Materialism Is Sounding Super Tired Lately

"survival of the fittest", cattle, coyote, Evolution, existential problems, fairy tale, food, human life, human mind, Imperfection (book), irrationality, logic, luck, materialism, Nautilus, pop psychology, rationality, reproduction, scientific reasoning, Serendipity (book), Telmo Pievani, Templeton Foundation, threats, __featured3
This sort of cross between a fairy tale and pop psychology helps pop science readers pass the time while listening to the latest announcement of a flight delay. Source
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Why Dogmatic Materialism Is Bad for Science

Arshak Alexanian, dauer-modifications, DNA, DNA sequence, dogma, epigenetic change, epigenetics, Evolution, genetics, Green Fluorescent Protein, heredity, Intelligent Design, Kamal Nahas, Lamarckism, materialism, methyl groups, mRNA transcripts, noncoding RNA, offspring, Richard C. Lewontin, The New York Review of Books
Richard Lewontin addressed a controversy in evolution: Can life forms acquire characteristics during their lifespan that they pass on to their offspring? Source
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Is Intelligent Design Gaining the Upper Hand?

abiogenesis, biocomplexity, biologists, Case Western Reserve University, credibility, Eva Jablonka, Evolution, Evolution “On Purpose”, Freudian slip, grammar, Intelligent Design, Irreducible Complexity, Jan Spitzer, Journal of Molecular Evolution, methodological naturalism, MIT Press, Nita Sahai, origin of life, Peter Corning, scientific establishment, Scientific Trustworthiness, Simona Ginsburg, teleological, teleology, teleonomic
The underlying dynamic here is one of fear — fear of being associated with a movement one cannot easily dispel through evidence and argument. Source
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Let’s Help Harvard Understand Intelligent Design

2. Does God Exist?, 3. Are Miracles Possible?, Apologetics, Christianity, design argument, Evolution, Gospel, Harvard, Intelligent Design, Jonathan McLatchie, JonathanMclatchie.com, naturalism, scientific apologetics
Last week, my wife and I spent an afternoon at the Harvard Museum of Natural History, in Cambridge, MA, near where we live. We both were generally impressed by the exhibitions, particularly the dinosaur section, and would recommend the museum to anyone visiting Boston. I was, however, quite disappointed to see this notice at the entrance to the display on evolution: It was disappointing to see the inaccurate representation of intelligent design (ID), along with the poor scientific epistemology. A “Super-Natural Explanation”? First, proponents of ID have long stressed that ID, in its purest sense, does not necessarily postulate a supernatural cause but is consistent with a natural or supernatural intelligence. Furthermore, I would contend that the natural / supernatural distinction is problematic. What precisely is meant when a phenomenon…
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Casey Luskin Calls on the Smithsonian to Get It Right on Human Origins

1 percent myth, Australopithecines, Australopithecus afarensis, Australopithecus africanus, Casey Luskin, Ernst Mayr, Evolution, Hall of Human Origins, Harvard University, human evolution, human exceptionalism, Human Origins, Human Origins and Anthropology, knuckle-walking, Lucy, National Museum of Natural History, Nature (journal), New York Post, Podcast, Sahelanthropus tchadensis, science education, Smithsonian Institution, Smithsonian Museum, transparency, Trump Administration, __featured2
The Smithsonian Institution has recently been called out by the Trump Administration for pushing “one-sided, divisive political narratives.” Source
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We are Children of Light and Water: Dr. Michael Denton

biochemists, Children of Light, circulation, coincidences, doctors, electromagnetic radiation, Evolution, fine-tuning, Fire-Maker, gamma rays, hydrologic cycle, Intelligent Design, light, metabolism, Michael Denton, photosynthesis, plate tectonics, radio waves, Sarah Chaffee, sun, The Miracle of Man, The Miracle of the Cell, The Wonder of Water, universe, water, wavelength
“In this vast range, there’s only one…infinitesimally small band which has the right energy for photosynthesis,” a prerequisite for human life. Coincidence? Source
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Here’s the Venn Diagram from My Conversation with Denis Noble 

biologists, biology, Casey Luskin, Conference on Engineering in Living Systems, Denis Noble, differences, Discovery Institute, Engineering, engineers, environmental changes, Evolution, function, ID 3.0, information, Intelligent Design, intention, natural selection, Neo-Darwinism, Perry Marshall, poster, purpose, random mutation, randomness, similarities, teleology, Third Way of Evolution, top-down design, Venn diagram
While preparing for the conversation, I created the diagram comparing the similarities and differences among three viewpoints. Source
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Fantastic Four and a Walk-On for Darwin

adaptation, Andrew McDiarmid, arts, Ben Grimm, bonus scene, Charles Darwin, Culture, Doctor Doom, drama, Evolution, family, Fantastic Four, Fantastic Four: First Steps, Grok, H.E.R.B.I.E, Intelligent Design, Johnny Storm, Marvel Cinematic Universe, multiverse, natural selection, On the Origin of Species, paywall, principles, scientific materialism, Social media, subscription, tension, The Daily Wire, The Hungry Caterpillar, universe
Great tensions fuel engaging drama, always. If there’s a conflict, it has to be stark and serious, and the stakes have to be high.  Source
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