Question. How does this relate to going to SPOC and observing Neptune? Seems everytime this topic comes up we have people leave the board. I vote we get back to topic. Just my opinion. Patrick, I'd love to come out but class at 7:00a.m. comes early. This isn't turning out to be a fun summer. I hope others come out. Please let us know how it goes. Jay Sent from my LG phone "Don J. Colton" <djcolton@piol.com> wrote:
Jo,
You still missed the point. In the Washington case, the teacher was not fired for bringing up Genesis but for bringing up problems with standard Neo-Darwinism posed by Stephen Jay Gould, the prominent Paleontologist. Berlinski and Meyer do NOT discuss the bible or believe in a young earth. Berlinski is an agnostic.
-----Original Message----- From: utah-astronomy-bounces@mailman.xmission.com [mailto:utah-astronomy-bounces@mailman.xmission.com] On Behalf Of Josephine Grahn Sent: Monday, July 11, 2011 1:04 PM To: utah-astronomy@mailman.xmission.com Subject: Re: [Utah-astronomy] SPOC for 1 Neptune orbit? Also, from the funnies
Just to a add to what Don said. As you can see from the link below, the teacher was not fired for teaching that Darwin theories have scientifically credible opposition, but for trying to put the story of genesis in front of the class as an alternative view. I suspect that we all would get just as upset if they taught the American Indian views of the beginning of life, in science class, as a legitimate alternative. I am fine with learning new science, and making discoveries that that show us where the old science missed the boat. The emphasis is on research and discovery. As soon as we make our religious (God, idol, belief) a God of the Gaps, we diminish the value of our beliefs, and the power of that which we believe in.
Jo
http://www.bendbulletin.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070325/NEWS0107/703 250340/1001&nav_category=
"On Wednesday, March 14, eight days into a new job teaching biology at Sisters High School, Kris Helphinstine showed a class of freshman and sophomore students pictures of naked corpses, a Nazi swastika and Charles Darwin in a PowerPoint presentation.
"What do these pictures have in common?" the 27-year-old part-time teacher asked the 30 students.
They listened as Helphinstine gave a roughly hourlong presentation, explaining how the Third Reich perverted evolution and eugenics to slaughter Jews and Gypsies in death camps to protect the "superior race."
On the Monday and Tuesday before giving the PowerPoint presentation, Helphinstine had given the students supplemental material that included an essay promoting creationism and links to answersingenesis.org.
That Web site is "dedicated to enabling Christians to defend their faith, and to proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ effectively."
When parents found out, some quickly complained. As a result, Helphinstine was put on leave Friday, March 16, and the Sisters School Board voted to fire him last Monday. Only board member Steve Rudinsky opposed the measure, saying the teacher should have received a second chance." (And the article goes on...)
Quoting "Don J. Colton" <djcolton@piol.com>:
The Doonesbury cartoon, although funny, perpetuates the myth that Neo-Darwinism is settled science and that the opposition believes a fairy tale. Most of the new laws passed in several states allow the biology teachers or students to present other competing ideas to Neo-Darwinism.
In
Washington State a biology teacher was fired for bringing up problems with Neo-Darwinism although he taught the theory in detail.
Recent advances in information theory, a product to some extent of quantum mechanics, have called into question many of the cherished ideas of Neo-Darwinism. One of the main tenets of information theory is that in a closed system the amount of information cannot increase. David Berlinski, a celebrated mathematician and an agnostic, wrote a seminal article called "The Deniable Darwin" in Commentary Magazine that was later developed into a book by the same name. Stephen C. Meyer has written a recent controversial book, "Signature in the Cell - DNA and the Evidence for Intelligent Design" that raises many additional problems with Neo-Darwinism.
Jun-Yuan Chen, Research Professor Nanjing Institute of Geology and Paleontology, said recently: "In China we can criticize Darwin but not the government. In America you can criticize the government, but not Darwin."
I think we need to have a free and open exchange of ideas in high school biology as well as all other classes. Thomas S. Kuhn in "The Structure of Scientific Revolutions", notes how difficult it is for scientists to give up cherished paradigms.
Clear Skies,
Don
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