The issue of whether just evolution should be taught, just creationism or both has come up quite a bit recently. What do you think?
Some worry evolution dispute hurts image
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The issue of whether just evolution should be taught, just creationism or both has come up quite a bit recently. What do you think?
Some worry evolution dispute hurts image
Ah, now here's a subject we can all enjoy.
Can I get anyone to say "evolution is just a theory"?
You just did. ;)Quote:
Originally posted by slimdave
Ah, now here's a subject we can all enjoy.
Can I get anyone to say "evolution is just a theory"?
WHAT?
A non-political thread?
I lack sufficient education to answer this question.
Hey, there's no educational requirements on this one at all. All you need to take part in this thread is a strong opinion.Quote:
Originally posted by Mr.Hanky
WHAT?
A non-political thread?
I lack sufficient education to answer this question.
:)
He does have that, no facts to back it up, but he has strong opinions! :rolleyes:Quote:
Originally posted by slimdave
Hey, there's no educational requirements on this one at all. All you need to take part in this thread is a strong opinion.
:)
YOU BET! Especially if you leave out the "just". (I think you do this just to get me on a hobby-horse again ;)).Quote:
Originally posted by slimdave
Can I get anyone to say "evolution is just a theory"?
It gets right up my nose to hear people say "it's just a theory" when they don't want to believe something. Theories are good.
Facts are facts; theories are theories; don't mix then up.
Theories are models of reality which explain facts, make predictions (and thus can be useful) and are disprovable (Ã* la Pepper). Relativity and Quantum-Electrodynamics are theories - very good ones, which make predictions that are verified to 10+ decimal places - but we already know that a theory of Quantum Gravity (when it comes along) will superceede them, as these two superceeded Newton's world view.
Evolution is a theory - it makes predictions (not very strong ones I would say) and is consequently disprovable.
Creationism does not seem to make disprovable predictions (I wait to be corrected on this) so is something less than a theory.
Two examples (I paraphrase from memory):
- Niels Bohr on hearing some proposition:
"It's bad. It's not even wrong!" (i.e. it wasn't testable).
- Roger Penrose on Fred Hoyle's steady-state Universe (as opposed to the big-bang):
"It was a very good theory, it explained facts and made predictions. It turned out to be wrong."
Of course when someone dismisses the Theory of Evolution with the phrase "it's just a theory", they display their own ignorance of the nature of a scientific theory, right?
Lesson One in these scientific text books ought to be on the nature of a scientific theory, and the difference between that and the common usage of the word to mean "guess" or "notion". That'd put these stickers into perspective.
SPOT ON!Quote:
Originally posted by slimdave
Of course when someone dismisses the Theory of Evolution with the phrase "it's just a theory", they display their own ignorance of the nature of a scientific theory, right?
At least I can spell STRONG developer boy!Quote:
Originally posted by gandolf989
He does have that, no facts to back it up, but he has storng opinions! :rolleyes: