(no subject)

[taerowyn]

Hee! Great column on Intelligent Design and the difference between a scientific theory and a religious belief wrapped up in scientific language. My favorite passage is this:

Here's what it's like. Suppose there were a conference on child development and parenting. And some people are saying that children should start early on a rigorous academic program, and others are saying no, they should have real childhoods and be allowed to develop their creative abilities naturally. And some people say that children should get regular allowances, and others say, no, children should always do chores to get money. And some people say children should get complete sex education and access to birth control devices as soon as they reach puberty, and others say no, that just encourages promiscuity and reinforces our society's unhealthy preoccupation with sex.

And then someone says, "We should throw pingpong balls at them. All day, every day, we should throw pingpong balls at our children. It just seems like the right thing to do."

That's the role of the intelligent design people in serious discussions about the nature and the origin of life. They are the pingpong-ball people. They're not even talking about the same thing. They have an agenda. They want to change the subject.

I think that from here on out, any discussion of intelligent design should require that the proponents be referred to as the pinpong-ball people.

Comments

[pootrootbeer.livejournal.com]

"PING PONG BALLS?"

(Captain Kangaroo is deluged by a shower of ping pong balls)

I think parents should allow their children to watch Captain Kangaroo if they choose, but it should not be mandated as part of a school curriculum.

may be related

[dwarf.livejournal.com]

A long ago ex-girlfriend and I used to sing a song... it was to the tune of Rossini's William Tell Overture, and the words went:
You've got a head like a ping pong ball
You've got a head like a ping pong ball
You've got a head like a ping pong ball
Piiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiing
PING PONG BALL!
So now we have a phrase for the silly people and a song to sing to them!

dwarf

Re: may be related

[taerowyn.livejournal.com]

And that will forever be in my head whenever I read about Intelligent Design...