the darwinist conspiracy

Stumbling across the internet, I came across this blog post featuring Phineas Gage as the topic: http://scienceblogs.com/neurophilosophy/2009/07/meet_phineas_gage.php

Relatively uninteresting because I'd already heard about him tons of times through discussions having to do with lobotomies. The interesting part came in a link within the comments: http://www.uncommondescent.com/intelligent-design/phineas-gage-evolution-of-a-lecture-room-psychopath/

When I started reading the comments on that post, I was appalled.

I mean, ok, I was already appalled at the idea of an "intelligent design" community that uses the term "darwinist" accusingly, but shit like that (religious fundies) is commonplace on the internet. The comments really bugged me out though. It's mind numbing how staunch they are in maintaining a low level of reading comprehension.

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That kind of throws a monkey wrench into brain-as-computer idea. I suggest anybody drive a steel spike *anywhere* through their computer, I can almost guarantee that their complaints won’t be just confined to “Excel just doesn’t want to save for me anymore.”

I mean, christ, way to take things painfully literally.

I also enjoy the author of the blog trying to contradict years of medical evidence with a book and a few websites.

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JTaylor, I am glad I came back one last time.

 

You write:

 

“Bottom line is that even if the Gage story is wrong it does not show what is currently known about TBI. Whether Gage is true or not does not invalidate or falsify this, although O’Leary seems to imply this and I guess hopes it will stick.”

 

Spoken like a true Darwinist!!

 

It is clearly of NO consequence to you that the story is probably false – as long as it fronts your agenda. You are not ashamed of the hundreds of false stories fronted about this man.

 

No, I did not think you would be.

 

Would you raise a single objection to the next imposition on students about Phineas Gage?

 

Trashing the good name of an honest man who coped surprising well with a catastrophic disability is a small price to pay for fronting the truth that we are but naked apes.

 

I will make a post of this, I swear.

Yeah, having a steel rod slice through your frontal lobe is totally not traumatic for mental health. It just makes you self-conscious.

Basically, I'm just shocked that anyone still feels like the brain doesn't control higher thinking and consciousness and I'm shocked at how hilarious/insane these comments are. I felt like I should share with watmm. Give a little piece of internet gold/silver/bronze to you all and ask for opinions and fart jokes in return.

Well?

hmm,

This woman thinks we evolved from aquatic apes.

Sorry about the tangent.

hahaha i had a friend in art school who researched and believed in the aquatic ape theory. Whenever we were at parties and he'd try talking to girls i'd always bring it up and make fun of him.

there was a awesome intelligent design show on the trinity broadcasting network called Creation in the 21st Century. it was beautiful. they would always have these nice painted diagrams to show the earth with an ice shield around it before the flood, all sorts of "evidence" of creation, and charts galore. it may still air, i don't know. Dr. Carl Baugh is a beautiful character, although batshit insane.

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I'm really annoyed whenever people say stuff like, "You know humans only utilize 15% of their brains."

Where did that stupid psudo-fact come from?

i think Einstein said it first.

  On 8/3/2009 at 9:13 AM, Adjective said:

there was a awesome intelligent design show on the trinity broadcasting network called Creation in the 21st Century. it was beautiful. they would always have these nice painted diagrams to show the earth with an ice shield around it before the flood, all sorts of "evidence" of creation, and charts galore. it may still air, i don't know. Dr. Carl Baugh is a beautiful character, although batshit insane.

 

[youtubehd]rn2smatZY9Y[/youtubehd]

I used to start watching that, thinking I would watch it for just a few minutes for the lulz and then end up watching like the whole show. it's so ridiculous.

another one of my favorites is the show with ray comfort and kirk cameron. I recently watched discussion between ray and and thunderfoot, a guy who refutes creationists' claims on youtube.

Ray Comfort has an awesome name. although i love hearing creationists get their flow on, i don't enjoy hearing them challenged. just when you think you've dismantled and removed one of their points from the conversation, they repeat it and you realize they were just waiting for their turn to speak. i had a similar conversation, less accents and dumbed down, with my parents that ended with me asking to stop and tearing up.

  On 8/3/2009 at 9:13 AM, Adjective said:

[youtubehd]rn2smatZY9Y[/youtubehd]

When the word "God" flew by on the screen in big golden letters, I lol'd.

i fucking hate creationists so much

  On 8/3/2009 at 9:19 AM, Yegg said:

I'm really annoyed whenever people say stuff like, "You know humans only utilize 15% of their brains."

Where did that stupid psudo-fact come from?

http://www.snopes.com/science/stats/10percent.asp