Russell
Posts: 1082
Joined: April 2005
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| Quote | | Uncommonly Dense is doing is a technique familiar to anyone who's seen fox news and rush limbaugh &c. Find someone who's certifiably insane, and portray him as a representative of your opposition |
As Faid pointed out, there's nothing particularly insane about what Pianka had to say. So far as I can tell, he gave a lecture very much like one I gave two days ago.
I showed a graph of human population over the past 2000 years. I showed that within a couple/few generations, it's going to reach a maximum. That much is certain. Almost as certain: there will be a number of factors contributing to the leveling or decline in population; it won't just be one factor, like suddenly everyone getting with the birth control program. Limitation of resources (famine and drought), ecological despoliation, wars over limited resources... I suspect all of these will play a role. But I'd be particularly surprised if infectious disease isn't right up there at the top of the list.
Now, will it be Ebola? Personally, I doubt it. But one of these years, something like the 1918 flu virus is going to reappear. I'm not advocating it. I just think it's likely.
Can anyone point me to any statement that Pianka made that comes any closer to advocating killer pandemics than what I just said? If not, either Dembski has hit a new low, or I should be reported to the DHS as well.
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Must... not... scratch... mosquito bite.
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