1. Open Letter to a victim of Ben Stein's lying propaganda

Comment #170724 by willlllllllll on April 27, 2008 at 10:57 pm

And if ID is a viable theory, why is my gullet behind my windpipe? That's only 'intelligent' in the same way as Vista is 'secure'. Joining the nasal and oral cavities seems to be a pretty big design flaw.

And lungs; I'd love lungs that worked as well as a bird's. Chickens get them, but humans don't - why? Having said that, IDers also like 'the feather' as an example. And birds have more colour receptor types in their IDed eyes. Hey - I've just discovered the First Law of ID: the Designer Really Likes Birds.

2. Open Letter to a victim of Ben Stein's lying propaganda

Comment #170701 by willlllllllll on April 27, 2008 at 10:30 pm

TheTruthID: No, I'm not trying to waste your time. I'm trying to make sense of it all.

OK then, here goes evolution:
1) resources are limited
2) the environment is hostile
3) there is variation among an organism's offspring
4) variations can be inherited by an organism's offspring
5) some variations affect how an organism copes with the hostile environment, or how well the organism competes with other organisms for the limited resources, and therefore affect the success of an organism at producing offspring

And that is it. If those axioms are true then evolution will occur. As Dawkins has said, Darwinism is universal, not just on Earth but throughout space and time, wherever those axioms are met.

ID basically says "yes but... this thing here is so complex/unlikely that evolution can't have produced it". Which is just a way to appeal to ignorance in order to raise an authority figure.

3. Open Letter to a victim of Ben Stein's lying propaganda

Comment #170660 by willlllllllll on April 27, 2008 at 9:54 pm

TheTruthID: I have read, combined, over 20 books on the subjects of Evolution and ID

You mean you put them in a blender and let random bits drop out on the floor?

Come on, admit it; you're pro-ID and just trying to waste our time.

4. Open Letter to a victim of Ben Stein's lying propaganda

Comment #170658 by willlllllllll on April 27, 2008 at 9:52 pm

TheTruthID: If [theory x]is set-in-stone, why are so many scientists rebutting it and causing this controversy? Is it not career suicide? What motivation do they have? Has there been in the past a scientific surety that has resulted in so much debate and controversy?

Yes, there have been many controversies:
1) deep time; the vast age of the Earth was a big controversy, now agreed on
2) plate tectonics
3) the quantised nature of energy

What motivation do they have?

if you mean why do the pro-ID camp put forward their views, some possible reasons include
1) money; they are paid to by various religious organisations
2) personal conviction; they really believe that their personal faith overrides the evidence
3) fear; they are not comfortable with a world view where they are not specially created by an authority figure (god)

Is it not career suicide?

No; pro-ID people are paid for by the immensely rich and tax-exempt religions.

5. Open Letter to a victim of Ben Stein's lying propaganda

Comment #170556 by willlllllllll on April 27, 2008 at 8:31 pm

I have no idea why some theists have problem with Evolution

...because it makes them seem less important. Without evolution, mankind (and the theist themselves) is the apple of God's eye. With evolution we're all incidental and accidental.

Same as Kepler and heliocentricity.