Wednesday, October 19, 2005

This engaging "op-ed" piece passed my desk today:

Intelligent Design On An Another Planet?





Imagine finding a planet where robots are programmed so that they can make other robots just like themselves from raw materials.

Now, imagine an alien visitor coming to the planet and, after many years of studying these robots, coming to the conclusion that since science can explain how these robots work and function there's no reason to believe that there was an ultimate intelligent designer behind them.


What little philosophical muster this article begins with rapidly loses steam. By the closing paragraphs, we're left with a puddle of noxious rhetoric:

Science cannot prove we are here by either design (creation) or by chance (evolution), but students should have full information available to decide which position science best supports.

An organization of highly qualified scientists, The Institute for Creation Research has published some excellent books supporting faith in intelligent design for life and the universe.


Meanwhile, the Vatican chews the metaphysics of converting extraterrestrials to Christianity. And we wonder why there has been no open contact.

1 comment:

Ken said...

Here's a solution: Why don't they just stop teaching evolution in public schools? Instead they can simply introduce kids to the scientific method in general. I'm sure few folks would have a problem with that. People can learn about Darwinian evolution when they get to the universities -- where, incidentally, they would encounter many other ideas (such as creationisms of all sorts) as well.