Going down Darwin's River in an Evolutionary canoe

Does a scientist ever balk at the use of evolution to explain things?

Quotes and comments;

1. ' In a letter to the editor of PNAS June 3, John R. Skoyles (University College, London) took issue with Deborah S. Rogers and Paul Ehrlich for having written a theory of the evolution of canoe design (yes, that is canoes, as in boating). The paper had even used refined terms like positive selection and negative purifying selection in their theory of how intelligent humans designed their canoes over the centuries. Skoyles protested: “This is an insufficient foundation for inferring the existence of any particular type of process, let alone one analogous to ‘natural selection.’” He further accused them of equivocation in their use of the E-word.

Rogers and Ehrlich stood by their claim in the same issue of PNAS. They defended their use of evolutionary explanations by pointing to the many scientists who do the same thing. “This is a commonly accepted signal of negative (purifying) selection for genetic evolution and when interpreting the fossil record,” they said. “Although it does not prove that natural selection was at work, it certainly supports that inference.” [1.]

- I have only one question; If I look at a canoe and claim to see intelligent design, are they going to dismiss my comment as being religious?

- If there's no difference between human design and 'natural' design why are we having this acrimonious debate over Origins? If a canoe can evolve, why can't a living organism be designed? [i.e. If Materialists can apply evolutionary theory to something that's been intelligently designed, I don't see how they can object to me applying design to the things they claim evolved.]

- Evolution has become little more than a word game. [I expect to see it sold in a can any day now; where people can use it like spray paint.] When a word (E.) can mean anything, it means nothing at all. People are being sold down the river by our professors; sold into the slavery called Materialism.

- If other people do X, that means it's alright? (Are we back in kindergarten?)

Notes;
1. An Evaluation of Evolution as an Explanatory Device Creation/Evolution Headlines; 06/03/2008