Re: [asa] How paleontology works

Iain

I will do that but it will take a bit of time. Can you do the same for astronomy please?

Michael
  ----- Original Message -----
  From: Iain Strachan
  To: Michael Roberts
  Cc: Jack Haas ; ASA list
  Sent: Monday, September 11, 2006 6:18 PM
  Subject: Re: [asa] How paleontology works

  Michael,

  What would be of some use is if you can give me specific examples from Andy McIntosh's book (I take it you're referring to "Genesis for Today", of which I've a copy), explaining clearly exactly why what he has said is completely wrong. It is entirely up to my friend (and me) whether we decide McIntosh is a lying toad, or whether he is just self-deluded. I personally favour the "self-delusion" angle - I think that with the best of motives, one can easily fall into the trap of "seeing what you want to see", and in the end it becomes so deeply ingrained that you don't even realise you're being intellectually dishonest. I think the "seeing what you want to see" is a hazard for all scientists, especially if you think you're on the brink of a shattering new discovery - for example Fleishmann and Pons in the "cold fusion" fiasco that ended up wasting a lot of research time at Harwell (where I used to work), attempting in vain to reproduce the results. If F&P hadn't been so hasty in proclaiming their discovery, it would have saved a lot of money.

      So I have said nothing of use and your friend will have to decide whether you or YECs are the lying toad.

  I was going to put it differently than that - ask him what he makes of the fact that Schweitzer is a Christian, and one who's up front enough about her faith to have Jeremiah 29:11 displayed prominently on her desk; that she is upset that Creationists have distorted her research etc. He will have to decide whether AiG or Schweitzer are the ones being intellectually dishonest.
   

      Satan has done a good job!!

  Well, I think I can agree on that one.

  ... btw my daughter struck up an MSN friendship with a boy from Nigeria who was a devout Christian. He kept saying "You'll have to watch out for old STAN the Devil". We couldn't work out what he meant by "STAN", till we realised that in Instant Messaging ppl often abbreviate words, and he meant Satan.

  Stan has indeed done a good job!

  Iain

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  After the game, the King and the pawn go back in the same box.

  - Italian Proverb
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Received on Tue Sep 12 18:05:49 2006