Hello, and welcome to Fresh AiR! – I’m Joe… Words you will have heard a few times if you have already started listening to season one. What is Fresh AiR? ‘Fresh AiR’ is a podcast, hosted by Joe, Martijn and Dave. It is part of Answers in Reason but hopes to bring a fresh perspective…
Cognitive Bias
I’ve come across a lot of bias on the internet. I have even spoken at length in previous articles about Confirmation Bias, and how I have made mistakes through a cognitive bias to people I trust. I’ve noticed in conversations with people I felt I had a mutual respect with, they are often less inclined…
Statistics – The Statistical Improbability of You
Alan has already debunked “The mathematical Impossibility of evolution” but I thought I would explain a little bit about statistics. Or rather than explain; I thought providing examples of statistics in order to help you increase your understanding. The Statistical Chance of You The statistical chance of you existing is such an astronomical calculation that…
Common Creationist Misconceptions – Humans, Science and Faith
In today’s society of theists you tend to find you have those who are rather liberal in their attitude to their holy book.
They take it as a metaphor, understand it is dated, written by humans, imperfect, and lean on the good examples it provides.
The other is the fundamentalists, the literalist, the inerrantist. These folks think the Bible, Qur’an or particular holy book is the written word of their deity.
As such, believe it is PERFECT. Without error, 100% factual. No metaphor. The world and humans were created as described in Genesis (or equivalent book) and therefore all evidence of evolution is thrown out.
You do get some theists that are in between these two extreme groups, but thanks to our tribal nature you tend to find people end up going to the proverbial left or right.
This literalist attitude leads to massive misconceptions about humans, science, and even faith.
As with previous CCM Gallaries by Lord Cropes this one tries to answer some of those questions and statements you often get
Evolution is racist!
There are no transitional Fossils
Evolution says we evolved from chimps
If humans are apes, how come chimps can’t read or write?
Social Dawinism
No Precambrian fossils
Polystrate fossils
Chromosome Pairs
I’m not an animal
Dino Nests – All Fossils are the result of the flood!
Why aren’t monkey’s evolving into humans now?
The Bible is Inerrant! – Biblical Errors – Volume 1: Genesis & Creation
“The Bible is inerrant!” is something quite commonly said in debate. It’s part of the circular reasoning: “The Bible is the word of God, because it tells us so, God is perfect, therefore the Bible is infallible.” We have a number of articles that address things like: Common Theistic Fallacies (e.g. Circular Reasoning)Confirmation BiasContradictions in…
The Problem with Pseudoscience
Note: We are republishing this article with the kind permission of Dr. Ben Davis. We highly recommend checking out Dr. Ben’s Fb page Please click here for Dr. Ben’s Facebook page. The Problem with Pseudoscience So, I try not to rip on my students in general. I especially try to avoid poking fun at them…
Pro-Choice does not mean Pro-Abortion
Abortion is a very sensitive topic with a lot of high charged emotions flying about. If you remove the emotional element it is easy to see either sides point, but there are a few things that should be cleared up from either perspective. Pro-Choice does not mean Pro-Abortion There seems to be an attitude that…
Confirmation Bias: Fanboys, Fundamentalists, Conspiracy Theorists and our Tribal Nature
Fanboys, Fundamentalists, and Conspiracy theorists are the prime users of Confirmation Bias. In fact, everyone at some point has operated using confirmation bias based on their cognitive biases, but in most circumstances, you could drop them in to one of the above categories. So let’s start with some definitions of the terminology shall we? We…
Conflated and Misunderstood Terms Volume 1: Evolution
Conflated and Misunderstood Terms There are a number of conflated and misunderstood terms floating about the internet. Some of these terms are colloquialisms, others are just a misunderstanding, while the bulk used have been taught erroneously to further an agenda. Communication is a very important thing. If we cannot interact with each other on the…
Could a “virtual particle chaos” explain the origin of the universe?
In preparing to write the Deplosion series, I wanted to give my ideas as deeply scientific a basis as I could. My formal university training was in Computing Science and then in Molecular Biology and Genetics, so I’m no cosmologist. But Cosmology and Quantum Physics have always been hobbies of mine (begin “geek” comments now)…
