01Jul 2020 by Post

Biologist Robert Waltzer on Evolutionary Theory’s Room for Humility

Andrew McDiarmid, common descent, dialogue, Discovery Institute Press, epistemological humility, Evolution, Evolution and Intelligent Design in a Nutshell, evolutionary theory, ID The Future, Intelligent Design, natural selection, Robert Waltzer
On a new episode of ID the Future, biologist Robert Waltzer talks with host Andrew McDiarmid about Professor Waltzer’s chapter in the new Discovery Institute Press volume, Evolution and Intelligent Design in a Nutshell. Download the podcast or listen to it here. Waltzer’s chapter covers some key terms in the evolution/ID debate that are often misunderstood or misused. These include the word “evolution” itself, “change over time,” “common descent,” and “natural selection.” He offers quick definitions and explains some of the confusion surrounding them. Waltzer also describes an encouraging success story of his about fostering open dialogue and exploration of the evidence for design in nature.  The post Biologist Robert Waltzer on Evolutionary Theory’s Room for Humility appeared first on Evolution News.
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25Jun 2020 by Post

Darwinism and “No Lives Matter”

alt-right, Center for Science & Culture, Charles Darwin, churches, Culture & Ethics, Darwinism, Evolution, evolutionists, Francis Scott Key, ID The Future, Mike Keas, No Lives Matter, Peter Singer, Podcast, pseudoscience, Racism, Richard Weikart, scientific racism, Shrewsbury, statues, Ulysses Grant, V.I. Lenin, vandals, white nationalists
I’ve wondered if the marauding vandals will come eventually for the Darwin statues. I hope NOT, but let’s face it — between Francis Scott Key or Ulysses Grant, on one hand, and Charles Darwin on the other, whose work has done more to undergird racism? There’s no contest.  A classic episode of ID the Future, republished now, is eerie in its relevance to the culture at the moment. Host and science historian Michael Keas interviewed historian and Center for Science & Culture Senior Fellow Richard Weikart about the racial pseudoscience that’s integral to the Darwinian scientific heritage. As Professor Weikart explains, Darwin’s racism is not incidental to his case for evolution. It’s not as if he was merely a product of his time, with the reprehensible attitudes held by other…
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22Jun 2020 by Post

The Atheist Who Helped Shape Intelligent Design

Adolf Grünbaum, advice, Andrew McDiarmid, atheists, friendship, graduate students, ID The Future, Intelligent Design, mentors, Paul Nelson, Philosophy of Science, Podcast, truth-seeking, University of Pittsburgh, William Blake
It’s wonderful to remember mentors who helped shaped us, often in ways that might have surprised the influential person if he’d known about it beforehand. On a new episode of ID the Future, philosopher of science Paul Nelson talks with host Andrew McDiarmid about Dr. Nelson’s own mentor, atheist philosopher Adolf Grünbaum (1923-2018) at the University of Pittsburgh.  Nelson was an ex-art student turned philsophy graduate student when he met Grünbaum. Paul cites William Blake and his saying that “Opposition is true friendship.” It wasn’t from directly absorbing Grünbaum’s perspective that Nelson became a prominent figure in the ID movement, but rather from their friendship and the creative sparks that came from it, inspiring a lifelong search for truth.  Nelson discusses the difference between truth-seeking and point-scoring as different approaches…
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13Jun 2020 by Post

Billions of Missing Links: Electricity and Bioluminescence

Aequorea victoria, Billions of Missing Links, bioluminescence, eels, electrical impulses, Evolution, Geoffrey Simmons, ID The Future, Intelligent Design, jellyfish, knee jerk reaction, knife fish
On a classic episode of ID the Future, hear about electricity and bioluminescence, as highlighted in Dr. Geoffrey Simmons in his book Billions of Missing Links: A Rational Look at the Mysteries Evolution Can’t Explain. Listen in to learn about how a knee jerk reaction, eels, and the knife fish all use electrical impulses.  Download the podcast or listen to it here. Photo attribution: Aequorea victoria, a bioluminescent jellyfish, by Sierra Blakely. The post Billions of Missing Links: Electricity and Bioluminescence appeared first on Evolution News.
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10Jun 2020 by Post

Information, Specified Complexity, and the Explanatory Filter

chance, Dallas Conference on Science and Faith, Daniel Reeves, Discovery Institute, functional information, ID The Future, Intelligent Design, molecular biology, necessity, specified complexity
On a new episode of ID the Future, listen to the third and final portion of a talk given at the 2020 Dallas Conference on Science and Faith. Daniel Reeves, Educational Outreach Coordinator at Discovery Institute, rounds out his explanation of intelligent design theory. Download the podcast or listen to it here. Far from being “Gee whiz, that’s complicated; it must be designed!” the theory relies on well-defined concepts such as specified complexity and an explanatory filter that allows one to distinguish designed events from chance, necessity, or a combination of the two. The key lies in the molecular biological realm: detecting functional information.  Photo: Daniel Reeves, by Nathan Jacobson. The post Information, Specified Complexity, and the Explanatory Filter appeared first on Evolution News.
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04Jun 2020 by Post

Reeves: Getting Intelligent Design Wrong, and Getting It Right

Center for Science & Culture, critics, Dallas Conference on Science & Faith, Daniel Reeves, detective, Discovery Institute, Education, forensics, ID The Future, Intelligent Design, Podcast, straw man, students
On a new episode of ID the Future, Discovery Institute education outreach associate Daniel Reeves illustrates how ID opponents commonly erect mindless straw men versions of the theory of intelligent design, as if by refuting a false version they’ve done any damage to the real thing. Then, in this middle portion of a talk he gave to students at the 2020 Dallas Science and Faith Conference, he explains what ID really is — it’s not unlike detective work — and the central question ID seeks to answer. Download the podcast or listen to it here. Photo credit: BikerNormand from Morsan, France [CC BY-SA 2.0], via Wikimedia Commons. The post Reeves: Getting Intelligent Design Wrong, and Getting It Right appeared first on Evolution News.
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27May 2020 by Post

Evolving a Self-Replicating Molecule Is a “Purple Unicorn”

3D printer, Big Bang, biology, Cambrian Explosion, cell's, Charles Darwin, Eric H. Anderson, Evolution, Evolution & Intelligent Design in a Nutshell, ID The Future, Intelligent Design, Irreducible Complexity, origin of life, Podcast, purple unicorn, Richard Dawkins, self-reproducing molecule
On a new episode of ID the Future, Eric H. Anderson reads from his newly co-authored book Evolution and Intelligent Design in a Nutshell, written to provide a clear and simple introduction to the evolution/ID controversy, and a broad overview of the evidence for design in nature. That evidence includes cosmic fine tuning and the Big Bang, the origin of life, irreducibly complex machines, and the Cambrian explosion. Download the podcast or listen to it here. In this excerpt, Anderson tells of Richard Dawkins’s glib assurances that the mystery of the origin of life is one not far from being solved. Not so, Anderson says. Origin-of-life researchers haven’t found a pathway to a self-replicating biological entity, the beginning point for any sort of Darwinian evolution. And it’s not for lack of time, effort,…
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23May 2020 by Post

Listen: Lee Spetner Takes Aim at Natural Selection and Population Genetics

earth, Evolution, ID The Future, Ira Berkowitz, Jerusalem, Lee Spetner, Not by Chance, Podcast, population genetics, species, The Evolution Revolution
On a classic episode of ID the Future, Ira Berkowitz interviews MIT PhD Lee Spetner in Jerusalem. Together they explore key arguments from Spetner’s books Not by Chance and The Evolution Revolution. Spetner takes on natural selection, discussing what it can and cannot do. He also reviews aspects of population genetics and the constraints the Earth’s history imposes on evolving new species. Download the podcast or listen to it here. Photo: Coaster from Darwin’s Café Bar, Salzburg, Austria, by Nathan Jacobson. The post Listen: Lee Spetner Takes Aim at Natural Selection and Population Genetics appeared first on Evolution News.
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19May 2020 by Post

Thomas Aquinas Weighs in on the Coronavirus and Public Policy

Andrew McDiarmid, China, coronavirus, COVID-19, double effect, Evolution News, health, ID The Future, Medicine, neurosurgeon, pandemic, Podcast, policymakers, political calculations, public policy, science, Thomas Aquinas, transparency, WHO
On a new episode of ID the Future, host Andrew McDiarmid speaks with pediatric neurosurgeon and professor Michael Egnor about public policy decisions regarding the coronavirus. Download the podcast or listen to it here. In a conversation based on a recent article for Evolution News, Egnor says scientists should have “stayed in their lane,” giving policymakers the information that science can provide about a potential pandemic, and left the political calculations alone. He argues that WHO failed in one of its primary jobs, which is providing timely information and recommendations for preventing and slowing the spread of pandemics. They sat on information about COVID-19 for weeks, long after they knew there was a serious problem in China. Egnor also urges policymakers to apply science along with other expert information in a…
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17May 2020 by Post

Why Neo-Darwinism Is Less than a Theory

antibiotic-resistant bacteria, Evolution, gain, ID The Future, information, Ira Berkowitz, Jerusalem, Lee Spetner, MIT, Neo-Darwinism, Not by Chance, physicists, Podcast, propaganda, The Evolution Revolution, Thomas Malthus
On a classic episode of ID the Future from Jerusalem, Ira Berkowitz interviews MIT PhD physicist Lee Spetner. Together they explore key arguments from Spetner’s books Not by Chance and The Evolution Revolution. Download the podcast or listen to it here. Spetner explains why he considers neo-Darwinism less than a theory and offers a surprising take on Thomas Malthus. Spetner also argues that, contrary to Darwinist propaganda, the evolution of antibiotic-resistant bacteria demonstrates a loss of information rather than a gain. Photo: Detail of Darwin statue, Natural History Museum, London, by Rept0n1x (Own work) [GFDL or CC BY-SA 3.0], via Wikimedia Commons. The post Why Neo-Darwinism Is Less than a Theory appeared first on Evolution News.
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