Steven S. Clark wrote:
[...]
SSC>I think that it is appropriate that novel paradigms have a
SSC>higher-than-usual hurdle to cross before being accepted by the
SSC>scientific collective.
I thought we were talking about the attempted rescuscitation of a
paradigm discarded in the mid-1800's. I think that the hurdle
is appropriately placed even higher for such "paradigms".
Plenty of research programs have had to demonstrate some level
of worth *before* achieving general acceptance. The old
Zenith slogan of "The quality goes in before the name goes on"
definitely is the inverse of the situation with the IDC
movement. They consistently clamor to have the name of
"science" (and the rights and privileges that go with it) to
be accorded their enterprise before producing anything of
scientific content. If the IDC program were as hot a ticket
as has been claimed by its proponents, it should be a cinch
for them to *produce* some *results* of a pilot scientific
research effort. Look at the funding available to the
Discovery Institute and other anti-evolutionary organizations.
If these folks were really interested in performing research,
they don't have to rely upon the usual sources of scientific
research funding. They have access to potfuls of money that
many scientists would find far more than adequate to
accommodate studies. All they have to do is show that IDC
*works*. It wouldn't take much of a result, if that result
garnered a patentable technology. But, instead, we get
complaints that they are being "censored" somehow (though
nobody seems to have any rejection letters to show for it) and
can't get their programs started. Yet the travel schedules of
the IDCs seem to indicate that no lack of funding is apparent
for the political action component of the IDC effort. Why,
then, is the research effort so cash-poor? One could accept
that "censorship" is involved (though I've already pointed out
that this essentially is saying that the IDCs should be
accorded privileged treatment compared to what other research
disciplines have had to do at outset). But one could also
reasonably tote it up to knowledge within the IDC ranks that a
pilot research project is not worth pursuing because they
already know it would be a waste of money better spent getting
to press conferences in Kansas and other anti-evolutionary
hotspots.
Wesley
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