We need creationists lecturing us on evolution like we need another fenestra in the head

Posted on February 19, 2010 by Troy Britain

The Institute for Creation Research has presented the world with another taxonomic turd from the cat box of creationist wisdom. This time it comes from ICR’s “Senior Science Lecturer” Frank Sherwin. However before I get to the main event, I want to take a closer look at the litter in which Mr. Sherwin’s little jewel is nestled.

In the February (2010) issue of ICR’s monthly Acts & Facts Mr. Sherwin (whose background is in parasitology) graced us with an article titled “Darwinism’s Rubber Ruler” in which he argues that descent with modification is untestable and that “any and all scientific evidence” can be “stretched to fit” the theory.

The first thing that comes to my mind when reading this is to ask: if this is so, then how is it that I could have in my personal collection literally hundreds of books and pamphlets, many of them originating from Mr. Sherwin’s organization, that purport to contain absolutely scads of evidence that contradict evolutionary theory?

How about Dr. Duane Gish’s (the emeritus vice president of ICR) books Evolution the Fossils Say NO! (1978) and the update Evolution: the fossils STILL say NO! (1995)? How can the fossils say “no” to evolution if any scientific evidence (in this case fossils) can be “stretched to fit” the theory?

Read on»

Happy Darwin/Lincoln day!

Posted on February 12, 2010 by Troy Britain

Happy Darwin/Lincoln day everyone!

Cetacean Intelligence

Posted on February 8, 2010 by Troy Britain

Here are a couple of great videos that I encountered via different sources within minutes of each other. Both demonstrate cooperative hunting and problem solving in toothed whales (Odontoceti). The first, pointed out to me by my mother, is a beautifully photographed and (as always) nicely narrated by David Attenborough, clip of bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops) working together to create silt nets by hitting their tail flukes on the sea floor which they use to corral fish into a tight group.

The second is a CNN clip that comes via Jerry Coyne’s blog Why Evolution is True and it shows killer whales (Orcinus orca) working together to wash seals off of sea ice.

Fascinating stuff!

Epic Horse Exhaust

Posted on January 24, 2010 by Troy Britain

OK, it took me a while to get to it but I am, as promised, responding to creationist Arthur Biele’s lengthy comments left in response to my criticisms of his writings on horse evolution. For those interested I suggest you go back and read Mr. Biele’s article and my original critique first. Those that do I think will find that his response didn’t really answer any of my original criticisms. Instead what he did was dump a new load of barely coherent nonsense on me.

A warning though, this goes on for quite a bit (it sure felt like it while I wrote it), which is of course due to the well known fact that accurately and substantially responding to horseshit takes considerably more time and effort than it does to spewing it.

Biele: With regard to Eohippus, If you knew anything about the actual fossil record, Eohippus finds are many and that category has been a dumping ground for certain archaic partial skulls that defy any specific classification, nor are they known to be ancestors of any known ‘evolved’ descendants, and they are mostly from Europe.

While apparently attempting to impugn my knowledge of the “the actual fossil record” Mr. Biele clearly demonstrates his own ignorance of the subject at hand. Let’s break this down in order:

Read on»

How CvE debates often seem to go

Posted on January 10, 2010 by Troy Britain

Though I doubt there are many evolution defenders who would be that ignorant of basic Judeo/Christian theology.

[Via Pharyngula]

Evolution Rap from the Galápagos

Posted on December 21, 2009 by Troy Britain

[Via Why Evolution is True

The Hovind dissertation

Posted on December 10, 2009 by Troy Britain

Someone has finally gone and done it. Someone got hold of a copy of convicted felon “Dr.” Kent Hovind’s doctoral dissertation and posted it on the interwebs for all to laugh at. I’ve read it before (no, I wasn’t the one who leaked it) but now at last we can all share in the hilarity.

Myself and jail-bird "Dr." Dino.

Of course it represents exactly the sort of scholarship one would expect from a high class educational establishment like Patriot University (Hovind’s alma mater) seen here in their latest location: