Discovery Institute's Blog, page 51

Douglas Axe -- The Evolution of an Evolution Skeptic

I'm always interested to ask people about their, as the case may be, intellectual, spiritual, or political evolution. I want to know: You believe this now (fill in the blank), but you weren't always convinced of (what have you). What was your point of entry for thinking about (this topic)?

Here, in discussing his new book Undeniable: How Biology Confirms Our Intuition That Life Is Designed, Douglas Axe talks a little bit about his point of entry for thinking dangerous thoughts about molecula...

In Terror of Chipmunks: A Response to Joseph Felsenstein

I'm now back in my hometown of Cologne after a trip to Mexico, where I had been studying several native plants and animals. On returning, I had the opportunity to consider a recent post by University of Washington geneticist Joe Felsenstein1 at Panda's Thumb: "A devastating critique of population genetics? The Discovery Institute thinks so." Felsenstein responds there to my post at Evolution News, "Randomness in Natural Selection and Species as Islands in a 'Vast Sea of Conceivable Arrangeme...

Are Humans Magnetic?

We marveled at the stars of Illustra's film Metamorphosis -- Monarch butterflies -- migrating 3,000 miles from Canada to Mexico with cues from the earth's magnetic field. Then there were the Arctic terns in Flight: The Genius of Birds with similar magnetic abilities. Who could forget the sea turtles in Living Waters migrating thousands of miles by that same invisible force through the oceans without benefit of any other navigational clue?

At the end of the third film in the Design of Life s...

If You Could Get a Critic to Read Just One Book about Intelligent Design, It Might be Undeniable

Following the evolution debate for me has been a revelation about human nature, among other things, showing as it does how fiercely resistant the mind is to considering other intellectual frameworks. The library of books that make the argument for ID is rich and multifaceted. Yet one of the perennial laments of the ID proponent is that we have a hard time getting our critics, whether in the science or media world, to read any of this literature.

They are much more likely to content themselv...

Muscles and Nervous System: Keeping the Body Moving

Editor's note: Physicians have a special place among the thinkers who have elaborated the argument for intelligent design. Perhaps that's because, more than evolutionary biologists, they are familiar with the challenges of maintaining a functioning complex system, the human body. With that in mind, Evolution News is delighted to offer this series, "The Designed Body." For the complete series, see here. Dr. Glicksman practices palliative medicine for a hospice organization.

To be able to sit...

The Lowdown on the Louisiana Science Education Act

Recently, The Advocate in Baton Rouge, LA, has been the site of an ongoing debate over the Louisiana Science Education Act (LSEA), with letters from professor of political science Jeff Sadow, professor of philosophy and activist Barbara Forrest, and retired management consultant Cecil Phillips. Perhaps I've missed others.

The dialogue seems to be occasioned by the science standards review process going on in the state. I would like to adjudicate this controversy and point out what the LSEA d...

How Hummingbirds Avoid Collisions

Who doesn't enjoy watching hummingbirds through the window at their backyard feeder? These amazing birds, zipping to and fro in all directions at stunning velocity, never seem to crash. Intrigued by their flight prowess, Canadian scientists decided to look into how they do it. They learned something new and unique about the tiny birds' strategy for collision-free navigation.

To make controlled observations of hummingbird paths, the team from the University of British Columbia built a flight...

Culture of Death Brings Tyranny to Vermont

Assisted suicide isn't the same as palliative care. The latter is about easing symptoms and alleviating pain. The former is about intentionally ending life.

But the culture of death brooks no dissent. Vermont authorities require doctors to counsel terminally ill patients on receiving assisted suicide under a law that requires all end-of-life medical options to be discussed. That is, doctors are to be forced by law to counsel their terminally ill patients about the pros and cons of committing...

Scientists Aren't Exempt from Feelings, Any More Than the Public Is

Amanda Freise makes a fine point in a post for Scientific American, "It's Time for Scientists to Stop Explaining So Much." She's a PhD student in molecular and medical pharmacology at UCLA and has evidently made a study of research on science communication. She concludes that scientists shouldn't be shocked if loading more technical information on the public doesn't dissuade them from skeptical views on certain controversial issues.

She doesn't mention evolution, but she could have done so....

John Searle on Free Will

Philosopher of the mind John Searle was interviewed several years ago about free will. Searle is most famous for his convincing demolition of the concept that the mind is a kind of computation. Above, he expounds about free will, and gets a lot of things wrong. (Click on the image to watch the video.)

Searle is confused about the genuine issues in the free will debate. The viewpoint that there is no free will is abject nonsense. Besides the fact that it is a denial of all human experience, a...