In response to David's comments, I think the assumption that most individuals enter our education system with their minds already made up about evolution (or any idea for that matter) is false. It may be true for some but believing that it is true for the majority undermines the entire point of improving science education and public relations with the scientific community. Why try to educate people if their minds are already made up? The scientific community has done an abysmal job of demonstrating the validity and utility of evolution to the public. The appearance of disagreement within the scientific community only confuses the public and turns many off to really understanding the underlying concepts of evolution. The public needs straightforward dialogue and agreement between scientists. While even this will not convince some, it will surely educate the individuals confused by current discussions of evolution.
Ann On 5/4/07, David M. Lawrence <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > I'm not sure it's the scientists' fault. Many minds are made up before we > get a chance to actually "teach" the public. > > We have a major public relations problem. Science offers everlasting > doubt. > Religion offers everlasting life. Some can handle the former, others > deeply > desire the latter. Most believe what they want despite the educational > opportunities presented to them. > > To make matters worse, most people are fed an unending diet of Bible > stories > from birth. By the time they are first exposed to science, they are > already > filled to the brim with simplistic notions of the inerrancy of "Word of > God." Their minds are set long before they are exposed to scientists such > as Francis Collins who can talk eloquently and at length about the > possibility of reconciling religious belief and the pursuit of scientific > knowledge. > > For most, science education starts out with emphasis on memorization of > trivia to help students get good scores on standardized tests -- the idea > of > science as a process of gaining knowledge is weakly presented, if it is > presented at all. Then students arrive in college, and we are handed > people > lacking in fundamentals who approach learning as a collector approaches > baseball cards -- a checklist that if you acquire enough items on it, you > earn an "A." When we ask students to think for themselves, they are > terrified. They've never been trained -- even worse, they've never been > encouraged -- to do so before. > > Let's be honest, the people making educational (and other) policy in this > nation really don't want the public to think. If more of the public did, > those policymakers would be unemployed. > > The people making economic policy in this nation likewise don't want the > public to think. If more of the public did, fewer would blow their life's > income purchasing products they don't need. Coal is good. Women will > find > me devastatingly attractive if I use the right deodorant. I really, > really > need that PlayStation 3, so I'll camp out at the store for a week to get > one. > > In the checkout line at the the grocery store, we can choose between a > Time > magazine with a cover story about the extinction crisis, or choose > Celebrity > Tripe Weekly with a cover story about some actress discussing her latest > boob (with pictures!). Which one do you think would sell the most? > > Frankly, I think most members of the scientific community are doing their > best. But we have only sandbags to pile up in advance of an oncoming > glacier. > > For me, I keep piling the sandbags. With any luck, I'll convince more to > stand by me and help pile more. But for most of us, progress in this > effort > resembles gradualism -- tiny changes over vast amounts of time -- more > than > catastrophism -- vast changes over tiny amounts of time. No matter what > we > do, we will not have the immediate effect of the catastrophic forces in > society. > > Dave > > > ------------------------------------------------------ > David M. Lawrence | Home: (804) 559-9786 > 7471 Brook Way Court | Fax: (804) 559-9787 > Mechanicsville, VA 23111 | Email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > USA | http: http://fuzzo.com > ------------------------------------------------------ > > "We have met the enemy and he is us." -- Pogo > > "No trespassing > 4/17 of a haiku" -- Richard Brautigan >
