Intelligent design: a cognitive cop-out

Creationists believe in the words of their holy book to tell them how the world came into being. Atheists understand that while science answers many of the mysteries of our physical world, it does not pretend to KNOW all the details, nor does it attempt to fill any of the gaps of knowledge with a weak contrivance of an explanation passed off as truth. Proponents of intelligent design, however, bait you in with science - deductively, not inductively - contending everything is designed by a supernatural creative force with some unknowable overriding intent.

I can understand why someone might be tempted by such thoughts. It is often presented to you like a gilded lily. For the weak minded, the one that understands some science, but who also needs to have a divine creator to pray to or to praise or to even blame, intelligent design is for you. It removes the need for facts in places where none exist, and alleviates your mind of the burden of thought because those gaps exist. Poof! You can believe in scientific evidence AND you get to keep your god! Isn't it wonderful?

Of course not, as one of my twitter friends so aptly put, it's creationism dressed up in a fake lab coat. It parades itself as scientific theory and demands to be taught in public schools. As its basic hypothesis, that there is an intelligent designer, cannot be tested, it in no way even approximates a scientific theory. It does not deserve public recognition as truth or science, let alone deserve public funding or classroom time. It is simply pseudoscience. 

Since intelligent design is a complete cognitive cop-out, I find that I have more respect for creationists. At least they don't try to put their fairy tale in a lab coat.