Guess God’s Weight, Win an iPod
iGod Touch
It’s a very polarizing concept – religion and science. You can twist and warp facts as much as you want to try and find a middle ground (see: Intelligent Design), but at the end of the day, when you are alone with your thoughts and no is around to cite white papers or Biblical passages, you probably have a preferred camp.
Every now and then, someone will ask me what I believe. I never know what to say. I like my world measurable, so I guess that puts me somewhere between “rationalist”, “realist”, and “logicist”. Naturally, science seems to offer me the best explanation of things and gives me the greater peace of mind.
Plus we get to have spaceships and iPhones.
Intelligent Design Rebuttal Quote of the Day
“If sandwiches are made from bread, why is there still bread?” – Cookie (via Reddit)
Creationists Found Out About Genetic Algorithms — And They Aren’t Happy
Genetics -- It works people
Many of you know this, but I’m a genetic algorithm fanboy. I’ve coded dozens of simulation programs and tools using these evolutionary algorithms, and even recently presented a paper on GAs at the AIAA Modeling and Simulation Technologies Conference in Chicago.
As an optimization algorithm, I can understand and appreciate the simplicity behind the GA concept –- mimic evolutionary biology to discover a solution to a system. And I must say, it’s a very elegant and sometimes creepy method of optimization; I still smile when my creatures suddenly learn how to do something new.
The application of such an algorithm is seemingly unbounded to the programmer’s ability to use them effectively. I’ve used GAs to schedule spacecraft tasks, play Yahtzee, play the stock market, bet on horse races, and even simulate a zombie apocalypse. From my own experience, I can say without hesitation that GAs can be a highly effective optimization tool.
I recently stumbled upon an article on www.Creation.com, a website by Creation Ministries International, whose purpose is to “support the church in proclaiming the truth of the Bible and thus its gospel message” and to provide “real-world answers to the most-asked questions in the vital area of creation/evolution.”
The article in question is by Dr. Don Batten and titled “Genetic algorithms – do they show that evolution works?”.
Ho boy.
5 Things You Love That Are Also “Just a Theory”
Bananas
I promised myself I wasn’t going to turn neoSpockets into a soapbox blog, but there’s been a bit too much depressing anti-evolution news in the past few weeks and I can’t keep my mouth shut any longer.
This “evolution is just a theory” battle-cry is tiring. I’ve seen this card played far too many times, and I’m fatigued in its lame attempt to make a pseudo-intelligent argument out of a clearly religious-centered theme.
Disclaimer: I’m not going to attack any specific belief system in this post, but rather show the fallacy of this common and clichéd “just a theory” argument. Let me state very clearly upfront that it honestly doesn’t matter to me what you believe in. At the end of the day, we all believe whatever solution gives us the most peace-of-mind. But when you’re passionate enough about your beliefs to start trying to discredit my boy science, I start to get a little peeved.
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