At 08:29 AM 4/13/02, Tom Beck wrote: ><< Therefore, the idea that evolution drives speciation is, at best, a >theory. >> > >This is the eternal last best hope of creationists, and it betrays their >total and absolute scientific illiteracy and ignorance. The word "theory" in >scientific parlance is a technical term. It does not mean what it does in >everyday speech.
Scientists use the word "hypothesis" or perhaps "conjecture" for what laymen frequently call a "theory": an as-yet-unproven idea. The "Theory of Relativity" is still referred to by most scientists as a "theory", even though it has withstood numerous tests over the past century. >We've had this discussion before, and there is nothing I can >add to it, but the "theory" of evolution is not a guess. No reputable >scientist has any doubt that evolution occurs; the arguments today center >mostly on the mechanism and the rate. > >We are seeing evolution in action: the average height of a human being keeps >increasing. Where this will lead, no one knows. Recorded history is a few >thousand years old; that's almost nothing in geologic time. > >You can't argue with a creationist; his mind is made up and he is not >interested in learning how to think scientifically. But be kind to the poor >fellow - his worldview is so fragile that he must defend it with increasing >frenzy lest he have to admit he might be wrong and God did not create the >world in seven days 6000 years ago (or whenever it was supposed to happen) According to Archbishop Ussher, the world was created at 9 am on 9 October 4004 BC (Julian proleptic calendar). AFAIK, he did not specify whether that was GMT or EST (Eden Standard Time). The first issue I always try to discuss is the age of the Earth. For the Earth to be only 6000 years old, either the laws of physics have to have changed in such a way as to make the ages we get from radioisotope dating of numerous samples appear much greater than they would be if the various isotopes have always decayed at the rate we measure in laboratories today, or else God created *all* rocks 6000 years ago with just the right mix of numerous long-lived radioisotopes and their decay products such that all our tests would yield ages of up to 4.55 billion years. Of course, some people say that God may have done just that in order to differentiate between those who will have faith in His word and those who will believe the teachings of men. I personally have trouble with such a concept of God. I also mention that some scholars have said that the same word which is translated as "day" in Genesis in our Bibles can also mean "an arbitrary (generally long) period of time" as well as "a twenty-four period." We even have an example of such usage in modern English: when Grampa says, "You young whippersnapper. *In my day*, we had to walk ten miles to school barefoot in the snow, and it was uphill both ways." When the topic comes up in class, as it often does when we are talking about the age or origin of the Earth or of life on Earth and other planets, I frequently mention that it wasn't too long after I got my master's degree that I was ordained an elder, so I have credentials that say I'm supposed to know more than the average layperson about both science and religion. However, some quarter of a century later, despite all the further studying I have done and additional credentials I have acquired, I still don't have a nice, neat little answer . . . >and therefore his religious beliefs might not be 100% right in every single >detail. It's not easy being a fundamentalist cretin. I would disagree with any generalization that all who have strict religious beliefs are mentally deficient. -- Ronn! :) Ronn Blankenship Instructor of Astronomy/Planetary Science University of Montevallo Montevallo, AL Disclaimer: Unless specifically stated otherwise, any opinions contained herein are the personal opinions of the author and do not represent the official position of the University of Montevallo.
