The evidence for 'design'

Letter to the editor - from a local newspaper, sent by friends Robert Dahl and Dion Wright

I find myself adopting a philosophy of Really Stupid Design as the likely alternative to old-fashioned evolution.

After all, mankind represents not so much the pinnacle of God's - or Darwin's - creation, as a second-year student engineering project that barely qualifies for a failing grade.

The pains in my neck and back? A badly designed support system for a creature doomed to a vertical existence, obviously cribbed from the deity at the next desk who was designing a four-footed creature.

As my lifetime store of knowledge increases, my ability to recall it is likewise declining. Not to mention failing eyesight, hemorrhoids, vermiform appendix, hammertoe, Morton's neuroma and a Jones fracture. And what kind of tool-using animal has only two arms? Try repairing a furnace fan yourself sometime, Mr. Divine Engineer.

Whoever designed me had better be encouraged to go into some other pursuit where He can't hurt anyone. Comparative religion, for example.

WP, Retired chemist, Oro Valley

The Unintelligent Design network

...instead of being swayed by either side, we at UDN, Inc. have found a theory that effectively merges the strengths of the two theories without the weaknesses. The intelligent design people say there are too many holes in the fossil record, and that evolution is only a theory; the scientists say there's not enough evidence of intelligent design. So we say, instead, that life has indeed been designed, just not very well.

Unintelligent Design Network, Inc.

Intelligent Design Trial

A debate has arisen over a Pennsylvania school board's decision to teach both intelligent design and evolution in the classroom. Here are some highlights from the trial:

Intelligent Design Trial - from The Onion

Comments

[Mark Dodge]

As a culture, we have such a tendency to frame our arguments in dichotomies -- it's EITHER Evolution OR "Intelligent Design".

But there are always other options, the truth is probably somewhere in between. Maybe some people from another planet landed here 6000 years ago and mixed their DNA with the DNA of the indiginous population, and thus became Gods.

Maybe Evolution exists alongside Creationism. It's not such a strech, we're messing with DNA alot these days -- helping evolution along with technologies that certainly would seem Godlike to people from even 150 years ago.

It's fun to Google "6000 years ago", and look at all the stuff that comes up....

[Norm Miller]

I have to agree with Mark. I think Evolution should exist alongside Creationism, or should I say Intelligent Design, just as social studies class exists alongside biology class.