Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion The Water Cooler Global Warming - We've Been Here Before

This thread is turning out to be quite a bit of fun.

FWIW, science has gone beyond carbon dating as it cannot always be applied accurately. Don't ask me for the details, I seem to have run out of brain cells to store this type of stuff.

I don't see that the belief in evolution and the belief in god need to be mutually exclusive.

Exlabdude, I actually enjoy discussion with people that don't agree with me. It forces me to take a closer look at the things I believe to be true. Occasionally it leads to new knowledge (or even cool videos of pyroclastic flows).

Establishing a baseline of scientific knowledge based on belief in a single scientific principle strikes me as a little contrived. Belief (and scientific understanding are) a little more nuanced than that.

[For arguments sake], it strikes me that if god had created a simple system (evolution) that has such complex and beautiful results it would be far more than impressive than creating the whole thing in 7 days and then that's the end of the story.

Yes, Fred, but Peter's proposition is more fun. What Peter is suggesting is that anyone who disagrees with him is a scientific moron and it is that lack of basic scientific knowledge which provides a sufficient explanation as to why anyone would disagree with his 'settled truths.'

Set aside for a moment the self serving circularity of his proposition and just appreciate the stunning elitism Peter displayed.

As to your suggestion that the Eternal One works through a simple (Mandelbrot like self-referential elaborating) principle, I like it. However, I don't think the theory is sufficient to explain the development of certain characteristics. (Random mutations which confer a reproductive advantage.)

Random mutations that confer a reproductive advantage have a higher chance of being passed on than those that have a neutral or negative effect on reproduction. Simply being alive is an important factor in reproducing...

We are all products of thousands upon thousands of random mutations, accumulated over vast amounts of time, most of which either had no effect or a positive effect on the organisms in which they occurred in the environment in which which they lived.

You're right. I should have phrased my survey in a better way and perhaps used a more established theory -- Gravity? -- to avoid offense, so we could all arrive at a mutually agreeable detente.

This is much more entertaining. Which was the reason you started this thread.

As for that "his friends will circle round him" crap, I already lambasted him in person.

Or maybe we'll circle round him and kick him.

Gravity!

Excellent choice! Now there is something we can all agree we really know nothing about!

We think we know something about it, we can state and solve Newton's gravitational equations, and Einstein's, (so long as you're not asking to solve for too many variables) but really, human understanding of gravity though functional pales in the presence of the magnificence of creation.

I just don't understand why you think that just because I posted a topic which challenges beliefs you hold to be true is hostile or looking for a fight or otherwise disagreeable.

Can't we just have a friendly argument?

Indeed. To misquote the queen: "We are amused."

No such thing as gravity .


THE EARTH SUCKS

Is that the scary queen?

It's the Great Attractor, out there somewhere that sucks.