"The Origin of Specious Nonsense"

Pushtrak

http://www.theoriginofspeciousnonsense.com/

This book is launching in Dublin on Sept 15th in Buswells Hotel by Conor
Lenihan TD - MINISTER FOR SCIENCE!!! Apparently there is €10,000 to be
won! If anyone has a head for banal creationist arguments please feel
free to attend. If however you think it's a disgrace that a minister
for science is promoting this book... - then feel free to get in touch with him
http://www.theoriginofspeciousnonsense.com/

Someone on my facebook posted this. I went to the site but its a hideous mess and hard to see what is going on there. Though it is playing Ennio Morricone so I kept the tab open.

fatmammycat

Heard this advertised earlier, checked out site and pods, zero science on offer, even in the page samples. Nor is May (author) a scientist himself.

c_man

From bowsing that site

Reasons why I detest Evolution

1: It teaches us to be satisfied with - not understanding origins.

Conor Lenihan is going be at the launch of this garbage? Really?

Dades

I really hope the part about the Minister turning up is bollocks.

A publicity stunt on behalf of the publishers perhaps?

c_man

Dades wrote: »

A publicity stunt on behalf of the publishers perhaps?

You can also bet that that e10,000 won't be given out in a raffle. I imagine it'll be on offer to anyone who can prove evolution or something...

fatmammycat

maybe so, I would be surprised if he did make an appearance at this kind of bash.

MagicMarker

For a minute there I thought Conor Lenihan wrote it! Although launching it isn't much better.

Where is Buswells hotel?

GLaDOS

"A Hoax" "A Joke"
"A Fantasy" "An Impossibility"
"A Fiction"
"A Fairytale For Adults"
"The greatest deceit in the history of science"

Getting rave reviews

sensibleken

I went to a talk on the great o'neil which featured conor lenihan last week. he came accross as...a bit dim. so im not really suprised/

oceanclub

Nope, he's launching it; I rang Lenihan's office and it was confirmed. When I asked did not having a Minister for Science launch an anti-science book give it credence, I was told that just because he was launching it did not mean he agreed with it, which obviously wasn't the question I asked.

P.

Turtwig

This is purely an attempt to try to get book publicity by sparking controversy. Ignore and stop discussing it.:)

MagicMarker

Malty_T wrote: »

This is purely an attempt to try to get book publicity by sparking controversy. Ignore and stop discussing it.:)

Discussing what?

:pac:

Dades

Malty_T wrote: »

This is purely an attempt to try to get book publicity by sparking controversy. Ignore and stop discussing it.:)

While that might be true, I think it's ridiculous that the minister is going.

I'm going to let him know, too.

http://www.deti.ie/corporate/ministersoffice/lenihan.htm

fatmammycat

This is beyond ridiculous.

axer

This sums up the stupidity of the author:

MagicMarker

''Charles Darwin & King Kong the Gorilla shall be present''.

WTF?

Pushtrak

axer wrote: »

This sums up the stupidity of the author:

Only thing that could make that worse would be if they'd used "Euro's."

Galvasean

Damn tacky website crashed my browser. F#cking Creationist SCUM! :mad:

It's beyond ridiculous that the minister for science is helping to launch this tripe. I'm sending him an email to express my concern (that says a lot since I normally don't bother).

Galvasean

axer wrote: »

This sums up the stupidity of the author:

Maybe he is raffling off ten thousand individual euro coins?

pts

Grrrrr.....
Will be writing an angry email this evening. Is there any particular way a TD should be addressed?

Sam Vimes

pts wrote: »

Grrrrr.....
Will be writing an angry email this evening. Is there any particular way a TD should be addressed?

"Thieving gombeen" I believe is the correct nomenclature

Dades

pts wrote: »

Grrrrr.....
Will be writing an angry email this evening. Is there any particular way a TD should be addressed?

Just remember you pay his wages (the wages of sin...)

fatmammycat

In his book May uses 'the wonder of pregnancy to disprove the hoax of evolution'. Oh dear. Just...oh dear.

Zombrex

Galvasean wrote: »

Maybe he is raffling off ten thousand individual euro coins?

€10,000 worth of euro coins? :P

sink

I sent the minister an angry (but polite) email. I'll let you know if I get a reply.

Zombrex

This book seems to be being self published

http://originalwriting.ie/bookshop/non-fiction/bodymindspirit/the-origin-of-specious-nonsense/

Seems like anyone with a twitter account can get a Minister to come to their "lauch party"

What was that about coming to the opening of an envelope:P

Rowley Birkin QC

Just e-mailed Matt Cooper, would be great if he picked up on this nonsense.

Galvasean

Email sent. Had to reign in on the bad language....

I am writing to express my absolute dismay that you, our Minister for Science, are helping with the launch of the book 'The Origin Of Specious Nonsense'. This book is about as unscientific in approach as one could imagine. You would be wise to pick and chose what kind of literature you are seen to promote with greater care as this move is making you look like a laughing stock in the eyes of right thinking members of our society.

Yours sincerely,

Sean

sink

This is what I wrote.

Dear Sir,

I was horrified to discover that you will be attending a book launch of "The Origin of Specious Nonsense" by author John J. May. Although I have not yet read it I understand that this book attacks evolution, one the most well supported theories in the entire field of biology and underpins everything we know about the nature of life. It is so well supported by evidence in the fossil record and DNA that it is considered a fact as much as gravity is considered fact.

Now if John J. May discovered some evidence that disproved evolution, such as a species which does not fit in the phylogeny of the tree of life and so falsifies it, he should publish his research in a scientific journal and there would be no doubt that he would win a Nobel prize and become a world renowned figure.

I have my doubts as to the credibility of his claims and his motivations. Evolution has been under attack since it's inception by religious dogmatists who are anti-scientific in outlook. Motivated not by a quest for truth through following the empirical evidence as uncovered by the scientific method, but rather a quest to uphold their superstitions and religious nonsense above that of science. Their modus operandi is to deny the evidence, muddle the facts and discredit true science and scientists in the public media.

Sir as the minister for science, you represent the government in all matters pertaining to science and to be associated with such anti-scientific tripe, discredits you, discredits this government and discredits the people of this country who elected you. I genuinely hope you reconsider attending this book launch.

Yours Sincerely,

amacachi

I'm really confused and don't want to ask the obvious question for fear of ruining the thread. :pac:

keane2097

Emailed the minister there - this is appallingly stupid on his part.

mohawk

At first I was shocked that the minister for science would go to a book launch for an anti-evolution book but, then I thought this is Ireland of course the minister for science would go to such a book launch.
:mad::(:eek:

Dades

amacachi wrote: »

I'm really confused and don't want to ask the obvious question for fear of ruining the thread. :pac:

Has anyone read the book?

Sam Vimes

Dades wrote: »

Has anyone read the book?

I read this in the synopsis:

"These men appear to be intelligent good people who have sacrificed reason on the alter of , Chance , Mutations, Randomness which is a concoction for chaos. (I have read their excellent books)"

In order to attack evolution people almost always do one of two things: Ignore mutation and say that nothing new can be created or more commonly ignore natural selection and say that evolution is nothing but chance. This guy has done the latter

Handsome Bob

Galvasean wrote: »

Email sent. Had to reign in on the bad language....

Very diplomatic, you also avoided any cheap shots, very classy indeed good sir.

Turtwig

I'm in two minds over this. On the one hand having the minister of science promote horse **** is just about what any minister does. The problem is that this particular horse **** is extremely dishonest and misrepresentative of actual scientific observations and facts.

On the other hand there is obvious fact that this is what the creationist nutters want. They want there to be an outcry. Nothing will spark them more publicity, look what a tiny insignificant little church in Florida managed to accomplish last week. If we cause an uproar over this book we are doing the creationists more of a favour. The general public does not understand, indeed absurdly, many of them fear science. Creationist logic is pathetic, but it appeals to everyday lay peoples intuition and preys on it. The public see one guy in a labcoat (or Dr in his title) say something and another person opposes it. Letting the controversial opinion be taught in our schools suddenly becomes fair.

Guys, I think we should ignore this, yes it is disgusting, but sometimes doing the thing that seems so glaringly obviously correct can in hindsight turn out to be glaring obviously wrong. Ignore it, the last thing we want is lay people hearing creationist lies, if this topic becomes media attention you can bet your arse that in a 30 second snippet it will be impossible to explain to the public how creationism is utterly wrong without appearing dismissive or arrogant - something that does not do you favours. Resist the urge of your instincts to show how appalled you are, and simply let this flow by with no notice given.

Zombrex

Dades wrote: »

Has anyone read the book?

I've watched the Youtube videos. His argument against us descending from apes is "Have you ever tried living in a tree?" and his argument against us descending from the ocenas is "Sit in a bath for a few hours"

This guys seems as nuts as the "Bananas: The Atheist Nightmare" guys

GLaDOS

Sent my own email there, debating isn't my strong point but it's the point that counts

Dear Conor,

It has come to my attention that you, our Minister for Science are helping to launch the anti-evolution book "The Origin of Specious Nonsense" . This strikes me as some sort of bad joke and I cannot overstate my anger, as a student of science myself. This book has no basis in science and at the very best should be ignored. Instead we see you appearing to endorse it, which is a shocking display from a man in your position. I find myself embaressed that our government is backing such nonsense.

monosharp

Wicknight wrote: »

I've watched the Youtube videos.

linky ?

Sam Vimes

monosharp wrote: »

linky ?

some here: http://www.theoriginofspeciousnonsense.com/index-1.html

Cuddlytroll

Malty_T wrote: »

I'm in two minds over this. On the one hand having the minister of science promote horse **** is just about what any minister does. The problem is that this particular horse **** is extremely dishonest and misrepresentative of actual scientific observations and facts.

On the other hand there is obvious fact that this is what the creationist nutters want. They want there to be an outcry. Nothing will spark them more publicity, look what a tiny insignificant little church in Florida managed to accomplish last week. If we cause an uproar over this book we are doing the creationists more of a favour. The general public does not understand, indeed absurdly, many of them fear science. Creationist logic is pathetic, but it appeals to everyday lay peoples intuition and preys on it. The public see one guy in a labcoat (or Dr in his title) say something and another person opposes it. Letting the controversial opinion be taught in our schools suddenly becomes fair.

Guys, I think we should ignore this, yes it is disgusting, but sometimes doing the thing that seems so glaringly obviously correct can in hindsight turn out to be glaring obviously wrong. Ignore it, the last thing we want is lay people hearing creationist lies, if this topic becomes media attention you can bet your arse that in a 30 second snippet it will be impossible to explain to the public how creationism is utterly wrong without appearing dismissive or arrogant - something that does not do you favours. Resist the urge of your instincts to show how appalled you are, and simply let this flow by with no notice given.

While I fully agree with your assessment of the fundamentalist creationists, the fact of the matter is our elected representative is giving credence to the book by attending the launch in his capacity as Minister for Science. People all over Europe could open a newspaper to see that Ireland let elected a man to that position who publicly declares his bat**** crazy rejection of fundamental scientific theory. In the current economic climate, it is massively detracting from our nation's credibility (whatever is left) and so the sensible option would have to be to oppose his attendance.

Having said that, a part of me does want him to go, just so that FF's reputation will be dragged through the mud some more.

Zillah

Make it big, sing it loud and sing it long.

Toot on Creationists, you fuppin' lunatics, toot on.

Turtwig

Cuddlytroll wrote: »

While I fully agree with your assessment of the fundamentalist creationists, the fact of the matter is our elected representative is giving credence to the book by attending the launch in his capacity as Minister for Finance. People all over Europe could open a newspaper to see that Ireland let elected a man to that position who publicly declares his bat**** crazy rejection of fundamental scientific theory. In the current economic climate, it is massively detracting from our nation's credibility (whatever is left) and so the sensible option would have to be to oppose his attendance.

Having said that, a part of me does want him to go, just so that FF's reputation will be dragged through the mud some more.

Europe, won't read it in their papers unless it becomes a BIG story.;) With regard to Europe judging us on this because of our minister of Science apparently supporting Pseudo Science that won't even cause them a shudder. Many prominent ministers in Europe already support pseudo science. When I said public, I should have said human population, most people simply do not understand science and distrust it. In fact, Ireland is the country in Europe with the biggest amount of trust in science.

axer

Sent in my complaint earlier on too.

me wrote:

Hi,

I cannot believe that the Minister responsible for Science in this country
is helping to promote a book that goes against the very nature of science.

This is an absolute joke and makes a mokery of the Ministerial position.
What type of message is this sending out?


Regards,
xxx

Got back the standard:

I wish to acknowledge receipt of your recent email to Minister Conor
Lenihan.

I will bring it to the Ministers attention at the earliest opportunity.

I didnt want to contact the media because this eejit (the author) will end up getting free publicity instead.

GLaDOS

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4mYt974wGqo

You facepalm, you lose

davef1000

Email'd:

"Dear Mr. Lenihan,

Can you please explain why, as Irish Minister of State with special responsibility for Science, Technology, Innovation and Natural Resources, you will be attending, and indeed officiating at, the launch of a book which aims to call into question the Theory of Evolution (The Origin Of Specious Nonsense by John J. May)?

Your appearance at this event will lend credence to this man's delusions, and to his anti-intellectual book. It will also bring further disrepute upon this Government (and it isn't as though you haven't enough of that to go around already...).

Do you even know anything about evolution? You do, after all, have 'special responsibility' for Science.

Please reconsider this decision. Or at least read up a bit on why this man's book is errant nonsense. I suggest Charles Darwin's On The Origin Of Species as a good place to start.

Yours sincerely..."

How stupid(er) can this gov't get?

Goduznt Xzst

Perhaps the author titled the book not to describe what he would discuss within its pages but rather he feels the book itself is the origin of Specious Nonsense.

I'd tend to believe the latter.

Nemi

davef1000 wrote: »

How stupid(er) can this gov't get?

Hmm. Almost a year ago to the day.

http://www.independent.ie/national-news/coughlans-no-einstein-after-gaffe-at-smart-economy-launch-1890227.html

Friday September 18 2009

THE TANAISTE lived up to her 'Calamity Coughlan' nickname yesterday. The gaffe-prone minister was left red-faced after she erroneously referred to the theory of evolution as having been formulated by Einstein. To make matters worse, the Enterprise, Trade and Employment Minister had just mentioned the Government's strategy of Building Ireland's Smart Economy.

Speaking without notes to an invited audience of entrepreneurs to promote IDA Ireland's "aggressive" new campaign to market Ireland aboard, Ms Coughlan touched on the idea of the survival of the fittest. She said the IDA would be marketing Ireland as the innovation island -- "like Einstein explaining his theory of evolution".

Galvasean

Galvasean wrote: »

Email sent. Had to reign in on the bad language....

Is "the bad language" a place in which you can reign? :pac:

All this nonsense is appalling but sad to say I'm not entirely surprised...

expectationlost

not sure when, but the posters been change "TD Minister of Science" isn't beside his name in the poster on his site http://boards.ie/vbulletin/showpost.php?p=67983608&postcount=15

versus http://www.theoriginofspeciousnonsense.com/images/launch%20pic.jpg

axer you took that screengrab just today?

c_man

Email sent. Kept it decent. Well mostly.