150th anniversary of Charles Darwin's theory of natural selection

[petpiranha]

One for Les, I spotted this in today's channel 4 mailout.

AND ON MORE 4 NEWS WITH KYLIE MORRIS
Always first for breaking news, we have a look at today's 150th anniversary of Charles Darwin's theory of natural selection. There is now virtual unanimity among scientists that natural selection and the theory of evolution which it, er, evolved into, is correct.

Who would have thunk it?

[LesMTS]

And there was a brilliant piece of evolutionary research published in the last month too.
A truly beautiful wee experiment: http://scienceblogs.com/loom/2008/06..._evolution.php

Hilariously, it led to brilliant correspondence between the guy who wrote the paper and the owner of "conservapaedia", who used the classic fingers in the ears, "I can't hear you", defense. This can all be read here: http://www.badscience.net/2008/06/al...ionist-pwnage/

[GreatKingRat]

And I just ordered The Blind Watchmaker on the back of Les' recommendation (albeit 5 months late.)

SPOOKY. Does this unlikely coincidence prove there are superior forces at work?

[djtoast]

150 years and it's still a theory? honestly, if they haven't managed to prove it yet they should just give up on the idea and start looking for more realistic explanations.

maybe dulux will introduce a new paint for the unique colour Les just went

[djtoast]

Originally Posted by LesMTS

And there was a brilliant piece of evolutionary research published in the last month too.
A truly beautiful wee experiment: http://scienceblogs.com/loom/2008/06..._evolution.php

Hilariously, it led to brilliant correspondence between the guy who wrote the paper and the owner of "conservapaedia", who used the classic fingers in the ears, "I can't hear you", defense. This can all be read here: http://www.badscience.net/2008/06/al...ionist-pwnage/

if i get sacked for paying almost no attention to my job tonight, i shall expect you to feed, clothe and house me, Mr. MTS

[corky]

Originally Posted by djtoast

150 years and it's still a theory? honestly, if they haven't managed to prove it yet they should just give up on the idea and start looking for more realistic explanations.

maybe dulux will introduce a new paint for the unique colour Les just went

I agree, same with gravity.

[petpiranha]

from Les' second link:

"...because even the people who run Conservapedia find it hard to tell whether the edits are being made by god-fearing americans or naughty satirists."

Surely there's an Onion story in here somewhere?

[MarkMono]

Originally Posted by djtoast

150 years and it's still a theory? honestly, if they haven't managed to prove it yet they should just give up on the idea and start looking for more realistic explanations.

maybe dulux will introduce a new paint for the unique colour Les just went

Everything in science is a theory, one of the major things I like about it.

[Dario]

Originally Posted by petpiranha

from Les' second link:

"...because even the people who run Conservapedia find it hard to tell whether the edits are being made by god-fearing americans or naughty satirists."

Surely there's an Onion story in here somewhere?

Poe's Law applies perfectly.

In fact, included in that very same link:

Real-life examples

* One Conservapedia editor, for some degree of time, explained transitional forms as genetic hybrids created by Noah's super technologically advanced peers.
* Conservapedia was, and still is, rife with such examples. For example this entry which remained for some time, and explained how exploding volcanoes in the Mt Ararat region were responsible for distributing animals after the flood.