I don't want to get into the Intelligent Design vs Science debate on this blog. Really, I don't. But, damn!, this is just such an excellent piece:
Philadelphia Inquirer | 02/05/2006 | A scientific leap, but without the faith:In the Dover courtroom, proponents of intelligent design could be heard repeating their mantra: "Evolution is just a theory. It's not a fact." Scientists would then point out the categorical error: A theory is a framework to explain the facts. A theory is one level up from fact, so the mantra ought to go, "Evolution is not just a fact. It's a theory."
The theory of intelligent design is not only not falsifiable; there is simply no way to test it. But that is not the main reason it is not science. The main reason is, that ID does not actually explain anything. When we ask, "Why is the world the way it is?" it answers, "Because it was designed that way." The world is the way it is because it is that way. That might be the furthest from a useful, satisfactory explanation you can get.
I almost posted the whole thing, but just head on over to the site and get educated.
[Edited an hour later] Okay, I feel that, since I've actually broached the subject on this blog I'd better, at least, point to something on the other side of the divide and...well, I think I'll just point. As we've seen on a previous entry, there's very little rational thought goes into these discussions, and I certainly am not rational when it comes to this debate. I suggest therefore, if the reader actually requires some background into the debate...google for Intelligent Design (or click on the Technorati link below), and if you find anything intelligent about it...join one of the forums.
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