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Devil's Dictionary of Evolution

Most of the definitions are hilarious, but these are some of my favorites.

http://www.gennet.org/facts/devil.html

PROOF

The assimilation of data in such a way that the desired conclusion seems to be the most plausible hypothesis.

PROTOZOA

As the name implies, these are known to be the first true animals on earth. If these primitive organisms had continued to adapt to their changing environment they might still be with us today.

PUNCTUATED EQUILIBRIUM

An ad hoc hypothesis or alibi that claims the reason there are no known transitional forms in the fossil record is because evolutionary changes occur so quickly and the reason we can't see evolutionary changes in the laboratory is because they occur so slowly. (see Hopeful Monster Theory).

SELECTIVE PRESSURE

That natural and highly selective pressure that actually forces particularly useful structures such as brains, eyes, legs, wings and long necks on giraffes to evolve by random mutations. Unnecessary structures such as eyelids on your navel fail to evolve by chance because there is no selective pressure for this.

SPECULATION

The single most powerful tool in the hands of the evolutionists.

SURVIVAL OF THE FITTEST

The most important contribution of Darwin to biological thought which states that only those organisms which are fit survive, or in other words, survival is the result of being fit. By this kind of logic it can also be proven that loss of vision is a principal cause of blindness.

THEISTIC EVOLUTION

The belief that the evolutionary account of origins (where everything ascends from a very imperfect state to a more nearly perfect state) and the Biblical account of origins (where everything descends from a perfect state to a very imperfect state) are both true.

TIME

That miracle ingredient which in sufficient quantity can give scientific credibility to any hypothesis no matter how improbable. It is a well- known axiom of science for example, that given enough time virtually anything is possible - indeed you might even say it has to happen.

XERDEMA PIGMENTOSA

A disease of man in which certain enzymes which normally repair mutations of DNA fail to do so resulting in malignant tumors of the skin which are often fatal. Since it is well known that mutations were essential for the evolution of man from primitive cells, we must assume that too much of even a good thing like mutations is bad for us.
 
More jewels from the devil's dictionary, for those too lazy to follow the link. Index fossils could be my favorite in the whole list.

GEOLOGIC COLUMN

A precise hierarchy of fossilized animals and plants of known age found in successive layers of stratified rock with the simplest and oldest at the bottom and the most highly evolved, i.e., most recent, at the top. Uninterrupted columns of this type may be found in any book of geology, paleontology or evolution. Bits and pieces of the column may even be found in the stratified rocks of the earth, but since these layers are often out of correct order and very incomplete, one should study the geologic column in books, not nature.

HOPEFUL MONSTER THEORY

A concept first introduced out of necessity by the geneticist, Richard Goldschmidt, which states that evolution occurs by sudden and large changes in the offspring of a species resulting in radically different but well adapted organisms, i.e. "hopeful monsters." After being widely discredited for many years this idea is being reintroduced, out of necessity, as a serious theory. The great leaps forward implicit in this theory entirely account for the absence of the "missing links." (See Punctuated Equilibrium)

INDEX FOSSILS

Fossils of animals whose ages are precisely known from the age of the rocks in which they are found, thus, serving as a means for accurately dating the rocks in which they are found as well as the age of any other fossils that may be contained therein.

NATURAL SELECTION

That miraculous process by which incredibly complex and useful structures, such as the eye or brain, are culled out from a vast array of random and purposeless mutations. In the distant past this marvelous natural artificer has produced the whole scope of existence from molecules to man but today it appears to be limiting its activities to such mundane matters as controlling the relative numbers of white and black moths in England. [And the mosquitoes in London. Hey - why is evolution only taking place in Great Britain?]

PHYLOGENETIC TREE

A tree that grows mainly in textbooks of biology and which has a variety of both contemporary and fossil animals perched on the tips of its branches. This tree clearly shows how all of these animals branched off from common ancestors a long time ago. For some reason the common ancestors are never shown sitting in the crotches of the tree. Plants presumably grow on different trees which are rather rare.
 
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Originally posted by npetreley
Most of the definitions are hilarious, but these are some of my favorites.

http://www.gennet.org/facts/devil.html

[...]

PROTOZOA

As the name implies, these are known to be the first true animals on earth. If these primitive organisms had continued to adapt to their changing environment they might still be with us today.

Protozoans are not animals at all.


PUNCTUATED EQUILIBRIUM

An ad hoc hypothesis or alibi that claims the reason there are no known transitional forms in the fossil record is because evolutionary changes occur so quickly and the reason we can't see evolutionary changes in the laboratory is because they occur so slowly. (see Hopeful Monster Theory).
PE has nothing to due with "Hopeful Monsters." As has been pointed out many times, including by Dr. Gould, there are many transitional forms in the fossil record. Evolutionary changes have also been seen in the lab.

[...]

SPECULATION

The single most powerful tool in the hands of the evolutionists.

LYING

The single most powerful tool in the hands of the evolution deniars.


SURVIVAL OF THE FITTEST

The most important contribution of Darwin to biological thought which states that only those organisms which are fit survive, or in other words, survival is the result of being fit. By this kind of logic it can also be proven that loss of vision is a principal cause of blindness.

Of course natural selection is not denied in such a way.



[...]

TIME

That miracle ingredient which in sufficient quantity can give scientific credibility to any hypothesis no matter how improbable. It is a well- known axiom of science for example, that given enough time virtually anything is possible - indeed you might even say it has to happen.

No one in evolutionary biology holds this view.


XERDEMA PIGMENTOSA

A disease of man in which certain enzymes which normally repair mutations of DNA fail to do so resulting in malignant tumors of the skin which are often fatal. Since it is well known that mutations were essential for the evolution of man from primitive cells, we must assume that too much of even a good thing like mutations is bad for us.

This one is so kooky that one would not know where to begin!
 
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ashibaka

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Originally posted by npetreley
NATURAL SELECTION

That miraculous process by which incredibly complex and useful structures, such as the eye or brain, are culled out from a vast array of random and purposeless mutations. In the distant past this marvelous natural artificer has produced the whole scope of existence from molecules to man but today it appears to be limiting its activities to such mundane matters as controlling the relative numbers of white and black moths in England. [And the mosquitoes in London. Hey - why is evolution only taking place in Great Britain?]

Oh, that's very clever. Echoing the "airplane being built by scrap metal flying around" sentiment, I see. And also comparing centuries to millions of years. No, I think I'll have to pass on that definition.
 
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AV1611VET

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Most of the definitions are hilarious, but these are some of my favorites.

The Devil's Dictionary of Evolution For All True Scholars

PROOF

The assimilation of data in such a way that the desired conclusion seems to be the most plausible hypothesis.

PROTOZOA

As the name implies, these are known to be the first true animals on earth. If these primitive organisms had continued to adapt to their changing environment they might still be with us today.

PUNCTUATED EQUILIBRIUM

An ad hoc hypothesis or alibi that claims the reason there are no known transitional forms in the fossil record is because evolutionary changes occur so quickly and the reason we can't see evolutionary changes in the laboratory is because they occur so slowly. (see Hopeful Monster Theory).

SELECTIVE PRESSURE

That natural and highly selective pressure that actually forces particularly useful structures such as brains, eyes, legs, wings and long necks on giraffes to evolve by random mutations. Unnecessary structures such as eyelids on your navel fail to evolve by chance because there is no selective pressure for this.

SPECULATION

The single most powerful tool in the hands of the evolutionists.

SURVIVAL OF THE FITTEST

The most important contribution of Darwin to biological thought which states that only those organisms which are fit survive, or in other words, survival is the result of being fit. By this kind of logic it can also be proven that loss of vision is a principal cause of blindness.

THEISTIC EVOLUTION

The belief that the evolutionary account of origins (where everything ascends from a very imperfect state to a more nearly perfect state) and the Biblical account of origins (where everything descends from a perfect state to a very imperfect state) are both true.

TIME

That miracle ingredient which in sufficient quantity can give scientific credibility to any hypothesis no matter how improbable. It is a well- known axiom of science for example, that given enough time virtually anything is possible - indeed you might even say it has to happen.

XERDEMA PIGMENTOSA

A disease of man in which certain enzymes which normally repair mutations of DNA fail to do so resulting in malignant tumors of the skin which are often fatal. Since it is well known that mutations were essential for the evolution of man from primitive cells, we must assume that too much of even a good thing like mutations is bad for us.
^_^ :thumbsup:

I've made that point about TIME, myself.
 
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Blayz

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Nice necro, given the links are still live. It was funny for the first 5 minutes when I thought it was a parody, hilarious thereafter when I realised it was not.


I do like the credentials of their speakers:
The Creation versus Evolution Controversy

[FONT=arial, sans-serif, helvetica]Gary is an engineer with 20 years experience and has received multiple patents.
[/FONT][FONT=arial, sans-serif, helvetica]John Martin earned two bachelor degrees including emphasis in Religious Studies at Jackson College of Ministries[/FONT]
[FONT=arial, sans-serif, helvetica]Scott Jarus is a member of New Community Church (NCC) in Wildwood and also serves there on the Men's Ministry. He was educated in Mechanical Engineering
[/FONT][FONT=arial, sans-serif, helvetica]Marv graduated St. Louis University in 1973 with a Bachelors degree in Marketing
[/FONT][FONT=arial, sans-serif, helvetica]Kevin’s interest in the creation/evolution debate took root in 2001 after viewing the video series “Answers with Ken Ham.”

This site is funnier than Landoverbaptist.

My friends and I thanks you for the chuckles, AV.
[/FONT]
 
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AV1611VET

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I bet they all stay close to home.
I'll bet you guys do too -- now that your tuition has been tripled; thanks [probably] to you guys whining that we all need an education.
 
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Split Rock

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I do like the credentials of their speakers:
The Creation versus Evolution Controversy

[FONT=arial, sans-serif, helvetica]Gary is an engineer with 20 years experience and has received multiple patents.
[/FONT][FONT=arial, sans-serif, helvetica]John Martin earned two bachelor degrees including emphasis in Religious Studies at Jackson College of Ministries[/FONT]
[FONT=arial, sans-serif, helvetica]Scott Jarus is a member of New Community Church (NCC) in Wildwood and also serves there on the Men's Ministry. He was educated in Mechanical Engineering
[/FONT][FONT=arial, sans-serif, helvetica]Marv graduated St. Louis University in 1973 with a Bachelors degree in Marketing
[/FONT][FONT=arial, sans-serif, helvetica]Kevin’s interest in the creation/evolution debate took root in 2001 after viewing the video series “Answers with Ken Ham.”

[/FONT]

Yet another example of: "I'm not an expert, BUT....."
 
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Yet another example of: "I'm not an expert, BUT....."

Just a few weeks ago I had a talk with an experienced engineer with a degree in physics, and he is a creationist. His main argument for creation was the violation of the 2nd law of thermodynamics, he kept saying that life decreases entropy...It took me like half an hour to explain to him how increasing entropy and 2nd law applies to closed systems, and a decrease in entropy in an open system, along with a greater increase in entropy in the bigger system is perfectly compatible with the 2nd law. And I failed at physics in highschool, and he supposedly is an expert in physics .
 
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AV1611VET

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Just a few weeks ago I had a talk with an experienced engineer with a degree in physics, and he is a creationist. His main argument for creation was the violation of the 2nd law of thermodynamics, he kept saying that life decreases entropy...It took me like half an hour to explain to him how increasing entropy and 2nd law applies to closed systems, and a decrease in entropy in an open system, along with a greater increase in entropy in the bigger system is perfectly compatible with the 2nd law. And I failed at physics in highschool, and he supposedly is an expert in physics .
I see his point though, and I agree with it.

If life doesn't return the same amount of energy it acquires to function, then it is using up energy -- period.

I might turn a flashlight on (closed system) and watch the batteries run down; but even if it was a solar-powered flashlight, it is still not return the same amount of energy back to the universe than it is taking.
 
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Loudmouth

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If life doesn't return the same amount of energy it acquires to function, then it is using up energy -- period.

According to thermodynamics, life will return LESS energy than it acquired. No system is 100% effecient, including life. The amount of solar energy that is pumped into biological ecosystems is not transmitted effeciently through the web of life. The figure that I used in my studies was 10% transfer of energy between trophic levels. For example, there is a 10% transfer of solar energy to carbohydrates in plants. 10% of the energy in carbohydrates is transferred to primary herbivores.

Why is it that creationists always misrepresent the 2nd law? It really isn't that hard to understand, and yet they try so hard to misunderstand it.

I might turn a flashlight on (closed system) and watch the batteries run down; but even if it was a solar-powered flashlight, it is still not return the same amount of energy back to the universe than it is taking.

As soon as you use a solar powered flashlight the flashlight is not a closed system. Why is this so hard to understand?
 
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Loudmouth

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Just a few weeks ago I had a talk with an experienced engineer with a degree in physics, and he is a creationist. His main argument for creation was the violation of the 2nd law of thermodynamics, he kept saying that life decreases entropy...It took me like half an hour to explain to him how increasing entropy and 2nd law applies to closed systems, and a decrease in entropy in an open system, along with a greater increase in entropy in the bigger system is perfectly compatible with the 2nd law. And I failed at physics in highschool, and he supposedly is an expert in physics .

In my experience, asking an engineer about physics is like asking a dentist about gastroenterology.
 
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