An up and coming contender to the theory of evolution is an idea called "Intelligent Design". This hypothesis states that some kind of intelligence created all life, as it is too complex to have "just happened". Although many of the proponents of this theory happen to be Christian Fundamentalists it is hard to simply brand the theory as "Obviously Religious Idiocy Parading as Science".
Among the many arguments for ID is the following thought experiment:
Imagine a tornado blowing through a scrap yard. It is completely infeasible for us to expect that the random blowing about of mechanical items would ever form something as complex as a Boeing 747. However, we are expected to believe that random mutations over time formed human beings who are much more complicated than a 747.
Admittedly this is not so much an argument for Intelligent Design as it is a fallacious and misleading argument against evolution but the point still stands. Despite not having the ability to fly it is hard to argue against the claim that human beings are more complicated than a plane.
As we all know, evolution clearly states that we randomly evolved from monkeys and, before that, rocks. It is, as they say, infeasible.
Some scientists arrogantly dismiss ID out of hand, stating that is not science because it
"cannot be tested by experiment, does not generate any predictions, and proposes no new hypotheses of their own."
but that's just being picky - You could make the same argument about babies (except for the bit about experimenting on them) but those same scientists would not dare suggest that we should kill every child in the world. The hypocrisy of the status quo rears again.
One of the most insightful and revealing books that explain Intelligent Design is "Of Pandas and people", a scientific tome that explores the strong foundational evidence for ID and points out the structural weaknesses in evolution - the foundations of which, it turns out, are entirely composed of jelly.
Although an excellent textbook it does drop the ball slightly in one chapter, in which the title of the book is mistaken for one of the tenets of evolution. This segment, impeccably researched and written, spends a total of fifty-seven pages destroying the myth that pandas and people are identical in every way. The chapter rails hard against the claim and can, perhaps, be summed up with the first three sentences from the chapter itself:
"Pandas are nothing like people. They are covered in hair ALL OVER and eat mainly bamboo. No people I've ever met have even tasted bamboo!"
This chapter has since been removed from further editions.
All in all, this seems like a very exciting and promising scientific idea. Let's hope things develop on this front. Disinfranchise, as ever, will keep you posted.
Hatred is, and always has been, an important motivational force in science. The feeling that you would, not only gladly kill, but that it would actually arouse was the foundation to many of the most amazing discoveries throughout the ages. Data has clearly demonstrated that the greatest scientists have always been recently spurned lovers, sufferers of bipolar disorder, rape victims or some combination of those.
