In the latest issue of Skeptical Inquirer (SI), there is coverage of a panel where William Dembski ‘debated’ skeptics on ‘Intelligent Design’ (ID). ID is the latest version of Creationism, where we pretend we’re leaving God out of it and saying, “Clearly we were fashioned by an intelligent creator.” Of course, there’s only one possible answer to the question of “Who is this creator?” It’s new paint on an old barn.
SI reports that Dembski, a leading proponent of ID, didn’t give any kind of scientific background for ID, but instead touted its political and social appeal:
“ID is threatening to become mainstream,” [Dembski] said, asserting that polls show 90 percent support. “ID is already becoming mainstream within the public themselves. The usual skeptic retorts are not going to work against ID.”
Then later:
Dembski contended that Darwinism “is the ultimate status quo,” that it “squelches dissent.” Young people, who “love rebellion,” see that and are attracted to ID as a result, he claimed. “The public supports intelligent design. The public is tired of being bullied by an intellectual elite.”
And finally:
Intelligent Design…”paints the more appealing world picture” whereas skepticism works by being negative. “This doesn’t set well with the public…. To most people evolution doesn’t provide a compelling view.”
Similarly, in a recent article in the Des Moines Register, Des Moines school board candidates Mark Patterson and Mary Ann Spicer want to bring creationism to that city’s science classes. According to the article, “Patterson and Spicer said students should be exposed to a variety of theories about how humans appeared on earth. ‘That is something that can be discussed in classrooms with the students forming their own opinions,’ Spicer said.”
What is wrong with people? We’re going to decide what science is by a poll? By popular opinion? Science is about attempting to understand the world through observation, hypotheses, and experimentation. Are the melting points of various elements arrived at by a vote? Was the Human Genome Project just a lot of ballots sent out on whether G or T should come next? Science doesn’t CARE what the polls say or what your opinion is. You can hope all day for salt to be made of Calcium and Boron, but it will obstinately continue to be Sodium and Chlorine.
I honestly don’t understand this mode of thought. Are these people ever going to enter the 18th century, much less the 21st? How can people genuinely say, “Okay, on the one hand we have centuries of observations, theories, hard work, experiments, and so forth. And on the other hand we have some stuff written in a really old book. These two things are completely equivalent to each other.”
