April 05, 2007 4:26 am
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I never really had an opinion about Penn and Teller until I saw an episode of their show called Bullshit! In this episode they take on creationism or Intelligent Design and it's teachings in public schools. When I first started watching it I wasn't too sure which side of the argument they would be on. Would they be for the teaching of Intelligent Design in schools? Or not? Well thankfully they do not support it and dedicate 26 minutes about the debate behind it.
I of course oppose the teaching of religion in public schools. Creationism is religion and Intelligent Design is another name for creationism in which these religion people try to mask creationism as science. It's not. Lately I've been getting a lot of religious people on my site trying to "debunk" me if you will. Well, they have yet to do so, just like in life outside the Internet.
Anyways, I better stop before this rant gets any longer. Watch this video. Yes it's 26 minutes long but it's awesome and a great view of what's going on with our school system.
I dedicate this article to Strung Out
I cant believe that they voted to teach creationism as a science. they took things too far when putting those disclaimers in books, and i agree in what their saying when they should have also had a disclaimer on religous books.
Penn and Teller, being the good skeptics they are, are usually always on the ball, and when they're not like in the second hand smoke episode, they issue a correction; new studies have shown that there are dangers in second hand smoke and they issue an update in a latter episode.
Richard Dawkins covered the ID issue in a two part documentuary called "The Root of all Evil". I can only find the second half called "The Virus of Faith" on Google Video at the moment. But I highly recommend that too. When a leading British scientist is pissed off you know its serious. :)
When truth's enemies are gone who remembers them?
Yet when they are gone there it stands.
@ Jet andre: Don't worry, the Supreme Court will overturn it. Just like they did in Kansas.
@ Paul: I've seen both parts of that documentary. Love it.
@ Blair: What?
I most recently made an effort to "debunk" you on your 'Why Intelligent Design Should Not Be Taught In Our Schools' thread. I wonder if you have have taken an opportunity to read over there, and if you might have some thoughts to share with us there, or here.
I'm not the most techno-literate fellow, I could not get the Penn and Teller piece to play... if someone could direct me as to how to get that to show, I would very much like to respond to it as well.
Thanks for enabling the video. I watched the whole thing and took notes.
I really was not at all surprised that Penn actually didn't say anything! He said the facts point to evolution. But, did he present any? He said ID wasn't science. Did he let any supporter of ID present scientific evidence for it?
The claim was made for many transitional "missing link" fossils. Did they present one?
The claim was made that evolution works. Did they say who has ever observed any? What is the evidence for how it works?
The quickest, easiest and simplest response to this entire puff piece was best summed up by none other than Dr. Gish himself... let the actual scientific evidences for each view of origins be presented, and let the student decide.
Don't say there are evidences for evolution, and then produce none. Don't say there is no evidence for ID and then not permit Gish, or any other supporter of ID to produce any.
There are entire books filled with science about these subjects. I've read scores of them. Why won't anyone just let real scientists, who know of real evidences, just present them?!?!?!
Here is the toughest question the theory of evolution must answer, to have any validity at all. Please explain, according to your theory, how it is that progressively increasing information accumulates within DNA so as to produce higher orders of living things?
Within just the past 55 years, so much has been learned within the realm of genetics, that so utterly confounds every proposition of the theory of evolution, that any scientist confronted with the facts would have to admit that evolutionary theory, as it is currently stated and believed by the larger scientific community, does not have any evidence on which it can stand, as it all comes down to the operations of genetics.
So, please, anyone here... especially if you are a convinced atheist. What is the evidence for your belief in evolution.
If it is science, as is always claimed, what is the evidence. Penn and Teller did not present any. It was an empty puff piece, they were bluffing.