Institutionalised Ignorance
 

That's alright, it will be fine to replace education with religious dogma to promote openmindedness and free thinking.

Dave

Enlightenment? We don't need no stinkin' Enlightenment.

Once you get past the three R's, school has no other purpose that to teach you how to think on your own. After that, the little nimrods can specialize.

I still think that being a proficient teacher is more of a gift than an occupation. But I guess a mentor personality gets lost in a cattle car reality.

Chas

Try and convince the Michelle Rhee's of this world about that. If all these so called "experts" would simply get lost education would improve exponentially.

Why would anyone be concerned about testing the theory of evolution?

Pete

I believe a Frenchman named Malthus has already been down that road.

I don't understand the comment?

Pete

Me niether. School us, Rob.

Dave

Students should be taught to question theories and conclusions. But they must understand that valid tests are based on facts and data, not on religious dogma. The public schools, particularly in science class, are not the places to advance religious explanations for the nature of life.

Regards,

D-Ray

Malthusian Theory predicts that population will eventually outgrow the food supply. That part has nowt to do with Darwin's work but near as I recall he also did work on plant genetics that illustrated evolution.

Put it all down to a brain fart since Malthus was an Englishman and the guy I really was thinking anout was Gregor Mendel. When I say plant genetics I mean by selective breeding not the voodoo engineering a la Monsanto.

Right. This is why we have churches. And why you have yours and I have mine.
It's also why religion and government should never mix. Once that happens government and religion become one. I can't think of anything more frightening than that.

Dave

Amen to that brother.

How ya feeling?

So then D, how do you test the theory of evolution?

Pete

Join Political Chat:D!
(Sorry, I'll go back to me bourbon ans naproxin.)

One big example is to look at changes in the efficacy of antibiotics over the course of our lifetime.

http://i642.photobucket.com/albums/u...nesbury_lg.gif

Regards,

D-Ray

So, when a human becomes resistant to various colds, they've evolved? Nice try Gary.

The true test of a theory - prediction.

Bob, LOL! Is it regressive? :D

Pete

Join Political Chat.....fixed that for ya.:D

SORE. Limiting the drugs to bedtime. I like them too much. Don't want to get hooked.

Dave

I don't really think that one can deny evolution. There are far too many observable evolutionary occurences and with every increment of understanding we see more phylogenetic similarities. It's damn near as solid as the Second Law of Thermodynamics. That, of course, still doesn't settle the God question however. Remember a single counter example destroys a scientific position.

Here is one of the best evolution sites geared towards the non-scientist:
http://evolution.berkeley.edu/evosite/evohome.html

I view science as a process; a certain way to view the world. The certitude of religion is wholly incompatible with the tenets of science. The self-correcting nature of science and the necessity of always withholding certitude is completely opposite the fundamental premise of religion, namely, faith. The irony is that religion educated most of the great ground breaking scientists. IIRC, Sir Isaac Newton spent more time in his religious writing than he did on The Principia. Religion can be in schools, but only in a Philosophy or Religion Department. Do comparative religion classes exist at the HS level?

They do here (Montgomery County, MD), where we have excellent schools. I bet dollars to donuts that the Bible Belt schools don't.

The "comparative" is the big problem in the bible belt. I recall one the the English electives in high school being the Bible as literature. That was just a year or two ago. Actually, it was when some of the ground-breaking First Amendment establishment clause cases were being decided.

I might have told the story here of my senior English teacher wanting to get through a list of banned books before they were banned. She had me read aloud a selection from Eldridge Cleaver's Soul on Ice. I read right past a part of the passage, in which he described in graphic detail his level of sexual frustration during his jail timel, before realizing that was the part I was supposed to edit. I don't think she really minded, but her face did turn bright red.

Regards,

D-Ray

Bh, if you ask a detective about convicting someone because the facts fit a hypothesis, he'd tell you that a lot of innocent people would be in jail.

That is why it's called 'proof'. I thought you were a hard science guy?

I love how the Apostles of Evolution always, always point out the easily provable Natural Selection (provable by prediction!) to 'prove' evolution.

Next up, gravity.

It's interesting how the Tech/Government axis has replaced the orthodox Church as the enforcer of 'real'.

Pete

the church was perfectly happy when its members were left to groveling for a loaf of moldy bread, and early death, and the ability to strike fear into their hearts. why would they want this to change? they are just using a willing GOP as their vehicle!

If they're not needy, they don't need us. LET IT FAIL!

"It's okay, peasant. When your tweny dollar an hour job gets outsourced, we'll be there to hire you at minimum wage.....Oh, wait....The minimum wage is a government mandate! Looks like that's gonna have to go as well. Boy, these are tough times. No one can afford to buy my product anymore. Looks like I'm gonna have to lay more people off...............................":mad:

Dave