Salty Discussion Post-mortem

I think the reason for the rapid and numerous postings was because it was thought that anyone expressing such certainty must have some pretty compelling evidence. Many of the posts seemed to be requesting evidence.--Percy

The reasons, in no particular order, are:

• I really do believe there are some crazies out there on the Internet. While this wouldn't have bothered when I was younger, I now have a wife, family and cat who I would never risk endangering.
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• The company that employs me and the professional organizations of which I am a member would not likely take a favorable view of participation in such a frivolous exercise as debate with Creationists. While I wouldn't have given this possibilty a second thought when I was younger, I'm now at the age where the possibility of age discrimination must also be considered, and I now have a wife, family, cat and discussion board who are dependent upon my income.

--Percy

To make a small clarification to the Mammuthus post above, I believe in God, but I accept the theory of evolution.Hasn't Salty provided enough evidence by now that he's not really all there? Isn't this less a discussion and more a "let's torment the poor creature" game? Shouldn't our treatment of Salty move to the "treated politely but not taken seriously" category? Shouldn't he be receiving our hopes and encouragement for recovery instead of our criticisms?Curiousity as to what really happened at UVM has been expressed a couple times, and I share it. Does anyone have a contact at UVM to whom they could make inquiries? It would be very interesting to know how Salty acquired tenure and emeritus status, and how the biology department dealt with him through the years.--Percy

You seem so dissatisfied with this board, perhaps you could recruit people from other boards where you've had some success to come here and help you make your case.--Percy

I don't know - do you ever have moments of self-doubt where you wonder if perhaps your critics have a point? Acknowledgement of one's own human fallibility can be a helpful touchstone. I think most scientists would acknowledge that science attempts to describe the universe, but that while attaining "truth" is the goal, it is an ideal we can never reach. For this reason all scientific theories must remain tentative. This makes the development of accepted scientific theories a consensus activity of those competent to render judgment. So while "truth" isn't determined by a majority vote, which theories are accepted certainly is.Do you feel you've arrived at a truth or a theory?--Percy