Ten thousand hits a day? This is appalling if true. You imply some
scepticism about the numbers. Is this justified?
To link this comment to Tim's excellent and irenic post I think the real
reason is that people of group a) and b) have an axe to grind whereas people
in group c) and d) do not - at least in this area. People with an axe to
grind will almost always make more of a stink and get a higher profile than
those who don't.
Confuscius is supposed to have said "It is better to light a candle than
curse the darkness". I look forward to you candle lighting attempts.
Jon
John W Burgeson wrote:
> The other day I noted that the young earth site, answersingenesis.org, is
> receiving a reported 10,000 visitors a day.
>
> I also note that the ASA web site has had about 80,000 visitors since
> inception.
>
> Assuming the answersingenesis reported number is inflated by a factor of
> ten, and that the ASA site has been active for 3 years, that reduces to
> 80 /day for the ASA and 1,000/day for answersingenesis.
>
> I could not find a visitor count at icr.org, but surely they must be
> doing a comparable business.
>
> I surmise we are being outgunned by a factor of at least 20 to 1. Very
> likely a lot more.
>
> At the occasion of the NTSE conference in Austin, in February 1997, ICR
> put on a conference at a local Baptist church. There were 125 at the NTSE
> -- the church was overflowing with a reported (this is from memory) 3,000
> in attendance.
>
> I surmise that although the YEC view has been thoroughly falsified
> (unless one espouses the Gosse thesis), it is certainly not going away. I
> had had visions of that happening as the Internet revolution began -- but
> Gresham's law of $$ seems to apply even more so to rational discourse.
>
> We can debate endlessly the amount of the beating we are taking; is it
> "only" 20 to 1 or is it, perhaps, 100 to 1, but I think nobody here will
> deny that rational discussions on origins ARE an uninteresting backwater
> in current origins thinking in our country. We can also argue that this
> does not matter because the academic / intellectual world is not so
> polarized. Which may, or may not, be true.
>
> Or those of us who care can try to do something about the current sorry
> situation.
>
> I don't have any magic bullets myself, but I have been discussing with
> Jack Haas at least one fairly modest action we can take (I speak here to
> ASA members) to work on the situation. That will be the subject of a post
> I will make later.
>
> In the meantime, comments anyone?
>
> Burgy (John Burgeson)
>
> www.burgy.50megs.com
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