Retorts

Knockout Unlikely

In his first letter to NZSM [Retorts, May] Renton Maclachlan asked for "knock-me-down-drag-me away incontrovertible" evidence for evolution. I would turn this request around and ask him (or any other creationist) for "knock-me-down-drag-me away incontrovertible" evidence that would make me take creationism seriously. Of course, such evidence would have to be verifiable, either by experiment or by observation, and have been published in a reputable journal. Articles appearing in creationist magazines do not count -- they have no scientific credibility whatsoever.

I won't be holding my breath. The so-called "evidence" creationists have dredged up so far wouldn't make any scientist I know pause for even a femtosecond. As a paleontologist I find the creationist view that the observed sequence of fossils is the result of a "Great Flood" to be particularly risible, evidence of an abysmal ignorance of paleontology and sedimentology. I doubt if most creationists have ever collected fossils, let alone studied them.

Creationists are fond of telling us how many scientists espouse their cause. On close examination most of these "scientists" turn out to be engineers (not that I have anything against engineers as such) or have qualifications (typically from fundamentalist colleges) in non-biological fields. A few could be classed as biologists of one sort or another, but I cannot think of one who has made an outstanding contribution to the life sciences.

No doubt creationists will disagree with this assessment. I therefore challenge them to name five Nobel laureates who are avowed creationists. Only those who have won a prize in a science category, of course -- the opinions of those who have won the prize for Literature or Peace (or heaven help us, Economics!) are not relevant, no matter how worthy these people may be. If this is too difficult, how about five creationists who are Fellows of the Royal Society or some other equally prestigious scientific body, or hold high positions in the Life or Earth Sciences Departments in the world's leading universities?

Some scientists describe creationism as "garbage". I disagree -- garbage can usually be recycled to produce something useful, but I cannot think of anything worthwhile that can be done with the products of this bizarre belief system.

Phillip Maxwell, Waimate