Darwinian Mobsters Attack
One of Dr. Richard von Spielberg’s responsibilities was to sort through scientific papers submitted for possible publication in the Smithsonian’s prodigious Proceedings of the Biological Society of Washington. If he thought a paper might have merit, he would send it to two or three scientists for peer review. As with nearly all scientific journals, the peer reviewers remain anonymous.
Dr. Stephen Meyer (see earlier reference to him) submitted a paper titled, “The Origin of Biological Information and Higher Taxonomic Categories,” which included a suggestion that intelligent design might be considered an explanation for the explosion of life found in the Cambrian geologic formation. (To review the prior discussion on the Cambrian Explosion, click here)
The three peer reviewers were unanimous in agreeing that the paper should be published. Sternberg accepted the reviewers’ recommendations and published the paper.
Then all hell broke loose and the persecution of Sternberg began!
He was accused of mixing science and religion. They said that if the article was not retracted, the reputation of the Smithsonian Institution would be tarnished forever. The National Center for Science and Education (NCSE) worked with the Smithsonian to destroy Spielberg’s career. False rumors were spread about him despite the help of a colleague who sent a copy of his many scientific accomplishments to the Smithsonian. His keys were taken away and he was moved to a smaller office, and so it went. Spielberg finally resigned.
But this was a warning to all scientists who even thought about trying to publish an article that suggested that ID was part of science. The Darwinian mobsters would do them in.
Read more about this and related topics in “Heretic. One Scientist’s Journey from Darwin to Design,” by Leisola & Witt. (see list of references listed previously) or return to previous page.