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Introduction In their criticisms of the creationism and intelligent design movements, particularly in legal cases, scientists and others are quick to point out (correctly!) that these movements are inherently religious. For example, in the 2005 legal case “Kitzmiller vs. Dover Area School District,” where parents challenged the Dover Area School District’s decision to require intelligent Continue reading Is science based on secular humanism? Introduction Both traditional creationists and intelligent design scholars have invoked probability arguments in criticisms of biological evolution. They argue that certain features of biology are so fantastically improbable that they could never have been produced by a purely natural, “random” process, even assuming the billions of years of history asserted by geologists and astronomers. They Continue reading Does probability refute the theory of evolution? Introduction A central tenet of creationism is that the earth (or even the entire universe) was created over a very short period of time, either six literal days or at most 6000 years, and that this creation was completed about 4000 BCE (see Creationism). Needless to say, this worldview is in utter disagreement with the Continue reading Is God a Great Deceiver? Creationism’s ultimate folly
Redwood Regional Park, near Oakland, California Introduction How old is the earth and its fossil layers? According to geologists, the earth is 4.56 billion years old, and the fossil layers, which document the proliferation of living species through the eons, are millions of years old. Yet a 2014 Gallup poll found that 42% of Continue reading Young-earth creationism and the forest fallacy Introduction In a 2012 interview, Florida Senator Marco Rubio, a U.S. presidential candidate for 2016, was asked “How old do you think the Earth is?” He responded, somewhat coyly: “Whether the Earth was created in 7 days, or 7 actual eras, I’m not sure we’ll ever be able to answer that.” Keep in mind that Continue reading How certain are scientists that the earth is many millions of years old? Introduction Creationist and and intelligent design writers frequently emphasize “gaps” in the fossil record, and, in particular, claim that there are “missing links” in the human family tree between “apes” and humans. So what are the facts here? Is there indeed an unbridgeable “gap” between apes and humans? Hardly. To appreciate how far the study Continue reading Are there “missing links” in the human family tree? Introduction Why is it so hard to find ET? After 50 years of searching, the SETI project has so far found nothing. In the latest development, on April 14, 2015 Penn State researchers announced that after searching through satellite data on 100,000 galaxies, they saw no evidence, such as infrared signatures, indicative of advanced technological Continue reading Desperately seeking ET: Fermi’s paradox turns 65 (Part II) Introduction Creationists often assert that science has yet to understand the origin of life, and that this is a fatal flaw in evolutionary theory. In the 2005 Dover case, for example, the Dover Area School Board passed a resolution saying that “The Theory [of evolution] is not a fact. Gaps in the Theory exist for Continue reading New developments in the origin of life Introduction In 1950, while having lunch with colleagues Edward Teller and Herbert York, who were chatting about a recent cartoon in the New Yorker depicting aliens abducting trash cans in flying saucers, physicist Enrico Fermi suddenly blurted out, “Where is everybody?” His question is now known as Fermi’s paradox. Fermi’s line of reasoning was Continue reading Where is ET? Fermi’s paradox turns 65 New Pew Research Center poll on scientists’ views versus public views A new poll by the Pew Research Center has highlighted some stark differences between views of leading scientists, in particular members of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), and those of the general U.S. public. The results are summarized in this Continue reading Does public opinion always agree with scientific fact? |
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