13Feb 2021 by Post

Charles Darwin in Light of Black History Month

African Americans, Alfred Russel Wallace, Black History Month, Charles Darwin, Culture & Ethics, Darwinism, Darwinists, eugenics, Europeans, Evolution, Francis Galton, ID The Future, indigenous races, Intelligent Design, Jay Richards, Martin Luther King Jr., materialism, scientific racism, sterilization, theology, Victorian England
Was Darwin’s racism purely a function of his time and place, Victorian England? Historian Michael Flannery says no. Source
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13May 2020 by Post

Guillermo Gonzalez Extends “Privileged Planet” Arguments to Space Travel

BIO-Complexity, Circumstellar Habitable Zone, earth, Exoplanets, fuel, gravity, Guillermo Gonzalez, Industrial Revolution, Jay Richards, NASA, Peggy Whitson, Physics, Earth & Space, rockets, solar system, space travel, super-earths, The Privileged Planet
As outlined in the book The Privileged Planet, by Guillermo Gonzalez and Jay Richards, the Earth is not only fine-tuned for life, but is also well-designed to allow us to make scientific discoveries. A new BIO-Complexity paper by Guillermo Gonzalez, “The Solar System: Favored for Space Travel,” extends privileged planet arguments to our ability to travel in space. Gonzalez previously summarized some of his arguments here, but it’s worth outlining some of his arguments. Many of the exoplanets that are being discovered are giant “super-earths,” planets with a mass up to 10X Earth’s mass. These planets pose a problem for space travel. As the gravity of a planet increases, so does the amount of fuel that is needed for a rocket to escape the gravity of the planet and reach space. As Gonzalez puts it,…
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29Apr 2020 by Post

Are Cosmic and Planetary Fine-Tuning Constant?

A Fortunate Universe, aaas, catastrophes, Children of Light, cosmic fine-tuning, fusion, Geraint Lewis, Guillermo Gonzalez, habitability, heavy elements, Jay Richards, law of gravity, Luke A. Barnes, Michael Denton, Michael R. Wilczynska, natural constants, Paul Dirac, photosynthesis, physicists, Physics, Earth & Space, planetary fine-tuning, Science Advances, stars, The Privileged Planet, The Wonder of Water
Since Paul Dirac first wrote about the subject of cosmic coincidences in 1937, many physicists have marveled at the specific values of natural constants, such as G, the constant in the law of gravity (6.673×10-11 N m2 kg-2) — an extremely low number. This is an empirical value measured carefully in labs under controlled conditions; it is not derived from equations. One could imagine it taking a different value.  But it is balanced between two catastrophes. If stronger, stars would burn hotter, and photosynthesis would be impossible, and life, if it could exist at all under the crush of gravity, would have to take refuge underground. If gravity were weaker, opposite problems ensue: stars would be unable to start fusion and form heavy elements, and would slowly burn out by…
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22Apr 2020 by Post

How to Restore Science’s Lost Luster

Agnes Grudniewicz, arXiv, bioRxiv, C.S. Lewis, Charles Darwin: The Power of Place, Christian Reflections, Christos A. Ouzounis, consciousness, Cornell University, De Futilitate, Economics, EMBO Report, Evolution, evolutionary anthropology, Francis Bacon, high school, history, information ecosystem, integrity, Intelligent Design, J.P. Moreland, Janet Browne, Jay Richards, Jennifer Allen, journals, laymen, March for Science, morality, Nature (journal), pandemic, peer-review, philosophy, PLOS Biology, Politicians, predatory journals, quantum chromodynamics, Science Advances, Science and Scientism, scientific conferences, scientific meetings, scientific method, scientism, scientists, Stephen Meyer, Tom Coburn, universe, Wastebook, Westworld, World War II, X Club
Scientists used to be among the most trusted individuals in society. The white lab coat marked an individual who was highly trained, very intelligent, and ultimately credible. Changes in the last century have cast severe doubt on that picture — and scientific organizations sometimes admit it themselves. Some are very worried about loss of public trust in their “expert” opinions. They should be worried. In his book Science and Scientism, J.P. Moreland helps put scientists in their place, as did C.S. Lewis before him. Moreland loves science. He trusts much of what scientists say. But he demonstrates that scientism is not credible, because it refutes itself. Many important fields of inquiry, he writes, are off-limits to science, and to the extent scientists invade areas outside their domain, their opinions have…
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19Apr 2020 by Post

Jay Richards: Warfare Thesis Ignores the Roots of Science

Center for Science & Culture, Faith & Science, ID The Future, Jay Richards, Judeo-Christian culture, materialism, Podcast, religion, Robert Crowther, science, Warfare Thesis
On a classic episode of ID the Future, Center for Science & Culture Director of Communications Rob Crowther interviews CSC Senior Fellow Jay Richards. Listen in as Richards rebuts the warfare thesis — the idea that religion and science are antagonists — and argues that historically, Judeo-Christian culture “was the seedbed from which science emerged.” Has science missed out by being partnered with materialism? Download the podcast or listen to it here. Photo: Jay Richards in a scene from “Why Materialism Fails,” via Discovery Institute. The post Jay Richards: Warfare Thesis Ignores the Roots of Science appeared first on Evolution News.
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14Apr 2020 by Post

Rare Earth at Twenty — And My Connection

American Scientist, astrobiology, astronomy, Charles Lineweaver, Christopher McKay, Discovery Institute, earth, extraterrestrial intelligence, extraterrestrial life, galactic habitable zone, Geoff Marcy, Hugh Ross, Icarus, Intelligent Design, interplanetary dust particles, James Kasting, Jay Richards, meteorites, Milky Way, Peter D. Ward, Physics Today, Physics, Earth & Space, Rare Earth, Science (journal), SETI, solar system, Steven J. Dick, The Privileged Planet, University of Washington, Woodruff Sullivan
This past January marked the 20th anniversary of the publication of the best-selling and influential book Rare Earth: Why Complex Life Is Uncommon in the Universe, by Peter D. Ward and Donald E. Brownlee. As the subtitle suggests, the authors argue that planets like Earth that have complex life are rare, while simple life may be common. Some Background Brownlee and Ward were, and still are, professors at the University of Washington in Seattle. Brownlee is an astronomer. He specializes in meteorites and interplanetary dust particles. Ward is a paleontologist in the biology department. He specializes in major mass extinction events. He’s also a prolific author, having written 16 books.  Mostly positive reviews appeared in leading newspapers and science magazines, including Science, American Scientist, and Physics Today. Even scientists who…
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