Hovind Scale Calculator

The Hovind Scale - Calculate Hovind Factors with ease!

Note: This is just a back-up version of the original Hovind Factor Calculator which you can find here.

The form fields on this blog version are cut off as they are too wide to fit, but if you click on them they will expand to show the full options!

Belief In Scripture
No doctrinal belief required Metaphorical use of Biblical/Qu’ranic quotation Belief in scripture as the infallible word of God. Timeless, inerrant and absolute. (AiG/The flud etc.)

Scientific Illiteracy
Full understanding of detailed,advanced scientific principles Overall grasp of principles with some understanding of specific area being discussed Vague understanding of general principle but with poor grasp of many details No understanding or knowledge of area being discussed Rejection of basic scientific facts/laws/robust theories and/or denial of any evidence that contradicts scripture Comfort Zone - As previous, but more extreme and puerile

Idiocy
No discernible stupidity Slightly silly, but understandable Foolish Daft Rather funny in a slightly worrying sort of way Very funny in a very worrying way Scary stuff Very scary Unlikely to be accepted by anyone with more than two functioning neurons Moronic. Stark-bollock-naked,off-the-wall, wing-nut Kirk Cameron or VenomFangX

Paradox
Statement is logical andself-consistent Statement acknowledges slight flaw ininternal logic but glosses over it with babble. Statement relies on an assumed divine intervention to explain self contradiction. Self contradiction invalidates statement completely, and is left un-addressed.

Mendacity
Total honesty Statement maker knows they are tellingenough of a porkie to try to mislead a generally credulous audience Statement maker knows they are lying enough to try to mislead an educated audience, or they are repeating a lie that they have previously been corrected on Whopper! (including plagiarism) Complete, burn-in-Hell, perjury grade,super-lie - for example, one that is strategically designed to mislead authorities or the general public (e.g. as witnessed in the Dover trial and Expelled).



Hovind Factor:




True Believer™ Rating (TBR):

The Hovind Scale is used to rate Creationist statements about the nature of reality and assign a value to how ignorant, scientifically illiterate and / or outright dishonest they are.


It was designed by the forumites of RichardDawkins.net, and one of them set out the details on their blog here.

It is named after the convicted fraudster and Young Earth Creationist Kent Hovind.
He is currently serving time because of his "overly flexible" attitude to the truth, and before his incarceration was regularly lying for Jesus.




Honesty is the main factor in determining the Hovind Factor - a truly honest Creationist cannot get a Hovind Factor of more than 20. Creationists who knowingly seek to deceive will score highly.



Since honesty can be hard to determine (unless there happens to be supporting evidence like court records), and since many zealots are truly sincere in their beliefs, this calculator also includes the True Believer™ Rating (TBR)
which simply removes the Mendacity factor from the equation and scales up accordingly to
give a maximum score of 100 (if Mendacity is rated at maximum, the TBR will equal the Hovind Factor).



Once you have ascertained the Hovind Factor, you can get a general idea of what level of Creationist you are dealing with by checking their score against the descriptions below:


100 - Utter Hovind - the person might actually BE Hovind (if he hasmnet access from his cell), but if they're not they are certainly talking complete and utter Hovind! Lies and ignorance knowingly combined and asserted as fact! The state of the art of Lying for Jesus.

90-99 - Positively Hovindian
- while not managing to be quite as ignorant or mendacious as the master himself, this person
still displays positively Hovindian levels of scientific illiteracy and dishonesty

60-89 - VenomFangTastic
- not quite up in the fully Kentian levels, as there may be some slightly mitigating circumstances
(youth or inexperience for example), but still a person who can be relied on to produce long winded and scientifically illiterate or self-contradictory arguments ex recto at a moment's notice

30-59- Profoundly Creotarded - This person likely has little or no scientific knowledge, and they are actively Lying for Jesus at every opportunity.

21-30 - Creotarded- A run of the mill Creotard, with a balance of ignorance, illogic and
mendacity

12-20 - Partially
Creotarded - Some very serious misunderstandings about reality, and a hint of zealotry beginning to rear its ugly head

6-11- Pushing The Limits of Decency - starting to go beyond what is reasonable, but dishonesty or scientific illiteracy are becoming too obvious to ignore.

1-5 - Surprisingly Decent
- a pretty good effort, with a combined honesty / scientific understanding far beyond
the typical Creationist zealot. You might well be able to have a sensible discussion with this person. Educated laymen with a genuine desire to explore the issues may well turn up in this category.



0 - The Blue Butterfly Effect - a well constructed and intellectually honest argument, informed by a comprehensive general scientific understanding and in-depth knowledge of the specifics of any relevant scientific work. If you want to debate this person, you'd better know
what you're talking about!



Online Hovind-Factor Calculator designed by Alltruism from RichardDawkins.net