Red State Rabble

The American Association for the Advancement of Science held an an online chat June 28 with experts Dr. Kenneth Miller, Dr. Eugenie Scott and Dr. Barbara Forrest on evolution, creationism, and intelligent design responding to reporter's questions.

Miller is a cell biologist and a Professor of Biology at Brown University. His research work on cell membrane structure and function has produced more than 50 scientific papers and reviews in leading journals, including Cell and Nature, as well as leading popular sources such as Natural History and Scientific American.

Scott, a former college professor, is Executive Director of the National Center for Science Education, Inc., a not for profit membership organization in Oakland, CA, of scientists, teachers, and others that works to improve the teaching of evolution, and of science as a way of knowing.

Forrest is a Professor of Philosophy at Southeastern Louisiana University. She is the co-author with scientist Paul R. Gross of "Creationism's Trojan Horse," which examines the goals and strategies of the intelligent design creationist movement.

"The theory of intelligent design, by contrast," said Miller in response to a question about the differences between evolution and ID, "argues that an outside intelligent agent operating outside the rules of nature and therefore inaccessible by science is responsible for these very same developments and for the history of life. What this means, of course, is that intelligent design, because it appeals to agencies that lie outside of nature, is not testable and therefore is not science."

You can read the transcript of the online chat here.