Recent content by noobie

A cell is not only a computer but an intelligent machine. It's internal programming (a typical human cell only expresses a small portion of its full genome) allows it to carry out specific function that a computer can only "dream" about. Most biologist will not compare a cell do a computer...

Harvard's avg SAT score was at most 1400 during the 90's before recentering. MIT's avg while I was there was only 1330. I scored well over 100's over the mean but I was sweating bullets over whether or not I would get in.

Sorry to hear that Moose. I've been told by MIT admissions before that the whole process is almost rolling a dice because the candidates are so good across the board. I'm sure there are other great schools that are more than glad to take you.

Thanks for clearing that up. I was not being very rigorous or precise with my usage of theory and laws. I agree they are based on different sets of data. What I meant was that we cannot hold the theory of evolution with the same certainty as laws.

I don't know what to say except that there are just as many uncritical people out of faith as in the faith. I think there might be a perception that atheists are more "critical" in their thinking b/c atheists do spend a considerable amount of time reading/thinking about these issues and their...

I just don't see this at all. I've lived in various places in the US- the South, West Coast, East Coast and all the religious organizations I've been part of encourage an extensive rationalization of faith. And I would guess that I've spent a lot more time in religious circles and environments...

Thanks for taking the time to respond. Like I've said, I'm not an expert in evolutionary biology. I'm going to try to work back here and see if I can make myself sound coherent. No doubt I probably came off sounding like a dummy. I didn't mean to imply that physical sciences are...

A theory is an explanation which can be supported by a set of observations or data that one may have. It can never be proven true but only disproved. But the only useful theories in science are the ones that can correctly predict natural phenomena. We use the word theory in our lab all the...

Most top tier science programs (or I'll say chemistry since that is what I know) do not even offer master's degrees because most people serious about science careers head straight into the PHD program after they receive their bachelor's. And you only get a master's if for some reason you decide...

Yes I agree- my point is that there isn't the same "elite" classification of graduate programs as there is with undergraduate programs. You have your upper tiers and lower tiers but it doesn't matter because you've got to be exceptional and made a name for yourself in order to be hired as...

This is untrue. At this level, no one really cares what school you got your PHD at but rather your publication record. The only significant factor is that getting a professorship (no way you can secure one with tenure w/o previous experience) is so difficult than the connections that your...

A master's degree is only important in certain fields. It's almost completely useless in sciences (biology, chemistry, physics) while a master's degree in engineering usually means a significant salary increase. That being said, if you are from a so-called elite school, many companies will...

By definition a post-doc must have a doctoral degree. However, I have met several people who have achieved success typically reserved for PHD's. For instance, old engineering prof actually didn't even finish his undergrad degree before leaving for the semiconductor industry and became a famous...

I believe this kind of thinking is actually very prevalent in the academic world. There is considerable "peer pressure" to eschew religion and faith if one wants to be considered intellectual. When I first enetered college, I definitely identified myself as liberal and a staunch atheist. Only...

In my mind a lot of the evidence for evolution is circumstantial. There is no foolproof evidence that a complex organism can evolve into a completely different organism. It might sound like harping but no one has observed monkeys turning into humans and a theory is just a theory until it can...