Wednesday, July 16, 2008

Dick Dawkins rap: He's smarter than you he's got a science degree!

Hilarious! This one goes out to all y'all brights out there.

Apparently it took Richard Dawkins three days to understand that he was being dissed. You must watch. As the YouTube info says, "OH MY DOG, it is funny.":

8 comments:

Matt Tiscareno said...

Firstly, the video is really funny, and the Catholic Exchange blog post makes it even funnier.

But secondly, as someone who also "has a science degree," I am troubled by the ridiculing of such, to the extent in many cases of rejecting out of hand nearly everything that mainstream scientists say. However, it is clear that people like Dawkins bring this response not only upon themselves, but upon all of us.

Dan said...

Yes, I see your point. However, in the context of Dawkins, he's used his "enlightened" scientific worldview to criticize the religious. I haven't read much of his, but many reviewers point out how ignorant he appears to be of the whole history of theological thought. He seems to think that scientific reasoning is valid and all else isn't even worth learning about or truly debating, only ridiculing.

That seems to me to be the main target behind, "He's smarter than you he's go a science degree.

Unknown said...

I certainly agree that Dawkins can be ridiculed for his own excesses. What troubles me is that a video like this is also very compatible with a more general anti-intellectual attitude. Not that I think that of you, but it is something I am aware of and leery about finding common cause with.

Anonymous said...

Although it's fair game to lampoon public figures (provided within the bounds of decency), perhaps we can all try to remember too that people like Richard Dawkins are very much in need of our prayers, and that they are, just as much as we, children of God. I think it was GK Chesterton who said "If there were no God, there would be no atheists." Atheists desperately need our prayer - for indiduals as well as all together - and also our Christian love and concern. Perhaps we can begin with Prof Dawkins as our project for the month!

Dan said...

Agreed!

Anonymous said...

Frankly I find this video and the whole discourse around it to be pathetic. It's not even a little bit funny to discover a video - that must have taken months of production time and a high degree of artistic competence - that basically tarts up Richard Dawkins as a means of criminalizing and devaluing science, scientists, and the scientific establishment. It strikes me as a presentation enacted by children, for children. And by the way, Dan, as you swallow the mountains of rhetoric generated by organizations who are demonizing Dawkins as a tactic to swell their own ranks and importance, perhaps you should, oh I don't know, READ THE BOOKS he's actually WRITTEN. I recommend you start with the abridged version "The Ancestor's Tale", which is both approachable and absolutely crammed with interesting facts from the biological sciences.

Dan said...

Thanks garote for the suggestion. I still think the video is hilarious.

Matt Tiscareno said...

Garote, as a professional scientist myself, I sincerely hope that Dawkins is not taken as an exemplar of my profession! It is perfectly possible to fully support "science, scientists, and the scientific establishment" while strongly criticizing (yes, even making fun of) Dawkins, though I did express concern above that this video blurs the line somewhat.

Dawkins' great sin is that he uses his scientific credentials to lend credibility to his tirades on ethics and religion, topics on which he has little expertise. A responsible scientist would properly distinguish between science and other forms of knowledge.