KC

I found this issue of the <a href="http://www.triplenine.org/vidya/v200/vidya200.htm" target="_blank">Journal of the Triple Nine Society</a>, (Langan was/is a member), and in it is an article called 'Darwin Revisited", by some guy named Wilson Ogg. Here is just a sample paragraph:
It seems the supersmart, when they aren't coming up with Unified Theories of Reality, spend their days dreaming about proving Darwin wrong.

Cheers,

KC

[ November 20, 2002: Message edited by: KCdgw ]</p>

Jack the Bodiless

A classic example of pseudo-intellectual snobbery and baseless assertion.

In this case false assertion, because it's perfectly clear that organisms DO evolve from one species to another. But let's pretend they don't, so that we can pretend we're superior to the great herd of lowly scientists who believe otherwise for purely empirical reasons. Our intellects operate far above the empirical plane.

These people apparently have a great need for mutual mental masturbation.

Corey Hammer

All I can say is: what a load of pretentious drivel. Biotons? What crap.

pz

Aaargh. "Biotons"? And further down in the article, he claims that there are two kinds of mutations, one of which he calls "engorgement". He also misspells "Mendel".

The supersmart are superstupid is all I can conclude from this.

Nickle

I've had the luck of being around very intelligent people much of my life. A common characteristic of all of them is they do not trumpet their intelligence. Those that do cause my BS detector to light up.

SmartBlonde57

As a former member of Mensa (key word: former), I share your sentiments.

Then please allow me to quickly point out that my online monikor is not a trumpeting of any self-proclaimed intelligence, but is just a goof on the "dumb blonde" stereotype. (I love messing with people's preconceptions, e.g., "blondes are stupid", "atheists are immoral", "women are weak", etc., etc., etc.)

Kevin

Ugh! I'd have given that essay an "D" in any English composition course. The construction is muddled, it's overblown, there are consistent misspellings, a complete lack of effort to make a case for the thesis and it's self-centered. Who cares if he wrote a poem in praise of Barbara McClintock anyway?

I would hope that the "supersmart" could write at a level beyond the bad 9th grade high school essay. <img src="graemlins/banghead.gif" border="0" alt="[Bang Head]" />

[ November 20, 2002: Message edited by: Kevin ]</p>

Principia

Over-reliance on neologisms is always a trustworthy hallmark of pseudoscientific ideas.

KC

One wonders what he was actually thinking of when he came up with the term 'engorgement'.



Cheers,

KC

pz

"Engorgement" is also a specific cytological term that refers to the flow of cytoplasm and assembly of cytoskeletal elements into a lamellopodium or filopodium. I'd say that ignorance of terms and concepts already in use in the field is another hallmark of pseudoscience.