"The Gish Gallop finally comes to a halt"

[Skwim]

"A notorious old fraud has kicked the bucket: Duane T. Gish is dead. He was a true pioneer in the art of lying: he was infamous for his “Gish gallop” style in which he’d simply rattle off distortion after lie after BS at a rapid-fire rate, trusting that any intellectually honest opponent would never catch up with him. He mastered the Chewbacca Defense before it was even named.

The NCSE has a beautiful quote from Karl Fezer that summarizes the Gish style:

"Gish will say, with rhetorical flourish and dramatic emphasis, whatever he thinks will serve to maintain, in the minds of his uncritical followers, his image as a knowledgeable ‘creation scientist.’ An essential component is to lard his remarks with technical detail; whether that detail is accurate or relevant or based on unambiguous evidence is of no concern. When confronted with evidence of his own error, he resorts to diversionary tactics and outright denial."
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Yeah, that’s Gish through and through."
source

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"Duane Tolbert Gish (February 17, 1921 - March 5, 2013) was an American biochemist and a prominent member of the creationist movement. Gish is a former vice-president of the Institute for Creation Research (ICR) and the author of numerous publications on the subject of scientific creationism. Gish was called "creationism's T.H. Huxley" for the way he "relished the confrontations" of formal debates with prominent evolutionary biologists, usually held on university campuses

source

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Ninety-two years is old enough for any creationist. May he rest in peace.

 

[painted wolf]

I wish his family all the best in their time of mourning.

wa:do

 

[Matthew78]

I want to put my two cents in as far as Duane Gish's passing goes. When I was a teenager and a creationist, I wrote to Dr. Gish and he answered my letter. Gish was cordial, friendly, and willing to help me understand. He wasn't some arrogant blowhard who was bothered by the fact that he had to waste time on something so puny like answering the questions of a young teenager. On the contrary, Gish was very delighted that young Christians like myself took creationism seriously enough to want to improve their education on it. He saw in me the promise of a young and bright new generation willing to stand up for God's truths as revealed in the Bible.

Looking back from the perspective of someone who has long since renounced both creationism and Evangelical Christian fundamentalism, I very much regret Dr. Gish's passing. I have long come to think of his arguments as being very silly. I have long come to realize that Gish misunderstood other scientists and promoted his own silly brand of pseudoscience. I don't defend him for what he promoted or defended. I don't defend his debating style, the silly "Gish Gallop" as it's been rightfully called.

But I remember Gish was a gentleman. Gish was a gentleman to me. Every time I saw Gish debate someone on video, Gish was always polite, always had a respectful demeanor, and he always seemed to radiate love. He always shook the hands of opponents after debating them. I don't recall any instance where Gish yelled at people, insulted them, or made people feel stupid or inferior in his debates. I regret that Gish wasted his adult life defending antiscientific nonsense but I am sorry to see him pass away.

I don't mock his death nor do I dance on his grave. Instead, I look back warmly at someone whose heart was in the right place even if his reasoning was shoddy and his arguments were lame. I wish his family comfort and peace in this time of mourning. Gish was what some Christians today aren't; Gish was a gentle man. When I think of Christians like Ann Coulter, Dinesh D'Souza, Jerry Falwell, Pat Robertson, James Dobson, and creation-"scientists" like the loathsome Jonathan Sarfati, I can only shake my head in regret. Gish was not like them. When I think of what kind of gentleman Gish was, I regrefully conclude that these people never found an example of how to be truly Christlike.