I got a phone call from Eric Hovind — he’s looking for someone to debate John Sanford and Danny Faulkner someplace in Minnesota next October. I turned him down flat.
Even if, in your worldview, you think you’ll make fools of them?
“As far as I’m concerned, they’re already fools.”
And that was that. Although he did ask if I’d ask around and see if anyone was interested in taking my place.
OK, so I’m asking around. I don’t recommend anyone taking him up on the offer, but if you must, contact me and I can let Hovind know how to get in touch with you.
He should debate the village idiot.
@1, debating oneself is looked askance upon by many, something about not only talking to oneself, but arguing and losing said argument with oneself.
At last count, that last only worked acceptably in Fiddler on the Roof.
Isn’t Sanford the guy who invented the gene gun at Cornell? I used the prototype back in the late 80s.
Does Hovind pay travel and accommodation costs?
I think it is long past time for “debating” creationists, climate change deniers, anti-vaccers, flat-earthers, moon-landing-hoaxers, Bigfoot believers, UFOligists, and all the followers of President Knucklehead. There is no debate, never was, but by going along with the idea that there was, and that if we could just get the facts out in a debate then people would see the light and sweetness and rationality would rule once more. You can’t argue with uneducated fanatical ideologues, and all of us should stop pretending that you can. Leave them to fester alone in their basements and neighbourhood bars as they used to do before the internet came along.
How much are they paying?
I used to argue on Usenet (remember that old platform?) with a particular breed of conspirati and I noticed time and time again that they have a built-in advantage in an argument.
You, defending science and reason and a particular theory, are required to explain, in superhuman detail, every little alleged gap or weakness. But for them, any old thing will do. No detailed alternative is needed.
Furthermore, the creationists and their argumentative brothers and sisters illustrate the old saw about how a lie can travel around the world while the truth is still putting its pants on.
It is trivial to claim, for example, that there are serious gaps in the fossil record. It takes only a few seconds. But refuting the claim takes time, it is complicated, and even if you can make a convincing argument there is already another claim waiting. This is the Multiple Out Argument.
In short, debates against creationists are a complete waste of time.
I’d be willing to do it if it was worth my while. But I’m a no name nobody, with IT experience, not biological or anything. I’m sure they’d never agree for someone like me, so never mind.
I’m feeling “a bit under the weather”, so I’m willing to come and shake their hand.
Did you ask him how his father is getting on? Last I heard he’s remarried (after divorcing the long suffering Jo) and running a new theme park in Alabama which will probably go full Waco in the next few years.
A bit disturbed that kenny has your phone number ,does he phone you up often ?
If they take care of travel,accommodation, food, etc. costs, then I’m game. Also as I high school Science teacher, it doesn’t affect my resume much.
These people don’t care about truth, honesty, ethics, morals, consistency, or, well, pretty much anything, as far as I can tell.
I’m torn betwixt two different suggestions – one, to take a page from our current president’s tactics, but turn it up a couple notches, and send a physically imposing individual with some martial arts/unarmed combat training, and simply have them stomp around the stage in a menacing manner, and give the creationist a shove whenever they open their mouth.
or, have someone go up there and just make farty mouth noises into the microphone whenever the creationist starts to speak.
Granted, neither is a terribly mature way to deal with a problem, but, unfortunately this sort of thinking we are trying to combat tends to think of any measure of restraint (such as maintaining maturity, etc.,…) as weakness…
I’ll ask the toddler nextdoor. She may be interested.