I have been following the Creationism vs. Evolution debate since about 1980. I was pretty well read in the Dr. Henry Morris – Institute for Creation Research strain of “scientific” creationism, and I am learning about the Intelligent Design school.
In the past, I have attended some creationist events, helped a biologist prepare to “debate” Henry Morris, and shared dinner with Dr. Morris before the debate. I had some good conversations with Dan Wonderly, who was prominent in the American Scientific Affiliation. He wrote some good books which accepted all that science has discovered, except… He was just unwilling to believe that the paleontological gaps between species were a natural phenomenon.
My original intent was to become a college professor, but that has not worked out. I like standing in front of an audience and talking about a subject in which I am knowledgeable, and I especially like discussions with the attendees. Sometimes, I break in the middle of the talk a couple of times for some audience discussion.
I am considering putting together a talk or day-long seminar on the CE debate and hitting the road with it. Surprisingly, my first concern is about how my four cats will be cared for if I end up traveling a lot (I live alone). I also am aware of the large amount of work that preparing a talk would require. I wonder how I can get good illustrations on a crude pencil sketch budget. (If you have illustrations you would like to donate to the public domain, or know of a good source, please let me know.) Brushing up on the issue is not a problem. I love intellectual intercourse! (Could that be why I am single?)
I am a scientist, through and through. I spend too much time thinking like a scientist. I live in my head too much. I am unpublished. Partly that is because of the jobs I have held in industry and government. I have never had a job in which I was paid to publish research. That explanation seems to be self-serving. I question everything, especially myself. Maybe I do not want to be a scientist at all. Wouldn’t there be all sorts of research I could do with no budget, particularly using my statistical skills?
Process philosophy describes my world view very well. In most Western philosophies, the emphasis is upon being and objects. In process thought, the emphasis is upon becoming and processes; everything is always changing. Many scientists find process thought to be appealing.
Modern process thought was developed first by Alfred North Whitehead (a mathematician) in response to the developments of modern physics in the early 20th Century. Christian theologians soon adopted Whitehead’s approach and have developed an extensive process theology.
If I receive requests, I can post a reading list of popular process books that I culled from Amazon.com and BN.com. Here are the top process philosophy links from Google:
- Wikipedia, of course.
- Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy
- Center for Process Studies
- Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy.
I plan to use this page for personal thoughts. My profile page has a few nuts and bolts particulars about me. I am uncertain what and how much personal information to provide. Please engage me if you have some thoughts on that subject.
Take care,
Rocky
(I know that is a corny username, but, hey! besides being a geologist, I am a Rocky and Bullwinkle fan!)
P.S. I read:
- Panda’s Thumb
- Pharyngula and
- ERV.
