Happy Darwin Day!

February 12, 2009 is the 200th birthday of Charles Darwin, quite possibly one of the most important figures in human history. I'm not saying the most, but definitely somewhere in the top 100.

But why, you may ask, is there so much emphasis put on this man and his writings?

Why are his theories so important?

I'm glad you asked that question. If you weren't going to ask, screw you. I hope you would have asked eventually.

Darwin's theories on evolution and natural selection are important for three huge reasons.

First, they show us how life took the shape that it has today, and how it got there. Modern biological research would probably not exist in its current form if it wasn't for the the theory of natural selection.

Second, his writings showed the world that, for the first time, something complex could come from something simple, working either on its own or under a specific series of guidelines. As humans, we're used to thinking of time based off of our lifetimes, so we tend to think that if it doesn't change during our tiny lifespans, then it must not change. But the Universe works a heck of a lot differently than we do, and it has much more time. While a million years might seem like a long time for us, it is merely a day or a week in the history of the Earth. Also, natural selection showed how a species can create its own path in this world by selective breeding. I'll get into more detail about that in another post.

Finally, and of possibly greatest importance for future generations, Darwin showed humanity for the first time how life can exist without God. I'm not saying there weren't Atheists before Darwin, but they had it much harder than we do today, and not just because of the Catholics (The Inquisition, what a show). They didn't have an explanation as to how the world began, how life began, or how the Universe started. They had a likely supposition, but that was it. They were lacking evidence and a theory. Because of this, a lot of people were Deists - They didn't believe in a personal god like Yahweh or Allah, but because they didn't have a God-Free explanation for the world around them like we do today, they were forced to say that some kind of "Grand Architect" made the laws of the universe and of science. (BTW, the founding fathers were Deists. Why do you think we have a separation of Church and State, but not one mention of JC and the Holy Ghost in the Constitution?)

But, Darwin and Natural Selection changed this. Even though he never specifically pointed out humans in his work, it was certainly implied that we evolved to become the hairless (some more than others) bipedal primates that wear hats and talk that you see today. Because the problem that people realized with a divine creator, whether or not they were directly involved with the design of life, was the problem of infinite regression. Let's say God created the world. Then who created God? And who created God's Creator? And who created God's Creator's Creator? And who created God's Creator's Creator's Creator? Ad Infinitum. Instead, we saw how something simple, given enough time and proper conditions, could create something complex. With Natural Selection and Evolution, the role of God was reduced from Creator to Annoying Voyeur. It went from being Parent to Babysitter. And some parts of humanity have shown that we no longer need a babysitter.

I know I probably won't see it in my lifetime, but I'd like to see us evolve past religion. Maybe if people weren't so convinced that there was an afterlife, they might stop and enjoy the only one we're guaranteed.

Happy Darwin Day!

The Great Design Argument

This post is in honor of Darwin Day coming up later this week. I don't know if I'll be able to post that day, so here is a little something.

One of the most common arguments I see in favor of Creationism is the Design Argument. Basically, here's how it goes:

Of course there is a God. Look at "PLACE ITEM HERE" It's too complicated to simply spring up from nothing. It had to be created by God.

Three problems with this.

First is the basic assumption that not only that God exists, but he/she/it created something. Second, the person making this argument either doesn't understand how something simple can create something complex, or they lack imagination. Most likely both. Third, the thing they try to point out as proof of design is usually poorly designed to begin with. If God made it, he sucks as a designer.

Let's break this argument down one piece at a time.

First, the assumption of God's existence. When arguing with a Creationist or Apologetic or just a regular run-of-the-mill religious person, they think that God's existence is as obvious as the grass on the field or my growing bald spot. Arguing God's existence not only detracts from the Creationism battle, but gives them more ammunition in the confrontation. Better to leave this be for a while.

Second is the blatant and complete misunderstanding of Science. Most often, they sucked at Science class to begin with, but since it contradicted their beliefs, no emphasis was placed on it as a kid. Personally, I think their parents should be brought up on child abuse charges for stuff like this, but I digress. The first and natural reaction would be to beat them over the head with Darwin and Dawkins. Don't. They're expecting that, and they're prepared for a battle. Instead, calmly ask them what they know of evolution and biology. Do not, under any circumstances, get mad. If you get mad, they win. Also, keep asking them questions. If they ask a question, answer it and then ask something else. If they ask "Do you think we came from monkeys?" Respond with "No, we share a common ancestor. Why, is that you were taught? Who taught you this? When did you learn this?" It's psychological, really. The person who asked the last question has the power.

Finally, there is the item they point out as proof of design. While at first glance it might look like perfection, look a little closer. The eye is poorly designed with blood vessels running over top of the lens, forcing us to hallucinate every waking moment. The ankles are very complex, yet have a tendency to break easily. Our lower backs, while adapted to walking upright, are not designed to carry large loads. The world itself is a terrible example of design, especially if you corner them into the "The world was made for us" trap. If the world was made for us, why is 3/4 covered in water that we can't use? It's like making the AC unit three times the size of the house. It just doesn't make sense.

Overall, if God did exist, and if he (See a previous post about the use of pronouns) did design us and the world, he did a crappy job. I'd expect this kind of crappy job from a Temp on their last week, or an intern going back to school, not from the creator of the universe.

The Arrogant Argument

This is the first in a series of posts about various arguments I've heard used as either defenses of religion or attacks against Atheism. These posts are designed to give my non-believing brethren some more tools and strategies in the ongoing battles with the religious. We did not start this fight, but we will defend ourselves. Hopefully, this will help you in an argument, forcing the opposition on the defensive.

Enjoy.

A while back I was watching some YouTube clip in which some Christian minister made a comment about how Atheists are "Arrogant" because we don't believe God created us in his own image.

Let me see if I get this straight...

I'm arrogant because I don't believe that I'm not created by God. The creator of the Universe. Of Everything.

For the sake of argument, let's say that there is a God, that it created you, me, and everything in the Universe. I'm not going to argue the time, be it 6 days, 6,000 years, or Billions of years.

The Universe is Freaking Big. Over 50 Billion Galaxies. Each with over a Trillion stars. Theoretically, 10 percent of those could have planets around them, and 10 percent of those could have life. Each of those could potentially have Trillions of lifeforms.

Let's break down the numbers.

[(.1*.1*1 Trillion) Number of potential planets with life in a galaxy] * [(2 Trillion * 50 Billion) Potential lifeforms on a planet times Number of galaxies]
10 Billion * 2 Trillion * 50 Billion = 1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 potential lifeforms in the known Universe. That is 10^33. That is more than a Metric Assload. That is a Billion times a Billion times a Billion times a Billion times a little more.

Now, not only did God create all of this, but in his spare time (I'll address the use of pronouns later on) listens in on your most intimate and innermost thoughts, communicates with you, and actually cares about who or what you want to have sex with. Apparently your thoughts are so important to the Great Maker that you think its more important that God gives counsel to you on what type of car to buy than doing things like keeping entire civilizations from being wiped out, keeping planets revolving around stars, and keeping the Great Space Dragon from eating the sun.

And I'm the arrogant one?

Note: I often refer to God as a male. I realize that this is somewhat sexist, and that I should not use the male gender unless necessary. If it would make you feel better if I referred to God as a woman, I will. But guess what, God is an imaginary character. We don't argue about the Tooth Fairy being a man or woman, or whether or not the Easter Bunny is a boy or a girl. They're all fake.