Gah! The stupid... it burns!!!
Not that I'm terribly surprised, but it seems that Representative Gary Chism (Republican from Columbus, Mississippi) has introduced HB 25 to the state house that will require the stickering of biology books to "INCLUDE CERTAIN LANGUAGE EXPLAINING THAT EVOLUTION IS A THEORY IN THE INSIDE FRONT COVER OF CERTAIN PUBLIC SCHOOL TEXTBOOKS; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES."
As if we don't have enough to contend with in the current economy. The state is currently running higher education with deficit spending, they're looking at cuts to Medicaid and CHIP, and this asshole wants to spend money to push creationism in public schools.
SECTION 1. The State Board of Education shall require every textbook that includes the teaching of evolution in its contents to include the following language on the inside front cover of the textbook:
"The word 'theory' has many meanings, including: systematically organized knowledge; abstract reasoning; a speculative idea or plan; or a systematic statement of principles. Scientific theories are based on both observations of the natural world and assumptions about the natural world. They are always subject to change in view of new and confirmed observations.
Okay, no problem so far...
This textbook discusses evolution, a controversial theory some scientists present as a scientific explanation for the origin of living things. No one was present when life first appeared on earth. Therefore, any statement about life's origins should be considered a theory.
First problem, as we all know (or at least should know) the theory of natural selection says nothing about the origin of life, it addresses the origin of species. The author of the bill is being disingenuous.
Evolution refers to the unproven belief that random, undirected forces produced living things.
NO IT DOESN'T.
There are many topics with unanswered questions about the origin of life which are not mentioned in your textbook, including: the sudden appearance of the major groups of animals in the fossil record (known as the Cambrian Explosion); the lack of new major groups of other living things appearing in the fossil record; the lack of transitional forms of major groups of plants and animals in the fossil record; and the complete and complex set of instructions for building a living body possessed by all living things.
There are many topics with unanswered questions in this text book because this is high school textbook and one year of secondary eduation isn't enough to answer all of these questions. Again, the author of the bill is being disingenuous.
Study hard and keep an open mind."
As long as your mind is open to creationism, no doubt.
National Center for Science Education
Mississippi Atheists
About.com's Pagan/Wiccan blog
As if we don't have enough to contend with in the current economy. The state is currently running higher education with deficit spending, they're looking at cuts to Medicaid and CHIP, and this asshole wants to spend money to push creationism in public schools.
SECTION 1. The State Board of Education shall require every textbook that includes the teaching of evolution in its contents to include the following language on the inside front cover of the textbook:
"The word 'theory' has many meanings, including: systematically organized knowledge; abstract reasoning; a speculative idea or plan; or a systematic statement of principles. Scientific theories are based on both observations of the natural world and assumptions about the natural world. They are always subject to change in view of new and confirmed observations.
Okay, no problem so far...
This textbook discusses evolution, a controversial theory some scientists present as a scientific explanation for the origin of living things. No one was present when life first appeared on earth. Therefore, any statement about life's origins should be considered a theory.
First problem, as we all know (or at least should know) the theory of natural selection says nothing about the origin of life, it addresses the origin of species. The author of the bill is being disingenuous.
Evolution refers to the unproven belief that random, undirected forces produced living things.
NO IT DOESN'T.
There are many topics with unanswered questions about the origin of life which are not mentioned in your textbook, including: the sudden appearance of the major groups of animals in the fossil record (known as the Cambrian Explosion); the lack of new major groups of other living things appearing in the fossil record; the lack of transitional forms of major groups of plants and animals in the fossil record; and the complete and complex set of instructions for building a living body possessed by all living things.
There are many topics with unanswered questions in this text book because this is high school textbook and one year of secondary eduation isn't enough to answer all of these questions. Again, the author of the bill is being disingenuous.
Study hard and keep an open mind."
As long as your mind is open to creationism, no doubt.
National Center for Science Education
Mississippi Atheists
About.com's Pagan/Wiccan blog