Mind you, since Invisible Friends don't count, this is also proof that the Invisible Spaghetti Monster is the One True God and all other gods are pale imitations.

To reiterate your second point, the entire point of science is to replace "god did it" as a theory. Why does it rain? Why do volcanoes happen? Why does the sun rise and set? Go back far enough and the answer was always "some great power made it so". If that satisfies you then great call it a day.

I wonder how these ID folks feel about astronomy? The idea of a naturalistic explanation for the creation of the Earth doesn't seem like something they'd be too happy with either.

But obviously the subject of our existence is the hottest of all subjects. If you don't want to subject that to scientific scrutiny, then fine, it's a free country, but we still have science classes in the schools. Don't worry soon enough our schools won't be teaching anything much less evolution.

These ID guys are shallow thinkers at best. Casey Luskin's "The Positive Case for Design,” at http://www.discovery.org/scripts/viewDB/filesDB-download.php?id=986 is juvenile.

"Natural structures have been found that contain many parts arranged in
intricate patterns that perform a specific function (e.g. complex and
specified information), such as irreducibly complex machines in the cell.
The bacterial flagellum is a prime example. The specified complexity of
protein bonds, or the simplest self-reproducing cell are other examples."

Thanks, boy, that's what Dembski said. I thought you guys were going to PROVE that evolution COULD NOT explain the human form. I want to see some fucking lemmas not hand waving.

String Theory

ID people, if they truely wanted to appreciate gods works, would spend less time trash talking theories they don't like, and more time appreciating the world that god gave them! I mean, isn't that supposed to be the beauty of it? Be grateful and thankful that we have cool animals, that we have technology, that we have medicine. Be the products of man, or god's hands working through man, the net result is the same. They are here, and you can be grateful just the same.

But what the fuck do I know, I'm just an aetheist

That's part of the irony of the ID debate, IMO; the side that is ABSOLUTELY 100% POSITIVE THAT GOD EXISTS (but, which of course can't PROVE it by any known method of empirical analysis) DEMANDS that "science" must be 100% positive in its own assertions, or else the other side MUST THEREFORE BE CORRECT.

It's the old, "if you have the least bit of doubt about the validity of your own argument, regardless of how infintessimally small it may be, then you must automatically agree completely to the validity of the opposing argument, regardless of how infinetessimally small the odds of it actually being correct" point-of-view.

It's wrong, it's stupid, and these people need to be duct-taped to a chair with some of those horror-show "Clockwork Orange" eyeball openers, and forced to watch old videos of Carl Sagan until they scream for mercy.

Excepting American religion. And please, let's not lump all world religions in with those douchebags.

And both continue to waste so many beautiful minds ...

@12: I was thinking about just that issue as I was driving home from work today. I've worked out an algorithm by which a complex structure - say, an image of the Mona Lisa - could be produced out of a blank canvas over several iterations using viability matrices. If I had 40 or so spare hours for programming I'd get right on it. But, alas, I'm coming up for tenure and won't be able to whine about a thought-stifling conspiracy if it's denied. So instead I spend my time doing ACTUAL SCIENCE.

What makes ID so insidious is that it strategically preys upon misconceptions about science held by many (most?) Americans, making them more susceptible to its arguments. And by couching the idea in terms of freedom of speech rather than religious doctrine, it's disguising its true form. How's that for a serpent in the garden, bitches?

The fact that they are "strings" seems completely arbitrary, but the math they use ... although hand wavey has at least SOME merit

Etymology: Blend of phallus and pilates

The sloggers must-see one:

http://www.xkcd.com/386/

The really scary thing about the public viability of the ID silliness is what it says about the lame nature (or is it nurture :-) of science ed in the states. Like Jonathon says, ID is by definition not science. That there's even a conversation going on about this issue bodes ill for all the difficult scientific controversies that are at the core of so many pub policy issues.

@9 Science may not be public policy, but it sure comes in handy when you're trying to figure out the price of carbon, etc. etc.