Monday, June 19, 2006

PZ, Coulter Naturalist

PZ took the plunge and has beeen reading Coulter's book. He recently posted a challlenge:
I will suggest instead that if anyone reading this thinks some particular paragraph anywhere in chapters 8-11 is at all competent or accurate in its description of science, send it to me. I couldn't find one. That's where the obligation lies: show me one supportable claim in Coulter's farrago of lies and misleading statements and out-of-context quotes, and we'll discuss it.
A few days later, and hundreds of Coulter-fan emails later, he has issued a clarification of what is "not an appropriate reply":
  • Cackling that Coulter must be right because she's got "liberal panties in a twist" is not cogent.
  • Telling me that the "WHOLE BOOK PROVES LIBERALS ARE THE PROBLEM WITH AMERICA" is not cogent.
  • Promising to pray for me, or assuring me that I will burn in hell, is not cogent.
  • Explicit details about how Ann Coulter is sexier than "fat harry hippie jew girls" is not cogent.
  • He's a brave man, and he takes it with scientific detachment and a professional intuition to categorize his experiences.

    And what a great word cogent is! If American science education survives , let's put PZ on a coin or something.

    No comments:

    Post a Comment