[ExI] why teaching creationism is a lesser evil

[Kelly Anderson]

On Wed, Apr 11, 2012 at 5:04 PM, Rafal Smigrodzki
<rafal.smigrodzki at gmail.com> wrote:
> Cross-posted from another list:
>
> On Wed, Apr 11, 2012 at 4:37 PM, Damien Broderick <thespike at satx.rr.com> wrote:
>>
>> Law allows creationism to be taught in Tenn. public schools
>> Washington Post - ‎1 hour ago‎
>>
>> <http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/law-allows-creationism-to-be-taught-in-tenn-public-schools/2012/04/11/gIQAAjqxAT_story.html>
>
> ### Interesting how the article is trying to use the billy club of
> "science" to bash two completely different sets of statements -
> creationism, a religiously inspired denial of science, and climate
> change skepticism, a scientific opposition to politicized
> pseudoscience.
>
> I am again reminded of the limitations of our minds and, much more so,
> our social organizations. In a competitive environment, the truth has
> a way of surviving and thriving which is why it's better to have a
> chaotic, multicentric educational system that exposes some pupils to
> intellectual garbage along with the truth rather than to have a
> bureaucracy claiming to have a monopoly on truth - and predictably
> failing to deliver, as evidenced by the mass brainwashing of children
> along environmentalist, antihumanist lines in US government schools.

The amount of ignorance along these lines is astonishing. Take a look
for example at this lovely piece of reporting...

http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/scientists-find-link-between-dinosaurs-and-birds-051/2012/04/12/gIQAuRCQDT_video.html

The video says that these Argentinian paleontologists have found the
"missing link" between dinosaurs and birds. And I'm just scratching my
head and saying what link between dinosaurs and birds was "missing"!!!
AAaargh. This is just one additional piece of evidence to add to the
hundreds of pieces of evidence that ALREADY have been discovered!!!

This would have been a valid headline in the 1850s when they found the
first archeopteryx.

So, if teaching creationism in school gets evolution taught too... as
opposed to nothing being taught now (apparently) then go for it.
Putting the two ideas head to head can't be too awful for science, can
it?

I'm also really disturbed by the mash-up of climate denial and
evolution denial. Denial of human caused climate change is the
political equivalent of holocaust denial... but scientifically, I
don't think they compare at all.

-Kelly