Bad news for Creationists: archeologists have discovered yet another transitional fossil

Archeologists in Canada have discovered the fossil of a previously unknown species that shows features of both land- and water-dwelling mammals. Though not a direct ancestor of modern seals, the fossil nevertheless gives clues to how today's water-dwelling mammals evolved. One begins to wonder how complete the fossil record needs to be before Creationists admit they've been wrong all along. Something tells me no amount of completeness will ever satisfy them.

Continue ReadingBad news for Creationists: archeologists have discovered yet another transitional fossil

Creationists blather their way through Darwin Day

If you visit Ken Ham's creationist site, you'll see an article titled, "Did humans really evolve from ape-like creatures?" Here's a key concern raised in this article:

Perhaps the most bitter pill to swallow for any Christian who attempts to “make peace” with Darwin is the presumed ape ancestry of man.

It's difficult to believe the ignorance displayed by this sentence. Why can't creationists understand that not only did humans evolve from other ape-like creatures (the scientific evidence is abundant and irrefutable), but that humans are apes. Check the features listed here:

The similarities can be seen throughout our bodies. For instance, humans and the African apes all lack external tails and have hands with a thumb that is sufficiently separate from the other fingers to allow them to be opposable for precision grips. Humans are also sexually dimorphic--males are 5-10% larger on average and have greater upper body muscular development. Like chimpanzees and bonobos, we are omnivorous. We kill other animals for food in addition to eating a wide variety of plants. Internally, our bodies are even more similar to the great apes. We have essentially the same arrangement of internal organs and bones. We share several important blood types. We also get many of the same diseases.

Continue ReadingCreationists blather their way through Darwin Day

It’s time to abolish “Darwinism”

Writing on a NYT blog, Olivia Judson argues that we should abolish "Darwinism." Here's what she means: I’d like to abolish the insidious terms Darwinism, Darwinist and Darwinian. They suggest a false narrowness to the field of modern evolutionary biology, as though it was the brainchild of a single person…

Continue ReadingIt’s time to abolish “Darwinism”

Creationists take young children on a tour of Denver’s Museum of Nature and Science

The place is the Denver Museum of Nature and Science. The outcome is predictable, but this video is nonetheless worth watching to appreciate the extent to which the creationists intentionally deceive themselves. Along the way, the creationist teachers work hard to avoid considering evidence that disproves their bizarre religious beliefs.…

Continue ReadingCreationists take young children on a tour of Denver’s Museum of Nature and Science