Read more at Announcing the NCSE 700 ClubFebruary 16, 2006, is the third anniversary of the public unveiling of NCSE's Project Steve, so it seems like a good time to announce -- with due apologies to the Reverend Pat Robertson and the Christian Broadcasting Network -- NCSE's 700 Club. Yes, with the addition of Stephen A. Wells, a postdoctoral researcher at Arizona State University, there are now 700 scientists named Steve who have publicly agreed:
Evolution is a vital, well-supported, unifying principle of the biological sciences, and the scientific evidence is overwhelmingly in favor of the idea that all living things share a common ancestry. Although there are legitimate debates about the patterns and processes of evolution, there is no serious scientific doubt that evolution occurred or that natural selection is a major mechanism in its occurrence. It is scientifically inappropriate and pedagogically irresponsible for creationist pseudoscience, including but not limited to "intelligent design," to be introduced into the science curricula of our nation's public schools.
NCSE's 700 club
You too can join. If your name is Steve, Stephany, Stephan, or any other variant of Steve.
20 Comments
Michael Roberts · 18 February 2006
Get Stephen Meyer to sign and then it will be 701.
Rumour has it that he would have signed up, but was going to be the 666th Steve, so he backed off
Mike Walker · 18 February 2006
DaveScot over at Dembski's blog obviously have zero sense of humour. Come on Dave, have you even bothered reading the full press release? It's a parody. That's P--A--R--O--D--Y. You know, to make fun of that list of "scientists" the DI trots out every chance it can in it's attempt to prove the respectibility of ID.
Argumentum ad populum?
Nice try, Dave, but lighten up, why don't you?
Joe Shelby · 18 February 2006
I love Dembski's reply: In addition to saying we're using a logical fallacy (with admitting the same fallacy is involved when their own list of 400 is invoked; he remains "proud" of that list), he says things like they'll sue anyone that even hints in public school that there's controversy surrounding evolutionary mechanisms.
Uh, no, we freely accept that anybody is in their perfectly legal and constitutional right to say there is a socio-political controversy surrounding evolution, and perhaps that teacher could add that its driven by a particular religious sect who want their viewpoints to be promoted by federal, state, and local tax dollars in the form of "scientific evidence" that doesn't exist and has been discredited for decades. I for one would be the first to applaud a teacher willing to make such a statement of fact.
Joe Shelby · 18 February 2006
well, the "uncommon descent" reply - i forget that WD doesn't write everything that's on there anymore...
'Rev Dr' Lenny Flank · 18 February 2006
I wonder what the, uh, Isaac Newton of Information Theory has to say about that favorite Nazi publication, "100 Scientists Against Einstein . . .
Or Einstein's reply, "If the theory were wrong, just one would be enough."
Bruce Thompson GQ · 18 February 2006
Two thoughts.
Does "even Steven" reach the level of statistical significance?
There seems to few Stevens (25% versus 34%).
The observation that 20% of the Stephanies ordered XXL shirts skewing body size results. The authors hypothesize that Stephanies are choosing XXL shirts as sleeping apparel. Funding is available through NIH to study this novel observation with direct costs up to $275,000.
Some areas of investigation include:
"Studies of normal human sleep phenotypes and the normal range of variation."
"Basic and clinical research on complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) therapies for sleep disorders." Such as wearing Project Steve shirts to bed. The samples are already identified all that is required is a quick questionnaire.
"Neurophysiological and neuroanatomical correlates and gene-environment interactions." Breakdown the US Stephanie sample looking for environmental factors that may influence shirt size choice. For example does the mean annual temperature of Stephanies location influence shirt size choice? By increasing the sample to include wild (not necessarily genetically) Stephanies and comparing with US Stephanies from defined environments. Does sleeping in project Steve shirts differ between these groups?
Delta Pi Gamma (Scientia et Fermentum)
Arden Chatfield · 18 February 2006
Darn! What about us guys who don't have 'Steve' anywhere in our names? I feel left out!
Arden Chatfield · 18 February 2006
"Project Strawman Steve"??? Hmmm. Don't think so...
Quite the case study in missing the point...
Doc Bill · 18 February 2006
BWE · 18 February 2006
http://www.700club.com/spirituallife/CBNTeachingSheets/Pat_Perspective_compromise.asp
wamba · 19 February 2006
I just checked the Steve-o-meter, and it's at 703 already.
John Wilkins · 19 February 2006
I want to protest, in the strongest possible terms, this Steveism. It is discriminatory and in fact we should really be running a project John, after the late great John Maynard Smith. We would also be able to include a lot more synonyms - Ian, Ivan, Jean, Sean, Jan, and so on.
Think about it and stamp out Steveism now!
wamba · 20 February 2006
Pattanowski · 21 February 2006
Just having mentioned a "700 Club" ought to have the franticaly scribbled checks coming in any time now.
Pattanowski · 21 February 2006
It certainly had my frantically spelled post coming in!
Jim Wynne · 22 February 2006
Can't get a $%#@ trackback to work here, so a gratuitous related link:
Courageous Beyond Measure?
wamba · 25 February 2006
I checked the Project Steve site today, and the Steve-o-meter is up to 719! I'm guessing they got around to adding in the Darwin Day rush.
Petie P · 28 March 2006
Someone wrote 700 Club asking if they're responsible for helping their grown son & his wife out, financially; I heard Pat Robertson say that elderly parents of middle aged people have no! responsibility to help those grown children. Their money is their money to do with what they will! I agree with him to a degree, however, he should realize that when he! was that age, it wasn't as difficult as it is ..for us (this day & age); at least here in Canada! I'm on PWD, for good reason!; I am unemployable; I can barely make ends meat! The price of groceries, buses, rents & everything! is going up faster than myself or the average working Joe can keep up. Our wages are NOT going up. I own 1/2 a house, but I still FEEL for those who struggle, as I do as well. I KNOW for a fact that there are a lot! of elderly who are very well off & not willing to admit that. They aren't rich, but compared to the low income, poor folks these days--they certainly are! Some have their work pensions, the seniors pensions & foreign pensions & if there is a couple, they are raking in at least! 6 pensions in that household! WE! don't HAVE the luxury of that security anymore. Would it really hurt, to help out that grown son of theirs?? If they don't want to; no one can force their arm; of coarse not, but they will have God to answer to.
For your consideration, Petie P. (female)
Petie P · 28 March 2006
Someone wrote 700 Club asking if they're responsible for helping their grown son & his wife out, financially; I heard Pat Robertson say that elderly parents of middle aged people have no! responsibility to help those grown children. Their money is their money to do with what they will! I agree with him to a degree, however, he should realize that when he! was that age, it wasn't as difficult as it is ..for us (this day & age); at least here in Canada! I'm on PWD, for good reason!; I am unemployable; I can barely make ends meat! The price of groceries, buses, rents & everything! is going up faster than myself or the average working Joe can keep up. Our wages are NOT going up. I own 1/2 a house, but I still FEEL for those who struggle, as I do as well. I KNOW for a fact that there are a lot! of elderly who are very well off & not willing to admit that. They aren't rich, but compared to the low income, poor folks these days--they certainly are! Some have their work pensions, the seniors pensions & foreign pensions & if there is a couple, they are raking in at least! 6 pensions in that household! WE! don't HAVE the luxury of that security anymore. Would it really hurt, to help out that grown son of theirs?? If they don't want to; no one can force their arm; of coarse not, but they will have God to answer to.
For your consideration, Petie P. (female)
fioricet · 16 June 2006
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