Re: Sean Pitman's (and other creationists') selective credulity

Stuart <bigdakine@xxxxxxx> wrote:

On Mar 31, 2:33 pm, John Harshman <jharshman.diespam...@xxxxxxxxxxx>
wrote:
The take-home message first: creationists pick and choose science,
picking on the basis of what they want to believe is true. Sean is a
fine case in point.

For some reason, he wants to be convinced that detailed convergence in
DNA sequences is likely, because that would rende3r the nested hierarchy
unreliable. (Of course he also wants to believe that the nested
hierarchy is objective and clear, a sign of god's wonderful plan. So go
figure.) Anyway, as evidence he used this publication:

www.fasebj.org/cgi/content/abstract/13/10/1269

This claims that the protein relaxin is identical in sequence between a
sea squirt (Ciona) and a pig. Considering that the protein varies
considerably within mammals, this is surprising to say the least. It
would be a case of near-miraculous convergence.

Now such a result would be unlikely to be published, because the
investigator who found it wouldn't believe it. He would immediately
suspect contamination of the experiment with pig DNA. And he would begin
to credit the result only after exhaustive further testing. This is
perfectly reasonable: extraordinary claims demand extraordinary
evidence. Does anyone remember the supposed Triceratops sequence that
was identical to a turkey? That one, at least, never managed to be
published.

But Christian Schwabe, the author pushing this factoid, wants to believe
the result, because it fits his particular preconceptions. In a word,
Schwabe is a nut. His theory is that species were independently
assembled (naturally -- no creationism here) from a pool full of random
genes. Given that, identical proteins in a sea squirt and a pig are no
surprise at all.

Here's a critique of Schwabe, if anyone needs one:

http://home.planet.nl/~gkorthof/korthof56.htm

And Sean wants to believe the result for his own reasons, even though he
agrees that Schwabe is a nut. Now it turns out that this result is
indeed bogus:

http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?artid=551602

It happens that the sea squirt Ciona is one of those organisms whose
entire genome has been sequenced. And the relaxin gene appears nowhere
in that sequence. Conclusion: Schwabe is a victim of contamination.

Moral of the story:

Never eat a ham sandwich while sequencing DNA.

Or before, and not wearing gloves during.
--
John S. Wilkins, Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Philosophy
University of Queensland - Blog: scienceblogs.com/evolvingthoughts
"He used... sarcasm. He knew all the tricks, dramatic irony, metaphor,
bathos, puns, parody, litotes and... satire. He was vicious."

.

Relevant Pages

  • Re: Question for Sean Pitman
    ... Even though the house takes every precaution ... Horse shit, Sean. ... genetic sequence that you think absolutely positively could not have ... Is it reason number ...
    (talk.origins)
  • Re: Sean Pitmans (and other creationists) selective credulity
    ... This claims that the protein relaxin is identical in sequence between a ... suspect contamination of the experiment with pig DNA. ... But Christian Schwabe, the author pushing this factoid, wants to believe ... And Sean wants to believe the result for his own reasons, ...
    (talk.origins)
  • Sean Pitmans (and other creationists) selective credulity
    ... creationists pick and choose science, picking on the basis of what they want to believe is true. ... This claims that the protein relaxin is identical in sequence between a sea squirt and a pig. ... But Christian Schwabe, the author pushing this factoid, wants to believe the result, because it fits his particular preconceptions. ... And Sean wants to believe the result for his own reasons, even though he agrees that Schwabe is a nut. ...
    (talk.origins)
  • Re: Sean Pitmans (and other creationists) selective credulity
    ... For some reason, he wants to be convinced that detailed convergence in ... This claims that the protein relaxin is identical in sequence between a ... Considering that the protein varies ... But Christian Schwabe, the author pushing this factoid, wants to believe ...
    (talk.origins)
  • Re: Sean Pitmans (and other creationists) selective credulity
    ... This claims that the protein relaxin is identical in sequence between a ... suspect contamination of the experiment with pig DNA. ... But Christian Schwabe, the author pushing this factoid, wants to believe ... for the simple reason that it draws attention to the fact that the ...
    (talk.origins)
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