Comments on: “So I am disgusted with Wikipedia.”

By: John A

John A — Mon, 07 Apr 2008 08:15:38 +0000

The irony is that if the subject of the bio were to start an action to sue Wikipedia for defamation, then WP would back down almost immediately.

By: Moulton

Moulton — Sat, 05 Apr 2008 22:55:02 +0000

I haven’t seen Ben Stein’s new movie, so I have no opinion on it, or even any idea where he stands on the issue of which beliefs (scientific, religious, secular, or otherwise) he personally subscribes to.

But even when someone harbors questionable beliefs, the civil thing to do is to question those beliefs with a respectful if skeptical eye, while avoiding the unbecoming practice of pillorying, harassing, or abusing them.

In science, we not only welcome a skeptical examination of the evidence for a proposed theory, we require it of students who take the Scientific Method seriously.

Critical thinking skills are in short supply in our culture.

I regret that my efforts to bring some critical thinking to the process of crafting articles on Wikipedia has not yielded a more satisfactory level of progress.

By: Somey

Somey — Sat, 05 Apr 2008 20:36:46 +0000

I’d say there’s a good chance that this new movie by ID proponent Ben Stein, Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed, will tank at the box office despite the producers’ efforts to keep hostile reviewers out of early theatrical showings. But why give these people this kind of ammunition? I get the impression that they’re just impatient for the Discovery Institute and its supporters to disappear, and they think that by using smear tactics like this, they’re going to hasten the day, and if innocents get hurt in the process, so be it, the end justifies the means. Unfortunately, science doesn’t work that way - you have to take the time to explain, educate, and inform people of the truth if you want to make an untruth go away. Instant gratification only works within a hierarchy of needs - nobody needs evolution, or ID either for that matter. You’d think these WP people would see that, but the screwy WP culture has completely skewed their ideas on how people actually think and behave.