Posted on 09/20/2005 7:02:45 AM PDT by Right Wing Professor
ITHACA, N.Y. - Lenore Durkee, a retired biology professor, was volunteering as a docent at the Museum of the Earth here when she was confronted by a group of seven or eight people, creationists eager to challenge the museum exhibitions on evolution.
They peppered Dr. Durkee with questions about everything from techniques for dating fossils to the second law of thermodynamics, their queries coming so thick and fast that she found it hard to reply.
After about 45 minutes, "I told them I needed to take a break," she recalled. "My mouth was dry."
That encounter and others like it provided the impetus for a training session here in August. Dr. Durkee and scores of other volunteers and staff members from the museum and elsewhere crowded into a meeting room to hear advice from the museum director, Warren D. Allmon, on ways to deal with visitors who reject settled precepts of science on religious grounds.
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
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Huh? 14 what to 6 what?
Kinda Biology 101, but Darwin observed 14 different "species" of finches which he believed came from one common ancestor. Today, we've observed 8 of those "species" mate with others and produce sterile offspring.
Well, at least we have fosil evidence that traces man back to apes. We don't?
Not exactly. You have fosils, but you don't have anything that ties them to the apes.
Well, at least there's evidence of one species evolving from another and that by logical extention- oh, we don't have that either?
Are you serious? You give me a source that sites evening primrose as an example of a new species? That's the text book example of a mutation which is what de Vries is famous for! In fact, all of his "Observed Instances of Speciation " are either cases of polyploidy, non examples of speciation (suddenly morphological differences are speciation as in Stephanomeira or Mimulus) or behavioral isolation (Drosophila).
The horrific quality of the "evidence" you site doesn't speak well to the supportability of your theory.
Owl_Eagle
(If what I just wrote makes you sad or angry,
For the same reason that Joe Biden's performance at the senate is offensive. The questions are not questions in the sense that the asker is prepared to listen to the answer.
How many times can I say this? Because they kept her from presenting the material, because they were not asking questions in good faith looking for answers - they were bombarding her with questions for the purpose of distracting her from doing her job, which is to take visitors around the museum to present the exhibits. A few questions is good and normal. What these people did was disruptive and yes, mob behavior.
"The greatest mind in quantum electro-dynamics, Feynman, also believed God must be behind physics because he could not believe how certain universal constants came to exist without Him."
I'd like to see the source for this claim. I highly doubt he said such a thing. Everything I've read about Feynman indicates he was either an atheist or an agnostic; he was prickly when talking about science and God, and science and philosophy. If I remember right, he supposedly lost his temper at his father's funeral when he was asked to read something from the Torah.
(I really liked Gleick's biography of Feynman: Genius. Its also full of interesting side notes or diversions about other "geniuses.")
First it is school books, then it will be the campaign to close museums, then universities, then the inquisition, where all professors/scientist and other "non" believers will have to answer for their "sins", those that fail to confess will be burned at the stake, those that do will be burned at the stake, for their own salvation. You must remember the earth is flat, the sun revolves around the earth and if you sail west you'll fall off the earth. Didn't we already go through this once?
Abusing a museum volunteer for 45 minutes when the purpose of the questions has nothing to do with learning anything from the volunteer isn't acceptable behavior, and anyone employing the 2nd Law of Thermodynamics as an argument against the Theory of Evolution is throwing intellectual crap of the worst odor.
"I'd like to see the source for this claim. "
I'm sure it's an out-of-context quote from something Feynman wrote, as posted on one of the pro-creationist sites. I don't have time to run it down, but I've seen it posted before.
Feynman was not a man who put much credence in deities.
see post 113 for your example...
Physician, heal thyself! :D
Yeah ... they have a 1 to 1 scale model of the globe.
Well, here's something that Feynman did say, with a reference to its source. It seems to contradict the previous "quote."
I wouldn't want everything. Where would I put it?
-- Steven Wright
There's no "as if" about it.
Over a billion people agree to the Nicene Creed as a basic standard of belief.
Among Catholics, there is a great deal of doctrine and a great many people who acknowledge it as true, plus many other beliefs that do not rise to the level of doctrine.
Perhaps your circle of friend is too limited to make good conclusions :)
Oh the horror of it. You mean they were actually being asked questions and forced to defend their positions by visitors who were knowledgeable enough to ask? ROTFL! The sad part is that you are proud of characterizing this as mob behavior, or as some sort of problem.
What they theory of evolution actually says has little meaning for those who dislike the theory..
Agressive ignorance by the busload?
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