tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-42840783346914830982024-03-12T23:00:48.842-05:00Dread Tomato AddictionScience, Statistics, and Silliness.
Occasional opinions with wide confidence intervals.
On a good day there might even be complete sentences.Dan Eastwoodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14105563883467108602noreply@blogger.comBlogger308125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4284078334691483098.post-73256602539935313522024-02-26T20:04:00.004-06:002024-02-26T22:00:16.864-06:00The Evidence for Evolution: Science WorksPerhaps the best evidence for evolution, is that the science works. Practically every day we see results from evolution leading to new things; inventions, patents, medical treatments, and fruitful new areas of research and discovery. These are all hallmarks of good science. If someone thinks evolution is wrong, then it is upon them to offer anew theory - a theory that can do everything the old Dan Eastwoodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14105563883467108602noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4284078334691483098.post-39349642133241689232021-11-22T11:02:00.000-06:002021-11-22T11:02:24.235-06:00Arguing Against ConspiraciesTaken out of context, but you will figure it out ...First they describe themselves as a repressed minority under threat from "The Other". Next they make outrageous claims, and of course reasonable people will refute these claims as untrue. Then they point to these "attacks" on their belief as confirmation they are being repressed.
There is also the thrill of righteous indignation, "knowing" they Dan Eastwoodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14105563883467108602noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4284078334691483098.post-35887500145516019292017-12-20T18:57:00.003-06:002017-12-20T18:57:25.562-06:00BREAKING NEWS: Internet headlines are Truncated
Ever notice how the news headlines, or titles of article that appear online, aren't long enough to actually tell you what the story is about? I think this MUST be intentional, because until you click on the story, Google - or whatever service you are viewing - gets no information about our interests. They make us click to actually view the content, driving traffic to the sites and stories we Dan Eastwoodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14105563883467108602noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4284078334691483098.post-5554396309128361682017-09-27T18:30:00.000-05:002017-10-11T15:29:45.265-05:00In Response to C. S. Lewis
C.S. Lewis Reasoning on Atheism
"Supposing there was no intelligence behind the universe, no creative mind. In that case, nobody designed my brain for the purpose of thinking. It is merely that when the atoms inside my skull happen, for physical or chemical reasons, to arrange themselves in a certain way, this gives me, as a by-product, the sensation I call thought. But, if so, how can I Dan Eastwoodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14105563883467108602noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4284078334691483098.post-60512518842891896212016-02-12T19:01:00.001-06:002023-04-20T16:59:27.939-05:00Deconstructing Dembski (2005)
Introduction
In
his 2005 paper Specification: the pattern that signifies intelligence,
William Dembski tries to give a rigorous definition to his concept of Complex
Specified Information (CSI). This paper has numerous problems, the most painful
of which is repeated equivocation of terms, making it very difficult to read.
Once I got past the equivocation, I discovered basic errors in how Dan Eastwoodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14105563883467108602noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4284078334691483098.post-88136654663952471322016-01-18T21:58:00.004-06:002016-01-21T15:25:18.887-06:00Tomatoes, More Dangerous Than Ever!
You see!?!? I TOLD YOU TOMATOES ARE DANGEROUS!!!!
image source
“We have suffered a Code 9 containment breach,” said head biotechnologist Stewart Klein, explaining that he had used a dedicated emergency line to contact Monsanto headquarters in St. Louis, which immediately sent back a directive ordering all laboratory personnel to shelter in place until further notice. “As of now, we’ve Dan Eastwoodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14105563883467108602noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4284078334691483098.post-43052553396761211782015-11-22T08:00:00.000-06:002016-04-03T21:39:32.518-05:00Ken Ham and the AiG Follies
I have a several pages of notes from Ken Ham's recent presentation, and wrote about one example of the things he gets wrong. This could keep my busy blogging for a year if I so chose, but I think it's not worthwhile making a point-by-point rebuttal to everything he said. That don't mean I can't have some fun with it!
Therefore, for your amusement, I am going to simply list all the greatly wrongDan Eastwoodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14105563883467108602noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4284078334691483098.post-14354866689504851492015-11-20T17:57:00.000-06:002015-11-22T00:02:37.500-06:00Rock Paper Scissors SPOCK Lizard
Sorry Sheldon, but it should be
Rock Paper Scissors Spock Lizard,
NOT
Rock Paper Scissors Lizard Spock.
Here is Sheldon Cooper explaining the game:
In the original Rochambeau we have the simple rules:
Rock crushes ScissorsScissors cut PaperPaper covers Rock
Which we can represent as:
Rock < Paper < Scissors < Rock
where greater-than "<" Dan Eastwoodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14105563883467108602noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4284078334691483098.post-74270585048872054192015-11-19T18:38:00.000-06:002015-11-22T00:06:12.014-06:00Ken Ham on the age of the Earth
In my last post, An Evening with Ken Ham, I stated:
[Ham] would never address a real scientific question. Ham's approach to science is is entirely superficial, and his interest in science ends the moment he finds a trivial sound-bite that he can use in his sermons.
I thought I might follow up on that with my favorite quote from the evening; a self-contradictory statement which is wrong on two Dan Eastwoodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14105563883467108602noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4284078334691483098.post-86088187795421269302015-11-17T15:31:00.000-06:002015-11-22T00:07:38.186-06:00An Evening With Ken Ham
I went to see Ken Ham, co-founder of of Answers in Genesis ministries, speak at a local church last night. I had a couple of questions prepared in case there was a Q&A session where I might get a chance to speak:
1) Mr. Ham: You blame atheists as the primary opposition to your views, but atheist are a minority in the US. Isn't it true that the majority of Christians are able to reconcile Dan Eastwoodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14105563883467108602noreply@blogger.com0Brookfield, WI, USA43.099709268800723 -88.10293854447081743.096810768800722 -88.107981044470819 43.102607768800723 -88.097896044470815tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4284078334691483098.post-45354501745769264912015-06-19T16:06:00.001-05:002016-01-21T15:25:59.089-06:00Testing Mathjax
`E = M*C^2`
sum_(i=1)^n i^3=((n(n+1))/2)^2
`sum_(i=1)^n i^3=((n(n+1))/2)^2`
Nifty!
Find out more about it here: http://asciimath.org/#gettingStarted
Dan Eastwoodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14105563883467108602noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4284078334691483098.post-44930113740697780562014-09-25T17:46:00.000-05:002016-10-06T16:33:49.266-05:00Who needs books when we already have a dictionary?
In a recent online discussion, which began with a post about Darwin Day, and soon turned into an argument about evolution, one opponent wrote the following:
"The theory of evolution, if it were removed from the consideration of science wholly, would not register a blip if it weren't for its role as a guiding materialist philosophy for atheists and agnostics in academia."
He wrote rather moreDan Eastwoodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14105563883467108602noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4284078334691483098.post-3590049729448050342012-12-17T20:52:00.002-06:002015-11-22T00:09:18.305-06:00Discussing Firearms Insurance
There has been considerable commentary on G+ to my post The Case for Firearms Insurance, and it has been almost entirely constructive discussion. I was surprised the conversation has not been a lot more rancorous, because this topic seems primed to bring out the worst in the internet. Not everyone agreed with me, but nearly all everyone gave it serious consideration. This post is a collection ofDan Eastwoodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14105563883467108602noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4284078334691483098.post-64416972393509383512012-12-16T12:01:00.000-06:002015-11-22T00:09:36.024-06:00A Word about "One Good Person with a Gun"
Following on my Firearms Insurance post from yesterday, I'd like to address a common argument in discussions about gun control: The hypothesis that "One Good Person" is all that is need to put an end to murders and crime, and therefore more people should carry guns, not fewer.
The argument goes, that one good person armed with a gun could put a stop to tragic mass shootings when they start, Dan Eastwoodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14105563883467108602noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4284078334691483098.post-21621220207779428952012-12-15T16:00:00.000-06:002015-11-22T00:09:02.656-06:00The Case for Firearms Insurance
We require automobile owners to carry vehicle insurance. It's time we did the same for firearms.
The tragic shootings at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut are in the news this weekend. Tuesday it was a shopping mall in Oregon, and before that the salon in Brookfield, WI, just a few miles down the road from me. Before this topic fades into the news cycle again, I'd like to Dan Eastwoodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14105563883467108602noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4284078334691483098.post-82964445188789735702012-11-04T11:30:00.001-06:002016-01-21T15:27:15.036-06:00The Future of Political Journalism
Nate Silver's predictions on FiveThirtyEight are starting to draw a lot of attention - and a lot of criticism. Almost all this criticism seems to be people interpreting statistical estimates as the blathering of a typical pundit, leading them to very irrational claims, or concocting elaborate speculations why Silver cannot be right. They could not be more wrong, and in a few days I Dan Eastwoodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14105563883467108602noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4284078334691483098.post-9124448699781142872012-11-01T21:42:00.002-05:002012-11-03T21:29:34.735-05:00More Survey Analysis
I'm repeating my previous post, since it seems relevant to review the data again before the election. I accessed all these sites at about 9:00 PM CST. I
Real Clear Politics
Obama 201
Romney 191
Toss Ups 146
Obama by +1 ECV
Intrade Presidential Election 2012
Obama ~67% win
Romney~33% win
FiveThirthyEight
Obama 303.2 +/-56 ECV
Romney 234.8 -/+56 ECV
~81% Obama Dan Eastwoodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14105563883467108602noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4284078334691483098.post-87234165933527257442012-10-30T20:00:00.000-05:002012-11-26T14:01:47.710-06:00Survey Says ...
After discussing politics with a friend this morning, I was
inspired to make the rounds of sites that accumulate political polling results
and see what they all are saying. All results accessed on the web late afternoon on November 6th.
Real Clear Politics
Obama 201 +/-61
Romney 191 -/+61
Toss Ups 146
Obama by +10 ECV
(edit: those error bound probably belong to the 538 analysis, not RCP).Dan Eastwoodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14105563883467108602noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4284078334691483098.post-19510997967107258712012-08-04T14:47:00.000-05:002015-01-20T15:47:40.547-06:00The Creationist 419 Scam
You would think that outrageous claims are so likely to be rejected that the person making the claim would just give up and go away. For an example of this you might check out this Sensuous Curmudgeon post "ICR: Plants Are Not Alive". The Institute for Creation Research claims that because plants do not move and do not have blood, they are not alive, and they justify this based on the Dan Eastwoodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14105563883467108602noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4284078334691483098.post-50559193329699571622012-07-01T11:59:00.000-05:002012-11-03T21:19:02.689-05:00Wrong and Wronger
A month ago I wrote about telling off a Nobel laureate (see Wrong). That is a conceit on my part, because I doubt Dr. Josephson will ever read it. Someone read it though, because it sparked a flurry of response from some Answers in Genesis Creationists (yes, I know that is redundant). One in particular, identifying himself only as Bonesiii Dromer, was moved to a truly spectacular display of Dan Eastwoodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14105563883467108602noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4284078334691483098.post-51962912181922892212012-07-01T11:17:00.000-05:002012-07-01T11:51:14.626-05:00Blog changes
I just made a complete overhaul of my blog template, because I found that quoted text just wasn't at all legible, and other formatting annoyances. No doubt this will cause chaos and destruction throughout the blogosphere. Please let me know if you spot anything in need to fixing.
Dan Eastwoodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14105563883467108602noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4284078334691483098.post-55913436241278323332012-06-29T17:32:00.002-05:002016-01-21T15:51:56.094-06:00Tomatoes!
How can I not link to this Discovery Blog Post?
Tomatoes!
Enjoy.
Hey. Where did she come from?
Dan Eastwoodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14105563883467108602noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4284078334691483098.post-66706400362805966152012-06-12T07:00:00.000-05:002012-11-04T06:51:28.651-06:00Sing Along Time
Sing along to the tune of "Daisy" (Bicycle Built for Two):
Face hug space bug,Implant me with XenomorphI'm just fine now, chest burst - sent the monster forth.It might be a huge disastersplit up, we'll find it fasterbut you'll look best, cocooned in the nest
of an alien Xenomorph.
Whatever it was that possessed me to write this, it was gone when I woke up.
Dan Eastwoodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14105563883467108602noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4284078334691483098.post-62815681572486766702012-05-29T18:00:00.000-05:002015-11-22T00:14:28.968-06:00Wrong.
image source
Today I got to do something that just doesn't happen every day.
I told a Nobel laureate they are wrong
It's really not terribly interesting, so here is the short version (after the break):
Click for more.
1) On May 16th, Russell Garwood's column "Reach out to defend evolution" is published at Nature.com.
2) On May 22nd, Brian Josephson posts some nonsense about Dan Eastwoodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14105563883467108602noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4284078334691483098.post-72050939906184235592012-05-24T22:31:00.001-05:002015-11-22T00:13:13.890-06:00To the Rescue!
I came home from work a bit late tonight, and on my drive noticed the wind was pushing my car to the side a bit. When I got home, I discovered that wasn't all the wind was knocking about.
There is a robin's nest on the corner of my house. This nesting pair likes to build on top of the rain gutter downspouts. This one is particularly attractive to them because the honeysuckle is starting Dan Eastwoodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14105563883467108602noreply@blogger.com2