Physicist to defend Darwin's theory today

Physicist Dave Thomas intends to prove this afternoon that evolution is indeed a scientific reality.

Phillip Johnson, a University of California at Berkeley law professor, will speak on campus at 2 p.m. to argue against evolution. Thomas will then be ready to counter Johnson's speech at 4 p.m. in the Kiva Lecture Hall.

Thomas said he has been preparing a defense since he found out about Johnson's visit to UNM.

"He says evolution is wrong," Thomas said. "I'm going to tackle that head on. I'm going to demonstrate that there are fossils that show the evolution of new species. I'll explain why there are gaps in the fossil record."

Thomas, a physicist and mathematician for Quasar International, Inc. in Albuquerque, is the president of New Mexicans for Science and Reason. He is a scientific consultant for the Committee for Scientific Investigation of Claims of the Paranormal - a group that is skeptical about fringe-science and creationism.

Thomas said he, along with members of the organizations he belongs to, decided it would be good to give the community two perspectives on evolution.

"My point is going to be that miracles are not allowed in science," Thomas said. "There are no miracles in algebra, why should you have miracles in biology? He's going to say science is wrong."

One of the ways Thomas said he will prove that science is right will be by presenting his research on a new protein that has been created through evolutionary mechanisms.

Harold Delaney, a UNM psychology professor, who is offering a course through the University Honors program that focuses on the relationship between science and religion, invited Johnson to speak on the subject.

Thomas, however, said no relationship exists between science and religion. He said that Johnson is advocating intolerance of science and its goals of understanding the world.

"He's going to come here and say that the research many people are working on here is bogus, he's going to say the scientific method is atheist, and that's wrong," Thomas said. "The scientific method doesn't look for purpose. We're advocates for the truth that the mechanisms of evolution do work."

Thomas' lecture is being sponsored by the College of Arts and Sciences and the Psychology, Physics and Astronomy, Earth and Planetary Sciences, Biology and Chemistry Departments.