Berlinski has problem with the 'whale'

[CoxRox]

Silly title aside, what do you make of his arguments. My first thoughts were that you will not allow him to compare the cow to the whale, but I suppose he is using the cow to represent a land animal that the whale come conceivably have originated from and if not the cow, what animal do you think it did stem from?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L-UCo7JQm-A

[leo-rcc]

I could start copy/pasting a lot, but I refer you to http://www.toarchive.org/features/whales/

All you ever wanted to know about whales but were afraid to ask.

[CoxRox]

Thanks Leo. I've had a quick glance through and have book marked for future reference. I wonder why someone like Berlinski, who aint dumb, doesn't consider this kind of 'evidence' or if he does, why he isn't convinced by it? I'll keep checking to see what his 'problems' are with evolution.

[leo-rcc]

Are you seriously asking why a Discovery institute hero is not 'convinced' by the theory of evolution through natural selection? Come on.

[CoxRox]

Yes. Why do these seemingly intelligent professionals (religious affiliations aside, or certainly in the case of Berlinski) not see the 'sense' or the evidence that the theory of evolution supposedly presents? As I learn about evolution from the evolutionists' perspective I like to consider the objections of guys like Berlinski.

[leo-rcc]

The real question for Berlinski should be; why is an aquatic carnivore so similar to a terrestrial herbivore? I could probably count the differences between me and my mother and stop at 50000 as well. Does that mean that I'm not her offspring? No, because if you look at the millions of similarities you will see there is evidence for common descent.

[Tiberius]

I think the question is a good one, and I can think of a few reasons:

1) These people are blinded by their religion and cannot accept any other view. At Royal Holloway on 29th Janurary at 7PM (if anyone wants to turn up) there will be a debate between an Evolutionary biologist student (and a good friend of mine) and a Dr Steve Lloyd from the "Biblical Creation Ministries" on the subject of I.D as a scientific theory. I have checked out Dr Lloyd's website, where the statement of faith has the following:

No apparent, perceived, or claimed evidence in any historical or scientific field of study can be valid if it contradicts the record of Holy Scripture. Evidence is always subject to interpretation by people who are fallen, fallible, and limited in knowledge.

People with outlooks like this are not scientific, and I am going to call him up on it during the question time.

2) People are not blinded, but tricked into false arguments (often through misconceptions) and therefore simply argue what they have been taught.

3) People like Berlinski are lying because it is more beneficial to themselves to be a defender of religion and creation (they certainly get more book sales) than to be in support of it.

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Oh, and my friend (the biologist in the debate I mentioned) has a simple answer to Berlinski's claims:

They completely fail to include natural selection in their calculations. People like Berlinski and Demski come up with very very unlikely probabilities for life evolving, but these probabilities simply do not include natural selection. They are the "odds" that a creature would evolve simply on chance alone, and this is where the entire anti-evolution argument falls down.

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Here is a nice rebuttal of the video you showed CoxRox:
[youtube]x1a7t76K2dE[/youtube]

[Edwardo Piet]

Yep the number 1 objection to evolution whether its a misunderstanding or deliberate red herring - is the whole idea that evolution is chance. And the only alternative to a God is chance. When natural selection is the very opposite of chance.

And of course, those who do not know this - or have never even considered the possibility that natural selection isn't chance at all - can just take a look at my sig and actually look into it perhaps. Up to them of course.

[CoxRox]

Adrian, good video thanks. Is anyone going to be filming the debate? I would struggle to make it which is a shame.

[Tiberius]

I'm not sure if anyone is filming it, but if you need accomodation so you can travel back on a Friday I'd be happy to provide it. That goes the same for anyone else who might want to come. We have room on a sofa and a fold-out bed Might be a nice chance to blend the interwebs with reality for once!