john hawks weblog

paleoanthropology, genetics and evolution

Intelligent Design article

Sat, 2010-02-20 07:30 -- John Hawks

Intelligent Design Creationism is not science. I wrote about it a few years ago in a local op/ed.

But maybe you're looking for a different point of view -- why ID is bad theology as well as not science. In that case, I can recommend an article in First Things by Stephen Barr. From the last few paragraphs:

The question I am raising is whether this quixotic attempt by a small and lightly armed band to overthrow “Darwinism” and bring about a new scientific revolution has accomplished anything good. It has had no effect on scientific thought. Its main consequence has been to strengthen the general perception that science and religion are at war.

Cui bono? Only those people whose religious doctrines entail either Young Earth creationism or a rejection of common descent. Such people already and necessarily were in a state of war with modern science and have no choice but to fight that war to the bitter end.

You know, come to think of it, my old column had its moments:

ID proponents hope to cheat into schools what they cannot win fairly in science. They hope to persuade fair-minded people that their children should hear "both sides."

The truth is, only one side is science. The other is the vain hope that God left the lid off the cookie jar, just enough to prove He was there.

Neandertals

For years, I've worked on their bones. Now I'm working on their genes. Read more about the science studying these ancient people.

Denisova

From a finger bone of an ancient human came the record of a completely unexpected population. My lab is working on the science of the Denisova genome.

Acceleration

The advent of agriculture caused natural selection to speed up greatly in humans. We're uncovering some of the ways that populations have rapidly changed during the last 10,000 years.

Malapa

Just outside Johannesburg, the Malapa site is producing some of the most exciting finds in human evolution. This site is the headquarters of the Malapa Soft Tissue Project.