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shaun2000
New Member
USA
2 Posts |
 Posted - 02/27/2008 : 10:56:13
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The loneliest man in town used to be the Maytag Man. Now it's the atheist who doesn't believe in Darwinism. That's me.
Not only do I not believe, I've written a book criticising natural selection on scientific grounds. Not only that, my book is an angry manifesto calling on science to come up with better theories, and meanwhile to not include any mechanism at all in the teaching of evolution in the school science classroom.
I studied biochemistry at University College London, and I've had a career as professional medical writer. No creationism runs in my veins.
All this would be of little interest except that in April people emerging from seeing "Expelled..." will be wondering where they can find what the movie says has been suppressed--scientific criticism of Darwinism. I thought you'd like to be prepared with an answer.
My book "Save Our Selves from Science Gone Wrong: Physicalism and Natural Selection," just published this month, is available from Amazon. Anyone on your board wanting to review it can email me for a complimentary review copy.
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Evolved Self Publishing
www.evolvedself.com |
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pleco
SFN Addict
USA
2998 Posts |
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H. Humbert
SFN Die Hard
USA
4574 Posts |
Posted - 02/27/2008 : 12:57:34 [Permalink]
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Originally posted by shaun2000
All this would be of little interest except that in April people emerging from seeing "Expelled..." will be wondering where they can find what the movie says has been suppressed--scientific criticism of Darwinism. I thought you'd like to be prepared with an answer.
My book "Save Our Selves from Science Gone Wrong: Physicalism and Natural Selection," just published this month, is available from Amazon.
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Let me get this straight. When people walk out of the film Expelled wanting to know what information is being "suppressed," you want us to tell them it's been widely available on Amazon this entire time? Where's the suppression?
Oh, you mean scientists haven't been favorable to your ideas. Well, that's something else entirely, isn't it? But if you can't get that much straight, I have no reason to think your arguments against evolution get any better. Oh, and whether informed by religiously nuttery or not, arguments from incredulity are still logical fallacies. Just because something isn't religion doesn't make it scientific by default. There's also a good chance it's just plain old pseudoscience.
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"A man is his own easiest dupe, for what he wishes to be true he generally believes to be true." --Demosthenes
"The first principle is that you must not fool yourself - and you are the easiest person to fool." --Richard P. Feynman
"Face facts with dignity." --found inside a fortune cookie |
| Edited by - H. Humbert on 02/27/2008 14:50:07 |
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furshur
SFN Regular
USA
1536 Posts |
Posted - 02/27/2008 : 14:03:17 [Permalink]
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Oh boy, this is interesting.
I went to his site and it looks like he has the book in a pdf file. I looked at a page at random and found out some things about life that I did not know.
Do you know where variation comes from in organisms?
If you said that variation comes from the genome thinking, then you are right according to this book.
That's right the genome thinks, which changes it's chemistry, that in turn changes the genes on the chromosomes and poof you have a new type of organism.
I think creationism makes more sense than this book.... yikes! |
If I knew then what I know now then I would know more now than I know. |
| Edited by - furshur on 02/27/2008 14:05:45 |
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HalfMooner
Dingaling
Philippines
15831 Posts |
Posted - 02/27/2008 : 14:45:49 [Permalink]
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From the official Amazon review:| Johnston conjures up a genome-self able to literally dream up new species |
Yeah, that seems like sound science. Keep dreaming, Johnston.
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“Biology is just physics that has begun to smell bad.” —HalfMooner
Here's a link to Moonscape News, and one to its Archive. |
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bngbuck
SFN Addict
USA
2437 Posts |
Posted - 02/27/2008 : 14:53:45 [Permalink]
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Shaun 2000.....
Welcome to SFN. Shaun! Why don't you post a few (six or eight) condensations of the salient points you make in your book, Save Our Selves from Science Gone Wrong: Physicalism and Natural Selection which speaks to:
criticising natural selection on scientific grounds. Not only that, my book is an angry manifesto calling on science to come up with better theories, and meanwhile to not include any mechanism at all in the teaching of evolution in the school science classroom.
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I'm sure most here at the forum would be interested in examining them. As the esteemed Carl Sagan wrote: "Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence"! Present some of your evidence for the claims implicit in your above post. |
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Dave W.
Info Junkie
USA
26020 Posts |
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moakley
SFN Regular
USA
1888 Posts |
Posted - 02/27/2008 : 18:40:00 [Permalink]
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| It appears that Shaun, as I see it, is really "full of self". |
Life is good
Philosophy is questions that may never be answered. Religion is answers that may never be questioned. -Anonymous |
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Dave W.
Info Junkie
USA
26020 Posts |
Posted - 02/27/2008 : 18:48:31 [Permalink]
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Originally posted by bngbuck
Present some of your evidence for the claims implicit in your above post. |
Judging from the one-star review at Amazon, it's unlikely the author will return. Probably, this was a drive-by spamming for the book. |
- Dave W. (Private Msg, EMail)
Evidently, I rock!
Why not question something for a change?
Visit Dave's Psoriasis Info, too. |
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Dave W.
Info Junkie
USA
26020 Posts |
Posted - 02/27/2008 : 18:51:04 [Permalink]
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By the way, I don't believe in Darwinism, either. And I'm also positive that natural selection is not sufficient to explain biodiversity.
Shaun and I have that much in common. I'm sure the reasons for my doubts differ greatly from his, though. |
- Dave W. (Private Msg, EMail)
Evidently, I rock!
Why not question something for a change?
Visit Dave's Psoriasis Info, too. |
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HalfMooner
Dingaling
Philippines
15831 Posts |
Posted - 02/27/2008 : 21:37:34 [Permalink]
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I suspect that Darwin would shudder if he were alive today and heard of the straw man of "Darwinism" as used by Creationists. He'd also, I think, be amazed with how science has taken his theory and enriched it with both "neo-Darwinist" modifications and huge mountains of confirming data.
I'm convinced that evolution itself is the rock-solidest part of biology. It's my opinion that natural selection is the primary driving force behind it, though there may be other natural forces at work as well, and things like lateral gene transfer may vastly complicate our concept of a tree-like evolution of life over time.
Mr. Johnston seems to believe in evolution (descent with modification over time, a concept that came before Darwin), but his idea of a conscious genome is like some bizarre, crackpot variant of Lamarkism. He claims that he's not a Creationist, but he aligns himself rather closely with the Ben Stein/Discovery Institute crowd. Johnston claims his theory is science, but he's not a scientist, and on the face of his apparent main thesis, that claim seems nonsensical.
If his book refers readers to peer-reviewed scientific papers that show, for instance, that the genome can "think," "dream," or is conscious, this might be an interesting start. I doubt the book has any such science (or we'd have heard of it), but my mind is open to the remote possibility that it does.
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“Biology is just physics that has begun to smell bad.” —HalfMooner
Here's a link to Moonscape News, and one to its Archive. |
| Edited by - HalfMooner on 02/27/2008 21:44:21 |
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bngbuck
SFN Addict
USA
2437 Posts |
Posted - 02/28/2008 : 10:14:12 [Permalink]
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Shaun 2000.....
If your initial post here was indeed a product of a conscious concatenation of neurons in your brain (evolved from conscious genomes), instead of an automated book-selling e-mail spam, please come back and prove that you are indeed a live human being instead of a book publisher's flack!
Many have criticized you, can you not pitch your genomic genius directly to us in defense of your assertations? Or is this just another hit and run from a mendacious merchant? |
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marfknox
SFN Die Hard
USA
3739 Posts |
Posted - 02/28/2008 : 10:20:24 [Permalink]
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| ...my book is an angry manifesto... |
You need a better PR person. |
"Too much certainty and clarity could lead to cruel intolerance" -Karen Armstrong
Check out my art store: http://www.marfknox.etsy.com
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Pelayo
Skeptic Friend
USA
70 Posts |
Posted - 02/28/2008 : 10:46:39 [Permalink]
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I prefer thinking of evolution as "natural rejection" as opposed to "narural selection." Individuals who cannot cope with their environment do not reproduce or reproduce in very small numbers. It is the failure to reproduce that weeds out the characteristics that could imperil the success of the species. The slowest antelopes get eaten first. The slowest predators do not live very long and do not make a lot of baby predators.
Please comment on the following statement:
Creation and evolution theories are not complementary. Evolution does not explain the mechanism that caused the very first molecules to form up into primitive life forms so many millions of years ago.
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I have a habit of posting without reading all previous comments, if I am repeating someone, well, excuse me, please.
"No tendency is quite so strong in human nature as the desire to lay down rules of conduct for other people." - William Howard Taft
"God ran out of new souls a long time ago and has been recycling jackasses." - Anon |
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Dr. Mabuse
Septic Fiend
Sweden
9687 Posts |
 Posted - 02/28/2008 : 14:37:35 [Permalink]
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Originally posted by Pelayo
...so many millions of years ago.
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It's even safe to say billions of years...
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Dr. Mabuse - "When the going gets tough, the tough get Duct-tape..."
Dr. Mabuse whisper.mp3
"Equivocation is not just a job, for a creationist it's a way of life..." Dr. Mabuse
Support American Troops in Iraq:
Send them unarmed civilians for target practice..
Collateralmurder. |
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Pelayo
Skeptic Friend
USA
70 Posts |
Posted - 02/28/2008 : 15:09:09 [Permalink]
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Every time I see billions, I think of Carl Sagan. "billions and billions"
Four and one half billion years ago, the cosmos brought forth in this firmament a new planet . . . TBD. |
I have a habit of posting without reading all previous comments, if I am repeating someone, well, excuse me, please.
"No tendency is quite so strong in human nature as the desire to lay down rules of conduct for other people." - William Howard Taft
"God ran out of new souls a long time ago and has been recycling jackasses." - Anon |
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Used to be the Maytag Man
