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I have a coworker with whom I get into political discussions and we usually have fun. He has a theory that insurance companies are ganging up to turn America into a fascist state and that we will only be able to wear safety garments (much like those horrid jumpsuits on sci-fi shows) or get rounded up, shot and buried in quicklime. I've encouraged his theory of the UniGarment to include the single safe food, UniCrop, and the only additive allowed on it, UniSpice.
Today it got a little ugly when we got into evolution. I never expected a fellow geek to come out with "we should respect all theories of how the universe came about" as an argument why evolution isn't fact. I tried but I couldn't get beyond my growing anger.
I get angry about anti-evolutionists. These are usually the same people that have some hatred or other on prejudicial grounds but suddenly it's Tolerance Time when anyone tries to kick the Bible literalists out of Kansas school boards.
Since a lot of you are smarter than I, I would like to present some of the questions my cow orker posed and see what material I can present back to him:
1) How did DNA come about?
2) Where did this "big bang" come from?
3) Why are there so many holes in evolution?
He concluded by saying "there are things we don't know. It's my belief that I don't think those are the answers." However any attempt to induct real answers got blocked.
I had questions of my own:
A) How would you extract the religion from ID and teach it as a scientific structure? His idea seemed to be that we would look at the numbers and see that evolution is implausible. To whom?
B) Is this like how I thought Florida was fictional because it doesn't make sense to have a major American city 300 miles down a peninsula that is mostly swamp?
C) Where are your numbers for this?
D) Why do American kids have to come out of school ignorant of the material everyone else considers fact just to make you happy?
E) Why are we supposed to allow other ways of thinking but if I start coming up with numbers to prove something, that's not thinking anymore?
F) Why is a customer stupid for not reading the manual before calling but I'm being intolerant if I think you're bluffing me about this?
I guess I'm trying to figure out whether this is a real argument at all. This feels more like I'm arguing about the nature of God, something no one without an advanced degree should argue with me about because I have spent way too long tearing that up. I wear kid gloves with most people about that topic because I have learned from experience that people freak out when you can outquote them on Scripture or its historical sources. I don't like making people flip out that way. I don't like how angry they stay because they see "here is what you did not know about the Bible" as "your morals are groundless, ha ha peon" when I only mean "please give this thing you hold dear a context so that you have more foundation to your faith".
If you truly believe in something, then my chatter about it should not scare you. It should buoy you and fortify you. If you honestly believe that the world could have been created in six days of 24 hours each 5000-odd years ago beginning on a specific Monday, then my explanation of the events leading to the Nicene Creed or the phrase "punctuated equilibrium" should not lead you to punch me in a hissy fit of fear. Do you fear that your faith is weak? Do you fear you'll lose your faith and want to follow me instead? I've got great news for you there: I am not the messiah, I have a busy enough life fixing my brain and my house, I don't want any stalkers, thanks for projecting but the cinema is closed.
I guess I'm weird because I look at rock outcroppings along the highway and think of it as beautiful evidence of evolution and geological time scales just as I think it is a marvel to behold. If a single-handed God did that, then it still took time. I think it will take thousands of years to figure this stuff out but that tossing out the process of questioning and field work hurts everyone and denies the inquisitive nature of humans.
-gimme some fault lines, Ps/d
Today it got a little ugly when we got into evolution. I never expected a fellow geek to come out with "we should respect all theories of how the universe came about" as an argument why evolution isn't fact. I tried but I couldn't get beyond my growing anger.
I get angry about anti-evolutionists. These are usually the same people that have some hatred or other on prejudicial grounds but suddenly it's Tolerance Time when anyone tries to kick the Bible literalists out of Kansas school boards.
Since a lot of you are smarter than I, I would like to present some of the questions my cow orker posed and see what material I can present back to him:
1) How did DNA come about?
2) Where did this "big bang" come from?
3) Why are there so many holes in evolution?
He concluded by saying "there are things we don't know. It's my belief that I don't think those are the answers." However any attempt to induct real answers got blocked.
I had questions of my own:
A) How would you extract the religion from ID and teach it as a scientific structure? His idea seemed to be that we would look at the numbers and see that evolution is implausible. To whom?
B) Is this like how I thought Florida was fictional because it doesn't make sense to have a major American city 300 miles down a peninsula that is mostly swamp?
C) Where are your numbers for this?
D) Why do American kids have to come out of school ignorant of the material everyone else considers fact just to make you happy?
E) Why are we supposed to allow other ways of thinking but if I start coming up with numbers to prove something, that's not thinking anymore?
F) Why is a customer stupid for not reading the manual before calling but I'm being intolerant if I think you're bluffing me about this?
I guess I'm trying to figure out whether this is a real argument at all. This feels more like I'm arguing about the nature of God, something no one without an advanced degree should argue with me about because I have spent way too long tearing that up. I wear kid gloves with most people about that topic because I have learned from experience that people freak out when you can outquote them on Scripture or its historical sources. I don't like making people flip out that way. I don't like how angry they stay because they see "here is what you did not know about the Bible" as "your morals are groundless, ha ha peon" when I only mean "please give this thing you hold dear a context so that you have more foundation to your faith".
If you truly believe in something, then my chatter about it should not scare you. It should buoy you and fortify you. If you honestly believe that the world could have been created in six days of 24 hours each 5000-odd years ago beginning on a specific Monday, then my explanation of the events leading to the Nicene Creed or the phrase "punctuated equilibrium" should not lead you to punch me in a hissy fit of fear. Do you fear that your faith is weak? Do you fear you'll lose your faith and want to follow me instead? I've got great news for you there: I am not the messiah, I have a busy enough life fixing my brain and my house, I don't want any stalkers, thanks for projecting but the cinema is closed.
I guess I'm weird because I look at rock outcroppings along the highway and think of it as beautiful evidence of evolution and geological time scales just as I think it is a marvel to behold. If a single-handed God did that, then it still took time. I think it will take thousands of years to figure this stuff out but that tossing out the process of questioning and field work hurts everyone and denies the inquisitive nature of humans.
-gimme some fault lines, Ps/d
