Intelligent Design

I watched an interesting documentary last night called Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed. It tackles a lot of the things that really bother me when it comes to the intelligent design debate. One of the most interesting parts of the film is the interview above featuring Dawkins, a leading evolutionary biologist and Ben Stein.

Something else that really struck me is the animosity that some scholars and scientists have towards the idea of intelligent design. They don't actually attack the actual idea that someone or something put all of this into motion. The don't even argue against it, they just repeatedly call it "idiotic" or "ignorant."

I am not in any way a scientist, but this fact does not keep me from thinking or forming my own opion. In my limited experience, one thing has always been true: that nothing comes from nothing. The very fact that we exist stems from two basic ideas. Either something put everything in motion or nothing put nothing in motion and it happened anyway. I'll leave that argument up to logic.

I couldn't help but be reminded of times on my mission when I defended the doctrines and beliefs of the LDS church. Sometimes the more reasonable and rational my answers were, the more unreasonable and irrational the responses became. The behavior in my estimation comes from insecurity. If you are secure in your thoughts, ideas, beliefs, and endeavors, you will welcome discussion, debate,  and exploration of other ideas, thoughts and beliefs.

I like to think. I like to think about big ideas. I don't like being called names for thinking something different than the current trend. I'm not trying to bash Darwin. I think it's time to start thinking about him like we have other brilliant scientific minds, that he made valuable contributions that helped us gain a better understanding of the bigger picture. The fact that we've expanded on, further developed, and sometimes cast doubt on or disproved theories of scientists such as such as Galileo, Newton, and Einstien does not in anyway diminish their legacy or value.

Still Life Flags

We had a military-themed family reunion on Natalie's side in July. To raise money for the campsite fees, there is a craft fair among other things. I contributed this patriotic still life.

Abby 2.0 + Blog Theory

I received a gentle reminder today from mi amigo Jeremy that I hadn't blogged in a long time. I had planned on posting this video I made for Abby's 2nd birthday, and I decided now would be a good time.

Lately, I just get the feeling that blogs for a lot of people are "so last year." Facebook seems to have overtaken blogging lately. I'm not complaining, I enjoy Facebook. It is an interesting way to keep tabs on friends and acquaintances from pretty much any period of life you could imagine. It just seems to be a little more superficial. Blogging has a tendency to draw a little more depth from the poster and the reader/commenter. 

For me, blogging has become a bit of a conundrum. I like love being creative. There are no less than 10 creative activities on my mental wish list at any one time, and while I enjoy writing it doesn't come as naturally as some other things.

In my mind, writing takes away from music/painting time. I'm sure that is not exactly the case. My blog can be a means of sharing such creative activities. Rather than hindering them, it could be an added motivation to complete said projects. In summation, I will attempt to blog meaningfully more often.