Ray Comfort Replies to Eugenie Scott

I could only get two paragraphs into that sleazebag's reply in the debate about his Origin giveaway before I had to close the window and throw him away.

A major concern of Genie Scott was that the copy of On the Origin of Species sent to her by my publisher was missing "four crucial chapters," as well as Darwin's introduction. She will be pleased to know that the second printing of 170,000 copies (the one that we will give to students) is the entire book. Not one word will be omitted.

Then perhaps Comfort should have acknowledged that it was a dishonest move on his part in the first place?

Most troubling to me, though, is the fact that an ignoramus like Comfort can raise the kind of money to publish that many copies of a book on such short notice. Who is his sugar daddy? Or can you really tap into that much free-flowing cash by appealing to the ignorant masses of America? It's rather disturbing.

And then, of course, there's the fact that Ray Comfort is an idiot, putting his name on science books. I do not use the word "idiot" lightly here, either — the man is demonstrably ignorant and obtuse. Here's his first argument for his cause:

Scott quoted a famous geneticist, who said, "Nothing in biology makes sense except in the light of evolution." I would like to drop one word, so that the quote is true. It should read, "Nothing in biology makes sense in the light of evolution." For example, evolution has no explanation as to why and how around 1.4 million species of animals evolved as male and female. No one even goes near explaining how and why each species managed to reproduce (during the millions of years the female was supposedly evolving to maturity) without the right reproductive machinery.

No one?

NO ONE?

I have explained this stuff to him repeatedly. I first covered it almost a year ago, when he misrepresented Darwin and claimed that women evolved millions of years after men. Comfort is the kook who claimed that Darwin believed that humans initially reproduced by asexual fission…and now he's putting out an edition of the Origin?

I know he has seen my explanation, because he responded to it in the august pages of Whirled Nut Daily. Of course, what he did was acknowledge this explanation:

This has been explained to him multiple times: evolution does explain this stuff trivially. Populations evolve, not individuals, and male and female elephants evolved from populations of pre-elephants that contained males and females. Species do not arise from single new mutant males that then have to find a corresponding mutant female - they arise by the diffusion of variation through a whole population, male and female.

I also wrote a lengthy explanation of elephant evolution that points out that no species of elephant ever had to re-evolve sex. I am now amused to note that the first comment on that post is a one-liner: "He won't get it." How true.

He's still repeating his argument that speciation occurred by a male (it's always a male to him, I don't know why) evolving first and having to go on a quest to find a female of the same species. He has a remarkably discontinuous view of the nature of evolutionary change, and seems either utterly unwilling or incapable of thinking of species evolving as populations.

I'm also rather amazed that the media, in this case US News & World Report, will freely grant space to such a dishonest loon. I know they're relying on Genie Scott to come back with a rebuttal, but there ought to be a moment where the people publishing his nonsense stop a moment and say, "Wait a minute—this guy is writing pure drivel, and we're publishing it!" Come on, US News, a little self-awareness and responsibility would be a welcome change.

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Vote today!

If you're in Maine, vote NO on 1. This is the law that attempts to repeal civil rights from gay couples.

If you're in Washington state, vote YES on 71. This is a vote to preserve a law that gives legal protection to gay couples.

Isn't it amazing that we even have to argue for equality, and that there are people who oppose it?

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Giant jewels and spray toads: The world's rarest
species

More species than ever before are facing extinction, according to the latest IUCN Red List. See some of the most endangered



Read The Full Article:
http://feeds.newscientist.com/c/749/f/424048/s/6e75850/l/0L0Snewscientist0N0Cgall
ery0Cdn180A90Aextinction0Ecrisis0Econtinues/story01.htm

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My Whole Cell Twitter Interview

Laura Bonetta wrote an excellent article for the science journal Cell recently in which she quoted various science types who use Twitter on the subject of whether or not scientists should be tweeting. It’s a topic I’ve discussed more generally regarding scientists’ use of social media and online networking communities.Anyway, she asked my opinion on [...]

My Whole Cell Twitter Interview is a post from: Sciencebase Science Blog

Little Blog Break

Read The Full Article:
http://science.easternblot.net/?p=993

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Paradise Lost: Disappearing Mobile Data

Mobile computing in the cloud can have its pitfalls. For instance, what if you permanently lost all your addresses, calendar entries, e-mails, phone numbers, etc.? Undoubtedly, you would not be too happy about it, as a recent Business Week article relates. One obvious solution is backing up your dat

Read The Full Article:
http://cr4.globalspec.com/blogentry/10614/Paradise-Lost-Disappearing-Mobile-Data?
from_rss=1

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White Paper on Engineering Leadership Education

Engineering leadership education is emerging as a topic in engineering institutions worldwide. But the review of international “best practices” in engineering leadership education says a lack of resources, expertise, and formal networks in the nascent field is causing concern in a profession threatened by a diminishing focus on the notion of the “engineer-as-doer.”

Commissioned by the Bernard M. Gordon-MIT Engineering Leadership Program, the new white paper, Engineering Leadership Education: A Snapshot? Review? of International Good? Practice, reveals that the vast majority of engineering leadership education programs are based within the U.S. and most are relatively new (developed in the last five years). The white paper highlights the distinct divide between the U.S. and the rest of the world in both attitude and approach to engineering leadership education.

“As a sub-discipline, engineering leadership education is not yet on the radar of most engineering education experts outside the U.S.,” said Dr. Edward Crawley, Director of the Bernard M. Gordon-MIT Engineering Leadership Program. “Certainly for many of the programs outside the U.S., there’s some discomfort with the notion of ?leadership education?, as they feel this concept runs counter to their educational culture of inclusiveness and equality.?

The report was conducted by Dr. Ruth Graham in a series of interviews between September 2008 and March 2009. Dr. Graham investigated more than 40 programs, seeking to provide an insight into current practice, highlight international variations in approach, and identify examples of good practice.

One major ?current ?trend? in ?engineering? leadership ?education? is ?the ?development ?of? the ?students?? global ?awareness? and? their ?ability ?to ?work ?on ?complex?cross?national? projects? ? ?which? is? seen ?by many? as? the ?environment? within ?which? the? engineering ?leader? of ?the ?future ?will ?need ?to ?operate. ?
Many? of ?the ?programs ?which ?were ?most ?highly ?rated ?by ?interviewees ?incorporate ?some? global? elements ?either ?through ?international ?travel, ?remote? link?ups? with? overseas? universities/companies ?or ?project? briefs? involving ?an? international ?or? cross?cultural? context.? ?The trend ?towards? a ?more? ‘global’ ?view? of ?leadership ?education? was ?seen ?by ?many ?of ?the? interviewees? as? one? that ?would? continue.?

Launched through a $20 million gift by The Bernard M. Gordon Foundation, the Bernard M. Gordon ? MIT Engineering Leadership Program is a new educational initiative at MIT whose goal is to help MIT’s undergraduate engineering students develop the skills, tools, and character they will need as future leaders in the world of engineering practice.

Related: Educating Engineers for 2020 and Beyond – Global Engineering Education Study – USA Losing Scientists and Engineers Educated in the USA – International Engineering Education Data: USA, China, India – House Testimony on Engineering Education

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Speaking as a Mother ..

tags: humor, funny, rational thought, belief systems, bill bailey, streaming video

Bill Bailey gives Rosie O'Donnell (and mothers like her) some advice: "Nuke every country that hasn't sent us a Christmas card in the last 20? years."

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List categories for Twitter scientists

UPDATE – NOV 5: Still working through the almost 650 members of the list, but now up to the P’s.Pressure was on from lots of science tweeps for to categorise my scientwist list…so I’ve made a start.The spillover (lots of tweeps in the T to Z group from the TweepML.org version of my scientwist list [...]

List categories for Twitter scientists is a post from: Sciencebase Science Blog

Categories for science tweeps

Okay. Okay. Pressure was on to categorise my scientwist list…so I’ve made a start.First off, the spillover (lots of tweeps in the T to Z group from the TweepML.org version of my scientwist list, which has 650 members of thereabouts) have now each been given a category as I cannot squeeze them into the 500 [...]

Categories for science tweeps is a post from: Sciencebase Science Blog