Response to Creationists

So a couple of weeks ago, Bill Nye the Science Guy debated the CEO of the Creationist Museum, Ken Ham. There was a lot of interest in this event, and the website buzzfeed hosted these 22 images of creationists' questions for the Science Guy (you may want to keep that site open as I don't quote the questions when addressing them). These questions were rather elementary, so I tried to answer them as best I could. This is from a facebook post I made so it's not the most detailed explanation, but I consider most answers complete. Answers I give with a "*" have been altered from the original post on my facebook which I made before viewing the debate.

If anyone expresses interest I can update this with more details about the questions, their answers, or my overall impressions of the debate (which I thought was interesting on multiple levels), but really I just wanted to post something to hold people over while I prepare a multi-part topic on AGW, skepticism, and the effects of climate change to be published later this week when I have more time. So without further ado :

1) Yes, teaching science is essential, but I'm glad you're concerned for your children.

2) Evolution does not discount a creator, just his intervention post creation of the universe.

3) Pretty much, yes. *While you could jump through some hoops to make this situation logically consistent, it gives one no ability to make predictions of the future, and as such is less useful a world view as the one enriched by scientific knowledge.

4)Entropy in no way disproves evolution.

5)This would be the only question I'd like if your grammar was correct, but it would be sad if we could only find beauty in the world if it was specifically created for us.

6) They don't. Why should I believe you understand any thermodynamics if you can't grasp evolution which is MUCH more simple a theory.

7)What about Noetics? *Someone pointed out she may be talking about consciousness, and if there is room belief when thinking of the origin of thought. There is, but science is also examining neuroscience at a rapid pace, and there is much we know from its lessons. 

8)There is no such thing as an objective meaning of life. That's part of the meaning of life dude, we all get different experiences and treasures.

9) Not by chance alone, but also by favor. Before single cell life their was "life" consisting of proteins, ribozymes and other stuff, but they found they could do better together. 

10) Questions end with one of these "?".

11)Because Aliens could be observable whereas God by your definition cannot be. *Also it is not accepted scientific theory that we are descended from alien intervention, just a hypothesis.

12) If you're resting your entire argument for the existence of God on the gaps in the fossil record you are going to have increasingly less ground to stand on. The gaps get filled it.
13) Uhh, I guess.

14) Scientific theory means our best idea supported by evidence.

15) That is the opposite definition of science, what are you doing?

16) I'm guessing you have no idea what you're talking about, but it is called an insertion mutation and it is common. *I hope to do a post about David Liu's PACE experiment, which uses evolutionary methods to create new functions in bacteria proteins. Unfortunately, I have to wait for the buff state library to break the pay-wall first

17)I personally think i'm here to learn and grow and explore, but to each his own.

18)Because Lucy was an individual so there is only one of her, and she's from a rare period, but there are other proto-human examples out there. *I assumed this guy knew what he was talking about and that there was only one member of Lucy's species discovered. There are multiple. Which leads me to my next point, never assume a fool you're arguing with is correct only because you are too lazy to research if he is wrong; he probably is.

19)You can believe in the big bang with or without faith, it was first proposed by a priest, you goose.

20)Same as five. I personally think it would be more amazing if this world was not specifically created for us but was still capable of making us awed. *but that opinion has ultimately no say on the presence of a creator.  

21) It wasn't a star but a singularity of all matter and energy(*and time and space*). We don't know (*what caused it*), from God to a collision of universe-membranes, we just don't know. 

22) We didn't come from today's monkeys. We share a common ancestor with monkeys that lived about 25 million years ago.

Thanks for your questions, Per aspera ad astra.