Latest Challenges to the Teaching of Evolution

@farmerman,

And the chasm on the How will be with us for ever.

Quote:

In effect, Were designing an airplane without knowing how heavier than air flight is accomplished

just as some are trying to design kid's brains without knowing how they work in an environment far more complex than aerodynamics.

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@farmerman,

It' progressively surging forward in more detail on the how and when -- the overall theory at the roots of Darwin's tree has some pretty convincing evidence. The seed of first life isn't the IDiots concern -- they've got the life forms just strewn about from time to time with little reference to any specific time frames and they believe that each species, perhaps in a more primitive forms (!!!???) were designed and plooped down on Earth by a supernatural being. Their airplane doesn't fly, it just runs in circles around the airfield chasing it's own tail.

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@Lightwizard,

My secret is that Ireally dont give a **** about the IDjits and Creationists, so long as they just stay in the philosophy and history departments and stop trying to gain equal time as science.
I think that the 24 hour news cycles make it appear that we are farther along in understanding the mystery of evolution and the origins of life than we really are. To make vast inroads on the How And When, will take much longer periods of time in genetics labs and in field camps. QWe dont have big announcements to make every week, no matter what the folks on Discovery or The NAtional Geographic Channel have to say. Remember, science is only tangentially entertaining its usually grunt work done by people with no-lives other than their work.
When the public , as it inevitably does, runs out of interest on the "newest" evolution path of whales and the rise of the cell wall in the Vendean Times, a lot of the extra funding that research organizations will be gone, and if we have another President like Bush, whod removed a big bulk of money from the NSF "Origins" projects, the findings and rates of discovery will be reduced by 10 fold.

My job, as a teacher in the earth sciences , is to keep interests high among undergrad and some grad students who are pummeled about the head and neck by sources of information (like Wikipedia and Answers. com), where accuracy takes a second place to graphics and enetertainment.

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@farmerman,

Do you not know effemm that entertainment is only trumped by bread. Accuracy is a long way back.

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@spendius,

Of course, that is why we have dinner theaters Neh?

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@farmerman,

Are those where people go to watch others eat for a laugh?

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@spendius,

cant outsmart you

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@farmerman,

In mentioning some names from time to time or their being posted on this and other evolution threads, it doesn't mean I give a **** about them either. It's when they creep out of their little closets (or out from under their sinkin' mossy bridges) and start babbling away inanities that should, but most often isn't, apparent to anyone with at least some brains.

I realize nobody has the time to follow each and every experiment, result, discovery, verification, etc. -- Discovery, the Science Channel, History Channel (I don't know why they keep getting in it on it excepting in a biographical way) National Geographic and Smithsonian can only "sum it up," and the viewer can either take it or leave it because nearly all of them are not going to delve into the details. I disagree that science isn't entertaining and there you've hit the nail on the head. Most people would rather eat a slice of bread. With or without peanut butter and jelly. Wink

I rarely go to Wikipedia unless in a hurry and never to Answers.com (the blind leading the blind) -- I've got a whole set of Encyclopedia Britannica but because I've got it on DVD, it's packed away to give to some charity (but, after all, a student doesn't need that truck load of tomes). I do have nearly all my science books in the den library on two walls of Ikea book cases and, of course, they're terrible dust catchers. Ha, ha! I'm relegated to do that dusting!

Sure, I find that which is aimed at being entertaining often worthy of spending some time but science will rarely fail to entertain me. It someone has a brain that isn't wired to find thinking entertaining, let 'em eat cake or sit around drinking pints of ale in a pub.

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TEXAS UPDATE

Quote:

Rewriting history: Take politics out of deciding what our children learn
(LONGVIEW NEWS-JOURNAL, Editorial, September 18, 2009)

Chances are pretty good the vast majority of people reading this piece can't name a single member of the State Board of Education. Don't feel bad. We can only name a couple, and part of our job is to know these things.

The 15-member board is elected from districts across the state. As in appellate judicial races, voters are largely clueless about whom they're choosing or why. As a result, since much of Texas votes Republican, the board is dominated by conservatives who have made headlines for pushing the teaching of creationism in public schools and other social battleground issues.

The latest issue is what famous figures in history should be required knowledge by Texas students " Rush Limbaugh or Thurgood Marshall? Cesar Chavez or Phyllis Schlafly? What the board decides matters because it influences the content of textbooks for the entire nation, since Texas is such a huge state. Textbooks adopted for this state end up being used in many other states because of the economics of publishing.

What bothers us about the entire issue is that it is dominated by conservative/liberal political wrangling. One member of the board-appointed advisory panel actually counted up how many liberals " by his definition " were being taught in classroom lessons versus conservatives. Effectively, the history, political science and social studies curriculum being taught in Texas classrooms risks being determined by idealogues. We don't think that is in the best interests of Texas students.

We would like to see the entire process taken out of the hands of a political board whose members get elected essentially on party identification, depending on the district. There are 10 Republicans and five Democrats on the board. The content of the state's textbooks is in large part being determined by political interests, not by determining what it is Texas schoolchildren should learn. And that's wrong.

Reform is needed in how this state determines curriculum and textbooks. We believe educators ought to determine textbook content. For example appoint renowned history professors from the state's universities to set those standards, instead of allowing a politicized board to do so.

We can never completely eliminate subjectivity from the process of determining the weight of various historical figures. But we would be far more comfortable if those decisions were being made by professionally trained academicians, instead of idealogues " no matter their political bent.

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@Lightwizard,

The only meaning of interest in that insolently written post LW is that it suggests that you wear the ball and chain.

The scientific method of appraising your book collection is to go on "abe books" and check out what they are being traded at.

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@wandeljw,

I would say wande that the editor of the Longview News-Journal is still a bit wet behind the ears.

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@wandeljw,

Someone has become even more quaintly naive in their armchair psychiatry, it's difficult to figure out what happened to him in relationships, but frankly I don't care.

I have a close friend who is a museum curator and high qualified appraiser, including rare books which I gave no indication I even have in my library. A set of Britannica is about as valuable as a collection of old Nike tennis shoes. The platinum leather edition might be worth something to my heirs.

The educators should be the authority on what texts are in our schools and the suggestion of academicians is a good one. However, Texas is so terminally backward that I doubt if it could be swallowed there -- their government ideologues' contempt for learning and knowledge is well known around the world.

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@Lightwizard,

True.

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@edgarblythe,

He wouldn't talk about my home state like that Ed without my shitting all over him which isn't all that difficult to do.

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@spendius,

I am not blind to the faults of my fellow Texans. We are not all stupid bastards, but enough are to sway the government to their short sightedness. The immigrants from other states and elsewhere have not dramatically affected the mix. We have gained huge populations from India, Vietnam, Michigan and elsewhere. Somehow, they fit right in. My brain hurts contemplating it.

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@edgarblythe,

Don't do hurting brain Ed. It isn't worth it. Take what comes or clear out.

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@spendius,

I ain't going nowhere. (That's Texan for, "Here I shall remain.")

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@edgarblythe,

While Pope Pompous Pilot XXX throws **** at his PC screen hoping it actually goes over the internet and dismayed that it is stinking up his own room and he can no longer see his display (troll **** being very thick and opaque), I have several friends in Texas who are very good people and smart -- one of them has lost his job there and is in New Mexico with his family right now. They are always exceptions and they complain about the same things but certainly are not considering moving to California after Ahnold took it from the sixth largest economy in the world to beneath Louisiana. That's your right wing ideologue "genius" for you. He's got to get back to monsters he can handle in the movies.

I know the area you live in the Lone Star State, EB -- it's quite beautiful.

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@Lightwizard,

Quote:

While Pope Pompous Pilot XXX throws **** at his PC screen hoping it actually goes over the internet and dismayed that it is stinking up his own room and he can no longer see his display (troll **** being very thick and opaque), I have several friends in Texas who are very good people and smart -- one of them has lost his job there and is in New Mexico with his family right now.

That's a very nice sentence LW, I must say. It flows quite well. I wouldn't be surprised if you hadn't been practicing it in your head on and off during the course of your duties which we all know, having been reminded often enough, are responsible and fairly commanding and to be envied by us lesser beings and treated with the respect they deserve.

It's entertainment value is hardly spoiled by its being wanting in truth and common sense.

We have no way of knowing whether your friends in Texas are "good people and smart". One does sometimes fall into the trap of asserting that ones friends are "good people and smart" in order to signify the sort of circles one moves in and thus deserving of being thought of as good and smart oneself. I have little doubt that all of them are about as good and smart as the average bear even though the services of one of them has been dispensed with by the employing classes on account of them being of no further use.

And I am actually hoping it goes over the internet. That is why I compose this stinky runny compost which trickles out of the end of my forefinger: my eyes see what your's see, a bit earlier of course, so if my screen can no longer be seen for it neither can yours. It was the keyboard you wanted for your stunning metaphor and whether that can be prodded at satisfactorily can be easily judged from a scrutiny of my efforts. When others press the REPLY button are they not hoping that what they have written is going over the internet. It seems difficult to prevent it doing once the REPLY function is clicked.

And it is intended to be thick and opaque. I can afford more clarity with the brainboxes on the Trivia threads. They are the ones at my end of the bar.

I presume, from a number of things you have said in the past about the Lone Star State, that the area you refer to is one that is empty of people and I must admit that such areas are quite beautiful to those who think that our civilised modcons are an effete luxury which is weakening the fibre of our race.

I also presume that you consider being beneath Louisiana to be shameful and something of a disgrace but you do owe more money that they do I think and that is not something to be proud of. Anyone can look good on borrowed money.

And if you did become a state of fruit pickers the targeting of foreign ICBMs would be cancelled so that is a plus. We all rather admire Mr Schwarzenegger here in my part of England, which is beneath redemption never mind Louisiana, although I cannot think why. He sounds good.

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My screen is in fine shape. It didn't work, so shut up.

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