Math vs. ID (among other things)

Found this great math blog via (of course) Pharyngula.
The basic premise is to demonstrate both good and bad use of mathematics.
So far, every post has been well worth reading; the most recent post deals with irreducible complexity.

Found this great math blog via (of course) Pharyngula.
The basic premise is to demonstrate both good and bad use of mathematics.
So far, every post has been well worth reading; the most recent post deals with irreducible complexity.

OK, the problem here is along the lines of what we say at work about numbers: You have lies, damn lies and statistics. I forget the source of the quote, but you get the idea. Now, the real reason we have the problem is because the majority of the population is actually not smart. OK, I realize that this likely comes as quite a shock to some of you, but, yes, it is true. ;) As my 19-year old son says, and I quoted him somewhere else on this, "An IQ of 100 is stupid". I suspect that xtians just like the warm and fuzzy feeling they get by "knowing" that there is a god, and having a representative here on earth to help them in their travails. That abdication of reason and self-help with regards to the world is what allows people like Behe and company (for example) to pull the wool over their eyes. When one considers that rudimentary probabilty and statistics (AND some fairly sophisticated concepts) can be taught to your average fourth-grader, it pretty much sets the tone for that abdication. Like the Choobs in this regard, I think that there is a burden on the educational system to provide an explanation that makes sense to a student, when asked, or if that happens to be your job, to explain it. Anything else is moral bankruptcy, and/or stealing a student's money.

OK, the problem here is along the lines of what we say at work about numbers: You have lies, damn lies and statistics. I forget the source of the quote, but you get the idea. Now, the real reason we have the problem is because the majority of the population is actually not smart. OK, I realize that this likely comes as quite a shock to some of you, but, yes, it is true. ;) As my 19-year old son says, and I quoted him somewhere else on this, "An IQ of 100 is stupid". I suspect that xtians just like the warm and fuzzy feeling they get by "knowing" that there is a god, and having a representative here on earth to help them in their travails. That abdication of reason and self-help with regards to the world is what allows people like Behe and company (for example) to pull the wool over their eyes. When one considers that rudimentary probabilty and statistics (AND some fairly sophisticated concepts) can be taught to your average fourth-grader, it pretty much sets the tone for that abdication. Like the Choobs in this regard, I think that there is a burden on the educational system to provide an explanation that makes sense to a student, when asked, or if that happens to be your job, to explain it. Anything else is moral bankruptcy, and/or stealing a student's money.

I believe the source of the Damn Lies quote is Samuel Clemens.

I believe the source of the Damn Lies quote is Samuel Clemens.

[Tenspace]

ocmpoma wrote

I believe the source of the Damn Lies quote is Samuel Clemens.

Correct. Either him or Mark Twain, I forget which. ;)

[Tenspace]

ocmpoma wrote

I believe the source of the Damn Lies quote is Samuel Clemens.

Correct. Either him or Mark Twain, I forget which. ;)

[Sternwallow]

Tenspace wrote

Correct. Either him or Mark Twain, I forget which. ;)

Reminds me of the scholar who spent 17 years of his life proving that the Illead was not written by Homer, but by another Greek with the same name! RAH

[Sternwallow]

Tenspace wrote

Correct. Either him or Mark Twain, I forget which. ;)

Reminds me of the scholar who spent 17 years of his life proving that the Illead was not written by Homer, but by another Greek with the same name! RAH