An erstwhile creationist becomes a biologist, due in part to us!

May 18, 2015 • 11:30 am

Over the past five years, one of our readers—Dan Metz—has been undergoing an odyssey. This involved leaving a strict religious background, abandoning belief in creationism and accepting evolution, and then, ultimately, becoming a biologist. It’s a heartening story, one that shows how even a “strident” atheistic site run by a biologist can, despite the godlessness, turn people towards science.

We first heard from Dan in 2010, when, writing anonymously, he described how learning about evolution was the key factor in his leaving religion (he was originally a Southern Baptist creationist from the Appalachians). Here’s just a small bit from that letter:

You probably know the rest. The initial rejection of what I’d read, trying to get someone to explain to me why all the evidence pointed toward evolution instead of away, realizing that the answers that I was getting from the creationist side were either evasive, inconsistent, or deceitful. And the long, slow, painful process of shedding a belief I’ve had instilled in me since childhood.

In 2012, Dan wrote again, this time making his identity public and recounting how he worked two years in banking to save up enough money to go to college and study biology. Again, a small part of his testimony:

In that letter, I mentioned my “biggest regret”–that I had never pursued the opportunity to study biology academically. I now proudly report that in another two weeks or so, I will have completed my first semester as an undergraduate in biology and mathematics. Your book, your site, and the comments of encouragement that your readers posted in response to my first letter were all instrumental in nudging me toward my current position in life. And I couldn’t be happier!

Note that you, the readers, get a large bit of credit for helping Dan fulfill his dreams. You might want to look back at the comments to see the encouragement he got.

I heard from Dan again yesterday, and he’s succeeded brilliantly:

Dr. Coyne,

It is amazing how things can change in so short a time. I wrote to you five years ago as a confused and floundering young apostate, unsure of my place in a world suddenly bereft of gods and magic and neat little explanations for every manner of phenomenon.

The encouragement I received from you and the readers of your website (which I continue to peruse daily) led me to pursue a degree in biology, mathematics, and chemistry.

I completed that degree last week, with the titles of Summa Cum Laude, Dean’s Scholar, and Artis Fellow (head of all Dean’s Scholars of the graduating class). I am also a National Research Fellow through the Ecological Society of America, and have the honor of describing not only a new species, but a new genus of eukaryotic parasite as the fruit of my undergraduate research.

I’ve been accepted into a PhD program at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography under the tutelage of a scientist I’ve admired for years.  This would not have happened had it not been for our initial correspondence. So thank you, and thank your readers.

My friends, family, and professional contacts have given me the support I needed to excel as an undergraduate. But I seriously doubt that I–an uneducated man from a very rural, very religious background–could have even conceived of a career in understanding the chemical mechanisms of parasite-mediated behavioral control had it not been for our initial correspondence.

So I simply wanted to thank you, and to wish you well on the outreach of your new book. I, of course, will be ordering a copy as soon as my next paycheck comes in.

Thanks,
-Dan

You can see the announcement of Dan’s success, and of his ESA fellowship, at this post from Radford University’s newsfeed.

And here’s the man himself demonstrating how to get pinched by a crab:

Finally, Dan asked me to convey this to the readers:

[G]ive my warmest regards to your commenters. They’re a big-hearted bunch, to throw such well-wishes to a guy they never met. It’s a trait they share with their host!

Now isn’t that nice?

81 thoughts on “An erstwhile creationist becomes a biologist, due in part to us!”

  1. Congratulations Dan. A very heartwarming and powerful story. Good luck in your new career!

  5. That’s a great story. Congratulations, Dan. You’ve come a long way in such a short time!

  10. Wow, what a great testimonial. Congratulations and I hope the best for your future endeavors. I’m also happy to hear that your family supports you as I suppose they haven’t seen the light of reason (yet?).

  11. What a great story. Well done Dan, fantastic achievement.

    The story also highlights one of the hidden tragedies of the fundamentalist, creationist cult, in that there must be so many intelligent people being denied the opportunity to achieve. A loss not just for them but for all society.

  15. Congrats Dan! What an “evolution”! Likely there are other readers teetering on the brink of similar transition and trust Dan’s journey can be a catalyst for them.

  16. Congratulations, Dan, from all of us in Dobrzyn and a very loud meow of approval and admiration from Hili.

  17. Hello Dan,

    I am most impressed by your courage in not only leaving your creationist faith behind, but also in charting a whole new course for your life.

    It is awesome that you are going out to Scripps for your PhD. Congratulations and good luck! Be sure to seek out lots of advice from a wide range of people in navigating the pathways to a successful research career.

  18. Kick a$$ with a side of awesome sauce! I’m impressed. I lost my faith by puberty, so I have little idea how hard that must have been for you. I do relate however to your regret at not studying biology academically. I was repeatedly dissuaded and teased as a child for wanting to be a zoologist, mocked with “you’ll never make any money at it” and supposed to just get a “regular” job, be an ordinary middle class schlub and shut up about it. I’ve failed, at the regular jobs, middle class life, and at studying biology (time+money+single-parenthood) so anyone who fought against the opposing currents to succeed as you have immediately becomes a personal hero. Well done, sir. Well done indeed.

  23. That’s truly awesome. I had a much more pro-science background and yet my undergrad accomplishments don’t hold a candle to yours. Congrats to you Dan, and I’m very glad to hear your family and friends have been so supportive.

  25. Great Story!
    And best wishes from the other side of the Atlantic Ocean!

  27. I am getting a little choked up, Dan, over your amazing story. Although you are very kind to extend credit to the family here at WEIT (and it is like a virtual family to me), I want to point out that you, Dan, deserve a lions’ share of the credit for your own metamorphosis. As the insane AI GLaDOS from the Portal game says: “Thank you for helping us help you help us all”.

    2. “…the family here at WEIT (and it is like a virtual family to me)…”

      Something I’ve felt for quite a while as well. 🙂

  28. Congratulations, Dan–well done! And thanks for the nice lesson in crab biology 🙂

  29. That’s a fascinating subject he’s studying: parasite-mediated behavioral control.

  30. Congratulations Dan! You flew way higher already than any imagined angel could have taken you. And you’ve seen greater wonders than any holy book could ever have offered you.

  33. Firstly I’d like to offer my congratulations to you Dan and to express my greatest admiration for your academic and personal achievements. It is a pretty wonderful, yet sometimes very painful thing, to break with religion. One of the real compensations is to come to appreciate the wonders of Science and the scientific life. You Dan have taken this journey so much further -to place most of us could never achieve ourselves. I would add that Scripps is the most glorious place to work and to study – and you truly deserve this.

  34. That’s great news. Congrats! Also, it is interesting to go back and read the old comments. It’s nice to see all the support and encouragement. It’s also bittersweet to see a number of comments from Eric MacDonald before he went offline, and Ophelia Benson before The Troubles.

  36. Native curiosity + deep desire to know + social courage = what you’ve become. Congratulations from a retired professor who would have been delighted to have you in class!

  37. Congratulations. What a fabulous odyssey. I’m so glad that your hard work has resulted in such success, and wish you all the best in life and in your research career.

  38. Well done, Dan you’ll obviously do well in your new profession. Well done too to all the readers who gave Dan so much encouragement. And of course, well done to Mr Jerry Coyne for providing us all with a hugely informative, educational, humourous and just plain enjoyable web site. Thanks Jerry. Lastly well done on your book double first.

  39. There is a warmth, mutual respect, and support on this site that is quite rare, not to mention all its other outstanding attributes. So glad you’re a part of it, Dan. Big, big, big, congratulations!!! Wishing you continued success.

  40. I’d like to add my congratulations and my admiration to you, Dan. Is there any way you would let me purchase the copy of “Faith vs Fact” you were intending to get on your next payday. It would be a small token of thanks to someone who has gone above and beyond in illustrating the truth, the way, and the light.

    1. You’re very kind. I appreciate the offer. Instead of sending that copy to me, might I request that it be donated to your local library?

      1. Absolutely, Dan. That’s a great idea. I will contact them tomorrow about doing just that. Who knows, maybe someone from the bible laden land of Oklahoma will get similarly inspired in the way you did with a spark from Jerry’s book.

      2. That brought tears to my eyes. Dan, what a fantastic human being you are! From your insight and honesty, through your magnificent accomplishments, to your engaging on-screen personality (even the crab liked you too much to pinch you right away), to your logical and generous suggestion, above, you are the epitome of a true mensch, the sort of human being who sets the standard we’d all dream of living up to. May your dreams continue to be fulfilled, and may they continue to inspire others, near and far, to work has happily and hard to reach as high.

  41. What a beautiful, inspiring story, I can’t stop smiling! Congratulations, Dan! The world has another excellent, talented scientist.

  42. All: thanks so much for your support. I’m not much of a commenter, but I do love to read the exchanges among you all (and between you and the occasional crusader).

    My appreciation for you all is heartfelt. Kind words and encouragement can influence a life in unimaginable ways. Mere words deflected my life’s trajectory toward a path beyond my wildest dreams. YOUR words.

    That’s true and terrible power, and I thank you all for being judicious in its use.

    1. “…understanding the chemical mechanisms of parasite-mediated behavioral control…”
      Fascinating subject.

      Dan, is there any research showing that parasite-mediated behavior occurs in us humans? Any connection with my reaching for the cookie tin again and again when I don’t really want one?

      [I posted this on the wrong thread, first.]

      1. Yep! The most popular example is, I think, the most weakly-supported: it has been proposed that the brain-encysting parasite Toxoplasma gondii can exert some measure of control over human behavior: http://jeb.biologists.org/content/216/1/127.full (free article).

        The assertion makes sense: T. gondii is known to influence the behavior of rodents, removing their innate fear of cats and causing them to be attracted to the smell of cat urine. Since the parasite must pass from a rodent to a cat to complete its life cycle, the selective pressure toward this kind of behavior control is pretty strong. The rodent-infecting stage of T. gondii can accidentally infect humans. So it’s thought that the same chemical mechanism the parasite uses to control rodents could have an effect upon the accidental human hosts.

        I am not entirely convinced that there IS an effect, but a mechanism exists.

        There are other, more subtle effects that parasites can exert upon their human hosts. Plasmodium, the parasite that causes malaria, is known to make infected hosts much more attractive to mosquitoes. It’s also been hypothesized that the cyclical fever-chills associated with malaria (malarial paroxysms) are the parasite’s way of getting the host to sit still long enough for a mosquito to find him.

        Guinea worms cause an intense burning sensation in the skin when they are ready to release their eggs: a sensation that is only soothed by immersing the skin in water. Convenient, then, that guinea worm larvae must hatch in fresh water.

        Oops! That was probably a much longer answer than you were looking to get!

  47. I wanted to wait until I could re-read Dan the Man With a Plan’s previous updates to make a comment – that was fun!

    For every Dan with a calling and a knack there are thousands who don’t have the drive that he has to achieve the improbable. What a great and precious thing this is: it’s especially wonderful that biology was his calling, of course, but it’s awesome – YES I SAID AWESOME – when a person is able to shrug off irrational indoctrination and do something with real purpose and fulfillment.

    If I were Jerry I’d indulge a little self-congratulation as this is the kind of influence that every horseperson and militant atheist should hope for!

    1. That was pretty much my reaction, too. But, worth repeating!

      Go, Dan!

      Jerry, take a bow.

      Everyone, big smiles.

  50. Hey Dan, that really is terrific news! You’ve come a long way, and the journey just gets better 🙂 Congratulations and I look forward to reading your research (parasites are awesome)!

  55. The Dan in the picture looks a little bit – crazy. Till you read the caption about the crab.

    Well done, Dan.

  56. “I completed that degree last week, with the titles of Summa Cum Laude, Dean’s Scholar, and Artis Fellow”

    God’s teeth man!! When you leave creationism and embrace Biology, you don’t mess about do you?

    Well done Dan

  57. Dan, you look so at home in that lab and with those crabs–surely you were always meant to be a biologist! You’re gonna love Scripps, but of course you already know that.

    I rather think that someone with your intellect, passion, and drive would have found his way out of the myth-muck and into the joys of science no matter what; but it’s sure gratifying to hear you credit WEIT like you do. Congrats, big-time! And thanks for all the kind words about Jerry & his community.

  58. Give a man a cat, and he can make fuzzies. Give a man a biology education, and he can fuzz over every organism.

    Good going, Dan!

  60. My brothers and I have been crabbing at night, Dan, and I’ve never been pinched. The guys have been. But of course, they went after the hugest land crabs. Making your approach from behind (never in front or above), you just grab the crab with one hand on the back, on either side of the carapace – thumb on one side, fingers on the other, much like a claw of your own. Don’t put any digits on the belly! The biggest crabs are quite powerful and will do their darndest to fight back and flee. If one of those big suckers grab hold with a claw, it takes another person to yank open the claw with two hands.

  64. Well done Dan – Huge admiration for what you have achieved and what you will no doubt achieve in the future.

    Don’t want to spoil your research but I think you will find that parasite-mediated behavioral control is just one of the tools that Cthulhu uses to influence you weak minded humans. Please credit me in your doctorate.

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