Thursday, August 03, 2006
Evolution of the Kansas Board of Education
Kansas is known as a flat place in mid-America - where out-sized whirlwinds sweep up little girls and deposits them in the Land of Oz - where animals are more often than not created by magical means.
Despite being a terrain heavy laden with fossils from ages so far back that Kansas was a mere chunk of ocean floor, the State has evolved a history of extreme conflict with the theories of the late, late Charles Darwin. The Kansas Board of Education had recently, and yet again, like yo-yo dodos, issued edicts that the Theory of Evolution should stand no higher in the classroom than the Theory of Intelligent Design.
In rude dismissal, let me state clearly that the Theory of Intelligent Design is an intellectual work on a level with the Protocols of the Elders of Zion. It evidences no intelligence. It shows no discernable design. It has no supporting evidence of any sort, no learned papers written in scientific journals, and no expeditions scheduled to far off lands to correct any of these shortcomings.
It is a 'position' that holds that nature by itself cannot account for life's complexity. Not that man, by any means, comes close to understanding even a small percentage of nature's complexities ... or powers ... or processes. Intelligent design is simply another visit to Oz, another opportunity to quake in awe of the magnificent Wizard. You know .... the little guy cowering behind the curtain with a megaphone.
Currently a tornado of Kansas voters is in the process of tossing the bums out. The Fundamentalist Board members are losing their majority. A return to reason is standing in the wings. But I doubt the ghost of Darwin will rest easy on the Kansas plains ... he has been exorcised before and will likely be exorcised again in the future.
PHOTO: The hole in the ground that Neil and Rosie and I dug in Eastern Washington ... to the greater glory of Chas. Darwin. And from which we finagled the three million year old bones of some 90 species of terrestrial critter .... many, if not all, in the throes of evolution.
# posted by Clear Creek Girl : 7:19 PM
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I have not found any recent information about this on Google. Is there something new going on? Voting, you suggest?
I thought the whole thing had already been dealt with by the court system here.
Intelligent Design seems to be a Seattle based thing, which is maybe how you hear about it?
But for your comment that they don't publish and don't have peer review, what about this list of published items?
I thought the whole thing had already been dealt with by the court system here.
Intelligent Design seems to be a Seattle based thing, which is maybe how you hear about it?
But for your comment that they don't publish and don't have peer review, what about this list of published items?
# posted by 
: 9:58 PM
: 9:58 PM
Anonymous should have identified himself as your brother. But I was too wrapped up in trying to make the links work, and wondering why you would find space on your blog to write about Kansas.
# posted by : 10:33 PM
: 10:33 PM
Anonymous --
Yes, I suggest that the voters of the State of Kansas, on Tuesday past, effectively ousted the conservative majority on the Kansas Board of Education, giving 'moderates' a 6 to 4 majority.
I wasn't aware that Intelligent Design was a 'Seattle based thing'. That doesn't seem very likely. And I don't see anything in the list of publications that points a finger in Seattle's direction. On the other hand, Seattle has given birth to many strange 'things' over the years.
And say there were an Intelligent Design ... whose Design would that be? A God? If it's not the Nature of Things, then it must be a God. There isn't an armload of other choices. So which God? Which Creation Myth of which People? Navajo? Greeks? Romans? Norsemen? Zulu? Iraqis? Lutheran?
As to the list of publications, I find nothing published in any standard biological, paleontological, or evolutionary scientific journal that I ever came across in my work in those areas.
Yes, I suggest that the voters of the State of Kansas, on Tuesday past, effectively ousted the conservative majority on the Kansas Board of Education, giving 'moderates' a 6 to 4 majority.
I wasn't aware that Intelligent Design was a 'Seattle based thing'. That doesn't seem very likely. And I don't see anything in the list of publications that points a finger in Seattle's direction. On the other hand, Seattle has given birth to many strange 'things' over the years.
And say there were an Intelligent Design ... whose Design would that be? A God? If it's not the Nature of Things, then it must be a God. There isn't an armload of other choices. So which God? Which Creation Myth of which People? Navajo? Greeks? Romans? Norsemen? Zulu? Iraqis? Lutheran?
As to the list of publications, I find nothing published in any standard biological, paleontological, or evolutionary scientific journal that I ever came across in my work in those areas.
David! As you can see, you had me going there. I could have sworn I had an actual lunatic trying to do battle with me.
That list is crap. Period.
As you can see, the computer was saved from its recent catastrophic event. The repair shop could find nothing wrong with it. So I had them double the memory and brought it home, plugged it in, and it worked. Who knows. Maybe it evolved its way back into operation.
That list is crap. Period.
As you can see, the computer was saved from its recent catastrophic event. The repair shop could find nothing wrong with it. So I had them double the memory and brought it home, plugged it in, and it worked. Who knows. Maybe it evolved its way back into operation.
The list may not be up to your standards, but I think it is wrong to say they don't publish. But I really don't care. So I have not paid any attention to their election.
I think the ID thing has been seriously debunked by some in the scientific community. A little bit of looking on Google will show that. But I don't think it is a bad thing to consider such a thing as ID. A great many things are not believed when first proposed, so just because somebody has a 'new' idea is not a reason to reject it. And maybe you can learn about as much studying theories that turn out wrong as those that are right.
It's a Seattle thing.
Glad to hear that your computer is not dead or dying. And just because I am your brother does not mean that I am not a lunatic tryin.......
Actually, I am trying to finish out 800 sq ft of basement space. Priming, texturing, painting, installing a drop ceiling, adding lighting and outlets. It is more work than I thought and today I did nothing on it for the first day in 10 days or so. Just got too tired to continue today.
I am seeing summer fleeting away, and like you, I don't like it. The 95 to 105 degree days we have had recently are just fine with me. But it is hard to keep things from dying in the heat; takes lots of watering.
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I think the ID thing has been seriously debunked by some in the scientific community. A little bit of looking on Google will show that. But I don't think it is a bad thing to consider such a thing as ID. A great many things are not believed when first proposed, so just because somebody has a 'new' idea is not a reason to reject it. And maybe you can learn about as much studying theories that turn out wrong as those that are right.
It's a Seattle thing.
Glad to hear that your computer is not dead or dying. And just because I am your brother does not mean that I am not a lunatic tryin.......
Actually, I am trying to finish out 800 sq ft of basement space. Priming, texturing, painting, installing a drop ceiling, adding lighting and outlets. It is more work than I thought and today I did nothing on it for the first day in 10 days or so. Just got too tired to continue today.
I am seeing summer fleeting away, and like you, I don't like it. The 95 to 105 degree days we have had recently are just fine with me. But it is hard to keep things from dying in the heat; takes lots of watering.
# posted by : 12:18 AM
: 12:18 AM<< Home
