Want a Science Degree In Creationism? 848
The Bad Astronomer writes "In Texas, a state legislator wants the ironically-named Institute for Creation Research to be able to grant a Masters degree in science. In fact, the bill submitted to the Texas congress would make it legal for any private group calling themselves educational to be able to grant advanced degrees in science. So, now's your chance: that lack of a PhD in Astrology and Alchemy won't hold you back any longer."
The Institute for Creation Research made a similar request to the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board last year, but were shot down.
Mail Order (Score:5, Funny)
I guess my age is showing. I prefer to get my degrees through the more traditional approach: mail order.
This is not a bad idea (Score:5, Funny)
The idea that one can't study or learn anything from the study of Creationism is just as closed minded and retrogressive as the area of study itself. There are Masters-level degrees awarded for all sorts of fields that most of us would dismiss as poppycock. Religion, Divinity, even Media Studies have advanced degree programs for students interested in the topics.
By bringing serious study and research to this field, we can shed light on it and evolve the field to be at least in line with current scientific thought. Beyond that, it would also be possible to expand the theological underpinnings of the theory and discover the rationale behind it. How much better off would we be if we finally cleared away all the religious baggage of Creationism and brought it inline with real science?
There are many Deists in the scientific community. Why wouldn't the theory of a Divine Clockmaker be a reasonable field of study?
Re:That's Fine With Me (Score:5, Funny)
I don't think this was meant to start a flamewar at all! Your opinion is both wrong and full of ignorance! It's people like you who are ruining Slashdot.
Re:Names Please (Score:2, Funny)
I guess Mr. Bad Astronomer felt like taking this opportunity to bash Texas without actually helping people get something done.
We are laughing with you, not at you.
Re:That's Fine With Me (Score:3, Funny)
... due to the snide, sophomoric, brain-washed, self-destructive, petty, clever fools who make up 98.317% of its posters.
[Bold added by me]. I'll take that as a compliment.
Re:This is not a bad idea (Score:5, Funny)
It's characterized by surrounding yourself by people who exclusively think like you already think, and not being challenged.
Like going to a church or something?
Re:I can see money! (Score:4, Funny)
If this passes, I'm going to open up an Institute of Paranormal Studies in Texas, and hire every two bit crackpot psychic to be professors!
Dude, you're thinking too small. I want my M.S. in Flying Spaghetti Monster Studies (MSFSMS), and I want it now.
Easiest Degree Ever (Score:5, Funny)
Sounds like a class where I can just make up answers out of absolutely nothing. It's a miracle anyone passes!
Re:That's Fine With Me (Score:5, Funny)
Re:This is not a bad idea (Score:2, Funny)
How do you know that a degree in Creationism isn't as difficult as your field of study?
It's alot harder, it requires me to be learn how to shut down the logic & reasoning capabilities of my brain, something i've only been able to do with alcohol and other assorted mind altering drugs.
Degree in Religious Engineering (Score:3, Funny)
I propose a degree in Religious Engrineering. Here are example test questions:
Religious Engineering midterm exam. 5 questions, 60 minutes. You can use the Bible, the Qur'an, the Torah, and the Book of Mormon. In all questions, assume that Jesus is perfectly spherical and has an uniform density of G. Parying during the exam is forbidden.
1. (20 pts)
Adam and Bob are at rest. God loves them equally (L-0). Subsequently, Adam accelerates to 0.9c. From the point of view of Bob, how much more does God love Adam?
2. Stephan, a Catholic, is in a state of sanctifying grace. After some time he has an intercourse with a sheep S.
a) (8 pts) What is Stephan's retribution coefficient if the sheep S consented?
b) What is Stephan's retribution coefficient if the sheep S didn't consent, but it couldn't be said it had something against it?
3. (20 pts) The Holy Spirit's eternal, all-encompasing love is in the XY plane. The soul of Sue is at (0,0,5) at t = 0s, and its velocity vector is (0,0,5) m/s. The model was constructed according to rational positivism typical of the Enlightenement period. At what time tS will Sue's soul achieve salvation? (Hint: assume that souls are point-like).
4. (20 pts) Assume that the Ascension happens at the time t. Cameron, a saved human being in the state of sanctifying grace, at the time t has her head crushed in the jaws of an alligator. Calculate the mass of meat left for the alligator at the time t + 10s.
5. Isaac is a frictionless Jew of uniform density at rest. For his faith level, his sin factor is 11 Moseses. He subsequently eats 300 grams of pork, and he enjoys it. For this question, assume that Jews are always right.
a) (10 pts) What is Isaac's sin factor after eating the pork?
b) (10 pts) What is Isaac's heritage adjusted sin factor if he's from the tribe of Judah?
Bonus question.
25 g of wafer and 20 ml of cheap wine undergo transsubstatiation to become the flesh and blood of our Lord, Jesus Christ. Calculate the amount of heat that is liberated during this process, in joules.
(note: originally this was a Polish text by an anonymous author)
Re:This is not a bad idea (Score:4, Funny)
We can only pray
I am actually an Apathist (Score:5, Funny)
... I don't care if God exists. IMO, too much time, money and energy has been wasted on the topic. Time to move on.
Re:That's Fine With Me (Score:5, Funny)
Throw in thinking creationism is a science and that makes them laughable.
I don't know, I'd be pretty impressed with a scientist that could describe mathematically how the universe was created in 7 days. Even more so if he could reproduce the results in a lab.
Re:That's Fine With Me (Score:1, Funny)
I don't know, I'd be pretty impressed with a scientist that could describe mathematically how the universe was created in 7 days. Even more so if he could reproduce the results in a lab.
Be patient, will you? Superconducting magnets are a bitch. They'll be ready soon enough, sooner than either of us would like, maybe.
Re:That's Fine With Me (Score:3, Funny)
"you're degree is worthless."
Unlike you're's, I guess.
Re:One good thing about Creationism (Score:1, Funny)
Recent archaeological research into the time of the early Egyptian Pharaohs has turned up some interesting facts.
It turns out that you could get a decent sandwich and a pint of beer in Egypt over 4000 years ago.
That kind of brought it all into perspective for me.
Re:That's Fine With Me (Score:1, Funny)
Which is exactly the problem! There is no empirical evidence for "creationism."
Re:This is not a bad idea (Score:2, Funny)
Re:Working vs. Teaching (Score:3, Funny)
....Please cite a peer-reviewed journal article ...
I don't need to cite a &*^%$##$% journal article written by some evolution believer, but I can do a simple experiment. I could take any number of living organisms of any type size or shape and put it them in any number of places anywhere on the planet and see if any of them becomes a fossil.
If you are honest, you would admit, because the ubiquitous presence of microbial life, you will never get a fossil unless you sterilize the formerly living matter.
(...What I'm saying is that if DNA was different in every organism...)
But the fact of the matter is that the INFORMATION stored in DNA is different, for example, in every human being, making it possible to uniquely identify you out of all 6+ billion people on the planet. The DNA is simply the storage medium for the four level digital codes which are unique to every living creature. It is the increasing information contained in the more complex life forms that falsifies evolution of reptiles into birds and monkeys into people. It's not DNA in and of itself that does so.
There is also a big difference between intelligent design and creationism. ID simply looks at the universe and sees evidence of purpose. We know from our human experience, that purpose is associated with persons. Creationism ascribes such purpose to the person of God for the universe as a whole.