As a retired scientist I try to keep in touch with the science community by reading a number of publications and occasionally going to meetings. One cannot help but notice, and become alarmed by what is happening to the teaching of evolution in our secondary schools. In addition, there is massive, well financed effort on most college campuses by religious fundamentalists to capture the minds of the current university student population through false and pseudoscientific presentations. In response to this, some scientific organizations are taking steps to counter the damage that can be done to scientific progress in America, if this challenge continues to be ignored.
At a recent meeting of the Geological Society of America, Donald U. Wise, an emeritus professor of geology at the University of Massachusetts said "The scientific community just isn't touching John Q. Public, and we just have to find a way of breaking through." He suggested that one way to do this "is with humor." Dr. Wise's first foray is a parody song about intelligent design called "Marching Song of the Incompetents," which had its premiere in October when hundreds of geologists sang it enthusiastically at the otherwise conventional meeting of the Geological Society of America. Perhaps another effective and positive way of touching base with John Q. Public would be for many scientists to invite the public to an informal educational opportunity on the subject of evolution so that everyone who attends can learn more about the facts of evolution! Darwin Day Celebration, the nonprofit organization, was initially started in the year 2000 with this in mind. Professional scientists and students can visit our Web site <http://www.darwinday.org/>DarwinDay.org and learn how they can develop an annual Darwin Day EVENT that is appropriate for their institution, and invite the public to attend a serious presentation of a wide range of scientific material ranging from Darwin's many contributions up to modern human genomics. We request that Darwin Day participants publicize their EVENTS at no cost, on our Web site, so that nearby people can find the events and so that a collective feeling of participation can be achieved. I'm writing to ask if it would be possible for you to send a message or other communication to your membership/readership encouraging individual members to participate. Feel free to construct the message as you determine is appropriate to meet the requirements of your organization. We also encourage you to invite your members to visit our Web site <http://www.darwinday.org>DarwinDay.org for answers to questions they may have or to email us directly at <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]>[EMAIL PROTECTED] . Sincerely yours, Robert J. ("Bob") Stephens, Ph. D. Emeritus Director, Cell Biology Program SRI International (formerly Stanford Research Institute) President, Darwin Day Celebration, a nonprofit, tax-deductible 501(c)(3) corp. <http://www.darwinday.org>DarwinDay.org
