The Lesson
April 7th, 2008
I’ve been trying to fit both movie trailers into one post, but to no avail. So, here is the ID version of Flock of Dodos, Ben Stein’s Expelled. You can find a rebuttal to Expelled at expelledexposed.com. I also found this rebuttal to Flock of Dodos interesting.
It all just goes to show that good editing can tell just about any story.
Filed under Reads and Watches, Science & Politics, Uncategorized | Comments (9)9 Responses to “The Lesson”
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Dr Sanford,
In your academic career, were you aware of any of the silencing of all non-Darwinian thought as indicated by the producers of Expelled?
Hi Kirsten, I’ve tagged you with a blog meme: Seven Things.
http://www.inoculatedmind.com/2008/04/07/seven-things/
Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to describe seven random/weird things about yourself.
ahh yes, i’m always a fan of false logic:
“hey, you know that guy isaac newton, he was smart right? well if you said that you believed in intelligent design back then everyone would have believed you!”
and guess who they wouldn’t believe? newton.
ugh, i wish the arguments could at least be worthwhile to consider.
Like most, if not all, documentaries on highly controversial topics, they’re probably both full of heavily shaded data that just barely borders on being technically factual (lies, damned lies and statistics). Having said that, I’m looking forward to seeing both of them, even though Expelled will probably raise my blood pressure a few points. (ok, so I’m a little biased lol)
What makes me mad about Ben Stein(and it’s not fact based at all) is that– especially when he was doing the game show a long time ago and I knew nothing about him—he bore a striking resemblance to my Dad (who, unlike Stein is a critical thinker and lover of science).
But for a while it gave Stein this advantage over my sympathies during that time….
So here he is again….
Thankfully his overvoice sounds nothing like my Dad’s! so I can hear it clearly and be heartily disturbed by the words, as one should be.
I just recently discovered your blog. Nice work.
FYI, when I tried to view this video via your RSS feed I got an error message saying “Sorry, this video is no longer available”.
I have seen Flock of Dodos. I have only seen the clips Expelled on Ben Stien’s site.
I thought Flock of Dodos was very well made. I was less impressed with what I have seen of Expelled, and two reviews by movie critics were very negative. I did review the material on Stien’s site, so I doubt I will waste any time with his movie.
I think it is important when viewing any documentary to remember that it well reflect the bias of the producer. I think this is true of Flock of Dodos as well as Expelled. With Flock of Dodos however there is a reasonable attempt to treat all sides with respect. Expelled appears to be just blatant propaganda.
The scientific community does need to do a better job of getting it’s view point before the public.
The mainstream media does really suck at reporting science. I think the science blogs I read, and podcast I listen to, demonstrate that scientist like yourself are becoming more media savvy.
One good note is that most the bloggers I interact with are Evangelical Christians. They all believe in ID. Almost all however understand that it is not science and have no problem that it is not taught in science class. They do believe that evolution should not be taught as the only possible answer to how humans developed, something I agree with.
To me evolution is the best theory that fits the evidence we current have. It should be taught in science class because it has passed the critical review process. New evidence however could lead to a new and better theory. It is critical to me that scientist keep an open mind when examining new evidence and new ideas.
Another interesting counter ID piece I saw “Judgment Day: Intelligent Design on Trial”. I think it was by NOVA on PBS? Followed the Kansas evolution in schools debacle. Definitely not unbiased, but probably not as in your face as Expelled or Flock of Dodos.
Interesting how zealousness pulls all ways away from the middle ground of reality, eh?
I consider myself a believer… of the Catholic sort. This is the context that I was raised in. As I grew up, and learned to think for myself, I learned that Catholicism is a Christian denomination and that there are several Christian denominations. From the Catholic perspective, these denominations are considered Protestant because they protested against one or several aspects of Catholicism. Yet, I later learned, that Catholics could be perceived as protestant Jews. So, it’s all a question of perspective, isn’t it?
Faith is compelling because it explains beyond science. One reply, above, stated that science is test-based and testing requires that some variables in a formula be kept constant so that we can examine the behavior of the variables that aren’t held constant (and derive trends upon which we can eventually synthesize principles). Well, ideas and values, the building blocks of how we chose to live our lives, are similarly constructed. Social science follows a similar structure in the study of humans and their motivations.
We all know about the Missing Link in Darwinism. We all know that Newton made great strides in explaining the universe but Einstein added an ingredient to Newton’s theories, up until then considered the end of the line. Like with Newton and Einstein, however, what will the future reveal about the Missing Link?
In reading the Rebuttal to Ben Stein’s movie, I agree that this division between science and faith has been enhanced by the media… and zealots. Humans need clarity. We seek to draw links between seemingly unrelated events because things need to be explained. They need to make some kind of sense. But, truth be told, there is really very little that we actually know, versus what we believe.
Darwinism takes us some way down the path of understanding humanity, establishing a reality, and making us feel comfortable in the world. Frankly, I know that I’m alive and kicking. I know that I think, breath, and feel. I don’t need a theory or a religion to tell me that. And, you can argue Matrix-type logic that I’m really living a dream within a dream within someone else’s fantasy, but I am here and now, in this reality, ding what I do, and that’s enough for me. I have consciously declared my reality.
How and Why I came to be here is a question that I, personally, can answer with a combination of science (in its current state) and faith, be it religious or otherwise… because that is the current state of our collective knowledge.
That said, aside from the need to Know, scientifically, we all need to nurture the soul… with a little drama, don’t we? 🙂