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> Does following the scientific consensus on issues like anthropogenic global warming, evolution, and sex education make you a Democrat? The correlation is wit

by anamax 14y ago

> Does following the scientific consensus on issues like anthropogenic global warming, evolution, and sex education make you a Democrat? The correlation is with misunderstanding all three and coming to bogus conclusions. Let's take evolution. There are lots of folks, typically Democrats, who insist that it is fundamental to all of science. (Hint - that's clearly false. Disagree? How does evolution matter outside biology? Too hard? Name three biology subfields that don't work without evolution? Too hard? Name three things in biology that were predicted using evolution?) Democrats like to think that they're scientific, but .... Let's take the suggestion that state of mind affects conception in humans. Clearly false when Akin said it, but what does everyone say to a couple trying to get pregnant? Yup - "you've got to maintain a positive mental attitude." (I don't know whether mental attitude matters - I'm just pointing out the double-standard.)

MartinCron 14y ago
There are lots of folks, typically Democrats, who insist that it is fundamental to all of science You can't, on the basis of zero real evidence, dismiss the theory that best fits the known facts, without causing harm to the understanding of the scientific method as a whole. So it is not that the one theory is so critical to all of science, but the act of throwing it out because it offends religious sensibilities is damaging.
MaysonL 14y ago
So why are only 6% of scientists Republicans, when in Eisenhower's time it was 40%?
derleth 14y ago
> Hint - that's clearly false. Disagree? How does evolution matter outside biology? Too hard? Name three biology subfields that don't work without evolution? Too hard? Name three things in biology that were predicted using evolution? Gish Galloping wins you no support. It's a dishonest tactic that attempts to flood the opposition with questions that require more time to answer than they do to ask. It's a Denial of Service attack, not an argument. > Clearly false when Akin said it, but what does everyone say to a couple trying to get pregnant? Yup - "you've got to maintain a positive mental attitude." (I don't know whether mental attitude matters - I'm just pointing out the double-standard.) Because Akin was minimizing rape. He was trying to de-legitimize the experiences of victims of a violent crime. Do you really not understand how people get upset over that?
- anamax 14y ago
  > Because Akin was minimizing rape. No, he wasn't. He was trying to respond to the "what about rape" argument wrt abortion. I'm pro-abortion, but he's correct in saying that only a small fraction of abortions have anything to do with rape. (That said, age of consent and under the influence rape don't involve "negative mental state" that his argument requires.) I don't think that that fact is relevant, but it's dishonest to say that it isn't true.
btilly 14y ago
There are lots of folks, typically Democrats, who insist that it is fundamental to all of science. (Hint - that's clearly false. Disagree? Of course evolution is not fundamental to ALL of science. For instance chemistry is based on current measurements, not what happened in prehistory. But you are overstating your position. How does evolution matter outside biology? Evolution matters to geology because specific fossils are often used as a cross-reference for the age of specific rocks. Indeed such "indicator fossils" are important economically because of how they are used in oil exploration. There are also applications of fossils to astronomy, for instance fossil corals have been used to verify how the number of days in a year have changed over time. Too hard? Name three biology subfields that don't work without evolution? 1. The study of evolution itself. 2. Ecology. A very large part of ecology is based on understanding the Evolutionarily Stable Strategies of living organisms. For everything from mating to parenting behaviors, what animals do is explained by how it is selected for evolutionarily. 3. Taxonomy. We classify living organisms based on the best guesses we can come up with for where their ancestors were in the evolutionary tree. We reconstruct those trees using everything from physical characteristics to molecular genetics. NONE of it makes any sense without common descent. Too hard? Name three things in biology that were predicted using evolution?) 1. (Prediction made by Charles Darwin. Confirmed many decades later by Leakey's discovery of Lucy and other fossils.) Fossils for early humans would be localized to Africa. Based on homology, humans are clearly an ape. Since existing ape species are mostly found in Africa, our ancestors are likely to be found in Africa as well. 2. (Prediction made by Edmond O. Wilson, later confirmed by him) In slaver ants, male and female babies should be treated equally if there is a good supply of slaves, and should be treated unequally (as they are in most ants) if there aren't. The cause of the unequal treatment of males and females in an ant colony is that a quirk of genetics causes females to share 75% of genes with sisters, and only 50% with parents or brothers. Therefore female ants are willing to devote their lives to the production of more sisters. This causes preferential behavior for female larvae. In slaver ants this disappears because the slaves are controlled by the queen who is equally related to sons and daughters. Remove the slaves, and the daughters express their genetic preference. 3. (Made and confirmed many times by a variety of people.) Pylogenetic reconstructions of evolutionary tree are robust to the specific set of characteristics chosen for that reconstruction. The branching in characteristics reflects the actual ancestry of the animals, and so two sets characteristics will tend to reveal the same ancestral branching pattern. (There are exceptions where common evolutionary pressures cause disparate animals to have similar adaptations. But these are well-understood.) Now let me guess. You don't believe in evolution, believe that you understand science, and it surprises you that I'd actually find your challenge easy. If so I would urge you to open up your mind, go to http://www.talkorigins.org/ http://www.talkorigins.org/, and educate yourself.
MartinCron 14y ago
I don't see the point in finding three of anything (is this Super Mario Bros?) but I was reminded of a great prediction made possible by the theory of evolution and thought it would be fun to share with people interested in the history of science. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xanthopan_morgani http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xanthopan_morgani
philwelch 14y ago
Are you being deliberately obtuse? The reason prospective parents trying to conceive are told to keep a "positive mental attitude" is because it can be a long, frustrating process, and it doesn't help if you're too frustrated to want sex.

by anamax 14y ago

MartinCron 14y ago

There are lots of folks, typically Democrats, who insist that it is fundamental to all of science You can't, on the basis of zero real evidence, dismiss the theory that best fits the known facts, without causing harm to the understanding of the scientific method as a whole. So it is not that the one theory is so critical to all of science, but the act of throwing it out because it offends religious sensibilities is damaging.

MaysonL 14y ago

So why are only 6% of scientists Republicans, when in Eisenhower's time it was 40%?

derleth 14y ago

> Hint - that's clearly false. Disagree? How does evolution matter outside biology? Too hard? Name three biology subfields that don't work without evolution? Too hard? Name three things in biology that were predicted using evolution? Gish Galloping wins you no support. It's a dishonest tactic that attempts to flood the opposition with questions that require more time to answer than they do to ask. It's a Denial of Service attack, not an argument. > Clearly false when Akin said it, but what does everyone say to a couple trying to get pregnant? Yup - "you've got to maintain a positive mental attitude." (I don't know whether mental attitude matters - I'm just pointing out the double-standard.) Because Akin was minimizing rape. He was trying to de-legitimize the experiences of victims of a violent crime. Do you really not understand how people get upset over that?

anamax 14y ago
> Because Akin was minimizing rape. No, he wasn't. He was trying to respond to the "what about rape" argument wrt abortion. I'm pro-abortion, but he's correct in saying that only a small fraction of abortions have anything to do with rape. (That said, age of consent and under the influence rape don't involve "negative mental state" that his argument requires.) I don't think that that fact is relevant, but it's dishonest to say that it isn't true.

btilly 14y ago

There are lots of folks, typically Democrats, who insist that it is fundamental to all of science. (Hint - that's clearly false. Disagree? Of course evolution is not fundamental to ALL of science. For instance chemistry is based on current measurements, not what happened in prehistory. But you are overstating your position. How does evolution matter outside biology? Evolution matters to geology because specific fossils are often used as a cross-reference for the age of specific rocks. Indeed such "indicator fossils" are important economically because of how they are used in oil exploration. There are also applications of fossils to astronomy, for instance fossil corals have been used to verify how the number of days in a year have changed over time. Too hard? Name three biology subfields that don't work without evolution? 1. The study of evolution itself. 2. Ecology. A very large part of ecology is based on understanding the Evolutionarily Stable Strategies of living organisms. For everything from mating to parenting behaviors, what animals do is explained by how it is selected for evolutionarily. 3. Taxonomy. We classify living organisms based on the best guesses we can come up with for where their ancestors were in the evolutionary tree. We reconstruct those trees using everything from physical characteristics to molecular genetics. NONE of it makes any sense without common descent. Too hard? Name three things in biology that were predicted using evolution?) 1. (Prediction made by Charles Darwin. Confirmed many decades later by Leakey's discovery of Lucy and other fossils.) Fossils for early humans would be localized to Africa. Based on homology, humans are clearly an ape. Since existing ape species are mostly found in Africa, our ancestors are likely to be found in Africa as well. 2. (Prediction made by Edmond O. Wilson, later confirmed by him) In slaver ants, male and female babies should be treated equally if there is a good supply of slaves, and should be treated unequally (as they are in most ants) if there aren't. The cause of the unequal treatment of males and females in an ant colony is that a quirk of genetics causes females to share 75% of genes with sisters, and only 50% with parents or brothers. Therefore female ants are willing to devote their lives to the production of more sisters. This causes preferential behavior for female larvae. In slaver ants this disappears because the slaves are controlled by the queen who is equally related to sons and daughters. Remove the slaves, and the daughters express their genetic preference. 3. (Made and confirmed many times by a variety of people.) Pylogenetic reconstructions of evolutionary tree are robust to the specific set of characteristics chosen for that reconstruction. The branching in characteristics reflects the actual ancestry of the animals, and so two sets characteristics will tend to reveal the same ancestral branching pattern. (There are exceptions where common evolutionary pressures cause disparate animals to have similar adaptations. But these are well-understood.) Now let me guess. You don't believe in evolution, believe that you understand science, and it surprises you that I'd actually find your challenge easy. If so I would urge you to open up your mind, go to http://www.talkorigins.org/ http://www.talkorigins.org/, and educate yourself.

MartinCron 14y ago

I don't see the point in finding three of anything (is this Super Mario Bros?) but I was reminded of a great prediction made possible by the theory of evolution and thought it would be fun to share with people interested in the history of science. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xanthopan_morgani http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xanthopan_morgani

philwelch 14y ago

Are you being deliberately obtuse? The reason prospective parents trying to conceive are told to keep a "positive mental attitude" is because it can be a long, frustrating process, and it doesn't help if you're too frustrated to want sex.