Over at Malkin's HotAir blog, there is an Expelled thread with over a thousand comments so far. As a scientist type (MS math-stat) who works in DSP(digital signal processing) and IP(image processing) and SF(sensor fusion) every day, I completely don't get Ben Stein's postulate that the scientific "orthodoxy" is repressing freedom of scientific inquiry as exemplified by Intelligent Design Theory (IDT).
Because Science is the ultimate freemarketplace of ideas. If you bring a better model, people will buy it.
Just like the flat earth model was replaced by the geo-centric model which was replaced in turn by the helio-centric model.
IDT was the orthodoxy.
TOE(theory of evolution) is the heresy, the better model that supercedes the old.
In a way, Ben Stein is trying to force us to buy last years model when we already have this years.
The comments on that megathread are amazing though.
What I call the Sandwichboard guys are out in force.
We are being lied to about our history!
Now, what are the fruits of the evolutionists lies?
85% of kids who grow up in a Christian home and go to a public school end up leaving Christianity by the time they are in 12th grade!
When asked about why they left...they say "Because science disproves the Bible."
Is anyone here foolish enough to debate that this is anything but the work of the anti-Christ spirit?
I have already proven that evolution was a part of sumerian theology and that the sumerians were known followers of the fallen angels.
Satan has always been the father of lies!
SaintOlaf on April 19, 2008 at 3:22 AM
The mormon polygamy ranch children were told that everyone outside the gates of the compound they were raised in were satanists.
A main theme of Expelled is that Darwinism is teh Satan.
Here is a slightly better-educated Sandwichboard Guy, Jonah Golberg.
I do think Darwinism led to Nazism, in a sense. But that's because I see Nazism as one of many responses to modernism. And Darwin, for good and ill, represents the rise of modern science — along with Einstein and others. Nazism and Communism and Progressivism were all impossible without the industrial revolution, Darwinism, relativism, mechanized warfare, mass production, etc. They were reactionary responses to these things. Those responses amounted to an express rejection of the conservative and libertarian vision of society, which is why they were leftwing.
Oh great.
Because I believe in theory of relativity and theory of evolution, i must be a facist, a marxist, a communist, or, [heh] a liberal?
What does Stein think will be accomplished by this fake-umentery?
(No, Berg, you are wrong)
Does Stein think that suddenly the doors of academe will swing open to embrace IDT?
Hardly.
Expelled is simple identity politics. It validates the basic christian fears that the highly-educated think they are stupid. And delivers a memetic smackdown to those arrogant scientist types.
But Expelled is completely unecessary....IDT is already being discussed in many, many, colleges and universities.
Unless.....those are not REAL universities and REAL scientists?
From our perspective, we sciencey types just see Expelled as another Wedge Strategy tactic designed to try and force us to buy last years model.
So I think I'm on the side of the angels on this. It is really Science and Academe arrayed against Stein, the Sandwichboard Guys, the Discovery Institute, the Religious Right and the patriarchial daddies of the FLDS.
You better hope we win.
Otherwise the Handmaid's Tale is a lot closer than you think.