American Association for the Advancement of Science on Expelled

Folks may have already seen this statement about the Expelled movie, but here it is to reiterate the position of the American Association for the Advancement of Science:

AAAS further decries the profound dishonesty and lack of civility demonstrated by this effort. The movie includes interviews with scientists who report that they were deceived into appearing as part of such a production, and advance segments [of the film] broadly depict those who accept evolution as racist and sympathetic to Nazis. Such generalized insults are untrue and grossly unfair to millions of scientists in the United States and worldwide who are working to cure disease, solve hunger, improve national security, and otherwise advance science to improve the quality of human life.

Dishonesty from the producers of Expelled? Say it ain't so!!!

Recently, someone tried to impersonate the Office of Research Integrity, a branch of the National Institutes of Health. They sent e-mails to the biology faculty of Vanderbilt University, expecting to be able to con them into seeing the creationist movie Expelled. Can you believe it? From the e-mail:

Intelligent design is widely regarded as the idiot-savant stepchild of creationism.

Well, I can agree with half of "idiot-savant".

What else can they say?

For all the movie's flaws, it underscores the need for greater openness in the discussion of biological origins. We live in a free society that cherishes rational discourse. We are committed to arguing our ideas across the table from others without fear of reprisal or coercion. Science most of all should exemplify freedom of thought and expression.

The movie's chief flaw, in our view, is its failure to argue that intelligent design possesses real intellectual and scientific merit. The Center for Scientific Integrity has learned that to remedy this defect, the producers of EXPELLED have officially endorsed a book by William Dembski and Jonathan Wells titled THE DESIGN OF LIFE ( www.thedesignoflife.net). We urge that you watch this movie and read this book before weighing into the national debate that Ben Stein is initiating.

Go see it! Buy my book!

Hugs and kisses,

Jake Akins, Executive Director Center for Scientific Integrity ( www.centerforscientificintegrity.org) (Website under construction)
Advancing Freedom of Thought and Expression in Science

Oh, wait. No website. What, the NIH can't afford a website??!!? Who do they think they're fooling?

Go to the Faithful Penguin and read the whole thing. Simply amazing.

Sexpelled!

Quote of the Day

MaryAnn Johanson:

In a parallel universe even crazier than our own, Ben Stein is making a documentary about how the Nazis utilized the controversial theory of gravity to make bombs that fall from the sky to the earth, and so the theory of gravity must be wrong.

Death strike to my naiveté

I don't like to think of myself as naive. Who does? But this has been an eye opener for me.

When I first started following the evolution/creationism 'debate', I thought that the creationists were merely mistaken. I was raised a Christian, and while my immediate family aren't biblical literalists, many of my aunts and uncles are. I understand these people. I was raised as one of them. And I discovered, through science, that many of the suppositions that these people hold are incorrect.

That said, I assumed that all creationists were merely incorrect. I didn't like folks who railed against the dishonesty of creationists. After all, many of my family are creationists, and I don't think they're dishonest.

But professional creationists are of a completely other breed. These people lie for a living. If you doubt it, take a look at the recent movie "Expelled". It's a movie that portrays creationists as martyrs to an unkind establishment (see quote at the top of my blog about unkind establishments). Currently, they're offering free showings of this movie to the public, all you have to do is sign up on their website. It's free. I've been thinking of going. The only restrictions listed are:

Please fill out one entry form per attendee. Once confirmed, your name will be on a list at the door of the theater. IDs will be checked.

For security, no bags, cell phones, or recording devices of any kind will be allowed into the theater. Please leave them in your car.

That's it. Recently, PZ Myers registered to go, and then was stopped at the door, and told he couldn't enter. Juvenile, right? Fine. His guest, Richard Dawkins, was allowed in.

Look what professional creationists say about it:

Amazingly, the best selling Oxford scientist/author Richard Dawkins also crashed a showing of Expelled in Minnesota last night

Crashed? Crashed? Come on, he registered and showed his ID at the door.

Dawkins apparently acknowledged that he had not been invited and did not have a ticket. A sophomoric side to his ideological campaign is thus revealed.

He acknowledged he wasn't invited? Likely none of the other people were either. You can register to go on their website. Are you trying to be dishonest?

When even little details like these get twisted and embellished, one wonders what credibility they have at all.

Intelligent design is *not* creationism.

Or, in the words of William Dembski, world-famous intelligent design proponent:

Interviewer: Does your research conclude that God is the Intelligent Designer?

Dembski: I believe God created the world for a purpose. The Designer of intelligent design is, ultimately, the Christian God.

Ouch. Dr. Dembski, isn't there a commandment in there that you've been breaking? Cause you told me it wasn't about religion...

Interviewer: Who is your target audience?

Dembski: I don’t want to give the impression that it’s not a demanding book, but the book works at several levels.

You mean it's a hymnal *and* a theology textbook coloring book?

Interviewer: How will your research affect the world of science?

Dembski: It’s going to change the national conversation. I don’t see how you can read this book, if you’ve not been indoctrinated with Darwin’s theory, and go back to the evolutionary fold.

Really? It'll change your life? Well, if you fail to change minds, it'll only be because the world is already indoctrinated. It couldn't possibly be because you're dead ass wrong... [/sarcasm]

enormous hat tip: ERV