The Usual Story

Sometimes you get tired of hearing the "standard ignorant" response when it comes to matters of Intelligent Design. One of those "SI" responses is this: "ID proponents never have real degrees, nor are they published in journals - otherwise they would actually be respected like everyone else."

This "SI" argument is an attempt at two things:

- undermining the credibility of the scientist in question
- promoting the illusion that the "scientific" community would be objective if they just saw some hardcore science.

Well, surprise: you find an ID proponent with impeccable credentials, who has been published in major journals many times, and he is dismissed anyways.

Case in point: Guillermo Gonzalez. His university (Iowa State) denied him tenure (for as yet undisclosed or unknown reasons) after setting a benchmark that the professor author at least 15 peer-reviewed articles - which he grossly surpassed with his authorship and submission of over 5 dozen.

Because he also believes he has met all other requirements, the situation is now being looked at as a possible case of ideological discrimination.

So please. Next time you hear this "SI" argument, put a plug in it. The simple truth is that you can get published out the wazoo (you can even win a Nobel prize - but that is yet another story) and still be completely disrespected by a community who does NOT want to hear anything but their own lines.

-ExNihilo