Thread: Evolution in our schools.

A question: Besides religion, are there any good arguments against evolution?

Originally Posted by Zana

What an idiot. Read what I was responding to.

Obviously their conclusions won't be accepted by their peers because the majority of scientists do believe in the theory of Evolution (and I am not denying that.). The claim put forth by the member I was responding to was the basically the following:

I don't believe there are real scientists who reject Evolution.

And I proved him wrong.

I know you just wanted to prove that there were "scientists" who don't believe in evolution. Still, I commented.

It does not matter if the whole of the scientific community beliefs in evolution in the peer review process. If the authors have something that cannot be argued against effectively, it'll make some noise. If they use the same old crap arguments that all people who try to disprove evolution use, it will not go through because the author would not know anything he or she'd be talking about, and that would show in the papers / studies, and it would not survive peer review. If there actually is something that contradics current status, and it survives peer review, it will raise some noise. That happens once in a while, if you follow science. But yeah, I could not bring myself to believe that this book would have anything useful in it. Though it might have. I don't know. Haven't read it. Just making assumptions here.

And babbling on... about stuff, because I have nothing better to do.

Originally Posted by Indeed

A question: Besides religion, are there any good arguments against evolution?

because religion is SUCH a good arugument

Evolution is dum cus my preacher ses so.

Ikr! -.-

For everyone arguing that EVERY option should be presented, that's not even remotely a good idea. If we take on this idea of presenting creationism alongside evolution what becomes the criteria for teachable options? What decides which beliefs get taught in schools? If we allow (hypothetically) Christian beliefs into (what's supposed to be) a secular school system, doesn't that mean we have to entertain pretty much every OTHER religion?

Alright class, today we learn about how we came to be. Scientist's think this.....Christians think this..........Muslims think this........and on and on.

There is as much a reason to teach creationism in school as there is for teaching the Invisible Pink Unicorn creating the world with muffins and rainbows.

There shouldn't be an argument about what 'theory' is right. There is a separation of church and state. If you want to teach your kid about God and whatnot, take him to church. This is SCIENCE class where we learn SCIENCE. You have the right to teach your kid whatever the hell you believe but in a secular school system, they should teach the scientific theory.

Seemed relevant?

Originally Posted by Xei

IMG

Seemed relevant?

Religion is srs bsnss.

Originally Posted by Xei

Seemed relevant?

'shopped

I believe that the sky is a carpet painted by god. "Scientists" say it's just space, with stars and galaxies and stuff, but that's because the 50 scientists I've found that do believe that the sky is a carpet painted by god are not being heard. They present compelling arguments, like "look at the sky, it's so beautiful... therefore, it must be a carpet painted by god."

I demand that ALL options be taught in science class. The theory of Intelligent Sky-Painting must be presented in science class alongside the real science.

(the above parody is more similar to the whole "creation/ID being taught in science" idiocy than you might think)


Also, here's the other point that isn't made often enough: Creationists try to disprove evolution not in the name of science, but in the name of creationism... however, let's suppose for one moment that evolution gets fully disproved. Let's suppose that someone finds bunny rabbits in the precambrian, for example. That would be "evidence against evolution" - it would NOT be "evidence for creation" AT ALL. I don't know why the creationist types think that by showing that science doesn't CURRENTLY understand something, it therefore means "god dunnit." It doesn't! That sort of backwards thinking is the reason we don't have flying cars today.

Originally Posted by Replicon

I believe that the sky is a carpet painted by god. "Scientists" say it's just space, with stars and galaxies and stuff, but that's because the 50 scientists I've found that do believe that the sky is a carpet painted by god are not being heard. They present compelling arguments, like "look at the sky, it's so beautiful... therefore, it must be a carpet painted by god."

I demand that ALL options be taught in science class. The theory of Intelligent Sky-Painting must be presented in science class alongside the real science.

As I was reading this I was getting scared that you were actually serious haha. But I agree with the rest of the post. Science works better in school because of the paradigm of self evaluation. The point of science itself is the constant revision of the previously thought.

Also, this may be Wikipedia, but something all people who actually think evolution shouldn't be taught in schools should really read;
List of common misconceptions - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The word theory in the theory of evolution does not imply mainstream scientific doubt regarding its validity; the concepts of theory and hypothesis have specific meanings in a scientific context. While theory in colloquial usage may denote a hunch or conjecture, a scientific theory is a set of principles that explains observable phenomena in natural terms.[135][136] "Scientific fact and theory are not categorically separable",[137] and evolution is a theory in the same sense as germ theory, gravitation, or plate tectonics.[138]

To deny evolution it's validity due to the word "theory" often creeping up in front of it is to also suggest things like germs and gravity don't exist. That said, i've never read a bible passage about germs or gravity.

In fact, while you're at it you should probably try and get an understanding of evolution in general:
Evolution - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

^this.

Many ignorant/stupid people think that a theory is "just a theory" and shouldn't be taken seriously.

A theory is basically an explanation to something that has been proved through extensive research and experimentation. A theory can typically be proved an proved again and again through experimentation and/or observation, therefore confirming that a theory is indeed fact.

A hypothesis is an educated guess before experimentation and has not been proved yet. It may be able to be proven true, but until a hypothesis is confirmed through repeated experimentation, it isn't scientific fact yet, just speculation.

Evolution is a theory that has been proved through things such as fossilization and other things.