tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8241505550351823820.post5487713067734316148..comments2024-02-11T06:57:23.174-05:00Comments on SchansBlog: Hart on Dawkins: good stuff on evolution; yahoo on philosophyEric Schansberghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16147388189415035752noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8241505550351823820.post-7099494563106043002010-02-04T08:29:51.847-05:002010-02-04T08:29:51.847-05:00On the flip side, it should be recognized that the...On the flip side, it should be recognized that the idea that small changes over time equal <br />BIG changes is just that - an Idea. It can't be proved or tested.Janet Phttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14254155762393532108noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8241505550351823820.post-85128365748254858052010-02-03T14:55:18.561-05:002010-02-03T14:55:18.561-05:00William: As a Purdue grad [we won't say how l...William: As a Purdue grad [we won't say how long ago, but if you remember vacuum tubes that may provide a clue) I'm well aware of that somewhat embarassing move by oneof its less renowned faculty members.<br /><br />My dad just simplified the whole thing by saying it was "twenty-two sevenths".<br /><br />Do you suppose there is a niche on the New York Times bestseller list for something entitled: "Why Defining The Line Between Science and Religion/Philosophy Is Like Squaring the Circle": Subtitle: "Eating Humble Pi"?Don Sherfickhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15239859126284734712noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8241505550351823820.post-90133631863209154882010-02-03T09:25:53.544-05:002010-02-03T09:25:53.544-05:00Don,
You've probably heard the story about wh...Don,<br /><br />You've probably heard the story about when the Indiana legislature narrowly avoided passing a resolution setting the value of pi to be 3.2. This was in the 1890's. Some nutbag named Goodwin thought he'd solved the famous geometry problem from antiquity of squaring the circle. He didn't know that about a decade before, a mathematician named Lindemann proved this to be impossible to do. So he asked the legislature to pass a resolution acknowledging his discovery, saying he would let Indiana use it in textbooks without royalties. A Purdue University math prof was in town, and managed to set the legislature straight. The resolution was tabled.William Langhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04308959355199753193noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8241505550351823820.post-34409907887639737752010-02-03T09:22:16.020-05:002010-02-03T09:22:16.020-05:00Thanks for the recommendation, William. I enjoyed ...Thanks for the recommendation, William. I enjoyed Miller and will probably check out Coyne. <br /><br />Don, I agree that there's a tendency on both sides to ignore difficulties in one's position. That's neither laudatory nor unexpected.Eric Schansberghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16147388189415035752noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8241505550351823820.post-45633336494456948052010-02-03T09:01:09.919-05:002010-02-03T09:01:09.919-05:00One of the things I think continues to permeate th...One of the things I think continues to permeate the debate in this area is the blurring of the line between "science" and "religion". I'm not really sure that there is consensus over whether or not there is, or even should be, a firm demarkation between the two.<br /><br />That aside, it does seem to me that those who tend to downplay the existance of the more controversial aspects of evolution (mostly the evolution of one species into another) do so more because they think that accepting such theories diminishes the idea of God's existance. I don't know why that is......the thought that an omnipotent God would be somehow diminished by creating/permitting such a process continues to escape me.<br /><br />One aspect of this is that we humans not only have zewro concept of the length of eternity (assuming that concepts of "length of time" is even relevant, but really can't appreciate the concept of billions of years. Even very tiny changes occur in any process, over time some pretty amazing alterations occur. Look at micro-inches per year for tectonic plates moving past each other turning into the dizzying heights of Mt. Everest and the point can be grasped more readily.<br /><br />I saw something yesterday that after about half a centry the average heighth of a North Korean is a full six inches shorter than that of a South Korean. Granted, that hardly approaches the concept that occupants of that peninsula might have at one time come out of the surrounding seas (probably somewhere else on the planet anyway). But to paraphrase the late Senator Dirkson from Illinois: A million here, a billion there....after a while you're talking about some REAL time.<br /><br />(Not nearly as long as it will take for the Indiana General Assembly to realize that trying to put definitions in the Constitution is an unproductive exercise........I'm trying to locate the author of that thought)Don Sherfickhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15239859126284734712noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8241505550351823820.post-49878765134619096682010-02-03T08:26:26.063-05:002010-02-03T08:26:26.063-05:00I haven't read any Dawkins, but this review ag...I haven't read any Dawkins, but this review agrees with other reviews I have read, both of his new book and of <i>God Delusion</i>.<br /><br />One book I would recommend is the recent <i>Why Evolution is True</i> by Jerry A. Coyne. He's a University of Chicago professor. I gather he is not a fan of religion, but he sticks to the biology in this book. He expands and updates the arguments advanced by Darwin in <i>Origin of Species</i>. Some of this was particularly interesting because some of the issues he considers are not much discussed by ID people or other anti-evolutionists. For example, he discusses why the geographical distribution of species (particularly on islands) is strong evidence for evolution.William Langhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04308959355199753193noreply@blogger.com