| Topic: |
Religions > Atheism |
| User: |
"Jason Spaceman" |
| Date: |
24 Jan 2005 08:35:16 AM |
| Object: |
Commentary: Sticker Shock |
From the article:
----------------------------------------------------
Brushfires are raging all across America over the teaching of
evolution, as various antievolution interests attempt to give
religiously based views equal footing in science classes. These fires
are fueled by so-called creation scientists, who allege that they have
scientific evidence against evolution. (They don't.) Their
co-conspirators, the "intelligent design" crowd, go with the
full-blown intellectual surrender strategy--they say that life on
earth is so complex that the only way to explain it is through the
intercession of an intelligent superbeing. (They don't mention
you-know-who by name as the designer, but you know who you-know-who
is, and it isn't Brahma.)
-------------------------------------------------------
Read it at
http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?colID=15&articleID=00022DE1-0C15-11E6-B75283414B7F0000
J. Spaceman
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| User: "Carl Kaufmann" |
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| Title: Re: Commentary: Sticker Shock |
24 Jan 2005 04:33:05 PM |
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Jason Spaceman wrote:
From the article:
----------------------------------------------------
Brushfires are raging all across America over the teaching of
evolution, as various antievolution interests attempt to give
religiously based views equal footing in science classes. These fires
are fueled by so-called creation scientists, who allege that they have
scientific evidence against evolution. (They don't.) Their
co-conspirators, the "intelligent design" crowd, go with the
full-blown intellectual surrender strategy--they say that life on
earth is so complex that the only way to explain it is through the
intercession of an intelligent superbeing. (They don't mention
you-know-who by name as the designer, but you know who you-know-who
is, and it isn't Brahma.)
-------------------------------------------------------
Read it at
http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?colID=15&articleID=00022DE1-0C15-11E6-B75283414B7F0000
J. Spaceman
Steve Mirsky is great. His column is the first thing I read when
SciAm arrives each month.
--
EAC Liar, Damned Liar, and Statistician
alt.atheist #1966
"Statistical thinking will one day be as necessary for efficient
citizenship as the ability to read and write." - H.G. Wells
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| User: "catshark" |
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| Title: Re: Commentary: Sticker Shock |
25 Jan 2005 02:37:42 AM |
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On Mon, 24 Jan 2005 11:33:05 -0500, Carl Kaufmann <cwkaufmann@cox.net>
wrote:
Jason Spaceman wrote:
From the article:
----------------------------------------------------
Brushfires are raging all across America over the teaching of
evolution, as various antievolution interests attempt to give
religiously based views equal footing in science classes. These fires
are fueled by so-called creation scientists, who allege that they have
scientific evidence against evolution. (They don't.) Their
co-conspirators, the "intelligent design" crowd, go with the
full-blown intellectual surrender strategy--they say that life on
earth is so complex that the only way to explain it is through the
intercession of an intelligent superbeing. (They don't mention
you-know-who by name as the designer, but you know who you-know-who
is, and it isn't Brahma.)
-------------------------------------------------------
Read it at
http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?colID=15&articleID=00022DE1-0C15-11E6-B75283414B7F0000
J. Spaceman
Steve Mirsky is great. His column is the first thing I read when
SciAm arrives each month.
He proposes that stickers be placed in texts other than biology books. My
favorite:
Sticker in Modern Optics: "CAUTION! Dark ages in mirror may be closer than
they appear."
--
---------------
J. Pieret
---------------
Nunc Id Vides, Nunc Ne Vides
- Unseen University Motto -
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| User: "Earthling48" |
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| Title: Re: Commentary: Sticker Shock |
25 Jan 2005 06:46:56 AM |
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Catshark wrote:
He proposes that stickers be placed in texts other than biology books.
My favorite:
Sticker in Modern Optics: "CAUTION! Dark ages in mirror may be closer
than
they appear."
Earthling48:
LOL
That's priceless... and more than a bit frightening at the same time!
Regards
Earthling48
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| User: "stoney" |
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| Title: Re: Commentary: Sticker Shock |
26 Jan 2005 03:11:46 AM |
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On Mon, 24 Jan 2005 21:37:42 -0500, catshark <catshark@yahoo.com>
wrote:
On Mon, 24 Jan 2005 11:33:05 -0500, Carl Kaufmann <cwkaufmann@cox.net>
wrote:
Jason Spaceman wrote:
From the article:
----------------------------------------------------
Brushfires are raging all across America over the teaching of
evolution, as various antievolution interests attempt to give
religiously based views equal footing in science classes. These fires
are fueled by so-called creation scientists, who allege that they have
scientific evidence against evolution. (They don't.) Their
co-conspirators, the "intelligent design" crowd, go with the
full-blown intellectual surrender strategy--they say that life on
earth is so complex that the only way to explain it is through the
intercession of an intelligent superbeing. (They don't mention
you-know-who by name as the designer, but you know who you-know-who
is, and it isn't Brahma.)
-------------------------------------------------------
Read it at
http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?colID=15&articleID=00022DE1-0C15-11E6-B75283414B7F0000
J. Spaceman
Steve Mirsky is great. His column is the first thing I read when
SciAm arrives each month.
He proposes that stickers be placed in texts other than biology books. My
favorite:
Sticker in Modern Optics: "CAUTION! Dark ages in mirror may be closer than
they appear."
They're closing at warp 9.
--
Contempt of Congress meter reading-offscale.
Hello, theocracy with a fundamentalist US Supreme
Court who will ensure church and state are joined
at the hip like clergy and altar boys.
America 1776-Jan 2001 RIP
.
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| User: "stoney" |
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| Title: Re: Commentary: Sticker Shock |
26 Jan 2005 03:11:27 AM |
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[]
January 24, 2005
Sticker Shock
In the beginning was the cautionary advisory
By Steve Mirsky
Brushfires are raging all across America over the teaching of
evolution, as various antievolution interests attempt to give
religiously based views equal footing in science classes. These fires
are fueled by so-called creation scientists, who allege that they have
scientific evidence against evolution. (They don't.) Their
co-conspirators, the "intelligent design" crowd, go with the
full-blown intellectual surrender strategy--they say that life on
earth is so complex that the only way to explain it is through the
intercession of an intelligent superbeing. (They don't mention
you-know-who by name as the designer, but you know who you-know-who
is, and it isn't Brahma.)
One little blaze can be found in Cobb County, Ga. As this issue of
Scientific American went to press, a federal judge in Atlanta was in
the process of deciding whether biology textbooks in the county could
continue to sport a warning sticker that read: "This textbook contains
material on evolution. Evolution is a theory, not a fact, regarding
the origin of living things. This material should be approached with
an open mind, studied carefully, and critically considered."
Maybe that last sentence should be stamped into every textbook (and
some other books I can think of). And maybe they could rewrite the
advisory so that it's accurate. Perhaps something like, "Variation
coupled with natural selection is the most widely accepted theory that
explains evolution. Evidence for evolution itself is so overwhelming
that those who deny its reality can do so only through nonscientific
arguments. They have every right to hold such views. They just can't
teach them as science in this science class."
But why pick on evolution in the first place when there's so much to
be offended by in virtually any science class? I propose that Cobb
County–style stickers be placed in numerous other textbooks. Here are
some suggestions:
Sticker in Introduction to Cosmology: "Astronomers estimate the age of
the universe to be approximately 13 billion years. If evolution ticks
you off because you believe that the earth is only 6,000 years old,
cosmology should really make smoke come out of your ears. There's a
fire extinguisher next to the telescope."
Sticker in Geography for Today: "Some people believe that the earth is
flat. An ant probably thinks the beach ball he's walking on is flat,
too. Anyway, this book says the earth is more like an oblate spheroid.
Now go find Moldova on a map."
Sticker in Earth Science: "You are free to exercise your First
Amendment rights in this class and to identify all stratigraphic
layers as being 6,000 years old. We are free to flunk you."
Sticker in Collegiate Chemistry: "Electrons. They're like little tiny
ball bearings that fly around the atomic nucleus like planets orbit
the sun. Except that they're actually waves. Only what they really are
are probability waves. But they do make your MP3 player run,
seriously."
Sticker in Our Solar System: "Remember they said in chemistry class
that electrons fly around the nucleus like planets orbit the sun? Some
people think the sun and other planets go around the earth. You'll
have a much easier time with the math if you just let everybody go
around the sun, trust me."
Sticker in Physics for Freshmen: "We know that a lot of what's in this
book is wrong, and with any luck they'll eventually find out that even
more of it is wrong. But it's not so far off, it took some real
geniuses to get us this close, and it's way better than nothing."
Sticker in Creationism for Dummies: "Religious belief rests on a
foundation of faith. Seeking empirical evidence for support of one's
faith-based beliefs therefore could be considered pointless. Or even
blasphemous."
Sticker in Modern Optics: "CAUTION! Dark ages in mirror may be closer
than they appear."
© 1996-2005 Scientific American, Inc
--
Contempt of Congress meter reading-offscale.
Hello, theocracy with a fundamentalist US Supreme
Court who will ensure church and state are joined
at the hip like clergy and altar boys.
America 1776-Jan 2001 RIP
.
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