmons, Ph.D. Multicultural Teacher & Childhood Education (Science Teaching Emphasis)

He received a B.S. in Chemistry and Technology from the New Mexico Institute of Mining, a M.S. in Teaching and Technology from the New Mexico Institute of Mining, and a Ph.D. in Multicultural Teacher & Childhood Education(Science Teaching Emphasis) from the University of New Mexico. He has been professor at Southwestern Indian Polytechnic Institute and Wayland Baptist University (Albuquerque), curriculum reviewer for the University of New Mexico, clinical supervisor and instructor, College of Education, University of New Mexico, and instructor, Department of Physics, University of New Mexico. Dr. Simmons received the Science Teacher of the Year Award, Northwest Regional Science and Engineering Fair and was listed in Who's Who Among American Teachers in 1994.

David R. McQueen, M.S. Geology
He received a B.A. in Geology from the University of Tennessee, a M.S. in Geology from the University of Michigan, and an Ed.S. in Curriculum and Instruction(Science Education) and a EPA Graduate Fellow in Toxicology from Northeast Louisiana University. He has 31 years experience as a teacher and scientist, having completed graduate work during this time in three academic areas: geology, science education, and environmental toxicology. The universities he has taught at include George Mason, Virginia State, Easte Tennessee State, and National University. He has been a Regulatory Hydrogeologist with the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality since 1989. He received a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Graduate Fellowship in Toxicology from 1991-93, a U.S. Geological Survey "Unit Cash Award" for a mineral resources map, and received a National Science Foundation Graduate Fellowship in Geology from 1975-77.

Les Bruce, Ph.D. Linguistics
He received a B.A. in Biblical Studies from John Brown University, a M.A. in Biblical Education from Columbia Bible College, and a Ph.D. in Linguistics from The Australian National University. He has worked with the Summer Institute of Linguistics since 1968 and is currently associate professor of Linguistics at the Graduate Institute of Applied Linguistics in Dallas, TX.

11/15/2005 06:08:00 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

So credentials only matter if they come from top 10 or Ivy league schools? There would be a lot of science, inventions, and progress lost if that were the case.

There is tremendous research, knowledge and advancements in every area of science, literature, philosophy, and law from hundreds of places outside the top 10.

Again, I am not sure what sparks the fear and emotions from the topic, but certainly it is an area of disagreement from many equally intelligent people.

11/15/2005 12:29:00 PM  
Blogger Jeff Gillenwater said...

I'm still waiting for an example of scientific evidence of intelligent design and a discussion of how it can be empirically proven or disproven.

I also tend to agree with the New Albanian. If you were to suggest to most supporters of teaching ID in public schools that the intelligence responsible for the design were anything other than a Chrisitan version of a god, they would reject it immediately.

Regardless of where they went to school or other experiences they may have had, it'd be interesting to match up the people listed with their relgious affiliations, if they have any. I suspect they do.

11/15/2005 01:33:00 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Here are some studies. Hundreds more available.

M.J. Behe and D.W. Snoke, “Simulating Evolution by Gene Duplication of Protein Features That Require Multiple Amino Acid Residues,” Protein Science, 13 (2004): 2651-2664.

W.-E. Lönnig & H. Saedler, “Chromosome Rearrangements and Transposable Elements,” Annual Review of Genetics, 36 (2002): 389-410.

D.K.Y. Chiu & T.H. Lui, “Integrated Use of Multiple Interdependent Patterns for Biomolecular Sequence Analysis,” International Journal of Fuzzy Systems, 4(3) (September 2002): 766-775.

Intelligent Design cannot be proven any more than evolution can be proven. Both are theories explaining what we observe naturally.

Show me an example of scientific evidence of evolution from one species to another and how it can be empirically proven or disproven.

Cannot be done and the evidence does not support it.

11/15/2005 02:01:00 PM  

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