Month: September 2009
David Berlinski on the Darwinian Guild
ENV: Darwinism is fiercely guarded by a scientific guild. What does the guild have at stake in this? Prestige? Money? To some observers, the defense seems impermeable. Do you see cracks in the fortress wall opening up?DB: Fiercely guarded, but not, mind you, effectively guarded. If the Darwinian Guild, to adapt your phrase (since science has nothing to do with it), was interested in rational self promotion, the Guild would have never allowed its members to display in public their characteristic attitude of invincible arrogance and sheep-like stupidity. Just listen to them as they limber up in the insult room: Dumbski, Little Mikey Behe, Stevie Meyer (a regression to school yard taunts irresistible at both the Panda’s Thumb and Talk Read More ›
Dr. John DeVincenzo, R.I.P.
Dr. John DeVincenzo, a distinguished California businessman, orchardist and community leader, died this week, a loss to leadership on many levels. He is remembered in the San Luis Obispo Tribune also as “a dedicated family man – energetic, funny, full of life and always pushing the limits on traditional thinking.” Dr. DeVincenzo professionally was an orthodontist who was generous with his skills and resources. Throughout the past decade he was an enthusiastic supporter of Discovery Institute and its Center for Science and Culture. We note with final gratitude that the family has named Discovery Institute as one of John’s favorite charities. Those who wish to help further our work in his memory can do so by utilizing this online link Read More ›
Who Influenced David Berlinski?
ENV: Did anyone in particular, a colleague or friend, influence the conclusions you reach in these essays?DB: No, I don’t think so. Daniel Gallin has been an influence on my thinking, but our friendship ended more almost thirty years ago, and so his influence is no longer of this time or place. Daniel introduced me to model theory. That was his gift to me. After studying with Church at Princeton, I regarded model theory as an immersion into cool water. Such ease, such elegance, such freedom! Had I stayed in mathematics as a research mathematician, I would have stayed in model theory. In the 1980s, I wrote a monograph for the Princeton University Press in which I reached the conclusion Read More ›
Signature in the Cell called a “profound, hugely important book”
Today’s commentary at Breakpoint is about Stephen Meyer’s Signature in the Cell, which they hail as a “landmark book about intelligent design“, adding that it is a “profound, hugely important book.”You can read it and listen to it here.
An Interview with Devil’s Delusion Author David Berlinski
David Berlinski has been accused of being many things, but speechless is not one of them. Here is is a short interview clip from ID The Future where he addresses a range of scientific and philosophical issues that he expanded on his book The Devil’s Delusion, which has just this week been released in paperback from Basic Books.