Piltdown Superman

by Cowboy Bob Sorensen  Evolution News and Science Today  is run by the Discovery Institute, the leading proponents of Intelligent Design. Despite what propagandists for universal common descent evolution claim, ID is not  creation science in disguise. An article on that site, " Are Proponents of ID Religiously Motivated, and Does It Matter? " inspired this one. The author, Dr. Jonathan McLatchie, made some excellent points in his response to a critic, especially noting that logical fallacies were utilized — which is typical of advocates of evolutionism. Image by Cowboy Bob Sorensen, modified with FotoSketcher Dr. McLatchie pointed out that when the critic of ID claimed that they were religiously motivated, it was a genetic fallacy (also, it poisons the well) . What is too often ignored is the fact that secularists are religiously motivated themselves, as many have religions without deities. This screenshot from X (formerly Twitter) shows a religious attitude toward Drago...

There are over 1,200 species of sea cucumber, ranging in size from tiny to about as long as a man is tall, living in very deep water or very shallow. Ugly lumps for the most part that eat algae, waste products, other things. They have been likened to vacuum cleaners for the ocean floor, so sea cucumbers do serve a function. Some folks think they are good to eat. Coral reefs are ecosystems that resemble condominiums for a variety of residents, but also provide food. The growth rate has been wrongly used to support deep time . Unfortunately, these systems have been dying. This is where the lumps of the sea come in. Sea cucumbers, NOAA Office of Ocean Exploration and Research (usage does not imply endorsement of site contents) In what seems to have been an almost accidental discovery, the symbiotic relationship between corals and sea cucumbers (one gets fed, the other gets a clean and healthy living environment) was discovered. When there are plenty of sea cucumbers around coral reefs th...

Listen up! Although several posts about the human ear have been posted here, it is helpful to be reminded of the amazing and complex design involved. Those flaps of skin on the side of the head effectively scoop sounds traveling in the air (there is no sound in space, despite presentations in science fiction movies). Not just sounds on either side, but also above, below, and behind. The brain has been designed to sort out all of that information and make it useful for us, from danger to pleasure and everything between. Ear diagram credit: National Science Foundation / Zina Deretsky (usage does not imply endorsement) Although the bones in the ear have more formal names, eardrum, hammer, stirrup,  and eardrum  are commonly used. Like so many products of the Master Engineer, there is no room for piece-by-piece evolution because everything has to be in place at the same time. Otherwise, nothing would work or even make sense if some parts "appeared" and others came later. Most pe...

by Cowboy Bob Sorensen  To be blunt, secularists detest human exceptionalism , insisting that "we are just animals," "we are all apes," "we are all fish," and similar things. Indeed, when doing some background on this article, one about monkeys in space on Wickedpedia used "other animals" and "other primates" in the opening sentence. Yes, according to self-serving definitions, we are animals/mammals/primates. Fine, that is useful for classification and scientific research. To say that we are only  animals which are more highly evolved, that comes from a naturalistic worldview . Chimpanzee Ham with trainers, credit: NASA (usage does not imply endorsement) It is interesting that those with this worldview cannot be consistent with living it. Our alleged cousins engage in cannibalism and other acts of extreme violence that are not allowed in human society — we cannot act like them. I know why, and so do you: Human exceptionalism. Intellig...

To stop and think on it for a while, beauty  is a word used to describe many things. Sunsets, waterfalls, canyons, the cosmos, certain people, animals, birds, and much more can be called beautiful. That word  also describes other things picked up by our senses, things not visual. Spring is coming in our neck of the woods. I heard a house finch today singing what I call the "Happy to be a birdie" song, which is beautiful. Who would have thought that beauty could make me sad? It is because my beloved wife is not here to share it with me. Motmot photo by Andy Morffew at Pxhere, modified at PhotoFunia The most likely place to see the motmot bird is in Central America, and maybe further south a ways. It has distinct markings — "What's the deal with the defective tail, Cowboy Bob?" Scientists have found that there certain barbs fall off, which at first may feed into the "poor design, therefore evolution" arguments. In fact, even secular scientists admit tha...

by Cowboy Bob Sorensen  While Wikipedia has some worthwhile information, it is considered less than reliable by many people. Creation science and the Intelligent Design movement are the recipients of substantial bias from there . One of its numerous problems is illustrated by hoaxes. Almost anyone can contribute and edit articles, but only in theory. I have heard from creationists who tried to correct some of Wickedpedia's false information, only to have the edits snap back as if they had never been made. Outright hoaxes are more likely to fly under the radar. Image of nonexistent Jar'Edo Wens generated with AI at NightCafe A tiny entry was made about Jar'Edo Wens, a deity of Australian aborigines. It existed on Wikipedia for several years  and was cited  by users. But he never existed. (By the way, does anyone know if the AI program I used for the graphic got anything right according to aboriginal culture regarding this character? AI has substantial difficulties as well ...

Bugs for lunch, what a marvelous idea! No, this is not about nutty leftist environmentalists , but rather, something that is in the environment: carnivorous plants. Although not envying their diets, creationists have been discussing pitcher plants and Venus fly traps for years. Pitcher plants are slippery and flytraps snap shut, but there are several other kinds of these plants. While it is true that questions are raised about the existence of carnivorous plants in a very good  creation, biblical creationists take on those challenges . Venus flytraps, morgueFile / xianstudio Carnivory in the plant world is not explainable by evolutionary speculations. One way to evosplain them is to say that various types of these plants "evolved independently" multiple times, but that is sometimes annoying even to Darwin's disciples. In addition, there are disparate mechanisms in place in each kind of plant, each contributing to irreducible complexity: Every part must be in place and w...

Secular scientists, especially believers in descent with modifications evolution, work from a framework of materialism. They rule out even the possibility of a Creator or of any purpose in life. Of course, having such a priori  presuppositions handcuffs them to the radiator so they cannot work more effectively. Evolution is not supposed to have any sort of teleology. Any appearance of design is just an illusion, secularists must keep telling themselves that because design means a Designer. But reference to purpose does  get put into evolutionary materials. Dental stem cells, Flickr / NIH-NIDCR (public domain) There are discussions about intelligence all the way down to the cellular level. Although there is opposition to seeing purpose and design, if those in the secular science industry should actually "follow where the evidence leads" instead of simply giving lip service to that saying. It would also be a great benefit to medical and other life sciences. Then they may be re...

by Cowboy Bob Sorensen Give up and submit. They have won. Okay, I am being facetious because some folks indulge in too much science fiction where artificial intelligence and robots take over the world. The AI revolution is under way and developments occur so quickly that articles are often outdated as soon as they are published. You have been using AI for some time, but much of it is on a lower level. It is on websites and search engines. I used it in a recent post to remove the background of a zombie graphic so I could paste it into my photograph. Artificial intelligence is a tool that has many applications. Charles Darwin playing chess with a life-sized silver robot, made at Bing AI image creator *, then modified The computational power of AI is amazing, and some systems are self-taught in certain areas. Like any tool, it can be used for naughtiness as well as niceness. I have a coworker who disliked an AI image I showed him because he felt it takes away from the creativity of artis...

by Cowboy Bob Sorensen A spell back, I came across an article by a supporter of the Intelligent Design movement regarding the possible religious views of Neanderthals. This was an article about another article which appeared in Psychology Today . Believers in particles-to-professor evolution desperately want Neanderthals to be transitions between humans and apelike critters. Instead, evidence continually shows that they were fully human. The fact that they shared their DNA with other humans is strong evidence for their humanity. Le Moustier Neanderthals, AMNH / Charles R. Knight , 1920 Neanderthals may be responsible for our sneezing from allergies , their hearing was like ours , the Y chromosome sure does look "modern," and more. Scientists have also looked for indications of less material aspects other than biology, paleontology, and anthropology. These include thinking and spirituality. Although some evolutionists insist on clinging to Neanderthals as a part of their sche...

As many people know, a cornerstone of particles-to-paleontologist evolution is mutations. Fundamentalist evolutionists insist that mutations are entirely random — admittedly, that is plausible on the surface. They also claim that there is no purpose (teleology) in evolution. While there are many random mutations, it has been shown (much to the dismay of the Bearded Buddha and his acolytes) that some mutations are the result of advance planning, not random at all . In addition, DNA repair systems are taking the wind out of Darwin's sails. Thale cress, Rawpixel / NASA (Public Domain) Over Eurasia and Africa way, there's a plant that the locals consider a weed. Scientists love it, though. Using the science of genetics pioneered by creationist Gregor Mendel (peas be upon him), a great deal of the genome of the thale cress has been studied. Then came some surprises. Although they won't admit it, not only is there DNA repair happening, but non-randomness in mutations. This seem...

As discussed here several times before, a movement, revolution, or other large effect on a society seldom spontaneously generates. Mayhaps you have heard how something was "ahead of its time" or the world was not ready for it. Conditions were not right for that thing. Other sweeping changes occur, leaving people wondering how they took root. Slowly. Charles Darwin is treated like a brilliant scientist for creating evolution, but that is the opposite of the truth . The conditions in Victorian England were right for his conjectures, and the prominent Huxleys helped him out . Darwin caricature, 1871, Vanity Fair , modified at remove.bg At the time of Darwin and even before, people were becoming more blatantly rebellious to God and disrespectful to the Bible. (Interestingly, the only degree that Charlie earned was in theology, which lends credence to the suggestion that he lifted the biblical creation narrative and was making a naturalistic religious text!) Many factors came toge...

DNA is a fabulous molecule, vitally important to living things. Studies of the genome show functions of DNA, then further details and mechanisms are discovered. Epigenetic changes are essentially on top of the genome, regulating how genes are expressed. Also extremely important is RNA, and new research is showing that there are small RNAs that have some extremely important functions. It is also amazing that some changes made can be passed along to offspring, which is not good news for molecules-to-microbiologist evolution. DNA illustration, Pixabay / Miroslaw Miras Researchers injected RNA molecules into certain cells and saw that genes could be affected, even silenced. MicroRNAs regulate gene expression in an important way. Most of their work is outside the nucleus of the cell  but not always. Some of these can even help communications systems between cells. Also, these miRNAs are part of three main systems. Yes, life is the product of the Master Engineer, and the irreducibl...

by Cowboy Bob Sorensen  When perusing Evolution News , the primary website of the Discovery Institute, there seems to be a great deal of self promotion. There is also quite a bit of science and philosophy. There are scientists involved, and it is reasonable to think that they publish in secular scientific journals just like creationists. My problems with the ID movement are that while they show unguided  evolutionary processes are not possible, it has a big tent. That is, there are agnostics, biblical creationists, what appear to be theistic evolutionists, and others involved. Sometimes Christians there seemed to be reluctant to mention the Creator. Also, I am a biblical creationist and presuppositionalist. Neon question mark, Unsplash / Emily Morter Everyone has presuppositions, things we assume to be true, that comprise our worldviews . Biblical presuppositionalists presuppose that the Bible is true  and the final standard of truth. "Ya think, Cowboy Bob?" Yes, I had to...

Even people who are not religious have been known to say that the arrival of a new baby into the world is a miracle. It could be rightly said that the birth event is a culmination of a whole suite of awesome circumstances. Conception itself is amazing, usually only one sperm cell reaches the egg. Many aspects of the development of the child in the womb have been documented, but we still cannot understand the ways of the Creator (Ecclesiastes 11:5).  Portrait of an Infant , Pierre-Auguste Renoir, 1881 Parents are responsible to bring them up "discipline and instruction of the Lord" (Ephesians 6:4). Many new parents look upon the new arrival and wonder what this new person will achieve in life. Of course, they may not seem "destined for greatness" and their greatest achievements may appear later in life. From conception through birth, a child testifies of the creator.  The phenomenal layers of design manifested in the biochemistry of the cell and the physiological an...

That is one ugly fish! Actually, more than one in this group. The stargazer is built with eyes on the top of its head (hence the name), and a downturned mouth reminiscent of  Grumpy Cat . Stargazers come in a range of sizes, and they have some startling traits. One is that it buries itself in the sand so it can hide or hunt. The bobtail squid does this as well. On land, there are snakes, lizards, spiders, and other things that hide in sand. Like the even uglier anglerfish of the deep sea, it has an appendage to use as a lure for prey. Stargazer, Flickr / Etienne Gosse ( CC BY 2.0 ) These traits and more that are rather startling are challenging to both evolutionists and biblical creationists. To simply assert evolution is not demonstrating it. Creationists need to provide plausible explanations as to what may have happened in the once very good creation to have a predator like this, including how the Creator frontloaded genetic information that was later modified. ‘Monster of the...

Although some Darwinists try to deny it, sexual reproduction has long been a problem for evolution. In fact, it refutes  evolution . The smallest of human cells are spermatozoa, and were once thought to be simple. At one time, cells were thought of as simple until scientists had better equipment and learned that they are amazingly complex. Sperm cells were thought of as simple cells even after other cells were discovered to be fascinating. They lacked certain features found in other cells and functioned differently. Scientists had plausible reasons for thinking they were simple but that all changed quite recently. False-color sperm cells, Flickr / SantaRosa Old Skool ( CC BY 2.0 ) One claim of dysteleology (alleged bad design, therefore there is no Creator) is the vas deferens , which provides transport for the little swimmers. Such a claim is completely refuted . There has been a passel of research on sexual reproduction, and although secularists light their prayer candles to Dar...

They honeybee may seem to be a simple creature, but it has been studied for centuries and many things have been learned in the past few decades; it is not  simple. Honeybees are surprisingly intelligent. People have probably heard of the waggle dance. It is   where a bee does an intricate dance that communicates to the rest of the gang where the goodies are located. This dance is like a language, needing senders and recipients. It goes into precise detail and was not decoded until late in the 20th century. Honeybees in honeycomb, Pixabay / PollyDot Basketball is often referred to as "b-ball." When bees split off from a hive that is getting too large, they take up temporary lodging that looks like a literal bee ball. Honeybees are known for being pollinators, which is important in food production for animals and humans. Yes, there are other pollinators, but if these bees went away, the results would be devastating. With all the specified complexities, believers in baryon-to-be...

Darwin skeptic Dr. James Tour has been in the news related to Intelligent Design lately, quite probably because he is a brilliant scientist and outspoken Christian. He issued a challenge to ten origin-of-life researchers , but not one rose to accept it. A few months back, he had a debate with atheopath Dave Farina. It did not go well. Farina is abusive and irrational, and Dr. Tour also got excited but was not offensive . Something similar happened with Drs. Tour and Cronin. My Pond-Full-o-Algae photo modified at PhotoFunia In a pair of articles by Casey Luskin, we learn that Dr. Lee Cronin agreed to have a public discussion with Dr. Tour. Apparently Cronin was civil, he still managed to say things that were untrue about Tour, and he spent a quite a bit of time focusing on his opponent rather than dealing with the science. James talked about origin-of-life science and its tremendous problems, but Lee seems to have avoided the subject for the most part. There was a recent exchange at The...

It has been said that dogs and cats can see things that we cannot. Based on some of their actions (including giving warnings and such), it may very well be true. We have trichromatic vision, which means all the colors we see are combinations of red, green, and blue. RGB codes are frequently used to get specific colors. Studies show that many critters see colors beyond our range, on into the ultraviolet. Someone took a notion to study the vision of an Asian swallowtail butterfly. It can see ultraviolet. Asian swallowtail butterfly, Flickr / Zorac&Visar ( CC BY-NC-SA 2.0 )  These flutterbyes can convert ultraviolet light into visible light — an example of specified complexity that defies evolution and testifies of the Creator's skill. Certain things in cancerous tissues are more concentrated and show up under UV light. Scientists are using biomimetics, drawing inspiration from the butterfly's vision, to work on a means of finding cancer! It’s something right out of science f...