Newspaper editorials in Florida have consistently been on the side of sound science, thankfully! The Orlando Sentinel scolds out legislators: Our position: It would be ludicrous for Legislature to undercut evolution decision
Be prepared to wince at the level of “debate” when these politicians begin to square off over the widely misunderstood “scientific theory.” A theory in science isn’t a guess; it is a tested and proven concept that is considered fact. And, though you likely won’t hear it from this bill’s backers, evolution is as much about the formation of the solar system as it is man’s shared ancestry with apes.
Where’s Clarence Darrow when you need him?
…
Florida’s schoolchildren have lagged behind in science for years and now their curriculum is finally on equal footing with other states.
It’s not too late for lawmakers to come to their senses. They should vote this down and defend the state’s sound science standards.
I can hear it now: “But…why are there still monkeys?” 🙄
Good on The Orlando Sentinel, though, as usual.
A scientific theory can never be considered to be fact, since a scientific theory is a necessarily flawed human representation of evidence. We can only say that a scientific theory is correct to a very well tested degree of accuracy, until or unless something better comes along that represents the observation more accurately, or with equal accuracy, but in less steps. To assume that the appoximation doesn’t include a number of weakly understood mechanisms that are open to real scientific criticisms, is purely bogus and the author is a hack.
evolution is as much about the formation of the solar system as it is man’s shared ancestry with apes.
Another laymen’s assumption that isn’t necessarily true, but hey… this is the “official position” of the Orlando Sentinel, after all, and they are on “our” side of this debate, so let’s pat em on the back, even if nearly every statement that the fool made was bogus, because it doesn’t matter, right?
I also thought that this was a great line:
The author is a moron:
This bill and a similar House proposal are aimed at getting around the curriculum approved by the state Board of Education in February by allowing teachers to cast doubt on scientific facts.
*whew*
You can’t just blindly get behind this kind of expressed ignorance, and still expect people in the “wobbly middle” to buy what you say as being anything more than equally fanatical counter-hype, although you all do serve this necessary purpose well when you do… 😉
Well … you can’t scold the journalist too much, he’s a journalist – not a scientist.
But … the journalist CAN recognize that other people who are
NOT SCIENTIFICALLY LITERATE , are trying to influence what the science standards say. He can also recognize that the people who ARE scientifically literate (scientists, science teachers, etc), are the ones who wrote the standards.
It’s not too difficult a concept for most people to grasp – If your car breaks down, take it to a mechanic not a politician.