Interesting piece on what the folks in the creationism movement are up to:
Opponents of teaching evolution, in a natural selection of sorts, have gradually shed those strategies that have not survived the courts. Over the last decade, creationism has given rise to “creation science,” which became “intelligent design,” which in 2005 was banned from the public school curriculum in Pennsylvania by a federal judge.
Now a battle looms in Texas over science textbooks that teach evolution, and the wrestle for control seizes on three words. None of them are “creationism” or “intelligent design” or even “creator.”
The words are “strengths and weaknesses.”
The usual suspects have a better rundown on the wider implications for education, I will instead discuss why this is relevant to our current election. John McCain claims to personally believe in evolution, but in his own McMavericky way:
On Tuesday, though, he sided with the president on two issues that have made headlines recently: teaching intelligent design in schools and Cindy Sheehan, the grieving mother who has come to personify the anti-war movement.
McCain told the Star that, like Bush, he believes “all points of view” should be available to students studying the origins of mankind.The theory of intelligent design says life is too complex to have developed through evolution, and that a higher power must have had a hand in guiding it.
Being a maverick means opposing torture but failing to vote to ban it, supporting evolution but allowing crap to be taught alongside it, professing to not know much about the economy while claiming to be the person who should be elected to fix it, and so on. Being a maverick ain’t easy- there are, shall we say, “strengths and weaknesses” to being a straight talker.
gex
If you can find no other reason to abhor the GOP, their deliberate goal of making Americans too stupid to compete in the world should be all you need.
demimondian
Interestingly, of course, as they back away towards things which are actually debatable, they lose. Some of the major points that they claim are “weaknesses” (e.g. the Cambrian explosion) are actually predictions of evolutionary theories, not weaknesses thereof.
Jake
You might as well teach kids that 2+2=4 is just one point of view, and that facts have a well-known liberal bias. This seems to me the best path to growing the GOP over the next couple of generations.
demimondian
By the way, John, I don’t hold with those who call John McCain a flip-flopper. He’s a McMaverick, after all, so I think the term “sandaller” is probably more appropriate.
mantis
Actually I have no problems with this.
Strengths of evolution: The central organizing principle of the life sciences and one of the most robust and comprehensive scientific theories ever posited by humans, supported by evidence from fields as diverse as astronomy, paleontology, comparative anatomy, molecular biology, genetics, anthropology, and geology, tying together such natural phenomena as genetic diversity, environmental change, adaptation, differential reproductive success, and speciation. Without an understanding of evolution many of the medical advances of the 20th century would not have been possible.
Weaknesses: Too complicated for biblical literalists and ignorant rubes to understand. Opposition to evolution has been shown to be an effective political tool for assholes and idiots.
Class dismissed.
AkaDad
I can haz kritikul thinking in skool?
TCG
21st Century Creation Science can be fun to teach!
You could teach it by watching the Star Wars movies for a description of “The Force.”
Or if you don’t believe in “The Force.”
Another good movie for a dose of Intellegent Design is “Mission to Mars.” ET did it instead. Good stuff.
I’m sure there are other movies out there which could be used to teach Creation Science for the 21st century.
amorphous
That’s not science we can believe in [awkward smile].
mantis
That was a smile? I thought he was chewing on a quarter.
scarshapedstar
Strengths of evolution: Universally accepted, foundation of modern biology, only explanation for observed phenomena, currently seen in action.
Weaknesses of evolution: Beyond the understanding of Ben Stein and the commenters at Riehl World View and Ace of Spades.
Big E
I saw some statistics on the ‘net that said 18% of Americans believe the sun revolves around the earth.
There is a little known movie called ‘Idiocracy’ about a man who awakes 500 years in the future. He discovers a society so incredibly dumbed-down that he’s easily the most intelligent person alive.
We are on our way there between failing schools and dumbing down what is taught, politically correct history, creationism/ID and science research at the mercy of evangelicals.
4tehlulz
Don’t make fun of creationists! They are principled! All of them have refused to partake in the poisoned fruits of evolutionists ideas, like vaccines and antibiot—–
whoops.
wasabi gasp
Johnny graduates top of his class in creationism sciences. Johnny explains the intelligent design of the Whopper to his customer at the drive-thru. Strengths and weaknesses.
ThymeZone
I don’t get all that excited about the “all points of view” notion. We had “all points of view” when I went to school and I figured out pretty quickly what was superstitious nonsense and what was based on science, and what that meant. It wasn’t that hard.
I think we underestimate peoples’ intelligence when we overreact to what we can say to them lest we confuzzle them too much. If science is properly taught, and by that I mean, the understanding of the processes and why they are essential, then the people who get that will not be inclined to think the earth is 6000 years old. The people who don’t get it? It doesn’t matter what you teach them, they won’t figure it all out regardless.
Teach science and let the lessons of science do their work. If understood, they innoculate against the effects of Creationism and Intelligent Design.
Ulrich Von Leichtenstein
Well, first off, evolution has nothing to do with the origin of man and/or the origin of the universe. All evolution is, is changes in the gene pool over time. It’s not really that radical.
I’m tired of people conflating evolution and the origin of man and/or the universe.
Bubblegum Tate
I thought he was trying out his Blofeld impersonation.
Sirkowski
In the end it’s a losing strategy. You can’t use science to disprove science.
OniHanzo
As if these idiots haven’t met a losing strategy they didn’t like.
jake
All points of view, Senator McCranky? That could be fun.
Delia
All points of view, indeed. And Stephen Colbert is helping out by holding a competition to let viewers fill in the green screen behind his dreadful speech on Tuesday to try to make it a little more interesting.