tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-132715912011-04-30T15:25:26.248-07:00News & Discussion about the assault on science education and the teaching of evolution in school systems around the countryGerry Lhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00157527944554364702noreply@blogger.comBlogger541100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13271591.post-9236081968750100002007-09-08T20:16:00.000-07:002007-11-24T21:56:32.668-08:00

I'm going to try to keep my other blog -- my travel blog -- free of politics, but I had to record this:On day two of my trip, while I was driving through the narrow part of Idaho, I was twiddling with the radio dial. I ran across a talk program with a guest (Frank Turek?) who had written a book entitled I Don't Have Enough Faith to Be an Atheist. He and the host were dissing science, and Frank

Gerry Lhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00157527944554364702noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13271591.post-13425059755235936592007-09-07T21:33:00.001-07:002007-09-07T21:42:16.531-07:00

On Labor Day I set out on a two-month road trip. I'm documenting my travels on a dedicated blog titled Ape4Apes -- On the Road.I plan to visit lots of primates of the non-human variety, but where apes are lacking I am learning about geology and dinosaurs and fossils. I've been both impressed and enlightened by the signage at the museums and parks I've visited so far.I'll be passing right by

Gerry Lhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00157527944554364702noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13271591.post-39248591003309624072007-06-17T21:14:00.000-07:002007-06-17T21:33:30.664-07:00

Yes, I know. I haven't blogged in a very, very, very long time. But hey, when you think about how old the world is -- and I don't mean 6,000 years -- it's been less than a nanosecond.I haven't been ignoring the issues. In fact, I spend way too much time reading other blogs. And letters to the editor. And books even. (Read Ed Humes' Monkey Girl. Very good.) Not sure I have anything more to add on

Gerry Lhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00157527944554364702noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13271591.post-1160628907098936002006-10-11T21:50:00.000-07:002006-10-11T22:34:38.520-07:00

What does evolution have to do with personal success? Apparently, not a lot, at least according to motivational guru Zig Ziglar.On Monday, October 9, Portland, Oregon, was the site of a “Get Motivated!” business seminar, described by Oregonian reporter Dylan Rivera as a “national cultural phenomenon of celebrities cashing in on their fame by speaking to businesspeople eager to recharge their

Gerry Lhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00157527944554364702noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13271591.post-1156305272357684872006-08-22T20:53:00.000-07:002006-08-22T21:08:17.873-07:00

There’s a cute article by James Gorman in today’s New York Times. (I settled on the word “cute” because the accompanying drawing tickles me.)In “It’s Not Just Apes; Fruit Flies Are Our Cousins, Too,” Gorman ponders the fact that so many people (read: Americans) get bent out of shape at the suggestion that humans and chimpanzees share a common ancestor. Inspired by a report in the Proceedings of

Gerry Lhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00157527944554364702noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13271591.post-1154316632981481662006-07-30T20:24:00.000-07:002006-07-30T20:30:33.006-07:00

In “The language of life” (7/30/2006) LA Times staff writer Robert Lee Hotz discusses talking back to evolution doubters. Not arguing, but rather talking sense.In the border war between science and faith, the doctrine of "intelligent design" is a sly subterfuge — a marzipan confection of an idea presented in the shape of something more substantial.…Until recently… those scientists most qualified

Gerry Lhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00157527944554364702noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13271591.post-1153598090587526952006-07-22T12:47:00.000-07:002006-07-22T12:54:50.603-07:00

Yesterday I wrote about the discussion around the Kansas anti-science science standards going on at Ars Technica, a “PC enthusiast” website. It’s interesting the way these discussions about how biological evolution should be taught in public school classrooms almost invariably turn to religion.The IDers (aka intelligent design creationists, IDers, IDiots, or Discovery Institute – see also) insist

Gerry Lhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00157527944554364702noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13271591.post-1153539855290710302006-07-21T20:39:00.000-07:002006-07-21T20:44:15.303-07:00

Once again the folks at Ars Technica (a PC enthusiast online journal and discussion forum) are discussing the political controversy around evolution. Check out “Will the Kansas school board be intelligently redesigned?” by John Timmer. It provides a concise summary of the Kansas science standards saga in the lead-up to the possibly decisive primaries on August 1. Timmer writes:[A]t least one

Gerry Lhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00157527944554364702noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13271591.post-1153025519452621112006-07-15T21:42:00.000-07:002006-07-15T21:51:59.453-07:00

The July 17 issue of Newsweek includes a brief item on spiritual summer camps. Beliefwatch: Camping beginsThe battle over evolution is moving beyond the courtroom and into summer camp. The Christian Camp and Conference Association says 50 percent of its member camps—which include summer camps and year-round after-school programs reaching 6 million kids every year—have a science curriculum about

Gerry Lhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00157527944554364702noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13271591.post-1152591726409994492006-07-10T21:16:00.000-07:002006-07-10T21:22:06.426-07:00

Yes. Yes. Yes. I have been derelict. I have not blogged for well over a month. Serious family emergency was only part of my excuse. During my hiatus I continued to haunt the usual blogs and read the news. Nothing inspired me enough add my $0.02 – although I did leave comments on a few of the blogs I frequent. So, anyway, here we go again.Today I visited PLoS – the Public Library of Science, a

Gerry Lhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00157527944554364702noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13271591.post-1148184619779556982006-05-20T21:06:00.000-07:002006-05-20T21:10:19.800-07:00

Good article in today’s Toronto Star. In “Intelligent design a difficult foe,” Jay Ingram discusses why ID has gotten such traction in the U.S. He pulls no punches and right up front plainly states that ID is not science and goes on to explain why:“Scientists constantly test their theories, trying to poke holes in them. They perform observations and/or experiments to do that. If their

Gerry Lhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00157527944554364702noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13271591.post-1146367094161956972006-04-29T20:14:00.000-07:002006-04-29T20:18:14.236-07:00

In the April 27 Albuquerque Tribune, an editorial by Larry Spohn (“Behold, science: Why realm of facts, not faith, belongs in the public classroom”) comments on efforts in Rio Rancho, New Mexico, to open the door a crack to discuss religion in science classes.I like the way he concludes:... [S]cience does best when it is allowed to flourish in an open, democratic environment in which facts rule -

Gerry Lhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00157527944554364702noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13271591.post-1145334011933142662006-04-17T21:14:00.000-07:002006-04-17T21:20:11.950-07:00

A few days back I wrote about where the smart people are. (Everywhere.) By coincidence, the next morning I saw a story in the Wall Street Journal titled “How Animals Decide Things” (By subscription only. Sorry.) The piece described interesting ways that buffaloes, bees and other critters come to a group consensus about, say, which direction to head. And it’s not just follow-the-leader.Shortly

Gerry Lhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00157527944554364702noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13271591.post-1144988004017906112006-04-13T21:07:00.000-07:002006-04-13T21:13:24.030-07:00

I work at a large, intense and highly competitive corporation. When the VPs discuss the competition and the challenges we face, they often point out that “there are a lot of really smart people in the world … and they don’t all work at [our company]. "As school boards and legislators around the country rumble over science education, they need to keep in mind that there are a lot of really smart,

Gerry Lhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00157527944554364702noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13271591.post-1144986122647009482006-04-13T20:39:00.000-07:002006-04-13T20:42:02.663-07:00

It went to Florida –but just for a week. It went to filing taxes. It went to doing a little yard work. Very little. It went to the office and it went to loafing and reading and grocery shopping and volunteering at the zoo, but obviously it didn’t go to blogging.Well, I did haunt the usual blogs: Panda’s Thumb, Red State Rabble, and assorted destinations at Scienceblogs. I even left a few comments

Gerry Lhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00157527944554364702noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13271591.post-1140987168067410092006-02-26T12:50:00.000-08:002006-02-26T12:52:48.090-08:00

A brief post before I head out on a vacation that will include time with both family and apes:In an interview with the Philadelphia Inquirer, Judge John Jones III discusses his ruling in the Kitzmiller v Dover trial and comments on some of the criticism the ruling has inspired. He sums up:"History... is written well after the fact, and I don't know how history is going to treat this... decision.

Gerry Lhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00157527944554364702noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13271591.post-1140336266486422032006-02-19T00:00:00.000-08:002006-02-19T00:04:26.496-08:00

“Faith is necessary in order to validate science” is the title on an interesting letter in the Friday 17 Philadelphia Inquirer. J. Alexander Adams Jr., a scientist, contends that faith is not purely a religious concept and does have a place in science. He uses string theory as an example.I don’t know what string theory is, but I do know that some people point to it as “weird science” and it

Gerry Lhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00157527944554364702noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13271591.post-1139895350735018392006-02-13T21:29:00.000-08:002006-02-13T21:40:09.380-08:00

Saturday, sort of on the spur of the moment, I decided to drive down to Salem to attend a Darwin Day event at Willamette University. I’m really glad I did.The program started with a panel discussion that included representatives from four disciplines: Biology (David Craig), Rhetoric and Media Study (Nacho Cordova), History of Science (Myles Jackson), and Religion (Douglas McGaughey). Good

Gerry Lhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00157527944554364702noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13271591.post-1139894968788378682006-02-13T21:27:00.000-08:002006-02-13T21:40:37.183-08:00

Last week over on Chris Mooney’s blog The Intersection was a thoughtful and thought- provoking discussion about strategies for “defending” evolution. (I put “defending” in quotes because I prefer to “support” evolution.) Following a lengthy post outlining Chris’s disagreement with PZ Meyers (Pharyngula) over whether we should be trotting out “scientists who reconcile faith and evolution (aka Ken

Gerry Lhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00157527944554364702noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13271591.post-1138510980606161692006-01-28T20:56:00.000-08:002006-01-28T21:04:45.343-08:00

When I’m interested in a subject, I like to read letters to the editor and collections of opinions to see how others are talking about it. What do they understand? What do they misunderstand? Can someone make a point that will make me reconsider my own position?This week my Google news search turned up “Where did we come from? Student perspectives vary” an article by Becky Johnson of The Smoky

Gerry Lhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00157527944554364702noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13271591.post-1137726306365709572006-01-19T19:01:00.000-08:002006-01-19T19:06:54.590-08:00

[Back again after a long dry spell.]Today I happened across an article about the nipped-in-the-bud El Tejon, California, excursion into the “evolution wars” in -- of all places -- Ars Technica, a site I sometimes visit for computer industry news.In “Intelligent Design as Philosophy Fails,” John Timmer goes into some detail about the disputed “Philosophy of Design” course and observes thatMuch of

Gerry Lhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00157527944554364702noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13271591.post-1135744210993019962005-12-27T20:24:00.000-08:002005-12-27T20:30:11.036-08:00

In the wake of the Dover decision, Florida Gov Jeb Bush was being oh so careful to side step a Miami Herald journalist’s question about intelligent design.In Florida, education officials and science teachers will be reviewing the state's science curriculum in 2007 or 2008, after the governor has left office, and ''it is possible that people would make an effort to include [intelligent design] in

Gerry Lhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00157527944554364702noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13271591.post-1135401804670424532005-12-23T21:10:00.000-08:002005-12-23T21:30:26.400-08:00

Ok, I did go away on vacation, but I've been back for several weeks. During that time my blogging activity has been confined to reading, not writing ... well, aside from a few comments I've left at other blogs. So, I'm feeling guilty and for that reason I'm making this one teeny post:The Dover trial has been decided and THE COURT FINDS FOR THE PLAINTIFFS!!! I've glutted myself for the past

Gerry Lhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00157527944554364702noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13271591.post-1132465269568315782005-11-19T21:35:00.000-08:002005-11-19T21:50:43.113-08:00

[I started drafting this post a few weeks ago. Got busy traveling for business and just now polished it off.]After probably hundreds of hours during the past year sifting through news stories about “evolution+creationism+school” and “evolution+intelligent design,” I’ve picked up a few shortcuts for figuring out where the writer is coming from. Certain words and phrases quickly reveal that a

Gerry Lhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00157527944554364702noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13271591.post-1131335661596511362005-11-06T19:49:00.000-08:002005-11-06T19:54:21.610-08:00

The Dover trial is over, at least for the viewing public. Still lots of behind-the-scenes activity, apparently, before the judge delivers his verdict, maybe by the end of the year. I downloaded and read the closing statement by plaintiffs’ counsel, Eric Rothschild (pdf). Very impressive.The beginning and end of the closing argument focuses on the evidence that was presented to prove the religious

Gerry Lhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00157527944554364702noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13271591.post-1131240677425131052005-11-05T17:25:00.000-08:002005-11-05T17:49:09.726-08:00

This morning I was trolling for stories about the last day of the Dover trial and I ran across one on a Columbia, SC, NBC affiliate news site with the aggravating title "Court case examines theories of origins of life." The first sentence read, "A federal court case is looking at how schools teach the origins of life."When I see the term "origin of life" I expect to see an attack on science, but

Gerry Lhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00157527944554364702noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13271591.post-1129869812492697012005-10-20T21:39:00.000-07:002005-10-20T21:43:32.500-07:00

I was supposed to travel to Kansas today to attend Chimpanzoo 2005, being held at the Rolling Hills Wildlife Refuge in Salina. Since I couldn’t make it this year (bummer), I figured at least I could go there virtually with a visit to the Red State Rabble blog, where I frequently stop to find some well-written mid-western common sense. And there I found a link to this wonderful editorial in the

Gerry Lhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00157527944554364702noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13271591.post-1129780134531794162005-10-19T20:42:00.000-07:002005-10-19T20:50:03.576-07:00

The York Daily Record is my first stop each day for breaking news and commentary about the Kitzmiller v Dover Area School District trial. This week the defense began calling witnesses. First up, Lehigh University professor Michael J. Behe, who contends that Intelligent Design really, really “is a scientific theory because it relies on empirical, observable facts and logical inferences.”“’We infer

Gerry Lhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00157527944554364702noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13271591.post-1129516151617187412005-10-16T19:26:00.000-07:002005-10-16T19:29:11.626-07:00

Ran across this commentary about the Dover, PA school board trial in the Daily Herald, a central Utah newspaper. “Why is Charles Darwin still on trial?” by Charles C. Haynes, senior scholar at the Freedom Forum's First Amendment Center.Haynes neatly summarizes the trial and concludes …Whatever the outcome, the crusade against evolution is bound to go on. Why? Because from Dayton to Dover, many

Gerry Lhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00157527944554364702noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13271591.post-1129349142652571972005-10-14T21:04:00.000-07:002005-10-14T21:05:42.663-07:00

Much of the contention around the teaching of evolution is based on the mistaken belief that evolution is atheistic. Evolution and science in general have nothing to do with religion, but people who are convinced that it does keep injecting the bible into the discussion.I tend to think in analogies. The other day it occurred to me that religion – or personal belief – is a lot like perfume. Many

Gerry Lhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00157527944554364702noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13271591.post-1128906295933166982005-10-09T18:01:00.000-07:002005-10-09T18:04:55.940-07:00

A few weeks back the evolution blogs were buzzing about yet another screed about why science has got it all wrong. As usual, the offending article was written by someone with no scientific background who was confident that his ability to copy and paste the boilerplate text of ID proponents trumped years of study by actual scientists. The blogging got rather heated, and it led to some interesting

Gerry Lhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00157527944554364702noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13271591.post-1128573770484573352005-10-05T21:39:00.000-07:002005-10-05T21:42:50.493-07:00

Hooray. The DSL is finally up and running. Still some work to do on the wireless network and setting up new email address, etc. But I hope to be back to blogging in the not-too-distant future.But who has time to blog for an audience of ... no one? ... when there is so much going on in PA?!?

Gerry Lhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00157527944554364702noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13271591.post-1128484576060100612005-10-04T20:48:00.000-07:002005-10-04T20:56:16.066-07:00

I'm still back. And still delinquent.I have spent hours online and on the phone in the past couple of weeks trying to get DSL. Still not working.When not fighting with the phone company, I have been obsessively following the news from Dover. That would be Dover, PA, where the trial is underway in the lawsuit by eight families who are suing the local school board over the requirement to read a

Gerry Lhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00157527944554364702noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13271591.post-1127358372588360632005-09-21T19:56:00.000-07:002005-09-21T20:06:12.593-07:00

Been back from my vacation for more than a week now. I've spent time reading and thinking but have not settled down to write yet. The thoughts are percolating and I expect to have them posted by this weekend ... IF I don't encounter problems getting my new DSL service operational. "Three easy steps!" Yeah. Right. We'll see.Anyway, chimps were all great. Can't wait to visit them when they get to

Gerry Lhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00157527944554364702noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13271591.post-1125716796773139482005-09-02T20:04:00.000-07:002005-09-02T20:06:36.773-07:00

I’ll be gone for the next week or so. I’m heading off for a family reunion of sorts. Going to spend some time with a large gathering of some very distant cousins. I’ll be in Alamagordo, New Mexico, doing volunteer work at Save the Chimps, a true sanctuary for over 200 former research chimps. There I will spend most of the day doing laundry and preparing treats. (No, they don’t wear clothes. They

Gerry Lhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00157527944554364702noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13271591.post-1125716592265963502005-09-02T20:00:00.000-07:002005-09-02T20:03:54.333-07:00

Great article by Richard Dawkins and Jerry Coyne in the Sept 1 Guardian. In “One side can be wrong,” the authors warn “accepting 'intelligent design' in science classrooms would have disastrous consequences.”They address many of the points that I have been raising here since May, but they do it more articulately. One bit I really appreciate:“The argument the ID advocates put, such as it is, is

Gerry Lhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00157527944554364702noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13271591.post-1125293785336189212005-08-28T22:30:00.000-07:002005-08-28T22:43:49.393-07:00

OH-MI-GAWD … Now we have a sports columnist weighing in on “intelligent design.” (Just Check the ID, Washington Post, 8/29/2005)First, columnist Sally Jenkins assures us that ID is NOT simply a sly form of creationism and that it is “unfairly confused with the movement to teach creationism in public schools.”She concludes that… science class also teaches us how crucial it is to maintain

Gerry Lhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00157527944554364702noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13271591.post-1124938848781541392005-08-24T19:55:00.000-07:002005-08-24T20:00:48.786-07:00

This week on Panda’s Thumb there's a post by Marshall Berman and Dave Thomas that point by point -- and fact by fact – picks apart the claims by the Discovery Institute that they have been successful in their campaigns to get their “teach the controversy” agenda into science education standards in New Mexico and other states.Bottom line: When they failed to convince school boards to revise

Gerry Lhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00157527944554364702noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13271591.post-1123822538055803642005-08-11T21:47:00.000-07:002005-08-11T21:55:38.063-07:00

Still wallowing in all the words stirred up by the Prez’s seemingly off-hand remark about “intelligent design.” Still determined not to invest a lot of consonants and vowels on an incident that is being covered by so many others.I’ve spent WAY too much time for over a week reading this column and that response. I’ve gotten frustrated at misleading pleas for balance, like the one by syndicated

Gerry Lhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00157527944554364702noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13271591.post-1123218251792218782005-08-04T21:50:00.000-07:002005-08-04T22:05:40.176-07:00

In the wake of this week's Bush pronouncement on "intelligent design" as a valid subject for the science classroom, I have wallowed in the endless stream of online articles and blog postings. I didn't plan to add to the noise -- and I won't -- but I happened across an interesting post from a writer in Malaysia that offers some insight on Buddhism's compatibility with evolution.If someone insists

Gerry Lhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00157527944554364702noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13271591.post-1122869880594096442005-07-31T21:10:00.000-07:002005-07-31T21:18:00.600-07:00

Been doing lots of reading online, but I haven’t been writing. I don’t feel any need to post my own unoriginal thoughts to the discussion. Then, even when ideas start percolating up and connecting, I can’t seem to find the time to capture them. Besides, the weather has been uncomfortably hot. Excuses. Excuses.Anyway, about a little over a week ago I saw an article on the web about a group of

Gerry Lhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00157527944554364702noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13271591.post-1121534697004428202005-07-16T10:16:00.000-07:002005-07-16T10:42:40.910-07:00

Several weeks ago there were stories on the web about a recent survey on the subject of human evolution. One article, in the Washington Times, titled “Majority in poll see God as direct Creator of man” (7/8/2005), started out“Most Americans believe it all starts in heaven: 64 percent of us agree that ‘human beings were created directly by God,’ according to a Harris poll released yesterday.“Among

Gerry Lhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00157527944554364702noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13271591.post-1120964688997051342005-07-09T19:57:00.000-07:002005-07-09T20:04:49.000-07:00

Haven’t felt much like writing for the past two weeks. The scope of this blog is very narrow, and although I’ve been reading relevant news stories, it all seems to be more of the same. No great new thoughts. Just the same discouraging reports about attacks on science and valiant efforts to fend them off. And besides, it's summer in Oregon!Then, a couple of days ago, I started spotting commentary

Gerry Lhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00157527944554364702noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13271591.post-1119758506632992292005-06-25T20:55:00.000-07:002005-06-25T21:01:46.636-07:00

Scanning stories on the web and poking around websites, I find lots of articles and opinion pieces on this ongoing debate. Definitely no shortage of words. In fact, there is so much available, I often spend too much time reading and don’t have time to pull together a “thought of the day.”An article reproduced today on Red NOVA caught my attention because although it is clearly pro-evolution, it

Gerry Lhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00157527944554364702noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13271591.post-1119322475209114982005-06-20T19:48:00.000-07:002005-06-20T19:54:35.213-07:00

Today I ran across a thought-provoking article about intelligent design from the British journal Nature that asks “Who has designs on your students' minds?” (#434, pp 1062-1065, April 2005). The article looks at the skirmish between ID and evolution on college campuses and considers whether it belongs in the classroom.“…. (O)thers feel that the movement deserves an airing at the university level,

Gerry Lhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00157527944554364702noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13271591.post-1119151836470245372005-06-18T20:23:00.000-07:002005-06-18T20:37:49.336-07:00

Let’s face it, many Americans make it through school – even college – with a limited understanding of science. Lack of knowledge about evolution gets passed on from one generation of students (and teachers) to another thanks to the nervousness of school districts and textbook publishers about riling the sensibilities of the community. Frankly, much of my own understanding of evolution comes from

Gerry Lhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00157527944554364702noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13271591.post-1118721018801069752005-06-13T20:42:00.000-07:002005-06-13T20:50:18.806-07:00

This weekend I was watching a DVD from the library with the final chapter of the 2001 PBS seven-part series Evolution. The segment, “What about God” considers the debate between evolution and biblical creation largely through the eyes of students at Wheaton, a liberal, Christian college. It also recounts an effort by students at one Indiana high school to have creationism added to the science

Gerry Lhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00157527944554364702noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13271591.post-1118456006939232402005-06-10T19:08:00.000-07:002005-06-10T19:18:34.016-07:00

In a previous post, I mentioned that the NCSE site includes a news archive where you can see -- state-by-state -- where science education standards are under attack. I have been comforted to know that Oregon has its act together and isn't even listed in the NCSE "Select state of interest" drop-down menu. But on yesterday evening's News Hour on PBS, I was alarmed by a story suggesting that some

Gerry Lhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00157527944554364702noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13271591.post-1118288122684759852005-06-08T20:26:00.000-07:002005-06-08T20:35:22.690-07:00

When I started this blog, I never expected to be commenting on comic strips, but I ran across another today that is spot on. Check out the Non Sequitur strips for June 6 and June 8 wherein a little girl tells her dragon pal that when she grows up she wants to be a "pre-conceptual scientist." These two strips could be a good starting point for a discussion about the differences between science and

Gerry Lhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00157527944554364702noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13271591.post-1118202441369500982005-06-07T20:45:00.000-07:002005-06-07T20:47:21.373-07:00

The obvious way to keep up on news about attacks on evolution in public education is to scan Google News or another online news service. But if you don't have time to follow the ebb and flow of stories, leave it to the professionals. The National Center for Science Education news archive offers links to articles from the past 4 years organized by year and by state. Check out what is happening

Gerry Lhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00157527944554364702noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13271591.post-1118025424201761962005-06-05T19:31:00.000-07:002005-06-05T19:37:04.206-07:00

I had to chuckle when I saw a Tom Tole political cartoon reproduced in the June 4 Oregonian. Sort of a "what's next" if the religious right manages to undermine the teaching of science.Teacher standing in front of class, on the board are the words: "History class. The United States was made in six days"Teacher is saying: "Franklin Roosevelt is only a theory..."Footer: "... which the courts may

Gerry Lhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00157527944554364702noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13271591.post-1117861478886812372005-06-03T22:02:00.000-07:002005-06-03T22:04:38.890-07:00

In my travels around the web, I keep running across the phrase "evolution controversy" or variations such as "the controversy around evolution." Groups and organizations that argue the case for science ed. (such as Talk Origins and National Center for Science Education) refer to the "Creation/Evolution controversy," but opponents of evolution use the phrase to suggest that the theory of evolution

Gerry Lhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00157527944554364702noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13271591.post-1117596424348833862005-05-31T20:23:00.000-07:002005-05-31T20:27:04.350-07:00

There was lots of news coverage in early May about the Kansas hearings around state science education standards. Among the best was a substantive article by Stan Cox posted on Alternet on May 19. In "Monkey Trial or Kangaroo Court?" Cox reviews the case and provides an "in their own words" summary of some of the testimony.Attorney Pedro Irigonegaray, who argued the case for the proposed science

Gerry Lhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00157527944554364702noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13271591.post-1117498303847551732005-05-30T16:36:00.000-07:002005-05-30T17:11:43.850-07:00

Several years ago -- out of the blue -- a friend asked me what I thought about evolution. "It makes sense," I answered. She went on, asking me to answer some questions about evolution -- with the caveat that she did not want to be persuaded to believe in it. Her questions made it clear that she had a poor understanding of evolution, and this shocked me because her college degree should have

Gerry Lhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00157527944554364702noreply@blogger.com1