Coyne vs. Nelson

In this note, Nick Matzke directs PT’s readers to this post, by Jerry Coyne. Jerry, you see, had received an e-mail from the prominent creationist Paul Nelson, in which Nelson cited recent work by several prominent scientists as challenging the efficacy of natural selection in crafting complex adaptations. Jerry went to the trouble of contacting the folks cited by Nelson, and he posted their replies at his website. You can probably imagine how it went for Nelson, but I recommend reading Jerry’s post nonetheless. Take a browse through the comments as well, since Nelson shows up to dig the hole a bit deeper.

In his e-mail, Nelson also called attention to this talk that he recently gave at Rick Warren’s Saddleback Church in California. He asks Jerry to comment on the argument he presents to the audience. Well, I can’t speak for Jerry, but I have listened to the presentation and present my own thoughts in this post over at EvolutionBlog. The short version: I think his argument has some flaws, to put it kindly. For the longer version follow the link, and feel free to leave comments over there.