Over the past few days I have addressed the topic of intellectual due diligence twice, first, in a somewhat esoteric evaluation of the "situation" in cognitive science in relation to the public's perception of paradigm acceptance within the field being at variance with the opinions of professionals, then, I moved to a more concrete critique of the abuses of facts in the service of ideology & values.

In both of these cases quibbling matters can be important indicator values of due diligence. That is, if someone uses Evolutionary Psychology as a catchall for biologistic thinking about human nature, then you need to take a step back and evaluate the knowledge base the other individual is working with. If someone makes basic errors of chronology on matters of history it is a strong clue that their knowledge base is fragmented, incoherent, and driven by their need for confirmation of their hypothesis and so warped by selection bias.

So, when someone conflates abiogenesis and evolution, you know they are an idiot, so end the discussion. If you are inclined to expose yourself to such creatures of intellectual sloth, follow the trackbacks....