Today is PZ Myers birthday. I live roughly in PZ’s neighborhood, so I broke into his house last night and scanned a couple of images from the Myers family photo album. I thought you might enjoy them… Continue reading Happy Birthday PZ Myers!
Tag Archives: Intelligent Design
Creationism’s Trojan Horse: The Wedge of Intelligent Design
Creationism’s Trojan Horse: The Wedge of Intelligent Design
… a no-holds-barred commitment to particular, parochial religious beliefs about the history and fabric of the world … This variant has eliminated brilliantly the obstacle of rational opposition to ideology … The new strategy is wonderfully simple. Here is how you implement it: exploiting that modern, nearly universal, liberal suspicion of zealotry, you accuse the branch of legitimate inquiry whose results you hate, in this case the evolutionary natural sciences, of — what else? — zealotry! … Crying “viewpoint discrimination,” you loudly demand adherence to the principle of freedom of speech, especially in teaching, insisting that such freedom is being denied your legitimate alternative view…This bold strategy is working, not just with religious fundamentalists, who do not need to be convinced anyway, but with people who have no such fundamentalist commitment and who are in principle well-enough educated to see what is happening. …This lusty new variant of creationism is advancing rapidly by means of a strategy called “The Wedge.”
Continue reading Creationism’s Trojan Horse: The Wedge of Intelligent Design
Schools should put faith in science
Scott Rowed published an Op Ed piece in the Calgary Herald last October that has just come to my attention. It is about evolution in schools in Canada, and provides an interesting perspective.
Should we reward them with taxpayers’ money to pass on these wonderful insights to the next generation? Should our future leaders learn to smother their critical thinking and make decisions based on faith rather than evidence and reason? From Canada, we don’t have to look too far south to see how tragic these faith-based decisions can be.
Read the whole thing here. Scott has another Op Ed piece coming out shortly. I’ll pass on that link when I get it.
Life Science Teachers….
…. Have you ever had this happen: You are minding your own business, teaching your life science course, it’s early in the term. A student, on the way out after class (never at the beginning of class, rarely during class) mentions something about “carbon dating.” This usually happens around the time of year you are doing an overview of the main points of the course, but before you’ve gotten to the “evolution module” (more on the “evolution module” another time … or come to the Bell on Friday to hear me rant about that in person).
Jeanne d’Arc was a very influential 10th grader. I understand she gave her Life Science teachers a very hard time. This is the only contemporary depiction of Joan of Arc. Some say the banner reads “IHS” but I’m pretty sure it says “AIG.” The student is talking about C14 dating and how it “has problems.” But you are a life science teacher and can’t think of a single point in your class that you really touch on C14. Dating in the evolution section does not involve C14. This is for later time periods, more in the area of archaeology, and you know nothing about it. So you brush off the question but are left with an uneasy feeling.
Myers, Musgrave, Attacked by Wells
Jonathan Wells has launched a nasty attack on PZ Myers and Ian Musgrave on the discredited Discovery Institute web site. Continue reading Myers, Musgrave, Attacked by Wells
Teachers Under Fire
It is very common, across the U.S., for science teachers to dread the “evolution” unit that they teach during life science class. As they approach the day, and start to prepare the students for what is coming, they begin to hear the sarcastic remarks from the creationist students. When the day to engage the evolution unit arrives, students may show up in the classroom with handouts from anti-science sites like Answers in Genesis, to give to their friends. They may carry a bible to the lab station and read it instead of doing the work. If there is a parent conference night around that time, the teacher may be verbally abused by some of the parents for not including “alternative theories” in the classroom. Continue reading Teachers Under Fire
Creationism, Stupidity, Linked
According to a poll this week, approximately 31 percent of surveyed Americans believe Roger Clemens is telling the truth about never taking performance-enhancing drugs.This is about the same percentage of Americans who believe in creationism, and still insist George Bush is doing a good job. And here’s my theory: These are all the same people, the true believers. If you cross-indexed these polls, you would likely find that Gallup and Quinnipiac just keep tapping into the same wacky group. …
My Uncle Is A Man Named Steve (Not A Monkey)
That is the title of the First Place science fair project from a baptist science fair.The description of the project:
Cassidy Turnbull (grade five) presented her uncle, Steve. She also showed photographs of monkeys and invited fairgoers to note the differences between her uncle and the monkeys. She tried to feed her uncle bananas, but he declined to eat them. Cassidy has conclusively shown that her uncle is no monkey.
Very cute. Too bad little Cassidy’s brain is now hobbled forever. (Well, maybe not. She’s only in fifth grade. She could get over it….)This is from here.. You will find a number of equally endearing examples of christian creationist science fair winners., such as “Women Were Designed For Homemaking” and “Using Prayer To Microevolve Latent Antibiotic Resistance In Bacteria”Too good to be true.
We ain’t outta Texas yet … Creationist Stacked School Board Looms on the Horizon
It turns out that there are TWO (not just the previously reported Barney Maddox) distinct threats to the delicate pro- vs. anti-science balance on the Texas School Board.I had earlier alerted you to trouble brewing in Texas, with Full Blown Creationist Nuthead Barney Maddox poised to take the swing seat on the Board of Education there. (PZ has also posted on this.)Now, Wired has a piece this developing story. Continue reading We ain’t outta Texas yet … Creationist Stacked School Board Looms on the Horizon
Texas State Board of Education May Shift to Pro Creationism
We are busy watching Florida, and the ICR’s new “degree” in “life science education” in Texas, and whatever crap is happening in our own back yards, and we may be missing a dramatic development at the K-12 level in Texas: Social conservatives are poised to take over the Texas State Board of Education. Continue reading Texas State Board of Education May Shift to Pro Creationism
The Language of Evolution: Do we want to use the d-word?
PZ Myers notes that Ken Miller is making a case for the term design in evolutionary biology. Miller simply claims that “design” comes from the usual, expected evolutionary processes (Natural Selection, etc.). PZ is not buying this bill of goods, and neither am I. One way to address this question might be to ask: “What would Darwin do?”
Continue reading The Language of Evolution: Do we want to use the d-word?
The Wedge Strategy
“The Wedge Strategy” refers to a document (the Wedge Document) developed by the Discovery Institute in 1998 and leaked by Tim Rhodes in 1999. It outlines a strategy to insinuate a specific subset of Christian Fundamentalism into the public education system. Although Wedge Proponents have denied this, the Wedge Strategy is still very much in use (more or less), so it is important for people interested in protecting our system of education from religious freaks to know about it. You can download a copy of it here (large PDF, 0.5 megabytes).
Florida: Evolution Will Not be Watered Down. Sort of.
A good trick in child psychology is to come to a “compromise” in which the child, not knowing any better, gets what they think they wanted but it really turns out to be cod liver oil after all. Florida creationists got their cod liver oil when the Florida School Board voted, with a worrisome 4-3 count, to accept the proposed science standards that actually use the word “evolution.” Continue reading Florida: Evolution Will Not be Watered Down. Sort of.
Things to do on Sunday
Two fun things to do on Sunday:
1) Listen to Atheist Talk at 9: AM on KTNF, with Minnesota Atheists.
Then, when you are done with that, stop over at Har Mar Mall in Roseville Minnesota for the Twin Cities Creation Science Association Home school Science Fair. Details here.
I’m not sure if I can make it, so if you go and get a photograph or two (and don’t have your own blog), send them on to me and I’ll put them up. I’m sure people would love to see them.
Here’s the photos from last year. Sort of.
Florida Yokels Force Religion on Public School Children
Yet another group of slack jawed yokels in some backwater school district want to force their religious beliefs on children in their local school district. This time it’s Nassau County.
“The theory of evolution falls short here since it cannot be observed, hasn’t been repeated and cannot be tested,” Marjorie Ramseur told School Board members. “I applaud you for taking a stand on this issue. If you’re going to teach evolution, please teach all of it.”