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Intelligent design is a scientific theory which has its roots in information theory and observations about intelligent action. Intelligent design theory makes inferences based upon observations about the types of complexity that can be produced by the action of intelligent agents vs. the types of information that can be produced through purely natural processes to infer that life was designed by an intelligence or multiple intelligences. It makes no statements about the identity of the intelligent designer(s), but merely says that intelligent action was involved at some points with the origins of various aspects of biological life. Intelligent design begins with observations about the types of information that we can observe produced by intelligent agents in the real world. Even Read More ›

In December 2005, a federal judge in Pennsylvania declared intelligent design (ID) a “religious viewpoint” that is unconstitutional to teach in public schools. Predictably, critics who backed the Kitzmiller v. Dover lawsuit jubilantly declared the “death” of ID. Now that we’re approaching the ten year anniversary of the case, we can count on the media to again proclaim a great triumph for Darwinian evolution and secularism. Reality, however, is very different. The Dover ruling was full of errors of fact and law. It badly misdefined intelligent design and ignored peer-reviewed papers and research by ID scientists. One leading anti-ID legal scholar, Boston University law professor Jay Wexler, called the judge’s arguments that ID isn’t science “unnecessary, unconvincing, not particularly suited to the judicial role, …

Whenever a new hominin fossil is discovered, the newsmedia eagerly seizes the opportunity to go on a crusade for Darwin. The Internet is thus currently buzzing about the discovery of a new species, Homo naledi, represented by hundreds of bones found in a cave near Johannesburg, South Africa. The find is spectacular to be sure because it represents such large cache of hominin bones. In a field where a single scrap of jaw gets everyone excited, this is a big deal. But do we know that Homo naledi is the “human ancestor” that CNN, PBS, NBC, and many others are calling it? Dig into the details, and the answer is “no.” The main claim about Homo naledi is that it is a small-brained (compared to humans) hominin with a trunk similar Read More ›

Many Americans find their introduction to the debate over evolution by watching Inherit the Wind, a movie based upon the Scopes Trial from 1925 which casts Darwin-skeptics as constantly trying to shut down scientific discussion. Today, in 2013, the situation is very different — what Justice Scalia once called “Scopes-in-reverse.” Academic freedom is now threatened for credible scientists to teach and publish dissent from neo-Darwinian theory. I’m not talking about Uncle Joe who runs the Bible-science museum out in Montana. And I am not merely complaining about a lack of academic freedom at the high school level. I’m talking about scientists who work at, and hold Ph.D.’s from, the same research establishments as leading evolutionary biologists. Some of the most prominent Read More ›