Freethought & Rationalism Archive

Valentine Pontifex · 01-30-2003, 03:16 PM

Looks like this is going to be a long year...

Mississippi has an anti-evolution bill as well. It, like Oklahoma's HB 1504, would require the disclaimer originally used in Alabama to be put into textbooks.

RufusAtticus · 01-30-2003, 03:28 PM

"There are many unanswered questions about the origin of life that are not mentioned in your textbook, including: the major groups of animals suddenly appear in the fossil record (known as the Cambrian Explosion), no new major groups of other living things appeared in the fossil record, major groups of plants and animals have no transitional forms in the fossil record, and all living things possess a complete and complex set of instructions for building a living body. Study hard and keep an open mind."

This is the part that gets me about these disclaimers. These politician shaven't even read the textbooks used, yet they claim to know what the textbooks do and don't cover.

RufusAtticus · 01-30-2003, 03:32 PM

Here is a list of other bills done by Carmel Wells-Smith. Note the obligatory anti-abortion bills that go along with creationist nutcase bills. Don't forget the "Youth for Christ" license plates. What they need is a "Youth for Cthulhu" tag.

beastmaster · 01-30-2003, 03:48 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by RufusAtticus
"There are many unanswered questions about the origin of life that are not mentioned in your textbook, including: the major groups of animals suddenly appear in the fossil record (known as the Cambrian Explosion), no new major groups of other living things appeared in the fossil record, major groups of plants and animals have no transitional forms in the fossil record, and all living things possess a complete and complex set of instructions for building a living body."

These are unquestioned answers.

Not unanswered questions.

Strawberry · 01-30-2003, 04:36 PM

There are many unanswered questions about evolution. However, the question, "Does evolution exist?" is not one of them. Evolution is called a theory because the exact phylogenetic details are not all known, not because there is any question about evolution's actual existance. My gawd, I would have thought even a fundie would have looked into the reasons for that. Oh, wait a minute...

Oolon Colluphid · 01-31-2003, 05:07 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Strawberry
There are many unanswered questions about evolution. However, the question, "Does evolution exist?" is not one of them. Evolution is called a theory because the exact phylogenetic details are not all known, not because there is any question about evolution's actual existance.

Hi Strawberry!

I know exactly what you�re getting at, but with cretinists, we need to be really clear and careful with our terms. My point is, evolution is a fact and a theory.

Cheers, DT

Psycho Economist · 01-31-2003, 05:36 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Darwin's Terrier
I know exactly what you�re getting at, but with cretinists, we need to be really clear and careful with our terms. My point is, evolution is a fact and a theory.

I don't know if it's worth the confusion it would wreck to insist they're both: you're dealing with a population that thinks in terms of light as beams, neither waves nor particles.

On the other hand, I'd love to see that excerpt from Gould on the inside front cover of a bio book:

Quote:

In the American vernacular, "theory" often means "imperfect fact"--part of a hierarchy of confidence running downhill from fact to theory to hypothesis to guess.... And facts and theories are different things, not rungs in a hierarchy of increasing certainty. Facts are the world's data. Theories are structures of ideas that explain and interpret facts.

Oolon Colluphid · 01-31-2003, 05:36 AM

If they�re using a version of the Alabama one, here�s Richard Dawkins�s dissection -- sorry, obliteration -- of that (just in case anybody thinks these idiots have a point).

The "Alabama Insert": A Study in Ignorance and Dishonesty

DT

Oolon Colluphid · 01-31-2003, 05:46 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Psycho Economist
I don't know if it's worth the confusion it would wreck to insist they're both: you're dealing with a population that thinks in terms of light as beams, neither waves nor particles.

I guess you�re quite right, in a way. But this explanation is necessary as a response to the �only a theory� claims... and we can hardly dodge the fact that we do indeed often talk about the �theory of evolution�, and everyone has heard that phrase. Maybe we should talk about the �fact of evolution� more often...

DT

Jimmy Higgins · 02-01-2003, 01:44 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by RufusAtticus
"There are many unanswered questions about the origin of life that are not mentioned in your textbook, including: the major groups of animals suddenly appear in the fossil record (known as the Cambrian Explosion), no new major groups of other living things appeared in the fossil record, major groups of plants and animals have no transitional forms in the fossil record, and all living things possess a complete and complex set of instructions for building a living body. Study hard and keep an open mind."

Oh can we put a sticker on the bible too?

Quote:

There are many unanswered questions about the origin of life that are not mentioned in your bible, including: the order of the creations (man last in first story, man first in second story), apparent contradictions with science fact (ie the moon doesn't give light), the apparent flip-flop of meaning (ie water bad in first story, savoir in second story), and apparent contradictions with itself (the garden is in the east, west, and north). Study hard and keep an open mind. Check out Islam and Far East Philosophy.

01-30-2003, 03:16 PM	#1
Valentine Pontifex Veteran Member Join Date: Jul 2001 Location: Orion Arm of the Milky Way Galaxy Posts: 3,092	Mississippi Anti-Evolution Bill Looks like this is going to be a long year... Mississippi has an anti-evolution bill as well. It, like Oklahoma's HB 1504, would require the disclaimer originally used in Alabama to be put into textbooks.

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01-30-2003, 03:28 PM	#2
RufusAtticus Veteran Member Join Date: Nov 2001 Location: NCSU Posts: 5,853	"There are many unanswered questions about the origin of life that are not mentioned in your textbook, including: the major groups of animals suddenly appear in the fossil record (known as the Cambrian Explosion), no new major groups of other living things appeared in the fossil record, major groups of plants and animals have no transitional forms in the fossil record, and all living things possess a complete and complex set of instructions for building a living body. Study hard and keep an open mind." This is the part that gets me about these disclaimers. These politician shaven't even read the textbooks used, yet they claim to know what the textbooks do and don't cover.

01-30-2003, 03:32 PM	#3
RufusAtticus Veteran Member Join Date: Nov 2001 Location: NCSU Posts: 5,853	Here is a list of other bills done by Carmel Wells-Smith. Note the obligatory anti-abortion bills that go along with creationist nutcase bills. Don't forget the "Youth for Christ" license plates. What they need is a "Youth for Cthulhu" tag.

01-30-2003, 04:36 PM	#5
Strawberry Senior Member Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: Lancaster, PA/Toronto, ON, Canada Posts: 627	There are many unanswered questions about evolution. However, the question, "Does evolution exist?" is not one of them. Evolution is called a theory because the exact phylogenetic details are not all known, not because there is any question about evolution's actual existance. My gawd, I would have thought even a fundie would have looked into the reasons for that. Oh, wait a minute...

01-31-2003, 05:36 AM	#8
Oolon Colluphid Contributor Join Date: Sep 2000 Location: Alibi: ego ipse hinc extermino Posts: 12,591	If they�re using a version of the Alabama one, here�s Richard Dawkins�s dissection -- sorry, obliteration -- of that (just in case anybody thinks these idiots have a point). The "Alabama Insert": A Study in Ignorance and Dishonesty DT

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