Of Pandas & People

Just great, A must read for those who enjoy crackpots. The book uses the fox news method, beat up on the opposition and then make up facts for your side AKA "truthiness".

The most prized Creationist writings are required reading for Evolutionists. Otherwise, we cannot refute all the latest falsehoods with which our Creationist brethren are being fed. Here are a few morsels from their latest hit--Of Pandas and People: >>>> <br />The authors discuss an experiment which sought to simulate the conditions under which life began. There is a chapter on this topic in Icons of Evolution by Jonathan Wells, from which this discussion is lifted. Wells' chapter is adequately refuted on the talkorigins Website. <br /> <br />Incidentally, the book also borrows Wells' discussion on peppered moths. <br /> <br /><<<< Cambrian explosion >>>>> <br />As usual, we hear the old refrain about the Cambrian explosion. Like many Creationist authors, the present authors underplay the pre-Cambrian fossils, overplay the Cambrian fossils, and exaggerate the rapidity with which it occurred. <br /> <br />Anyway, what if there WAS a Cambrian explosion? It would have to have happened millions of years ago, and I thought all life began only 6000 years ago! <br /> <br /><<<<< giraffe evolution >>>>> <br />The authors contend that the giraffe would have to be created in its present state. Otherwise, the unequal body parts would not balance. This argument has been refuted in a dissertation which claims that the giraffe neck grew as a result of male combat. The accessibility to tree leaves only came as a by-product. <br /> <br /><<<< transitional fossils >>>>> <br />No Creationist tract is complete without a request for more transitional fossils. The Tiktaalik-Acanthostega-Ichthyostega-Eryops progression is mentioned but not given a fair hearing. <br /> <br />Then there is the story that Steven Jay Gould coined the term "punctuated equilibrium" to apologize for not answering this request. It so happens, though, that Gould arrived at his theory after studying a branch in which the intermediate forms were also present. <br /> <br />The authors contend that there are no fossil forms indicating that the whale was at one time a land animal. Either they don't know about the Pakicetus inachus-Ambulocetus natans-Rodhocetus kasrani progression or they hope that you don't. <br /> <br /><<<< DNA count >>>>> <br />Throughout the last chapter, the authors assume that Evolutionsits assume a progression which runs fish-amphibian-reptile-mammal. They cite statistics which show that these orders are approximately equally distant from unicellular species. What the authors don't know, or hope that you don't know, is that scientists have long ago abandoned such a progression, and now see the land animals as diverging from the first tetrapods. <br /> <br />Again we see that Creationists tend to remember Genesis 1:21, in which God creates all the living creatures "after their kind," but forget Exodus 20:16, which says, "Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor." <br /> <br />Despite all these falsehoods, I wish to say one word to those who fe

Honestly, they're sooooo cute. Those big black eyes in those big white faces. They look so sad. I also like the way they can just sit upright and stuff their faces with bamboo shoots. I'd love to have one as a pet. Anyway, any book that is written and produced by pandas, for pandas (and people) gets my vote. Two thumbs, right up. All the way up !

Pandas claims to be a book that seeks to examine the timeless question of biological origins. A truly scientific attempt to do exactly this would begin by examining the age of the earth and reviewing the scientific techniques used by geologists to determine the ages of rocks and fossils. Curiously, Pandas does nothing of the sort. In fact, not a word can be found anywhere in Pandas regarding the age of the earth or geological ages recognized by earth scientists. Ignoring the age of the earth while attempting to teach students natural history makes about as much sense as trying to teach American history without telling students that the American revolution began in 1775, which is to say, no sense at all. Why does Pandas make this striking omission? Its authors have never been willing to say why they ignore such a crucial part of earth history, but I suspect that the answer is simple. If they were to bring authentic scientific evidence regarding earth history into play, it would immediately become clear to readers that the ages of rocks and fossil support, in dramatic fashion, the evolutionary history of life that geologists have recognized for many decades. Because this important mass of scientific evidence is at odds with their anti-evolutionary thesis, they choose to ignore it. They are free to do this, of course, but students who might attempt to use Pandas as a scientific textbook will be rightly baffled by its attempts to teach natural history without a time scale, and will surely ask their teachers what science can tell us about the geologic time scale. Pandas, for reasons of its own, chooses to duck this most basic question because it does not like the answer that science provides.

All bears are adorable, but they tend to have unfortunate human-eating tendencies. However, the cutest bear ever - the panda - is a peace-loving bamboo eater! Yay! I bought this book because I mistakenly thought it was a fun story about people and pandas having fun adventures together while exploring "the central question of biological origins", whatever that is. I was sure surprised by all the science stuff. I learned a lot from this book. Apparently, the theory of evolution is some sort of outdated theory like the theory of spontaneous generation. The totally new and better theory is the theory of Intelligent Design. When you see a fine watch, you'd be crazy to doubt the existence of a watchmaker. And when you see a '76 Ford Pinto, you know it had to be designed by some smart dude. And when you see a panda, you know it must have been created by an intelligent designer! It is just too adorable! The book convinced me of the existence of such a designer, the same way I'm convinced the sun revolves around the earth so that it can be closer to all the beautiful pandas.