Charles Krauthammer had an excellent piece in the Washington Post, entitled Phony Theory, False Conflict, on the farce of intelligent design. Money quote: “The school board thinks it is indicting evolution by branding it an ‘unguided process’ with no ‘discernible direction or goal.’ This is as ridiculous as indicting Newtonian mechanics for positing an ‘unguided process’ by which Earth is pulled around the sun every year without discernible purpose. What is chemistry if not an ‘unguided process’ of molecular interactions without ‘purpose’?”
As I’ve always said, creationists and ID’ers aren’t simply attacking evolution. They may not realize it (since they seem to have difficulty with logic), but they are taking on all of science – evolution, biology, chemistry, physics, geology, astrophysics, mechanics…. And ironically, by turning their backs on science they are rejecting the principles that underpin the technologies (radio, TV, computer networks) that they use to spread their ignorant blather.
Now I know that I’m not “supposed” to belittle these people. I’m supposed to treat their (presumably genuine) religious beliefs with respect. (Next thing you know, someone will hail their views as a “different way of knowing” – ugh!) But they are ignorant, in much the same way that a witchdoctor is ignorant of antibiotics and by-pass surgery. As a species, we have collectively learned important things about the world, and in many cases this knowledge has superseded earlier beliefs. For example, anyone who still thinks that epilepsy is caused by demonic possession is, quite simply, ignorant, and we expect that a parent who uses physical force to “drive out the demon” in their epileptic child will be arrested for child abuse. To fail to call the believers in creationism what they are – ignorant – is either patronizing or hypocritical.
(Via Sully.)