tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5560192578015125149.post9124684727723589264..comments2018-10-30T04:49:40.410-07:00Comments on Signal Selection: The Greatest Show on EarthUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5560192578015125149.post-14783465664072610342010-12-25T04:44:57.564-08:002010-12-25T04:44:57.564-08:00I wouldn't say that it was discussed seriously...I wouldn't say that it was discussed seriously by the instructor at all. Creationism is a very weak argument to begin with, and it is only remotely attractive where the question of the origin of life is concerned. That was the context in which it was raised. "How did life begin?" Evolutionary biology might say that under the right conditions it can arise from non-living materials, whereas Intelligent design advocates say that life cannot spontaneously form on its own - it must be created. That was about the sum total instruction on the subject of creationism that I received in high school. Thereafter the discussion turned to what conditions we might expect to have supported or given rise to early life on Earth and how scientists have tried to replicate these conditions in the lab. <br /><br />Between pages 416 to 422, near the very end of Dawkins' book, he begins to talk about this subject: "We know a great deal about how evolution has worked ever since it got started, much more than Darwin knew. But we know little more than Darwin did about how it got started in the first place... we have no evidence bearing upon the momentous event that was the start of evolution on this planet." Nevertheless he remains hopeful that in the next few decades we will be able to reconstruct the events leading to life. Dawkins is an advocate of the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RNA_world_hypothesis" rel="nofollow">RNA World hypothesis</a>.Eric Schaetzlehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17658689292611460708noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5560192578015125149.post-50318800503230849352010-12-24T08:17:10.145-08:002010-12-24T08:17:10.145-08:00Oh, and when you say, "the supporters of crea...Oh, and when you say, "the supporters of creationism needed no help from anyone else in discrediting their position", I can only think back on when we were at that outing and one of the young-Earth creationists insisted that rainbows were created by God and had not existed until after the Flood. I still get a good chuckle whenever I think about that to this day.Aratina Cagehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05191120796865740975noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5560192578015125149.post-7992965255016698062010-12-24T08:07:39.100-08:002010-12-24T08:07:39.100-08:00That is quite astonishing. I never heard one peep ...That is quite astonishing. I never heard one peep about creationism in my high school. I didn't take the higher level biology classes, but I was good friends with the biology professor and I don't think he would be the type to mix religion and science. All my high school teachers seemed to have understood that a student could get all the religious schooling that that student's parent(s) wanted from a church.<br /><br />But what you have said is really even more astonishing to me because the biology room at your school was so well stocked! Talk about an abundance of evidence for one side, evolution, and absolutely none for the other, creationism.<br /><br />That it was even discussed seriously by the instructor brings back memories of when they crossed out the word "demon" and replaced it with "sweetie" in music class because some parents were outraged that the word "demon" was being sung by their children. That unilateral accommodation aggravated me even at that young age because "sweetie" did not fit at all in the song--it neither rhymed nor crafted the right mental imagery. I personally refused to make the switch and always sang "demon" thereafter.Aratina Cagehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05191120796865740975noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5560192578015125149.post-35931823624625191702010-12-24T00:49:51.292-08:002010-12-24T00:49:51.292-08:00Creationism or Intelligent Design, and it wasn'...Creationism or Intelligent Design, and it wasn't dwelt on for long admittedly. But for that matter, neither was evolution as I recall. You know, the "progressive Christian" climate allowed enough room for both, and no one complained or cared much. PZ might say "absence of evidence <i>is</i> evidence of absence", but not we, at least not then.Eric Schaetzlehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17658689292611460708noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5560192578015125149.post-69029875341643903332010-12-23T21:47:59.261-08:002010-12-23T21:47:59.261-08:00Creationism was mentioned by the instructor?Creationism was mentioned by the instructor?Aratina Cagehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05191120796865740975noreply@blogger.com