I’m floating in a most peculiar way

Shuttle

Originally uploaded by RandomJohn.I highly recommend a museum membership if you have kids. You have opportunities to get pictures like this one.

Evolution vs. ID

Of late, my watching the evolution vs. intelligent design debate is like my watching Duke play Kentucky. (I’m a UNC alum, and have a genetic hatred for the two schools I mentioned. In such games, I lament the fact that someone gets to win. What can I say? It’s in my Carolina Blue blood.) On the evolution side, you have people like Richard Dawkins and Daniel Dennett who simply want God to leave the consciousness of humanity. On the other side, you have people who make up such terms as “irreducible complexity,” state without evidence that evolution could not have produced “irreducibly complex” systems, and QED you have the existence of God! Then they try to convince school boards to stick numbskull stickers on biology textbooks as if that’s going to invalidate what the textbook says about evolution.

The fact of the matter is evolution happens, and it’s an issue we have to contend with. The study of, for example, antibiotic/antiviral resistance, genetic disorders, and cancer all benefit from understanding the mechanisms of evolution. (In fact, one direction taken to cope with antibiotic resistance is to target the mechanism of evolution in bacteria to prevent resistance from developing!) This isn’t just about describing the history of life on Earth (where the theory of evolution is more speculative — and evolving!) but also about coping with life on Earth as it is now. Denying this process on religious grounds isn’t going to solve anything.

On the other hand, the theory of evolution says nothing about the existence of God. Archaeological evidence and the theory of evolution provide good evidence (not unshakeable proof) against a young Earth theory, but says absolutely nothing about God. Discussions about the Big Bang and the formation of galaxies is based on the existence of microwave radiation in space where we would not have expected it, and the arguments for abiogenesis (creation of life where there was none before) is even more speculative. In fact, I would argue against using science to prove or disprove God, since science looks for a physical explanation for everything.

At any rate, I’m not going to look to either scienceblogs.com or uncommon descent for any authoritative statments on how we got here or where we are going. 

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Damn spammers.

Uprooted

The last few weeks have been very difficult, but I think in the end things will be much better. You see, we’ve moved to Asheville, NC, Land of the Sky. (Well, there are places in the world that are much, much closer to the sky than Asheville, but hey, I like it.) Our house is in a nice little valley surrounded on three sides by mountains, and the view from my office is incredible. My employer has been greatly understanding about the move, and I don’t think I could ask for more cooperation from them.

It has, however, been hard. At about the same time I started the actual move, work picked up dramatically, sometimes forcing me to work 60 hours on top of moving to meet deadlines (and this is with an understanding employer). The new house is arranged differently (and I think to the better), but systems of storing things that worked before have to be rethought. We also have to get rid of a lot of stuff (we already got rid of a lot of stuff, and have to get rid of more).  And, of course, don’t forget the grass, the messes that children leave, and the old house which still has stuff in it and hasn’t sold yet.

I’m going to like it. Maybe in a few weeks when I come up for air again I’ll become an Asheville blogger.

Third veto

Jackass. Yeah, I might come out of hiding.