10.16.2008

Look Over There



Often in the ID vs Evolution debate, ID proponents (aka Creationists) bring up the eugenics movement and attempt to tie Darwin to Hitler. This was a major premise in the movie Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed. This is nothing more than a distraction from the lack of scientific merit in the illusion of intelligent design. In skeptic circles, it's a Red Herring.

I learned something new today about Red Herrings. From Merriam-Webster's word of the day for Oct. 3:
Believe it or not, "red herring" has as much to do with hunting dogs as with brightly colored fish. Here's how: A herring is a soft-finned bony fish. People who like to eat herring have long preserved them by salting and slowly smoking them. That process makes a herring turn red or dark brown — and gives them a very strong smell. Dogs love to sniff such smelly treats, a fact that makes the fish a perfect diversion for anyone trying to distract hunting dogs from the trail of their quarry. The practice of using preserved fish to confuse hunting dogs led to the use of the term "red herring" for anything that diverts attention from the issue at hand.

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