Thursday, October 15, 2009

Nick Matzke's Bad Logic

Tom Gilson has some interesting posts on the difference between Creationism and Intelligent Design. Here, here, and here. In one, he wonders: Maybe they really can't tell the difference, and suggests "worldview blindness" as a cause.

Nick Matzke, as shown in his comments, still refuses to see distinctions, but only the overlap. He is a passionate "lumper," as I discussed here. A refusal to see meaningful distinctions leads to bad logic, and Tom has pointed out Nick's pretty well. Whether you call it the "genetic fallacy" or something else, I find the logic pathetic.

I see so much bad logic in the scientific community, and I find it quite sad, actually. I suggested remedial education for Richard Dawkins. In many cases, it stems from a failure to define one's terms and engage in discussion with agreed upon terms and definitions. I honestly think scientists need more training in logic during their education.

This discussion raises the question again: At what point does stereotyping become bigotry?

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