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posted by martyb on Thursday February 14 2019, @06:12PM   Printer-friendly
from the scientific-method dept.

Earlier this month, a long kept list of Ph.D. scientists who “dissent from Darwinism” reached a milestone — it crossed the threshold of 1,000 signers.

“There are 1,043 scientists on the ‘A Scientific Dissent from Darwinism’ list. It passed the 1,000 mark this month,” said Sarah Chaffee, a program officer for the Discovery Institute, which maintains the list.

“A Scientific Dissent From Darwinism” is a simple, 32-word statement that reads: “We are skeptical of claims for the ability of random mutation and natural selection to account for the complexity of life. Careful examination of the evidence for Darwinian theory should be encouraged.”

https://www.thecollegefix.com/more-than-1000-scientists-sign-dissent-from-darwinism-statement/


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  • (Score: 0, Disagree) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday February 14 2019, @07:40PM (6 children)

    by Anonymous Coward on Thursday February 14 2019, @07:40PM (#801152)

    Yes there is a point to it as I pointed out, it gives these people a place to explore their ideas instead of being shoved into the corner for a time out. Hopefully some of them realize that evolution is the best explanation.

    It is also folly to assume we know everything. I agree with you on the evidence and I said as much, but at the same time we don't know everything about it. I also pointed out that the general statement they signed is vague so it doesn't mean they all toss out evolution 100%.

    You seem to be taking this as a direct assault on your own beliefs and knowledge, chill the fuck out! If they never come up with anything more convincing than a bunch of signatures it won't have any real impact. Don't be an evangelical scientist!

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  • (Score: 2, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday February 14 2019, @08:12PM (3 children)

    by Anonymous Coward on Thursday February 14 2019, @08:12PM (#801173)

    Please, remind me when was the list time some scientist was punished for not "believing" in darwinian theory? If they have some evidences, they can bring them to the public. Signed paper is not an evidence. If anything, this act itself looks like religious confession, not like science. Because science, you know, is about evidences, not about gathering together and repeating "we don't believe, we don't believe, we don't believe..."

    • (Score: 2) by Runaway1956 on Friday February 15 2019, @02:30AM (2 children)

      by Runaway1956 (2926) Subscriber Badge on Friday February 15 2019, @02:30AM (#801346) Journal

      Right here, right now, on this forum. Most people agree that all of these 1000 are idiots, or worse.

      • (Score: 2) by c0lo on Friday February 15 2019, @02:42AM (1 child)

        by c0lo (156) Subscriber Badge on Friday February 15 2019, @02:42AM (#801349) Journal

        And this punishes them... exactly how?
        Or do you believe S/N will have any influence on their life?

        --
        https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoFiw2jMy-0 https://soylentnews.org/~MichaelDavidCrawford
        • (Score: 2) by aristarchus on Friday February 15 2019, @05:38PM

          by aristarchus (2645) on Friday February 15 2019, @05:38PM (#801673) Journal

          They punish their selves, much that same way Runaway1956 does, by being idiots. It is a fitting punishment, but pretty much completely voluntary.

  • (Score: 4, Insightful) by fyngyrz on Thursday February 14 2019, @08:15PM (1 child)

    by fyngyrz (6567) on Thursday February 14 2019, @08:15PM (#801176) Journal

    Yes there is a point to it as I pointed out, it gives these people a place to explore their ideas instead of being shoved into the corner for a time out.

    They're in precisely the same "place" as the flat-earthers. Absolutely no evidence for, as contrasted to the proverbial metric fuckton of evidence against. If that changes, fine, we should listen. So far it hasn't (and it doesn't seem at all likely to, either.)

    Just because some random person with (or without) a degree has an idea doesn't mean that idea is worth anything. Science in particular uses a method that does a decent job of winnowing out things that don't hold up under the weight of consensually experiential, repeatable, non-falsifiable examination.

    OTOH, when a scientist in an unrelated field produces an assertion about another field that goes against all the evidence in that other field, then the onus is totally on them to produce evidence that can withstand scientific scrutiny to support that assertion; until or unless they do, there's no point at all in taking them seriously or giving them the benefit of the doubt. Doesn't mean they can't work on it, of course — but until they do worthy work on it, they have nothing of value.

    --
    Research shows that 6 out of 7 dwarves aren't happy.

    • (Score: -1, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday February 14 2019, @08:40PM

      by Anonymous Coward on Thursday February 14 2019, @08:40PM (#801196)

      *WOOOOOOOOOOOSH*

      You rabid "science" pushers are just as bad as religious evangelicals. You should applaud their skepticism even if you disagree with their conclusions / positions. Often times science has advanced by trying to prove one thing but finding out another. Heaping hate and scorn adds nothing of value here, at least wait until they put forth a stupid theory with no evidence.

      The group points out that signing the statement does not mean these scholars endorse “alternative theories such as self-organization, structuralism, or intelligent design,” but rather simply indicates “skepticism about modern Darwinian theories central claim that natural selection acting on random mutations is the driving force behind the complexity of life.”

      You may get the +5 insightful riding the hate-train, but as you pointed out consensus doesn't make you right! Don't worry, I'll get my own Hemlock.