I found Patrick Roberts's pieces on a recently released documentary, Ben Stein's Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed, well-written and thought provoking. I recommend them heartily.
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Showing posts with label ben stein. Show all posts
Showing posts with label ben stein. Show all posts
Wednesday, April 23, 2008
Friday, April 18, 2008
I saw "Expelled" and it is great!
Charles Darwin's "Origin of Species" is a useful tool in tracking minute changes within species over time. Perhaps. I'll give it that. Natural Selection is only a theory after all, and there are many questions left unanswered.
And unless something changes, it looks like they never will be answered, because the highly respected scientists who attempt to pursue it- from all walks of science- are being expelled from the scientific academy for daring even to ask, never mind delve into this line of scientific inquiry.
Darwin concluded his theory by stating: "Nothing at first can appear more difficult to believe than that the more complex organs and instincts have been perfected, not by means superior to, though analogous with, human reason, but by the accumulation of innumerable slight variations, each good for the individual possessor."
It is that start point that Darwin never answered. How did we get here in the first place? In Darwin's day, we liken his knowledge of the individual cell as a mud hut, to today's knowledge of the individual cell as a Saturn orbiter. Once the wealth of material inside a single cell becomes apparent; and even more astounding, how each cell communicates with each other cell, then we have some other lines of scientific inquiry to pursue, it is obvious to conclude.
"Where does the new genetic information come from as a mechanism to drive molecules-to-man evolution? Natural selection cannot explain the rise of new genetic information."
If as Darwin says, 'complex organisms have been perfected' it presumes a start point. Who started us on the road to perfection? Are we to take "The God Delusion" author Richard Dawkins' theory that aliens from other planets seeded us? Are we to take Dr. William Provine's theory that a fully complete molecule jumped onto "the backs of crystals"? And believe him when he asserts that the inanimate crystal-organic molecule spontaneous mutation is less preposterous than an Intelligent Designer? Yes, Provine said to Ben Stein. Yes, we are.
It is the start point that flummoxes the scientists, well, the Darwinists to be exact. Where did we come from? The scientists who want to pursue this inquiry where the evidence leads, but are not allowed to. If they insist, they are expelled.
See the movie. It is fair, despite what you will read in the papers, as reviews from mainstream newspapers are already panning the movie with incorrect facts and angry hyperbole. What are Darwinists so afraid of? Go see it for yourself. The interviewer Ben Stein did not make Dawkins said that aliens seeded us from other planets. Nor did he make him answer to the question 'where did those aliens come from? he conceded that a spontaneous jump start to life is impossible. He said that all on his own.
CNS news summarizes the documentary this way--
“Expelled” calls attention to the plight of highly credentialed scholars who have been forced out of prestigious academic positions because they proposed Intelligent Design as a possible alternative to Charles Darwin’s 150-year-old theories about the origins of life. Instead of entertaining a debate on the merits of competing theories, the scientific establishment has moved to suppress the Intelligent Design movement in a “systematic and ruthless” way at odds with America’s founding principles, the film asserts.
Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed, the movie, opened today. Theater locator at the movie's website
And unless something changes, it looks like they never will be answered, because the highly respected scientists who attempt to pursue it- from all walks of science- are being expelled from the scientific academy for daring even to ask, never mind delve into this line of scientific inquiry.
Darwin concluded his theory by stating: "Nothing at first can appear more difficult to believe than that the more complex organs and instincts have been perfected, not by means superior to, though analogous with, human reason, but by the accumulation of innumerable slight variations, each good for the individual possessor."
It is that start point that Darwin never answered. How did we get here in the first place? In Darwin's day, we liken his knowledge of the individual cell as a mud hut, to today's knowledge of the individual cell as a Saturn orbiter. Once the wealth of material inside a single cell becomes apparent; and even more astounding, how each cell communicates with each other cell, then we have some other lines of scientific inquiry to pursue, it is obvious to conclude.
"Where does the new genetic information come from as a mechanism to drive molecules-to-man evolution? Natural selection cannot explain the rise of new genetic information."
If as Darwin says, 'complex organisms have been perfected' it presumes a start point. Who started us on the road to perfection? Are we to take "The God Delusion" author Richard Dawkins' theory that aliens from other planets seeded us? Are we to take Dr. William Provine's theory that a fully complete molecule jumped onto "the backs of crystals"? And believe him when he asserts that the inanimate crystal-organic molecule spontaneous mutation is less preposterous than an Intelligent Designer? Yes, Provine said to Ben Stein. Yes, we are.
It is the start point that flummoxes the scientists, well, the Darwinists to be exact. Where did we come from? The scientists who want to pursue this inquiry where the evidence leads, but are not allowed to. If they insist, they are expelled.
See the movie. It is fair, despite what you will read in the papers, as reviews from mainstream newspapers are already panning the movie with incorrect facts and angry hyperbole. What are Darwinists so afraid of? Go see it for yourself. The interviewer Ben Stein did not make Dawkins said that aliens seeded us from other planets. Nor did he make him answer to the question 'where did those aliens come from? he conceded that a spontaneous jump start to life is impossible. He said that all on his own.
CNS news summarizes the documentary this way--
“Expelled” calls attention to the plight of highly credentialed scholars who have been forced out of prestigious academic positions because they proposed Intelligent Design as a possible alternative to Charles Darwin’s 150-year-old theories about the origins of life. Instead of entertaining a debate on the merits of competing theories, the scientific establishment has moved to suppress the Intelligent Design movement in a “systematic and ruthless” way at odds with America’s founding principles, the film asserts.
Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed, the movie, opened today. Theater locator at the movie's website
Tuesday, April 08, 2008
Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed
Netflix! Netflix! Netflix! Netflix!
I love it. I get movies sent to me in the convenience of my home, and there are thousands and thousands to choose from. Offbeat documentaries like yesterday's post about "Plagues and Pleasures on the Salton Sea." Today I am watching "Helvetica." This is a riveting documentary about a typefont. Now, I know that 'riveting' and 'documentary' rarely go together. And to put 'documentary' with 'typefont' has never been done in the history of mankind. But there you have it! Helvetica rocks! Summary from the movie's website:
"Helvetica is a feature-length independent film about typography, graphic design and global visual culture. It looks at the proliferation of one typeface (which is celebrating its 50th birthday this year) as part of a larger conversation about the way type affects our lives." How cool is that, a movie about a typeface! And it's interesting!
Another movie coming out, this one in the national theaters April 18, is "Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed." Do you remember Ben Stein from Ferris Bueller's Day Off? Anyone? Anyone?
Ben Stein, in the new film EXPELLED: No Intelligence Allowed, coming to a theater near you on April 18, 2008
"His heroic and, at times, shocking journey confronting the world’s top scientists, educators and philosophers, regarding the persecution of the many by an elite few. Ben travels the world on his quest, and learns an awe-inspiring truth…that bewilders him, then angers him…and then spurs him to action. Ben realizes that he has been “Expelled,” and that educators and scientists are being ridiculed, denied tenure and even fired – for the “crime” of merely believing that there might be evidence of “design” in nature, and that perhaps life is not just the result of accidental, random chance." Needless to say, the idea that there could something more to life than simple, random, monkey chance has sparked conversations around watercoolers from Seattle to Key West.
Yes! According to BlogPulse, "Something amazing happened just over a week ago. The controversy around Premise Media’s upcoming movie Ben Stein’s EXPELLED: No Intelligence Allowed became the hottest topic in the blogosphere. According to BlogPulse, a service of Nielsen Buzzmetrics, the issue held the number one slot throughout the day on Monday, March 24th. There were also over 800 results on Technorati."
The documentary is even-handed and Stein interviewed many, many scientists, from all points of view, and let them speak freely. I understand from reading reviews of those who have been granted advance screenings, that the film is about "the merits of Intelligent Design should be on the same level playing field as Evolutionary Theory. This film is about the freedom of speech, the freedom of ideas and ability to express those ideas...not about whether God created the heavens and the earth. The film’s main point was that Intelligent Design should be taught in conjunction with Evolution" because both have equal scientific merit. Can't wait for April 18! the movie website has a theater locator so you can check to see if it will be appearing in your area.
I love it. I get movies sent to me in the convenience of my home, and there are thousands and thousands to choose from. Offbeat documentaries like yesterday's post about "Plagues and Pleasures on the Salton Sea." Today I am watching "Helvetica." This is a riveting documentary about a typefont. Now, I know that 'riveting' and 'documentary' rarely go together. And to put 'documentary' with 'typefont' has never been done in the history of mankind. But there you have it! Helvetica rocks! Summary from the movie's website:
"Helvetica is a feature-length independent film about typography, graphic design and global visual culture. It looks at the proliferation of one typeface (which is celebrating its 50th birthday this year) as part of a larger conversation about the way type affects our lives." How cool is that, a movie about a typeface! And it's interesting!
Another movie coming out, this one in the national theaters April 18, is "Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed." Do you remember Ben Stein from Ferris Bueller's Day Off? Anyone? Anyone?
Ben Stein, in the new film EXPELLED: No Intelligence Allowed, coming to a theater near you on April 18, 2008
"His heroic and, at times, shocking journey confronting the world’s top scientists, educators and philosophers, regarding the persecution of the many by an elite few. Ben travels the world on his quest, and learns an awe-inspiring truth…that bewilders him, then angers him…and then spurs him to action. Ben realizes that he has been “Expelled,” and that educators and scientists are being ridiculed, denied tenure and even fired – for the “crime” of merely believing that there might be evidence of “design” in nature, and that perhaps life is not just the result of accidental, random chance." Needless to say, the idea that there could something more to life than simple, random, monkey chance has sparked conversations around watercoolers from Seattle to Key West.
Yes! According to BlogPulse, "Something amazing happened just over a week ago. The controversy around Premise Media’s upcoming movie Ben Stein’s EXPELLED: No Intelligence Allowed became the hottest topic in the blogosphere. According to BlogPulse, a service of Nielsen Buzzmetrics, the issue held the number one slot throughout the day on Monday, March 24th. There were also over 800 results on Technorati."
The documentary is even-handed and Stein interviewed many, many scientists, from all points of view, and let them speak freely. I understand from reading reviews of those who have been granted advance screenings, that the film is about "the merits of Intelligent Design should be on the same level playing field as Evolutionary Theory. This film is about the freedom of speech, the freedom of ideas and ability to express those ideas...not about whether God created the heavens and the earth. The film’s main point was that Intelligent Design should be taught in conjunction with Evolution" because both have equal scientific merit. Can't wait for April 18! the movie website has a theater locator so you can check to see if it will be appearing in your area.
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