Q&A: Do people like “IRev. Albert Einstein”, who post mined quotes about science, know how dishonest they are?

Question by J Random: Do people like “IRev. Albert Einstein”, who post mined quotes about science, know how dishonest they are?
I saw this Q:
http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index;_ylt=AjdLpsai2Ki85FaPWFyPwIrd7BR.;_ylv=3?qid=20081213211106AAh0dNy

He quotes:
.” New species almost always appear suddenly in the fossil record with NO intermediate links to ancestors in older rocks in the same region. The fossil record with its abrupt transitions OFFERS NO SUPPORT for gradual change”. – Stephen J. Gould (Natural History , June, 1977, p.22

The real quote is completely different:

“Many evolutionists view strict continuity between micro- and macroevolution as an essential ingredient of Darwinism and a necessary corollary of natural selection. Yet, as I argue in essay 17, Thomas Henry Huxley divided the two issues of natural selection and gradualism and warned Darwin that his strict and unwarranted adherence to gradualism might undermine his entire system. The fossil record with its abrupt transitions offers no support for gradual change, and the principle of natural selection does not require it — selection can operate rapidly.”

His next quote is:
“The extreme rarity (of transitional forms) in the fossil record persists as the ‘trade secret’ of palentology. The evolutionary tree (diagarms) that adorn our textbooks is…..NOT the evidence of fossils”. – Stephen Gould

A more complete quote would be as follows:

“The extreme rarity of transitional forms in the fossil record persists as the trade secret of paleontology. The evolutionary trees that adorn our textbooks have data only at the tips and nodes of their branches; the rest is inference, however reasonable, not the evidence of fossils. Yet Darwin was so wedded to gradualism that he wagered his entire theory on a denial of this literal record:

The geological record is extremely imperfect and this fact will to a large extent explain why we do not find interminable varieties, connecting together all the extinct and existing forms of life by the finest graduated steps. He who rejects these views on the nature of the geological record, will rightly reject my whole theory.

Darwin’s argument still persists as the favored escape of most paleontologists from the embarrassment of a record that seems to show so little of evolution [directly]. In exposing its cultural and methodological roots, I wish in no way to impugn the potential validity of gradualism (for all general views have similar roots). I only wish to point out that it is never “seen” in the rocks.

Paleontologists have paid an exorbitant price for Darwin’s argument. We fancy ourselves as the only true students of life’s history, yet to preserve our favored account of evolution by natural selection we view our data as so bad that we never see the very process we profess to study.

For several years, Niles Eldredge of the American Museum of Natural History and I have been advocating a resolution to this uncomfortable paradox. We believe that Huxley was right in his warning. The modern theory of evolution does not require gradual change. In fact, the operation of Darwinian processes should yield exactly what we see in the fossil record.”

So it would seem that Gould has no problems with the fossil record. But did he believe that transitional forms are lacking? Note that in the quote originally presented, the claim is made that they are rare, not absent. Also, as anyone who is familiar with Gould’s writings will know, the text quoted reflects his recognition that, while there is a scarcity of transitional fossils between species, there is no such lack of transitional fossils between major groups.

The third quote:
“Evolution REQUIRES intermediate forms between species and paleontology DOES NOT provide them”

But does Kitts believe that these gaps disprove evolution? On page 468 we find this:

The claim has been repeatedly made that the fossil record provides a basis for the falsification of synthetic theory [Neo-Darwinism] and Simpson has demonstrated that this is not the case.

Kitts outlines several different hypotheses as to why the fossil record appears the way it does, among them Punctuated Equilibrium, but at no point does he abandon evolution as an explanation for what is seen.

If defending creationism requires such dishonesty, is it really worth it? Must religion and dishonesty be so intertwined?

Best answer:

Answer by Wise Duck
Probably not. He likely just found them on a creationist website and assumed they were true.

Most creationists are just ignorant. The professional ones like Ken Ham and Kent Hovind are the dishonest liars.

What do you think? Answer below!