Keith: Pretty interesting sum-up of the thread so far, and I'd like to help out by pointing out one error with regard to the Second Law of Thermodynamics. As I have pointed out before, this is an often misunderstood concept and is in no way in contradiction of evolution, natural selection, or the human experience.

Furthermore, the concept of self-organization is just coming into its stride. Beginning with Chaos Theory, and now with research in topics like Emergent Systems (including work by one of my favorites, Stephen Wolfram ), it is becoming clear that organization and complexity are not the rare events we believe them to be--in fact, they're nearly inevitable given time and variety.

These advances in our understanding of complex phenomena were simply not possible before the computer made simple the process of carrying out several million iterations of a mathematical formula, for example.

One point I'd like to make is that change and progress will continue to happen--my problem is specifically with social structures which restrict seeking answers, or which deny evidence thus far discovered in the name of preserving the correctness of their beliefs.