admice

EVOLUTION ENDORSED BY STEVES
This press release made my day! Enjoy.

TEACH EVOLUTION!
Over two hundred scientists named Steve agree

Denver, Colorado, February 16, 2003 -- A first-of-its-kind statement
on evolution signed by over 200 scientists was unveiled today at the
American Association for the Advancement of Science annual convention
in Denver, Colorado, following Lawrence Krauss's topical lecture
entitled "Scientific Ignorance as a Way of Life: From Science Fiction
in Washington to Intelligent Design in the Classroom." The statement
-- sponsored by the National Center for Science Education (NCSE), a
nonprofit organization that defends the teaching of evolution in the
public schools -- reads:

Evolution is a vital, well-supported, unifying principle of the
biological sciences, and the scientific evidence is overwhelmingly in
favor of the idea that all living things share a common ancestry.
Although there are legitimate scientific debates about the patterns
and processes of evolution, there is no serious scientific doubt that
evolution occurred or that natural selection is a major mechanism of
evolution. It is scientifically inappropriate and pedagogically
irresponsible for creationist pseudoscience, including but not
limited to "intelligent design, to be introduced into the science
curricula of the public schools.

The 220 signatories are a distinguished group. Almost all hold PhDs
in the sciences. They include two Nobel prize winners, eight members
of the National Academy of Sciences, and several well-known authors
of popular science books such as Why We Age, Darwin's Ghost, and How
the Mind Works.

And they're all named Steve.

Stephen P. Ellner Professor of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology,
Cornell University, is among the signatories. Signatories who
received their PhDs from Cornell are Stephen P. Ellner, Professor of
Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Cornell University, Steve Halperin,
Professor and Dean, College of Computer, Mathematical, and Physical
Sciences, University of Maryland, Steven N. Handel, Professor of
Ecology and Evolution, Rutgers University, Stephen Nowicki, Anne T. &
Robert M. Bass Professor of Biology, Neurobiology, and Psychological
and Brain Sciences, Duke University, Stephen J. O'Brien, Chief,
Laboratory of Genomic Diversity, National Cancer Institute, and
Stephen E. Schneider, Professor of Astronomy, University of
Massachusetts.

Eugenie C. Scott, the executive director of NCSE, explained the
significance of the statement. "Creationists are fond of amassing
lists of PhDs who deny evolution to try to give the false impression
that evolution is somehow on the verge of being rejected by the
scientific community. Nothing could be farther from the truth.
Hundreds of scientists endorsed the NCSE statement. And we asked only
scientists named Steve -- who represent approximately 1% of
scientists."

Steven Weinberg, professor of physics at the University of Texas,
Austin, and recipient of the 1977 Nobel Prize in physics, added, "Of
course science isn't decided by manifesto; this statement pokes fun
at such efforts. If you want to know whether scientists accept
evolution, you should look in the scientific literature. There you
find that evolution is alive and well, as a central and unifying
principle of science."

The statement comes in the wake of several recent attempts to
undermine evolution education across the country, including in Ohio.
Said Steve Rissing, professor of biology at Ohio State University, "I
run what is perhaps the largest introductory biology program in the
world. That people are misleading the public about the scientific
standing of evolution not only saddens me but also makes my job
harder."

Steven Pinker, professor of psychology at MIT, added, "The 220 Steves
-- and Stephanies -- who signed the statement aren't trying to stifle
dissent, of course. Anyone who did produce solid scientific evidence
against evolution would become an instant superstar. The point of the
statement is to demonstrate how misleading it is to claim, on the
basis of a handful of dissenters, that evolution is a 'theory in
crisis.'"

And why Steve? "In honor of the late Harvard zoologist and geologist
Stephen Jay Gould, a valiant supporter of both evolution education
and NCSE," NCSE's Scott explained. "We hope that the next time
creationists present a list of 'scientific dissenters from
evolution,' reporters will ask, 'How many of them are named Steve?'"

The National Center for Science Education is a nonprofit
organization, based in Oakland, California, dedicated to defending
the teaching of evolution in the public schools. On the web at
www.ncseweb.org. For information about Project Steve, see the
temporary web site at www.ncseweb.org/steves.

Contact:
Stephen "Skip Evans, NCSE, 800-290-6006 or (510) 601-7203 x308,
evans@ncseweb.org
Eugenie C. Scott, NCSE, 800-290-6006 or (510) 601-7203 x301,
scott@ncseweb.org

E-SKEPTIC FOR FEBRUARY 20, 2003
Copyright 2003 Michael Shermer, Skeptics Society, Skeptic magazine,
e-Skeptic
magazine (www.skeptic.com and skepticmag@aol.com). Permission to print,
distribute, and post with proper citation and acknowledgment.


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