[extropy-chat] NASA and the Big Bang "theory"

[kevinfreels.com]

This wouldn't be totally inaccurate if people would focus on the actual
scientific meaning of the word "theory". Unfortunately, too many people
think that the word "theory" is the same as "conjecture", "hypothesis", or
"guess". A flat Earth "theory" is not theory at all since there is no body
of knowledge or fact involved that has survived repeated testing.

I get this argument from creationists all the time where they say things
like "If it were proven, it would be a fact and not a theory". This is a
horrible failure of education.

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Damien Broderick" <thespike at satx.rr.com>
To: "'ExI chat list'" <extropy-chat at lists.extropy.org>
Sent: Saturday, February 04, 2006 1:53 PM
Subject: [extropy-chat] NASA and the Big Bang "theory"


http://www.nytimes.com/2006/02/04/science/04climate.html?pagewanted=2&_r=1&th&emc=th

The Big Bang memo came from Mr. Deutsch, a 24-year-old presidential
appointee in the press office at NASA headquarters whose résumé says he was
an intern in the "war room" of the 2004 Bush-Cheney re-election campaign. A
2003 journalism graduate of Texas A&M, he was also the public-affairs
officer who sought more control over Dr. Hansen's public statements.

In October 2005, Mr. Deutsch sent an e-mail message to Flint Wild, a NASA
contractor working on a set of Web presentations about Einstein for
middle-school students. The message said the word "theory" needed to be
added after every mention of the Big Bang.

The Big Bang is "not proven fact; it is opinion," Mr. Deutsch wrote,
adding, "It is not NASA's place, nor should it be to make a declaration
such as this about the existence of the universe that discounts intelligent
design by a creator."

It continued: "This is more than a science issue, it is a religious issue.
And I would hate to think that young people would only be getting one-half
of this debate from NASA. That would mean we had failed to properly educate
the very people who rely on us for factual information the most."

====================

Well, yes, and I trust that they will henceforth also always refer to the
Spherical Earth Theory, since this is more than a science issue, it is a
religious issue: the Bible implies that the world is flat, with four
corners.

Damien Broderick


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