VOX DE BAIT #1

And we're off, with slinging salvos between Vox and PZ.

PZ thinks Vox's argument is, well, phony. He claims that Vox has lifted a remark from Gingerich as to the amount of generations it might take to evolve an elephant from a mouse (Vox didn't specify sources in his original post), and he thinks that the argument depends upon a distorted understanding of how biologists measure rates of evolution. Whatever one thinks of this argument, I have to admit that I haven't heard this particular line of reasoning before. I wonder what Phil Gingerich might think about this? I think I shall ask him!

Vox, with an update to his original post, thinks PZ didn't read his argument very carefully and suggests that evolutionary experts should provide a prediction as to how long such a transition might actually take place, at the end of which time we should collect our Nobel Prizes.

At any rate, Vox used both a personal anecdote as well as this example as an explanation of the gnawing misgivings he has about evolution and natural selection. I'm still not sure what he thinks the actual status of these items shall be from his reply, but (no surprise) I think we can rule out any pan-adapationist orientation from Vox. Before I reply further, I think I would like to give Vox a chance to ask me any sort of follow-up question on this topic.

To be continued....

ZENO, MY HERO

If you're a veteran of the evo/creo wars, this post from Zeno is required reading. Seriously, you must read this: ICR is moving!

VOX DEI BAIT (Prologue)

Sorry if the title makes anyone cringe. I just couldn't resist.

I'm getting ready to kick off my exchange with Vox Day, who seems sympathetic to some sort of ID creationism. Before you get callouses from rolling your eyes too rapidly, I should say that Vox, who has his own little corner of cyberspace, has an interesting personal history that suggests that he's going to offer something new in this department, if only in flavor.

So, it's a debate of sorts---but I hope to actually learn something from the experience, and so I'm going to just throw some questions out there, initially, and encourage him to do the same. There's no point in belaboring the points where we either agree or (if we disagree) don't feel it matters that much one way or the other. And, even though I joshed about 'baiting' Vox in this post, I'm just naive enough to think that we can really have a meeting of the minds here, as opposed to mere street theatre. Here's hoping!

Anyway, here's my first set of thoughts for discussion: in your opinion, what is the status of evolution by natural selection as an explanatory model ? What sort of explanation is it? What, if anything, does it explain better than other models?

Standard disclaimers: the fact that some fellas are going to debate matters related to some item of science does not imply that there is actually a scientific debate about the matter in question.