Global Warming and Intelligent Design: Redux
February 21st, 2006 | by Jersey McJones |Back in December, I posted a piece that showed the line of illogic that connected people who vote Republican, people who don’t believe in evolution, and people who do believe in Intelligent Design. 55 million morons. There was something I missed, though. Thanks to Rush Limbaugh, the connection is now complete. Yesterday, while practicing my regular self-flagellation, listening to Limbaugh, the great Dittohead Leader pointed out that “complexity,” that ever-subjective non-scientific notion, precludes mere mortals from ascertaining an understanding of the environment, let alone being able to change said environment. He gets this spurious line from a highly dubious source – a source he shares with a certain “president.”
Michael Crichton, the author and filmmaker who brought us such works of American mastery as Congo, Twister and Jurassic Park, has won an award from the American Association of Petroleum Geologists for his 2004 foray into the world of pseudoscience, the book “State of Fear.” In this great work, Crichton asserts that the environment is too “complex” to predict changes, causes of changes, and too “complex” to change in the first place, as far as little ol’ mortal men are concerned. Sound familiar?
“President” Bush likes to meet his favorite authors on occasion. Last year he met with Crichton to discuss “State of Fear,” apparently a good Bush read. Sur-prise, sur-prise. I mean, c’mon. If a 15 year old reads Crichton, I say, “Great! A 15 year old that’s reading!” If a 50 year old is reading Crichton, well, there’s always a place for you in the Bush White House. Upon recent publicity of the meeting, the White House is now distancing itself from this crazy pseudo-hypothesis.
I forgot who said it, but I remember one critic of Intelligent Design who compared the “complexity” argument to a stoned teenager staring at his hand, saying, “Wow, man! Look at all those bones and ligaments and skin cells and fingernails! How complex!”
JMJ
6 Responses to “Global Warming and Intelligent Design: Redux”
By LiberPaul on Feb 21, 2006 | Reply
Crichton has done some great fiction, it would be best if he stayed in that genre….douchebag.
By Jersey McJones on Feb 21, 2006 | Reply
Actually, I think he has stayed in that genre!
JMJ
By Tom Harper on Feb 21, 2006 | Reply
If Bush is reading Crichton, at least it’s a step up from My Pet Goat. Or maybe it’s the coloring book version.
By Bonnie on Feb 21, 2006 | Reply
Crichton is definitely a step up from My Pet Goat. He generally uses words that have more than one syllable.
I am old enough to know better and have often enjoyed junk reading, like Crichton. However, I was really rather offended by that particular book. While a few things make sense, I was really frustrated that this popular best selling author is out there making statements that could be read as a license to do whatever we please to the earth, because we don’t really get how things interact. To me, that’s just wrong and irresponsible.
By Liberal Army Wife on Feb 21, 2006 | Reply
A little “brain candy” is fine (my secret… Nora Roberts!) BUT I don’t make pronouncements gleaned from “Blue Dahlia”!!! (except her description of grafting christmas cacti was pretty right on!) But then again, some very deep thoughts can be found in Green Eggs and Ham. Maybe Lil’Laura could be persuaded to read to the Shrub from Elmo’s latest…..??
~LAW~
By Wadard on Mar 24, 2006 | Reply
Have never read it, and have no time for those that choose it as the basis of their world view.