In retrospect, I really shoulda known better. Read the full post.
Apr 23
2008
07:28 PM ET
I saw it, so you don't have to: Ben Stein's 'Expelled'
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It was bad. Really bad. But not because of the content. It was just a reckless poorly thought out movie.
lrein,
Ok, that’s why Ken Miller utterly guts the notion of biological IC here.
and here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=30_u9W6_UWA
“The first cell that had to have been created by accident had to have all the information in it that has ALL the information in it to create the whole earth, i.e.. plants, animals, humans, or any living creature”
most certainly not, a cell and its DNA is built to produce the proteins for the specific organism which is built each generation, it’s not like I can take a rats DNA and build a human, the DNA code is altered. besides, most scientists suggest the first replicating molecules or cells werent’ not DNA, but more akin to RNA or even less complex still. A lesser complex cell would over time use evolutionary ratcheting and become more complex so there is no reason to assume *poof* out came DNA. but lets talk about ID for a sec, how is it falsifiable and thus Science?
Let it go, guys. The film is dying a quick death after only two weeks in the theaters. $5.2M in two weeks’ box office. Hmmm, let’s see, at about $10 a ticket, that means that about a half million people bothered to go. That’s funny, because for all the hype Ben and co. tried to generate, all of 1.6% of the U.S. population has seen this propaganda? This isn’t even getting traction with the Christian community. Best data I saw and could extrapolate says there are probably about 165M Christians in this country. I think we’re better off arguing over proposed Florida legistlation than this weak attempt to discredit evolution.
I LOVED the movie. I can see why some would not like it, though. It is a documentary. It’s intended to make one think. If people go to movies to be merely entertained, they will be disappointed. If your mind is closed and you have already decided that anyone who considers “intelligent design” (ID) is a nut case, then you’ll find reason to slam it. But if you enjoy thinking and having your biases challenged, then it’s a good movie. But the movie is not really about science and religion. The ID vs. spontaneous life controversy is merely a case study in freedom of thought in American academia. The metaphor of the Berlin was a perfect one. The wall was put up to keep all competing ideas out. Thinking and questioning is considered dangerous. Laugh if you want to at scientists who consider ID a possibility, but we should be angry at the authoritarian academic intelligentsia who tightly restrict free speech, free thought and discourage questions. This is America, not cold-war East Berlin!
I LOVED the movie! But I can see why some wouldn’t. It is a documentary, meant to make one think. If people only go to movies to be entertained, they’ll be disappointed. If your mind is closed & you’ve already decided anyone open to “intelligent design” (ID) is a nut case, then you’ll find reason to slam it. But if you like thinking & having your biases challenged, then it’s a good movie. But the movie ISN’T really about the ID vs. spontaneous life controversy. That topic is merely a case study in freedom of thought in American academia. The symbol of the Berlin wall was perfect. The wall was put up to keep all competing ideas out. Free thought & questioning was “dangerous.” Laugh if you want to at scientists who consider ID possible, but we should be angry at authoritarian academic intelligentsia who tightly restrict free speech, free thought and discourage questions. You don’t have to be religious to be pro-free speech and free thought. This is America, not cold-war Berlin!
I have seen the film and read the review. Now I will review the review.
In his writing Simon displays little ability to take his job seriously. Firstly by reading other reviews prior to his own watching of the film, he obviously went into the film with a secondary bias. He plainly states that it is about loony fringe politics and sheer stupidity making apparent a bias against the subject matter of the film. But by admitting to going into the theater to see a D grade rotten tomato based on reviews he holds as esteemed and erudite, he lets us know that he was expecting a bad film. Then by comparing the host of the documentary to a character the same man had played in another movie 22 years ago, he proves only that he couldn’t be bothered to separate this film from an old fantasy.
As for his own admitted misconduct during the screening and contempt for fellow viewers, he shows that he holds no regard for his position as a movie critic.
I would not recommend anyone taking Simon seriously.
When one proposes that the first cell formed on a rock, well I think they may be indeed assuming that something came from nothing. Without that certain something there is no evolution, because there is nothing to evolve. Something does not come from nothing.
On Ben Stein’s Expelled….: “If the fittest ARE to be the ones who survive, why are we so very zealous in ‘saving the planet?’ Maybe there exists not only the Creator, but the Savior in whose ‘image’ we ARE intricately designed.”
On Ben Stein’s Expelled….: “If the fittest ARE to be the ones who survive, why are we so very zealous in ‘saving the planet?’ Maybe there exists not only the Creator, but the Savior in whose ‘image’ we ARE intricately designed.”
Jesus here. Everybody keeps asking what I would do if I were around today. For one, I would accept modern science and the FACT of evolution. Yeah, you know that book those MEN wrote a long ass time ago? It’s not a science book and it certainly isn’t flawless. Another thing, I would ask all these bigots and flat-earth people to start acting like reasonably intelligent and compassionate people. As it turns out, they were wrong about the sun going around the earth like they’re wrong about this. I was on my cross and I made a sacrifice for what? So you could oppress people wiser than the likes of you with your ignorant crap? I’d rather have a world filled with intelligent skeptics, than oppressive sheep following the wrong herder. My Father gave you the gift of a brain. Now try using it.
Hey, Well all you guys think that this movie was crap but seriously, think about what you believe. There are so many holes in evolution, why teach something false to our kids? Just to let you know, Evolution is just a theory and you can never prove its true and don’t just go along with what other people say, find out the truth yourself.
As I said in my blog, Why There Are No Expelled and Ben Stein Bootlegs at
http://millenniumwriting.wordpress.com/2008/05/16/why-there-are-no-expelled-and-ben-stein-bootlegs/, you can measure the quality and success of a movie by the number of bootlegs copies there are on the street. There aren’t none for Expelled.
Erik John Bertel
Author of Flores Girl The Children God Forgt and the Millenniumwriting BLog
I liked the part at the end where Stein asked Richard Dawkins how life originated and after admitting that neither he nor any scientists knows (hmmmm), Dawkins seriously proposed the idea of intelligent life forms from other planets “seeding” our planet with the cells that originally would lead to life as we know it. (Aliens?) Very clever. And scientific. No redeeming value to this film. None at all. (Sarcasm much?)
I found the movie quite humorous… if you can follow the logic in it, there are quite a few witty remarks.
Nobody ever said that ID can’t be introduced as science fact or even scientific theory. If you want to take it there you better have some pretty good data to support it. So far the ID’ists haven’t been able to step up to the plate with anything viable. When they try, they are quickly shot to pieces. This will not have much effect on this issue because the ID’ists have faith that they really might be onto something.