I suspect that for many of them, having been exposed to dogmatic indoctrination from an early age, it is difficult to imagine any argument being anything but an appeal to authority.

Absolutely right.

seriously though, is anyone else annoyed beyond belief that they keep saying “the age of Darwin” as if it’s actually a doctrine, as if not just Evolution, but DARWINS MODEL is the one where we stone you if you disagree. I know it’s the whole premise of the movie for morons, but Darwin wasn’t actually the first person to think of evolution, and he wasn’t the end point, or we wouldn’t have the phrase “punctuated equilibrium.”

Creationist loons are fond of presenting evolution as one big appeal to authority. I suspect that for many of them, having been exposed to dogmatic indoctrination from an early age, it is difficult to imagine any argument being anything but an appeal to authority. In this case the only problem with evolution is that it doesn’t appeal to the right authority.

It’s also possible that some of them just cynically realize it’s an effective tactic to grab people who don’t understand science. But the common fascination with the Lady Hope myth suggests the former explanation.

Either way I’m thinking middle schools should include basic logic in the curriculum. A lot of people are not well prepared for the philosophy of science when they start more complicated high school science courses.

actually, i was defending veganism in that thread.

In that thread, you only mentioned “No True Scotsman” and criticized vegans you thought were employing it.

I’ll take your word as to your intention, but the effect is insulting. I never brought it up because it seemed an obvious insult and I expected to be laughed at, for lacking a sense of humor.

And all this time I thought you were just another obnoxious shithead. Suddenly I feel so alone in the world.

omigosh. Have we just been arguing over whether or not Sharonsj “has to” answer me?

no. we were arguing (at least on my end) about whether your disdain was merited.
you seem to think i want a pat on the back for “catching” your disdain, as if it were even masked in the slightest…when really i brought it up because i considered it uncalled for. bullying people about their personal beliefs is what the OTHER SIDE does.

actually, i was defending veganism in that thread. and have done so in others. rather vehemently, in fact. i used to be a vegan, and had to stop only for health reasons.

TOTV:

But she’s free to ignore your request, because the reasoning behind her beliefs was entirely tangential to the overall meaning of her post.

omigosh. Have we just been arguing over whether or not Sharonsj “has to” answer me?

I never said as much. Don’t put words in my mouth.

No, i’m not a vegan. It’s a reference to the No True Scotsman fallacy, which came up in a discussion of Skinny Bitch in the Kitch, once upon a time in Pandagonia.

I remember. So you’ve made mockery of vegans (specifically, fellow Pandagonians) into a screenname that you carry from thread to thread, and you call others condescending jerks.

Gold.

which sounds extraordinarily fucking valid to me. if the creationists are going to legally mandate that schools teach creationism, the obvious legal challenge (either to get rid of it entirely, or to at least show how absurd it is and hope the kids learn enough critical thinking to notice) is teaching EVERY creationist story. So if we have to acknowledge God stretching the earth over the sea as a possibility, then the students will ALSO have to learn the possibility of the oceans and rivers being the product of Marduk jacking off after slaying the moon dragon Tiamat.

If they don’t want their precious childrens exposed to ideas that contradict their old storybook, they’re then officially stuck in a catch 22.