creationism
pharyngula | January 6, 2008Creationist can actively impede science. One of the largest mastodon fossils ever found was discovered on a ranch in Texas owned by a fellow named Joe Taylor — an infamous creationist who runs the Mt. Blanco Fossil "Museum", a wacky little place that peddles fossils while claiming they support a 6,000 year old earth. Now he's putting it up for auction, and you can buy the skull for something north of $60,000.
We can't win this one. Even if it's bought by a reputable museum and studied scientifically, it still means that this creationist is going to get a huge chunk of change to use in…
gregladen | January 5, 2008Christian Creationists are accusing scientists of being defensive, ignorant, reprehensible, and troubling. They might be right.
The NAS just published the latest version of its book on Evolution and Creationism (free, by the way: Your tax dollars at work) and we are now seeing the trickle of reaction from the largely creationist Christian community turn from a trickle to a drizzle.
I myself think it is a good book, but I believe they made two very important (and closely linked) errors. First, they should not have discussed creationism at all. It should be a book about evolution, with a…
gregladen | January 5, 2008It is interesting to see words like "doomed" and "ruined" in the context of the current election cycle in the US. Many of us had those words in our minds and on our lips during the last two election cycles. I wonder if the rhetoric of doom, which is largely accurate, will be more over this time around.
"The logic that convinces us that evolution is a fact is the same logic we use to say smoking is hazardous to your health or we have serious energy policy issues because of global warming," University of Michigan professor Gilbert Omenn told reporters at the launch of a book on evolution by…
gregladen | January 4, 2008In the wake of his Iowa victory, Mike Huckabee is doing the news and talk show circuit. Here are his comments this AM on evolution.
ABC's "Good Morning America" grilled Huckabee about his evangelical ties, making Creationism the issue.
ABC's Robin Roberts mentioned a new book from the National Academy of Sciences that says Creationism has no place in the classroom -- given the overwhelming evidence in favor of evolution.
"Do you agree with that -- that Creationism should be kept out of our classrooms," Roberts asked.
"In ten-and-a-half years as a governor, I never touched it," Huckabee…
gregladen | January 4, 2008The recent release of the NAS tome on evolution, and how evolution is good and creationist is bad, has been picked up by the religious community. It was only a matter of time before they noticed.
From the Ecumenical News International:
The US scientific community has begun 2008 with a strong offensive on evolution in the educational system, which often evokes the ire of advocates of creationism, a belief that humanity, life and the universe were created in their original form by a deity.
[source]
There isn't much else. They don't seem to have much to say yet, other than the idea that…
gregladen | January 4, 2008The National Academy of Sciences has issued the third version of its book "Science, Evolution and Creationism," in which it makes an effort to reconcile belief in god with acceptance of evolution.
The book, available to purchace from the National Academies Press, in very short form in this brochure from the NAS, or free in its entirety as a PDF file (if you sign in to the web site), makes the following points:
The Theory of Evolution Has Been Repeatedly Tested and Confirmed
Creationism Does Not Belong in the Science Classroom
Science and Religion Offer Different Ways of Understanding the…
gregladen | January 4, 2008An update on the hearings.
Florida Citizens for Science intones You made an impression. Congratulations! The hearings seem to have gone well, and the violation of the constitutional rights by christian fundamentalists of public school children of Florida may have been averted.
From tampabay.com:
A committee of teachers, scientists and others worked for months to update the current standards, which were written in 1996 and do not mention the word "evolution." Its revamp has won solid reviews from teachers and scientists. But some conservative Christians object, saying the standards should…
mikethemadbiologist | January 4, 2008You would think after the sound thrashing Michael Egnor received due to his mangling of the basics of evolutionary biology, the Discovery Institute might want to find someone else to quote in a guide for students. Nope:
"Microbiology tells us that bacterial populations are heterogeneous. Individual bacteria differ from one another. Molecular biology tells us that some bacteria have molecular mechanisms by which they can survive antibiotics. Molecular genetics tells us how these resistance mechanisms are passed to other bacteria and through generations of bacteria. Pharmacology helps us…
evolvingthoughts | January 3, 2008
Some press releases get the right money quote:
"The bottom line is that the world is round, humans evolved from an extinct species and Elvis is dead," Weissmann said. "This survey is a wake-up call for anyone who supports teaching information based on evidence rather than speculation or hope; people want to hear the truth, and they want to hear it from scientists."
By asking the questions in a non-loaded manner, FASEB managed to ascertain that 61% of Americans actually do accept evolution as a fact.
Oh, and the NAS has published the book online for free if you don't want a physical…
gregladen | January 3, 2008Thoughtful analysis on a recent poll regarding Evolution vs. Creationism.
gregladen | January 3, 2008It is common knowledge that most Americans are creationists, and prefer creationist stories of human origins and evolution in general over the findings of evolutionary biology. But this is only true if you ask the questions a certain way, and a new study shows very different results.
This is a new survey of 1,000 likely voters across the U.S. reported in an editorial in the journal of The Federation of the American Societies for Experimental Biology (FASEB). The survey, reported here, found that most respondents "accepted that life evolved, many accepted that it evolved through natural…
gregladen | January 3, 2008Hearings will be held today in Jacksonville and early next week in Miramar Florida to determine if the word "evolution" will be integrated into the school science curriculum.
Information on the Jacksonville Hearing is here:
A public meeting about the new draft of the state science standards is tomorrow. If you are in the area, please take the time to attend in support of sound science education. Those opposed to evolution are sure to be there in force. If you wish to speak at the meeting, you may want to show up early in order to get on the list. If you do go, please report back to us what…
pharyngula | January 3, 2008I get to do some more traveling this morning, so I'll leave you with an off-the-wall question: since Denyse O'Leary has taken over most of the posting on Uncommon Descent, and since most of her posts link to some other in her network of poorly trafficked, repetitious blogs (and sometimes she links to a post that links to one of the others!), does this mean UD is now officially a link farm?
pharyngula | January 3, 2008I was just notified that one of the people working for Texas Citizens for Science (the good guys) will be discussing the Chris Comer incident with someone from the Texas Freedom Network (more good guys). It doesn't sound like there will be a lot of drama and confrontation, but there will be information and an opportunity to see the decent, intelligent side of Texas represented.
Thresholds' host George Reiter will be interviewing Steven Schafersman, President of Texas Citizens for Science, and Dan Quinn, communications director for the Texas Freedom network, on the politics in Texas that led…
pharyngula | January 2, 2008Does your local schoolboard look like this?
(I know — it's slandering the other primates to compare them to creationists.)
pharyngula | January 1, 2008If you've ever been curious about the intelligent design of language, here's a new one for you: Edenics.
Here you will discover that ALL human words contain forms of the Edenic roots within them. These proto-Semitic or early Biblical Hebrew words were programmed into our common ancestors, Adam and Eve, before the language dispersion, or babble at the Tower of Babel -- which kickstarted multi-national human history.
Oh, joy. They're after all of our sciences.
pharyngula | January 1, 2008A weird anti-evolution crank seems to be ramping up his efforts around the blogosphere recently: C. David Parsons has been leaving comments at Florida Citizens for Science, and Wesley Elsberry directly addresses his "conflict driven" views. Parsons has apparently been trying to raise his profile because he has a new book out, and he wants creationists to buy it.
It's being put out by Tate Publishing, which seems to be a vanity press dedicated specifically to bilking Christian authors. If you have $40 and a complete lack of sense, you too can be the proud owner of The Quest for Right: The…
gregladen | January 1, 2008It is fun, and appropriate, to slam local newspapers that uncritically regurgitate yahooistic creationist rhetoric. But when the local papers display fits of rational thinking, we should praise them.
Thus, I bring you a quote from the St. Petersburg times. This is from their list of Top Ten People to Watch in 2008, and it concerns recent and ongoing political events in Florida:
4. Charles Darwin
Despite 148 years of uninterrupted scientific validation, Darwin and his seminal work, The Origin of Species, continue to lose ground to the Judeo-Christian creation story.
Just this month, a…
evolvingthoughts | December 31, 2007
OK, so the next door party finished about 1.30, but the family disputes finished about 5 am, so instead of thinking, I'm going to let others think for me, and round up a few New Years Day links...
Wesley Elsberry at Austringer has a nice piece on why creationists use the conflict model for the relation of science and faith.
Thinking Meat asks if life was "nasty, poore, brutish and short" as Hobbes thought, or things were simply just as much about survival as they are now, in preagriculture.
PsyBlog asks how well Epicurus, one of my favourite Greek Philosophers, fares in the light of…
pharyngula | December 31, 2007Yikes. More Florida school boards — in St Lucie, Palm Beach, and Martin counties — are infested with creationists. Florida Citizens for Science is maintaining a watch list.
So…have you checked your local school board? Do you have creationists biding their time, waiting to corrupt your schools?