2/26/09

Scientific Cenobites, part 6 of 9

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Posted by Ken
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5 comments:

  1. Samuel SkinnerFebruary 26, 2009 at 9:17 AM

    "Analysis of a number of popular ecological tenets, including natural selection, competitive exclusion, and parts of succession, species diversity, and spatial heterogeneity, reveals that they lack the predictive and operational qualities which define scientific theories. Instead they consist of the logical elaboration of certain axioms. Consequently, they must be termed tautologies."

    And he proves that... oh wait, he doesn't, he simply states it. It is worth noting that the same could be said for the theory of gravity.

    "The whole aim and purpose of Darwinism is to show how modern forms descended from ancient forms, that is, to construct reliable phylogenies (genealogies or family trees)."

    False. The aim of all scientific theories is to accurately model reality.

    "Every evolutionist knows this, hence it is necessary to quote only three particularly vigorous statements."

    None of those have anything to do with it not working and everything to do with criticizing presentation.

    "It is commonly agreed that specialized forms do not generate new types. "

    False.

    "If we add that all existing forms are quite specialized, we must conclude that there will be no more evolution."

    First of, many creatures are generalists. Secondly, most of life HAS gone extinct, so this isn't really a surprise.

    "This may be surprising, but it is well attested."

    They are full of BS. What makes them say that the ancestral form wasn't any more specialized than the modern form?

    Evolution is falsifiable. All it requires is something that cannot be explain by natural selection. So far we haven't gotten anything like that... because the theory is true.

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  2. SaintFebruary 26, 2009 at 11:46 AM

    SS:

    Gravity is not a theory - it's a law

    If the theory is true, then it becomes a law. That hasn't happened.

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  3. Scary JesusFebruary 26, 2009 at 11:55 AM

    Actually a theory is a unifying principle that explains a body of facts and the laws based on them. In other words, it is an explanation to a set of observations.

    Theories do not necessarily become laws. They don't need to, they work just fine as they are.

    It has nothing to do with them being "true" or not.

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  4. Scary JesusFebruary 26, 2009 at 12:02 PM

    Oh I forgot *yawn* ok, now I'm done.

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  5. UnknownFebruary 26, 2009 at 5:36 PM

    It's quite amazing how a person like Mariano can blinker himself by being illiterate to everything that isn't quote-mined to fit his agenda.

    If Mariano thinks that Evolution is false, why doesn't he show off the grand successes of the rivaling theories in explaining all the things that evolution currently explains?

    I suppose "Intelligent Design" has good explanations for vestigiality, junk DNA, ERVs, chromosomal fusion, and why domesticated silver foxes acquire dog-like features after only a few decades of breeding (common descent + selection = ...?). To mention just a tip of the ice berg of the explanatory power of evolutionary theory, also known as common descent with modification followed by natural selection. Oh and, there are tons of ways in which evolution could be proven false, if it is false - watch the second video for one example (chromosomal fusion).

    Mariano continues his Quixotian quest for heavenly harmony in a world that doesn't play by his rules. Poor guy.

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