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Bryan

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Posts posted by Bryan

  1. 1. Sure. But shall we just assume that it refers to "science" or shall we base that conclusion on evidence? Am I wrong for wanting evidence?

    1. The posters address scientific questions, like the age of the Earth. You have the evidence, you just refuse to admit it.

    Your response is incoherent. The poster would still deal with the age of the earth if only the "God's Word" side of the poster existed. Would you therefore conclude that the "God's Word" portion was science because it addresses a scientific question?

    2. Of course. But the museum presents more than just supposed facts. It presents what you might well call a scientific account of origins as part of its exhibits. That's why I asked if the presentation was thought fair. Your mode of response will perhaps aid you in dodging that question.

    2. No, it is not a scientific account. It is an account based on scripture, which is not scientific.

    Again, your response is incoherent. Perhaps you misunderstood what I was saying. I was pointing out that the museum includes a "human wisdom" account of origins. Do you think that presentation is fair or not?

    3. Perhaps you should come up with concrete examples in support of your claims.

    I thought we had already agreed on that. But perhaps you reiterated it to help reinforce the impression that you were right and I was not.

    Great. Then that means that you can address them. I look forward to it.

    3. As always, Bryan demands absolute proof in an order prescribed by him, and submitted in triplicate, for everything he disagrees with and no proof at all for what he chooses to believe. This itself is contrary to the scientific method or for that matter any objective and reasoned analysis of anything. He also sticks his head in the sand and refuses to acknowledge what is right before his eyes.

    I ask you to put evidence before my eyes and instead of providing it you attack me for refusing to acknowledge what you have not provided.

    Are you for real?

    4. Instead of just telling us that there is a "big difference" why don't you tell us exactly what the difference is? That would address my argument. What you're doing is avoiding the argument with a hand wave.

    4. If I have to tell you the difference between Einstein and a person who thinks the Earth is 6,000 years old, you wouldn’t understand it anyway.

    Ad hominem always makes a great substitute for addressing the issue, doesn't it? Heh. You can't tell me the difference because I wouldn't understand it. I don't think I've heard that one since grade school.

    5. Mine, too. I don't want you folks distorting or lying about those aspects of the creation museum with which you disagree. You can help both of us by offering up specific examples when you talk about the "big difference" between the museum and Albert Einstein. Or other criticisms you might offer.

    5. No, that’s not your issue. If it was, you wouldn’t be calling “explanations” of nature based on the Bible scientific. Science is about the method.

    I think I explained myself adequately, even if you apparently had trouble following along.

    It's amusing that you're back to talking about "the method" of science even though it is dead easy to find every Popperian criterion for science dropped in one or another example of so-called "science."

    If you don't know philosophy of science you might want to keep avoiding that issue while pretending that there is a scientific method that is well and properly defined.

    6. We're touching on a variety of issues, and I've already mentioned mine specifically more than once. It was asserted that the creation museum is "anti-science" and I want to see the support of that claim.

    6. Perhaps you weren’t observing carefully when that point was explained to you – over and over and over and over and over . . .

    Yes, but I'm hoping for a version lacking fatally flawed content or, as in your case, examples where the content is entirely lacking. 'Cause I wouldn't understand or some lame excuse like that.

  2. In other words, you have NO answer for WHAT the war of choice started by your pissant little cowboy has won for the US.

    It won an Arab ally for the U.S. in the Middle East, if Obama doesn't find a way to blow it.

    And whether you admit it or not, huge strides were made in the War on Terror (now OVERCOP under Obama); top Al Qaeda operatives were captured and killed in Iraq.

    And, if you need more, Iraq provided a testing ground for some of the strategies that President Obama is now employing in Afghanistan.

  3. Bryan gets so wrapped up finding a way to say he’s right that he consistently misses the point, often even his own.

    Just because a poster at the Ignorance Emporium says “human reason” doesn’t mean that it isn’t commenting on science, which is an outgrowth of human reason.

    Sure. But shall we just assume that it refers to "science" or shall we base that conclusion on evidence? Am I wrong for wanting evidence?

    Just because the Ignorance Emporium includes some facts (observations) in its presentation doesn’t mean that it isn’t attacking science.

    Of course. But the museum presents more than just supposed facts. It presents what you might well call a scientific account of origins as part of its exhibits. That's why I asked if the presentation was thought fair. Your mode of response will perhaps aid you in dodging that question.

    Its promoters use those observations to gain credibility for their displays, so that they can then distort and lie about other things.

    Perhaps you should come up with concrete examples in support of your claims.

    Just because there is more than one scientific method, narrowly defined, doesn’t mean there isn’t a scientific method, broadly defined.

    I thought we had already agreed on that. But perhaps you reiterated it to help reinforce the impression that you were right and I was not.

    Bryan’s arguments are child’s play.

    Great. Then that means that you can address them. I look forward to it.

    Einstein is a fascinating case. On the one hand, he was among the most brilliant scientists ever, and his contributions to science are monumental. Even so, many scientists recognize that he sometimes strayed from doing real science. His cosmological constant has been widely criticized, for example. But there is a great difference between Einstein's (subtle?) departure from the scientific method and the Ignorance Emporium's full frontal attack on it. Einstein made contributions to science; the Ignorance Emporium is promoting and fostering ignorance, thereby setting science back.

    Instead of just telling us that there is a "big difference" why don't you tell us exactly what the difference is? That would address my argument. What you're doing is avoiding the argument with a hand wave.

    Perhaps you think that once you have labeled my arguments "child's play" it is then appropriate to simply wave them away?

    The Ignorance Emporium has an agenda. Sure, they might use real science where they don’t disagree with it, but when science doesn’t fit their agenda, they attack, distort and lie about it. Science isn't their primary source of truth about nature; they say that explicitly and that is what makes them anti-scientific. That’s my issue.

    Mine, too. I don't want you folks distorting or lying about those aspects of the creation museum with which you disagree. You can help both of us by offering up specific examples when you talk about the "big difference" between the museum and Albert Einstein. Or other criticisms you might offer.

    Bryan, you mentioned “the real issue”. Don’t keep us wondering. Give us the benefit of your vast erudition. Please tell us unenlightened souls what you think “the real issue” is. (Don’t hold your breath, anyone.)

    We're touching on a variety of issues, and I've already mentioned mine specifically more than once. It was asserted that the creation museum is "anti-science" and I want to see the support of that claim.

    Perhaps you weren't observing carefully when I wrote that, however.

  4. Okay, Bryan, I'll parse this out for for you.

    You said:

    1) The White House ignored the law stipulating that Congress shall receive 30 day notice when an IG is dismissed.

    2) Administration officials tried to intimidate Walpin into resigning prior to firing him.

    You presented these speculative statements as "facts" in your criticism of the New York Times and your indirect criticism of President Obama's Administration.

    I did. So what's the "no-show job"? Or are you not going to explain that after all?

    "Ignored the law" is untrue. Walpin was a Republican political appointment by President Bush.

    Incorrect. IG's are not political appointments, though they are appointed by the president.

    President Obama exercised his authority to terminate him, suspending him with pay for 30 days, at which point the termination is effective since the 30 day notice provision to Congress will have lapsed.

    And "loss of confidence" is supposed to be an adequate reason? Why have a notification law if any reason is good enough?

    There is no evidence presented by anyone (not even by Walpin) of your statemetn that the Obama Administration "tried to intimidate Walpin".

    Asking someone to either resign or be terminated constitutes the application of pressure to resign. That is what "intimidation" is, by definition. If Walpin had resigned then the Obama administration would not have had to proceed with the formality of firing him.

    Walpin himself has admitted he doesn't physically show up to his job in Washington, D.C. A no-show job is illegal.

    He had the permission of his supervisors to telecommute, as I understand it. Should they be terminated? And feel free to provide evidence in support of your claim that Walpin's arrangement was illegal.

    Questions have also been raised about his competence based on public statements he's made regarding his "office".

    Where is the Republican outrage when a Republican appointee is unqualified and not doing his job?

    You're a Republican appointee? Prove it.

  5. Your explanations are unsatisfactory, Bryan.

    Really? In what way?

    You will never admit it, but the scientific method is recognized and applied throughout the scientific community all over the world. The “general principles of scientific method . . . pervade all of the sciences.” http://www.amazon.com/Scientific-Method-Pr...p;sr=1-5#reader , p. 1.

    I have no problem admitting that "the general principles of the scientific method" are recognized world over. I simply said that there is no "the" scientific method. Your side has attempted to take that comment of context--in the name of Science, no doubt. So of course it is a noble act.

    Don't really need the links, thanks. Once we find a straw man we can cooperatively trample him and then get back to the real issue.

    The Ignorance Emporium argues that the Bible is the authority, not that evidence is the authority.

    Does it? I have yet to see evidence of that from the slides. You?

    One of its posters says that the difference between it and science is that its starting point is “God’s word,” as contrasted with science, whose starting point is “human reason.”

    One of the key principles of science is "observation."

    The museum poster contrasted "God's Word" with "human reason" and did not mention science. You apparently invented the contrast. Perhaps you simply did not observe carefully enough.

    http://web.mit.edu/gjordan/www/creation/slides/_DSC2332.html

    http://web.mit.edu/gjordan/www/creation/slides/_DSC2336.html

    They neglect to mention that science is also based on evidence. That is why the Creationist Ignorance Emporium is anti-scienific.

    Again, you appear to be making things up. Take a look at the second slide I linked above. "Same rocks" it says. The rocks are an evidence, and it seems to be allowed that the evidence is interpreted according to present processes according to the "human reason" of old-earth cosmologists. Do you think that is an unfair characterization by the museum exhibit?

    The Ignorance Emporium starts from the conclusions, which are to be found in the Bible, and works its way backward to justify them.

    That may be the case in specific instances. On the other hand, am I to suppose that a YEC would not be able to utilize science to discover the principles of flight? Recall that it was asserted that the museum was not merely wrong about certain things, but that the museum is "anti-science."

    That’s just not how science works, no matter which view you take of its method. In science, you form your hypothesis and your theory from the evidence; you don’t start with your hypothesis and then use any means to justify it.

    Would you say that Einstein was anti-science given that he fudged the cosmological constant at first while working the his theory of relativity?

  6. Hmmm. And here I thought we'd been over the fact that there is no "the" scientific method. Some might say that ignoring the fact that there is no "the" scientific method is an insult to anyone with even a little intelligence (though no doubt not in absolute terms!).

    You stated your position, which is not the same thing as pointing out a fact. Fact is, there is a scientific method. Scientists may not agree on every detail but there is enough agreement that the scientific method is easily distinguished from what goes on in the Creationist Ignorance Emporium.

    Excellent! Do it, then. You just said it was "easily" done. So do it. It's easy.

    Basically, the scientific method involves hypothesis, data collection and analysis, theory and reconsideration. The Ignorance Emporium deliberately ignores evidence that does not fit its preconceived conclusions, and exhibits no integrity of analysis.

    We know that is false from the linked photographs. How can you claim that evidence is "ignored" when the evolutionary account is presented side-by-side with the creation account? And if you charge the museum with an anti-science attitude for not including certain specifics that you think count in evolution's favor, then how can you consistently object to "balanced treatment" laws that seek to include evidence that poses difficult questions for evolutionary theory in science classrooms?

    Even someone like Francis Collins would readily acknowledge that the Creationist Ignorance Emporium is an insult to science.

    The museum may well be an insult to science, but unless you equate that with "anti-science" then I don't consider it relevant. And I don't take Collins' opinion on the matter as authoritative minus the justification.

    The order of steps in the scientific method can vary and the degree of rigor required can be a matter of legitimate dispute. But it is disingenuous for you to argue that there is no such thing, when every reputable scientist, philosopher and educator recognizes the distinction.

    Disingenuousness occurs when you present my statement that there is no "the" scientific method as the claim that there is no scientific method. Your reply implicitly supports me in my statement, yet you try to spin it as a contradiction.

    That is something you must wear, brave "Guest."

  7. But Bryan, you don't get credit just for having a picture of the pretty dinosaur, sweetheart.

    No credit for reflecting contemporary scientific knowledge of dinosaurs in a pretty picture? Are you incredibly biased or what?

    This is science class. You have to show that you understand about the dinosaur.

    I just did that, but you ignored it. Tail aloft for balance. Remember? Or did your bias blot that out?

    If you say Fred Flintstone had one for a pet, I can't give you credit for that.

    That's fine, though I don't recall saying anything about Fred Flintstone. Any credit at all for the scientifically current pretty dinosaur picture?

  8. Ah, Bryan, you're such a child. A fatalist wouldn't bother. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fatalism

    Check behind you for that petard.

    Why wouldn't a fatalist supposedly bother? That seems missing from your excellent Wikipedia citation.

    Perhaps the petard you thought you detected behind me was a reflection of your, uh, past.

    But I'm delighted to see that you uphold the fine "Guest" tradition of reliance on ad hominem. Keep up the fine work.

  9. QUOTE (Guest @ Jun 21 2009, 11:17 PM) *

    Bryan, perhaps it would be easier for you to explain how the "museum" meets the criteria of science. After all, it's easier to make an affirmative case than it is to prove a negative.

    OK, so explain how the so-called Creation Museum meets scientific criteria.

    From what I can see from the photographic evidence, the Creation Museum presents more than one view and does not make any claim to absolute accuracy.

    Though this is off-topic from my point, which has been to defend the museum from the ambiguous charge that it is "anti-science." It should be obvious that the museum need not meet scientific criteria in order to avoid being termed "anti-science." Most atheists should be able to ably explain the distinction, since many of them are not anti-theists at the same time that they are atheists.

  10. QUOTE

    That's your problem, Bryan. You don't understand what the other side is saying.

    The point is, you're making no effort to understand.

    Sure I am. The whole point of the Socratic method is to get the other person to put things in their own words and then use the questions to obtain clarification. It is those who try to refer to my questions as "statements" who provide the better evidence of not making the effort to understand.

    Even after you know what was meant, all you do is criticize the other person for (in your eyes) not being clear.

    Hold on, there. I don't know what was meant. I have your account, and you may or not be the same "Guest." And you could be lying to CYA. My point has been twofold. First, it doesn't much matter what was meant since backing away from absolutes reinforces my point that accusing the museum of being "anti-science" isn't so easy based on reason. The secondary point concerned the (absolute?) charge that I had leaped to assumptions. Again, I simply asked a question as to that issue, and the other side takes it as a statement of fact or something. The end result is the "Guest" contingent appears inconsistent.

    If you really wanted to understand or have a meaningful discussion, you would address what the other person is saying once you understood it.

    I don't necessarily understand what the other person is saying even up through this point, since the other person stays anonymous with a common username ("Guest"), and because you/they could be a liar. And in any event, I have already offered the appropriate response that would result if I took your account as absolutely accurate. It just weakens the case for calling the museum anti-science and leaves us to examine whatever probabilistic evidences are offered, hopefully better than I know anti-science when I see it.

    The other thing you never do is support your argument.

    What argument do you think I ought to be supporting? Am I not merely criticizing the case of those who claim the museum is "anti-science"? What claims do I need to support that have not been adequately supported?

    You just repeat it over and over and insist that you're right, and you consistently deflect every challenge and every honest question back on the person who asked it.

    Well, now you're just lying. But on the bright side, at least you're staying anonymous. Where have I insisted that I am right, please? And if you can come up with an honest question somebody has asked me, I'd appreciate an exact quotation.

    You have a very bad habit of implying that other people are stupid or ill-informed, and then doing exactly what you accuse them of doing.

    Like what?

    So when you're challenged to explain how the Ignorance Emporium meets the criteria of science, you deflect the question just because it was put up as a reply to someone else, even though you know that it was directed to you. (See your post at 12:50 p.m. on June 22.)

    Let's pretend for a moment that you have used that question as your example of an "honest" question. Since I have kept it my point to address charges that the museum is "anti-science" how am I to interpret the point of someone questioning me to explain how the creation museum meets the criteria of science? From where I sit, the question looks like an attempt to change the subject. Is a question intended to change the subject at the same time an "honest" question?

    Maybe this is some sort of defense mechanism for you, but it's not going to persuade anyone to your point. Just the opposite, it is childish behavior that undermines anything useful you might be trying to say.

    *Whew* That's a relief. For a moment I thought you were going to end your post without resorting to an overt personal attack.

    :rolleyes:

  11. Since it's a Rush Limbaugh and Fox talking point, yes, I'd say it's about the Republicans struggling for an issue.

    Perhaps they should consider health care reform.

    Quite frankly, I'm not sure why the New York Times gave this any more than a squib.

    That's easy. So that they can leave out the facts mentioned earlier in this thread. You know, the stuff you've been ignoring.

  12. No respectable philosopher, or scientist, would defend this abomination.

    Sure they would. It just depends on what criteria they were expected to defend. Trust you to come up with the "stupid lawyer trick" of immediately tossing out the specific criterion that I have mentioned.

    This so-called museum is an insult to anyone with even a little intelligence.

    But you're not speaking in absolute terms or anything. Right?

    It is an attack on science because it not only rejects the scientific method but also portrays the fruits of science as evil.

    Hmmm. And here I thought we'd been over the fact that there is no "the" scientific method.

    Some might say that ignoring the fact that there is no "the" scientific method is an insult to anyone with even a little intelligence (though no doubt not in absolute terms!).

    Science is an aspect of modernism.

    Is it? Do you know what "modernism" is? And would you therefore deny that any scientific inquiry took place prior to the advent of "modernism"? If not, then your statement would appear to serve little purpose.

    Here is where the Creationist Monument to Ignorance say modernism leads. (http://web.mit.edu/gjordan/www/creation/slides/_DSC2343.html ) No reasonable person would fail to see the disrespect toward science.

    You appear to now be conflating science and modernism. Science makes no value judgments. The museum exhibit you linked mentions neither science nor modernism, though it does talk about "the modern world"--but "modern world" is not necessarily talking about modernism. It most often simply means the contemporary world. And, when it comes to that, it seems fair to blame modernism, at least in part, for cultural changes such as changes in the traditional form of marriage and the popularization of euthanasia.

    It is also an attack on philosophy. A repeated strategy throughout the museum is to pit “human reason” against “God’s word,” with “God’s word” portrayed as representing the unquestionable and absolute truth in every instance. This is a central theme of the “museum,” or more aptly, the theme park.

    The slides you linked do not appear to have anything at all in them representing "God's word" as the unquestionable and absolute truth in every instance. It looks like you're just making that part up out of thin air. If you can refer us to a slide that would actually support that assertion then I recommend that you link it without delay.

    Because reason is the primary tool and method of philosophy, this attack on reason is also an attack on philosophy.

    That doesn't follow, since philosophy encompasses anti-reason positions. Anyhow, I've already explained that "Human reason" is Christianese for wrong thinking. Major branches of Christian theology teach that the mind of man is fallen and will therefore fail to use reason properly. So your argument is a non-starter.

    They aren’t even honest enough to acknowledge that their appeal to “God’s word” is their claim. Instead, they present it as fact.

    Is that a fact? Or is it your claim?

    If you expect charitable interpretation of your words, then get in the habit of offering it to others.

    Philosophically and intellectually, this is dishonest and shameful. Bryan, you should be ashamed of yourself for trying to defend it.

    The shameful thing is your attempt to separate my narrow defense of the museum from its broader teachings.

    Though your pathetic follow-up arguments do come in a close second.

  13. That's a ridiculous argument. If someone tried to construct a philosophy by randomly pulling philosophical ideas out of a hat, you wouldn't call that philosophy. When the Ignorance Emporium proposes that we can find out about the universe by reading The Bible, and demeans real science to boot, that's as anti-scientific as the random choice "method" is anti-philosophical.

    Good analogy, wrong conclusion. Pulling philosophical ideas randomly out of a hat could be a reasonable expression of the philosophy of fatalism. Enjoy the feeling of hoist with your own petard.

    What makes the Ignorance Emporium anti-scientific is that there is no theory and no empirical check on its claims;

    So, unlike the apparently absolute statements of the supporters of science the statements of the museum advocates are absolute?

    What is your evidence for that, other than by drawing from your own prejudice?

    and also that it dismisses and even mocks the real science. There's no science in that approach at all. Both elements are missing, whereas science requires not only that they be present but that they be balanced.

    There is plenty of "real science" in evidence at the museum. The photos show many accurately derived "scientific" facts about the creatures featured in the various exhibits, such as the posture of the dinosaurs (tails aloft for balance instead of dragged on the ground).

    Oh--but you were not speaking in absolutes when you said "There's no science ..."--you actually meant that there is some science.

    Right?

    The great creative geniuses in every field are exceptionally creative; science is no exception. The great creative scientists have known how to balance theory and empiricism to achieve a spectacular, transcendent result. That's what makes them geniuses. They need the discipline firmly under their belts but once they have it, they play and experiment and test against the edges of current theories. All of that involves judgment, and most geniuses are strongly guided by intuition, especially in their most creative moments. Often it doesn't even matter whether they're right. The very act of pushing the envelope in an interesting way opens the field to new discoveries.

    Wow. That could have come from Paul LaClair himself. I wouldn't be surprised if it did.

    What you've written could pass for doubletalk. Explain why adherence to the Bible could not pass for a creative balance of theory and empiricism.

    Everyday practitioners in science, too, make judgments all the time: judgments about which fields of research to pursue, which theories are the most promising, etc. Bryan, you seem to want a neat little robotic model; that's just not how it works.

    If I seem to want a neat little robotic model, you can ascribe that feeling to your own subjective impression unless you wish to actually take the trouble to show evidence that the impression comes from what I write.

    I'm using a form of the Socratic method to illustrate to the LaClabots that their judgments about the museum may run afoul of their own supposed principles. I don't really care what justifications they try to use. Whatever they come up with, I'll deal with it in its own terms.

    As long as human beings are doing the science, it's going to be an art and a series of judgment calls, as well as a discipline. The only people who think that science is cut and dried are people who don't do science and don't understand it.

    OK, so you should agree with me that "anti-science" won't be easy to pin down given that science itself is difficult to pin down.

    Or am I missing something?

  14. Bryan, perhaps it would be easier for you to explain how the "museum" meets the criteria of science. After all, it's easier to make an affirmative case than it is to prove a negative.

    It will be easier for you to obtain replies from me when you reply to my posts.

  15. Lacking absolutes, how does one acquire the ability to support the claim that the creation museum is "anti-science"?

    The same way people have always acquired knowledge. Your statement makes no sense.

    It was a question, not a statement.

    Are you saying someone does have absolutes?

    Nope. Just asking a question. Apparently you're not the one from whom I will obtain a real answer.

    That's your problem, Bryan. You don't understand what the other side is saying.

    Hmmm. And it has absolutely nothing to do with their choice of words?

    Regardless, as I have pointed out more than once, conceding that the claim was not absolute only makes the claim weaker and continues to leave us waiting for the evidence in support.

    The argument is that science is more reliable than scripture or other ancient sources because it's based on evidence and reason.

    The claim was that the creation museum is "anti-science." I don't blame you too much for trying to change the subject, given that your side is having so much trouble supporting its assertions.

  16. You assumed that, and you were wrong. There was no basis for you to assume that scientific provisionality is any less subject to revision than any other scientific principle. I shouldn't have had to describe it to you. If you understood science, it would have been obvious.

    I understand science just fine. I simply don't assume that you understand science, and if you communicate in terms that resemble absolutes without any attempt to make clear that you are not speaking in absolutes then I have little reason to give you the benefit of the doubt.

    Just because the Creationist Ignorance Emporium advances claims to absolute truth doesn't mean they have anything to back it up. Science, with all its provisionality and uncertainty, works better, and history proves it.

    Perhaps you should list those claims to absolute truth, so that we can assess whether or not you have read their work approximately as charitably as you wish your own to be read.

    Is that the problem, Bryan? You want absolutes. No wonder you don't make any sense. Absolute certainty? Not in this life.

    If you wish to concede doubt as to whether the museum is anti-science then please be my guest. And from that point we can discuss whatever evidence you wish that provides whatever degree of certainly you would attach to your claim. You know it when you see it will not be accepted as a reasonable response.

  17. It may not be your issue, but it is mine. I'm interested in what will make our lives better.

    As excuses for changing the subject go, that's rather weak.

    Oh, OK. I suggest you study the meaning of proof. It doesn't always mean absolute. If you knew anything about science OR philosophy, you would know that.

    This again!

    I do know that, and as I have already pointed out, the admission of the non-absolute meaning is that you set aside absolute proof that the creation museum is anti-science. Not that anyone has remotely approached that on an evidential basis in the first place. Admit that the charge is less than absolute and you largely lose the force of the charge in the first place. And the deeper we dig into the philsophy of science surrounding the issue, the more difficult it will be to sustain the charge.

    That's why we're now at the point where your side is down to We know anti-science when we see it combined with baseless personal attacks.

    That's because I'm interested in what works best and less interested in philosophical points that don't relate to anything.

    Everything works after a fashion. "Best" is a values judgment that cannot come from science.

    Your side can hardly take a step without stepping in it, as we see yet again.

  18. There’s no one school of philosophy either, idiot.

    I must have said there was one school of philosophy or something.

    Except I didn't, and it doesn't matter one whit to my point. So here's another "Guest" making no real point and coupling it with ad hominem.

    But I just have a hunch that if you take 1,000 scientists to the Creationist Ignorance Emporium, virtually every one of them can tell you what’s wrong with it.

    Maybe one of them would even claim that it is "anti-science." And I'd do the same follow up and ask the scientist on what basis the judgment is made. And if he tells me that if we take 1,000 scientists and they would tell me what is wrong with the museum then I may suspect that he is stalling because he doesn't really know the answer.

    Meanwhile, science marches on. It is far more unified than philosophy. The following are the first few hits from Google. Try it, Bryan. It’s still not too late for you to learn basic science.

    It's not too late for you to admit that you have no evidence that I don't already know basic science and beyond, either.

    But ad hominem is so much easier for you, isn't it?

  19. This is dead wrong, and it's a fatal problem with virtually everything Bryan says on this subject. Science has revolutionized life, not philosophy. Science gets the funding and the research and the attention because it has changed our lives. Philosophy has its place but it is not the parent of science except in a loose historical sense.

    Drop the "loose" and you've got it; though of course you'd be contradicting yourself.

    Even if he had a valid point, which he doesn't, applying his argument to the issue at hand would be ridiculous. Men who lived thousands of years ago did not know more about science than we know today.

    lol

    What does that have to do with anything?

    Red herring=stupid lawyer trick.

    On the contrary, they knew virtually nothing about it. Defending the Creationist Ignorance Emporium on the grounds that the Bible is reliable science is itself just plain ignorant.

    Straw man=stupid lawyer trick.

    I'm defending the museum from the charge that it is anti-science. Suggest otherwise and you've strayed from the truth.

    As for stupid attack-dog tricks, pot meet kettle. (See the bolded sections above.)

    Bryan, you think and act like a child. Grow up.

    Saying that you (or that person, assuming more than one "Guest") had trouble grasping the point is not an attack on the person. It does deal with one particular instance of behavior (your behavior is separate from your person, as one may act stupidly without being a stupid person). One may infer that a pattern of behavior reflects on the person exhibiting that behavior, but I made no attempt at all to suggest a pattern. And, finally, this is not a case of ignoring the argument in favor of attacking the person. It is a case of clarifying the actual topic as against the claims of another. There's nothing fallacious or childish about my post. Your final statement, in conjunction with your failure to deal with my point apart from red herrings and straw men, would seem far more difficult to defend. It does appear to qualify as a fallacious ad hominem.

  20. If the most Republicans can point to is a 30 day notice provision, the Grand Ole Party is going to join the Whig Party in relevancy to the American people!

    Hey! Great idea! Let's make this about the Republican Party instead of about the New York Times! That will show how desperate the Republicans are!

    Yeah. Good luck with that one.

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