Quote :

"the real question is: who or what put life here to evolve, and for most intelligent humans: why"

and that's a legitimate question, but it has nothing to do with the teaching of evolution. No science teacher or scientist worth a damn would claim to know how or why we are here, and that's not being taught.

Quote :

"you see. this form of theology called evolution just like the rest of them will never explain where or how or even why life started."

you sound like ben stein. Evolution is not supposed to tell us how life began, and it never claimed to, just like it doesn't tell us how gravity works or why there are stars. That's immaterial though, because for what the theory of evolution was created to explain, it explains with near perfect certainty.

5/25/2008 10:17:41 PM

^honestly a lot of those concerns for me could be answered in the next few hours or days or weeks with the landing of the phoenix on mars. b/c if we traces of life on mars, or even life itself... we might just be able to nail evolution in the head and to put it to rest.

but i still think it's plausible to give 90% of the human race credit b4 i call bullshit on themwith forcing evolution down their throat and say their religions are false.

life in such its abundance on 1 small blue green world seems a little crazy to me if there isn't even a hint on mars or on the moons of jupiter or saturn. did some special comet with the first cells just crash here by chance? or did it have some sort of life controlling it in the first place.

not even a trace of life found elsewhere yet in the solar system. so i'm gonna give the people who think we were put here by some other being another chance.

as will bobby jindal

5/25/2008 10:25:40 PM

this is beyond retarded. I wish i never posted in this thread, and i certainly won't again. I think i'll make it a point to stay out of any conversation in which Rat has stuck his nose.

5/25/2008 11:09:16 PM

wow. don't accept different opinions much eh?

5/25/2008 11:23:22 PM

really, who gives a fuck what anyone believes concerning evolution vs intelligent design. what you believe has no effect on anything except for what you believe

it has 0 effect on business, technology, finance, exploration of space, most hard science, math, whatever...it's a pointless argument beyond man's need to explain his purpose here on earth. i don't get why some people get so pissed off when someone else believes something different from them when it has no effect whatsoever on the world.

Quote :

"Since when does pandering shamelessly to undereducated provincial thinkers make one a "great politician?" Unless your last name is Clinton, of course ... "

Which politician doesn't this describe? The "I am gonna do god's work" Obama? Every politician does this, in fact, you may have just accurately described politics.

[Edited on May 26, 2008 at 12:32 AM. Reason : asdf]

5/26/2008 12:29:33 AM

^

Quote :

"Which politician doesn't this describe? The "I am gonna do god's work" Obama? Every politician does this, in fact, you may have just accurately described politics."

Congratulations, you won the "Begging the Question Award" for 2008. LOL!

I asked:

Quote :

"Since when does pandering shamelessly to undereducated provincial thinkers make one a "great politician?""

Obviously the premise of my (rhetorical) question was that a great politician somehow stands out from the others. Extra points if you figure out in what respect -- maybe, not pandering shamelessly to provincial thinkers?

If I say 'two plus two', I shouldn't also have to post 'four' a page later ...

5/26/2008 5:45:20 PM

you should just admit that you have no idea what you are talking about.

5/26/2008 6:20:29 PM

Quote :

"really, who gives a fuck what anyone believes concerning evolution vs intelligent design."

*raises hand*

5/26/2008 6:22:03 PM

why? I can't bring myself to care about what someone else is walking around thinking in their head, especially when it doesn't really matter in any material way.

Proposing it to be required curriculum is a different matter, but why do care what other people believe?

5/26/2008 7:07:01 PM

i guess it matters for me cause if the person believes in something i find dumb then i cant seriously consider voting for them

5/26/2008 7:09:20 PM

I agree with drunknloaded.

I don't vote for stupid or ignorant people. Not believing in established science such as evolution is a good indication that the person is stupid or ignorant of science.

5/26/2008 7:22:33 PM

i see what you did there

[Edited on May 26, 2008 at 7:31 PM. Reason : let me guess, you dont believe humans are the cause for global warming]

5/26/2008 7:28:35 PM

Quote :

"let me guess, you dont believe humans are the cause for global warming"

are you asking me this? what does one have to do with the other? and as far as it is concerned I could care less what people believe concerning global warming in their heads. I don't think that it matters in the least. I believe in energy independence and preserving the environment, but that can be accomplished completely independendent from any scary story about the end of the world. Not to say it isn't true. my point is that it doesn't matter. Good business decisions will lead to the same result.

5/26/2008 7:36:55 PM

Quote :

"are you asking me this?"

no

5/26/2008 7:37:44 PM

my burst and you are making some valid points too btw

5/26/2008 7:43:08 PM

John and Piyush would surely be the odd couple.

5/26/2008 7:43:43 PM

Quote :

" really, who gives a fuck what anyone believes concerning evolution vs intelligent design. what you believe has no effect on anything except for what you believe it has 0 effect on business, technology, finance, exploration of space, most hard science, math, whatever...it's a pointless argument beyond man's need to explain his purpose here on earth. i don't get why some people get so pissed off when someone else believes something different from them when it has no effect whatsoever on the world"

Completely wrong. What people believe pretty much define the flow of society. If people get the idea that they can seriously think the Earth is only 7000 years old, and the universe as well, and any science that says otherwise is wrong, and then they want other people to believe the same thing, it causes LOTS of problems for society in general. It's okay to believe this lunacy if you keep it to yourself, but people rarely keep things to themselves. Trying to get only your religion taught as science in a science class is not keeping things to ones self.

5/26/2008 8:16:10 PM

bobby jindal would rape obama in 10 frames of bowling.

5/26/2008 8:30:46 PM

^ Injuns are notoriously terrible at sports.

5/26/2008 8:36:43 PM

because they are too busy learning calculus in like 8th grade prolly

5/26/2008 9:27:03 PM

obama got a 37

thats averaging 3 or 4 pins every TWO throws. omfg

i mean, can he throw a ball?

5/26/2008 10:14:15 PM

Quote :

"Completely wrong. What people believe pretty much define the flow of society. If people get the idea that they can seriously think the Earth is only 7000 years old, and the universe as well, and any science that says otherwise is wrong, and then they want other people to believe the same thing, it causes LOTS of problems for society in general. It's okay to believe this lunacy if you keep it to yourself, but people rarely keep things to themselves. Trying to get only your religion taught as science in a science class is not keeping things to ones self. "

Who is it causing lots of problems for exactly? I for one can decide for myself what I want to believe. I already conceded that having intelligent design taught as a science would be a bad idea, but there is certainly nothing wrong with offering it as a seminar style course. One thing is for sure and that is people are stubborn. Just like you get all pissy when people disagree with you the same happens to them. I say let nature run it's course and these people will weed themselves out from profitable society in a couple of hundred years. It's nothing to keep your panties tied up in knots over. Seriously.

5/26/2008 10:18:43 PM

Quote :

"Who is it causing lots of problems for exactly?"

Have you not been following the news? We have court cases in several states where Creationists are trying to force the gov. to teach creationism in science classes. If everyone took the attitude of "let them believe what they want" then you run the risk of these nutjobs getting enough power in gov. for this movement to gain momentum. Imagine the fallout to our science industry if this were to happen. The current court cases are already alarming enough to cause scientists, a historically passive group, to want to mobilize and get involved in politics.

These would be the same people who would vote broadly against stem-cell research, and the for smorgasbord of nanny-state legislation than the religious-right salivate over. Can you not see how these ideas gaining momentum would harm (and have harmed) society?

Quote :

"I for one can decide for myself what I want to believe."

You would be the minority then. Most peoples' beliefs are a reflection of their society.

Quote :

" but there is certainly nothing wrong with offering it as a seminar style course. One thing is for sure and that is people are stubborn."

You're right, but this is a different issue entirely. People taking a class on religious theories is different than religious nutjobs trying to get the gov. to force religion in to the science classroom.

Quote :

"Just like you get all pissy when people disagree with you the same happens to them. I say let nature run it's course and these people will weed themselves out from profitable society in a couple of hundred years. It's nothing to keep your panties tied up in knots over. Seriously. "

Ha. I don't get pissy when people disagree with me. I just don't like if they disagree for idiotic reasons. People who are anti-abortion for example don't really bother me, because I see the logic of their position. People who are pro-death penalty don't bother me, even the border-fence people don't bother me all that much. But Creationists who want Creationism in the biology class REALLY bother me.

And how do you expect them to get "weeded" out? The process of weeding things out doesn't happen on its own, there has to be a force (ie. people) that are the agent of this weeding. "Be the change that you want to see" and all that. And why wait for nature to complete a process that we can socially engineer MUCH more quickly? Why waste the powering of thinking we uniquely posses to wait on nature (and suffer in the meanwhile)?

[Edited on May 26, 2008 at 10:34 PM. Reason : ]

5/26/2008 10:33:46 PM

http://www.newoxfordreview.org/article.jsp?did=1294-jindal
AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHHAHAHAHAHAHA

6/13/2008 8:18:18 PM

^ wow, I thought that had to be a joke like The Onion or something, but that New Oxford Review seem legit. Wow.

6/13/2008 11:37:27 PM