On location from East Lansing ....

Tonight I had the pleasure of attending Richard Dawkins' lecture at Michigan State University in East Lansing. The venue (the Great Hall at the Wharton Centre) is pictured above and it was packed tonight. Due to technical difficulties, I have not been able to blog "live". However, a friend at home has kindly agreed to post my initial impressions which I have relayed to him by email. So here they are:

3:00 p.m. Just crossed the U.S. Border at Sarnia. The border agent looked at me like I had 10 heads when I told him I was heading to East Lansing for a lecture. He didn't seem to know who Richard Dawkins was and it was probably a safe bet that he hadn't read any of his books. He checked my car - probably because I look like an evil atheist.

4:00 p.m. Passing through Flint. You've gotta love Nova podcasts. I now understand why the tiny black holes they expect to create with the LHC particle collider won't "swallow" the earth. That had been bothering me ....

4:20 p.m. Closing in on East Lansing - I like the I-69 but Michiganders sure drive slow. I just listened to another Nova podcast - a fascinating interview with Judge John Jones who overturned the Dover, Penn. school board policy which questioned the theory of evoluton and required biology teachers to present "intelligent design" as an alternative. The Judge found it remarkable that proponents of the policy had been able to get it through a school board. He explains how the premise of ID is absurd (i.e. teach kids to stop their inquiries when they get to something which appears to be designed and assume that it was the product of a master designer). ID is the opposite of science - they start with the conclusion of a master designer and then walk backwards looking for facts to justify their belief. You rarely get to hear this issue discussed by a judge - one of the most simplistic and scathing criticisms of ID that I have ever heard. A nice foreshadowing for my arrival to see one of the scientific community's most vocal critics of the ID silliness.

5:15 p.m. Arrive in East Lansing and check into the Super 8. The room is only $49.99 and the sheets are clean. What more can a missionary ask for ...

5:55 p.m. I am off to the MSU campus with my ticket and a copy of "A Devil's Chaplain" in hand. I haven't been this excited since the boys and I went drinking with Dave Winfield (the Hall of Fame major leaguer) in Halifax many, many moons ago. Oh, the war stories I could tell but my wife reads this blog ... the older I get the better I was.

7:00 p.m. A large crowd is milling around the lobby of the Wharton Center as we wait for the doors to open. Bible thumpers were passing out pamphlets as I walked in. The pamphlet is classic creationist bunk asking questions such as: "Is it irrational to believe that the universe is the result of intelligent design?" [Yes]. "What is the statistical probability that life evolved from non-living matter?" [Ask Miller-Urey but I would say that odds are dramatically better than your big fairy in the sky]. "Why does the thought of the existence of God make men like Richard Dawkins so angry and disgusted?" [Because the thoughts are deluded ones which, unfortunately, result in people doing deluded things]. "The term atheist refers to the belief that there is no God. Is it rational for a scientist, who prides himself on evidence and logic, to say with absolute confidence that there is no God? At the very least, should not an honest scientist be an agnostic?". [The author of the pamphlet has obviously not read The God Delusion. Dawkins admits he could be wrong, just like he could be wrong about his disbelief in fairies living in his garden.]. "Have you ever read the bible for yourself? Or are you simply trusting in what others tell you regarding its contents? [I have read enough to see that it is occasionally nasty, often contradictory and a far cry from what I would expect to be inspired by an omniscient, omnipotent and all-loving God.]. and my favorite "Is science a suitable foundation for basing one's belief on what is ultimate reality?" [No, I guess not. I guess I should rely on your collection of Dead Sea scrolls written by men who approved of stoning homosexuals and adulterers]

7:35 p.m. Game on.

Richard Dawkins: The purpose of purpose. The question of purpose leaps to the human mind whether it makes sense or not. The question of purpose is inappropriate when applied to inanimate objects. Check out Ray Comfort's The Purpose of the Banana from Youtube. This is the joker who offered Dawkins $10,000 to a debate - Dawkins has indicated he will accept the challenge for a $100,000 to his foundation - thus far Comfort has not responded.

Reference to the amazing effects of artificial selection. Imagine what natural selection could do over millions of years.

Discussion of evolution of pollinating flowers. Darwin's prediction of the Darwin Hawk moth discovered after his death - cool.

The genes that exist in the present are those which successfully propagated themselves in the past. That's why living machines are such well designed survival machines.

The purpose of wild animals is to survive and propagate their genes. Now let's look at ourselves .... We appear to be the exception. Hedonistic thrill and pleasure seeking. Contraception. Adoption. Why are sperm donors paid? Why don't they pay for the privilege?

Archi-purpose is the appearance of design in the suitability of animal traits. Neo-purpose is the use of the human brain to design things (i.e. a guided missile). Dawkin's thesis is that neo-purpose (the human capacity to set up and achieve goals) is itself an evolved adaptation.

Neat analogy - a bat is a guided missile. Insects display similar sophisticated guidance systems to those designed by human engineers.

Why do humans seek goals that do not appear aimed at propagating their genes? Dawkins - our goal seeking capacity is an immensely useful tool. Our minds are flexible enough to pursue goals such as the welfare of the country, faith, etc. However, our minds are inflexible in that we allow ourselves to be subverted. Subversion of desire for sweets (i.e. junk food). Subversion of parenting instinct (i.e. caring for pets) Subversion of sexual desire (i.e. the lure of pornography). Subversion of kinship: in-group loyalty in opposition to out-groups. Reference to nazi and hasidic jews as examples of fictive kin. Subversion of in-group loyalty - "my country right or wrong."

Not all subversion of our natural urges is bad. There is hope that our species will not destroy itself. [although I must say that I was left with a decidedly pessimistic view on that point and it would be interesting to know whether Dawkins shares that pessimism]

Responses during question period:

Dawkins gave up religion totally when he learned of the theory of evolution at around the age of 15.

Intelligent design is unsatisfying because it leaves the question of who created the supposed designer?

Homeopathy - success of double blind trials required to prove they work.

There can be no doubt that modern medicine has allowed genes to propagate that would not under more natural conditions. Dawkins doesn't think this is a bad thing. Flexibility and subvertibility is a double edged sword.

[My corny question - yes!]. You have written that you would consider it an honor to be fossilized. If you could fossilize one of your books to pass on through the ages, which one would it be and why? Not the Selfish Gene. The Ancestor's Tale probably .... He thinks Climbing Mount Improbable is his most underrated. Final reference to the Blind Watchmaker. [I can't tell which one he picked but all of the ones he referred to are excellent]

9:00 p.m. About 100 people in front of me in the book signing line but it is moving fast. I would like to have A Prayer for My Daughter signed for my daughter.

9:15 p.m. Mission accomplished and I even had someone snap a picture of me with the Good Professor (who looks like he needs a beer).

9:20 p.m. The choice of MSU for Dawkins' first appearance on this US tour was a good one. Great venue. Not much hype. The crowd was well behaved, informed and good natured. I don't know what they pay the Professor but, all in all, he's got a pretty good gig.

9:25 p.m. Signing off and heading out for a beer with the Michigan Center for Inquiry. It will still be early to bed and early to rise. I have a long drive and then a long workday ahead of me tomorrow. Thanks for tuning in ...... .