Merry & Happy

I know I'm early with the holiday greeting, but I'm late everywhere else. I had this idea that when I started working on my book, the blog would coordinate beautifully with what I would be doing. Well, I was wrong.

For one thing, December always seems the busiest month of our year. It even vies with the summer months which always go by so swiftly. And for another, my research includes time-consuming reading and is not at the writing stage yet. Perhaps by 2010 it will start falling into more of a rhythm of reading and writing.

Thinking back over the blog, I expected from the start to write about varied subjects, not just Intelligent Design Theory (ID). It took me a long while to get to those topics, and when I did I found myself distracted and wanting to return to ID. I've surprised myself that my main focus continues to be ID. So, I'm basically planning to keep to ID and related subjects from now on. (Maybe I'll change my mind again but I won't try to predict 5 years down the road.)

So, have a great holiday season and I will see you back here in the year 2010! Imagine that!

Bad Climate

There was a hacking of the Climatic Research Unit (updated link HERE) in November that has got the world looking (Wikipedia description of the incident HERE). If the e-mails and other recent circumstances surrounding them truly represent the involved scientists--there and at other eminent research facilities--these people have a disregard for truth and actually plot against anyone who disagrees with them.

I have not previously commented about the climate-change controversies. I think we must be concerned about pollution, although some forms of it are worse than others. However at Uncommon Descent, William Dembski's blog, it has been an ongoing topic. Many there feel the scientific evidence for global warming has been lacking. They notice in climate scientists an attitude similar to that held by Darwinians--that there can be no questioning of their theories. In the climate case, the cost to humanity is in the trillions of dollars, not to mention time and effort wasted if the warming is not even true (apparently some data is showing global cooling).

It is unfortunate that all those who want to promote the Intelligent Design concept seem to be victims of similar mindsets concerning Darwinian evolution. There may be no questioning, and if the data do not fit Darwinian evolution, the data is ignored. The same holds for the mindset of the media. They promote the Darwinian agenda, and hold back the facts that obviously refute it. This is one reason why the Internet and independent agencies are so important.

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Image link HERE. (2019 Update: image no longer at link.)

New ID Link

I've found another ID blog that discusses the latest breakthroughs in physiology research. It is "Darwin's God" by Cornelius Hunter, found HERE, and I will put it on my links in the right column.

Perhaps the ID people sound a little repetitive. That can be good, as I've said before (ha ha). For most people, complex science does not stick the first time. When I am confronted with something I've never seen and/or don't understand, I take in as much as I can. I let my brain play with it, and usually some questions come to mind. Often there will be terms I've never heard. What does this word mean? There are wonderful tools on the Internet for finding out. Though Wikipedia may not be respected as an academic reference, the descriptive language aside from technical terms is fairly understandable to the lay person. And it has links to other terms, so you can keep following it until you connect with something you can relate to. It also has pictures in many of its entries, a big help when it comes to DNA, RNA, proteins, etc.

When you have a chance to look for further and more accurate information, there's the National Center for Biotechnology Information, which even provides a section with textbooks of biology, microbiology, statistical evaluations, etc. Then there's always your local library, with real people called reference librarians who are happy to help you.

You may even want to go to a talk or take a class about Intelligent Design Theory. The more experts there are in the field, the more of these that will be available. They can help you learn the facts of science that you don't normally hear from regular scientists, especially as they are quoted in the media. Some facts just don't come to light in our culture and you have to dig for them.

Intelligent Design Theory is controversial, and people should become informed about controversial issues. Don't be afraid of facts. You don't have to take a test each time you try to learn something new. The world is fascinating, and the more you learn, the more you will want to know.