Uh oh 8

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1. 

   MikeCapone Posted 2:35 pm
   10 Nov 2005

   WowWhat a horrible man that Pat Robertson is.
   
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   SUVs are squared-out minivans.

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2. 

   clarence Posted 12:04 pm
   11 Nov 2005

   Pattycake RobertsonI say to the people of Kansas, when you need a science based answer to anything, don't expect your children to come up with it.  The good news is that your bright kids will be staying close to home, they'll never survive in a university level science program outside Kansas.  And you can be sure that the intelligent designer of any breakthrough in science or technology won't come from Kansas.

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3. 

   jdhlax Posted 4:49 am
   15 Nov 2005

   Idiotic SuperstitionsEven though all of the superstitious aspects can be disproved by objective science, it seems people insist on clinging to those superstitions.  (I am not referring to spiritual beliefs, which are just another way of viewing life.  I am specifically referring to religious beliefs, which are significantly different than spiritual ones.)
   That said, I think the truth is somewhere between evolution and intelligent design.  On the one hand, it's so unlikely that life as we know it developed purely by random evolution that it's not even worth considering.  On the other hand, a "force," "god," or whatever you want to call it, that's in everything (all matter, energy, and whatever else there is) in the universe, and that makes decisions -- on some level beyond our understanding, as we're only a miniscule part of the universe -- about how life develops makes far more sense than just random evolution.  The conclusion is that evolution is part of intelligent design, that the universe, universal mind, the Force, God, or whatever, knows what it's doing.

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4. 

   David Roberts Posted 5:21 am
   15 Nov 2005

   A priori biologyOn the one hand, it's so unlikely that life as we know it developed purely by random evolution that it's not even worth considering.
   I'll let the scientists know.
   
   www.grist.org

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5. 

   jdhlax Posted 7:32 am
   15 Nov 2005

   Well, If You Have A Viable Counter-Argument ...make it, instead of your put down that makes no argument at all.

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6. 

   David Roberts Posted 9:15 am
   15 Nov 2005

   good griefThe evolution of life on this planet was a process of random genetic mutation and natural selection (along with a large dollop of contingency). This is the very foundation of modern biology and an integral part of a dozen other scientific fields, and has paid copious dividends in practices as diverse as medicine and computing.
   On the other side, we have your gut intuition that, gosh, it's just unthinkable. Despite the characteristic tone of glassy-eyed certitude, you haven't offered anything like an argument to which there could be a counter-argument.
   
   www.grist.org

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7. 

   Biodiversivist Posted 2:04 am
   16 Nov 2005

   The fly in the ointment: evolution is not random.Gene mutations are random, but "selective" pressure holds onto the few that impart an advantage, and discards the rest. The process is anything but random.
   This is random: a million monkeys typing on typwriters for ten billion years will eventually produce a novel. That is not how evolution works.
   If there is anything in this  world that is for sure, it is that there is no god, shaped like a male homo saipens that is imparting favors on other homo sapiens. Pat Robertson is one sick sinner.
   
   In the end, it all comes down to biodiversity. Help acquire and protect ecological hotspots, give to a conservation organization: http://www.saveourbiodiversity.com

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8. 

   jdhlax Posted 8:20 am
   16 Nov 2005

   Science Is ...just another religion if worshipped, as most people tend to do.  (I also agree with Biodi here, evolution is not random.)  While the best evidence that we have shows that evolution is a near certainty, there is absolutely no evidence that evolution is not "designed" by some [being] [force] [whatever] that is beyond our comprehension.  Remember, if we're only a miniscule part of, say, the universal consciousness, we wouldn't have any more idea of why evolution is designed the way it is than a cell in our bodies would know, say, why we're walking to the store.
   It's nothing but idiotic human hubris to think that we are even close to being capable, at least at our current level of evolution, of any more than a minimal understanding of how the universe works or has evoloved.  Watch an original Star Trek episode called "Errand of Mercy" to get an idea of how far humans have yet to evolve.

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