A message to Kansas
If you take evolution out of the schools, then you can no longer teach biology, botany or zoology. If you succeed in getting evolution out of the schools, then next is the crazy notion that the universe is only thousands rather than billions of years old. You then can't teach geology, or chemistry, or astronomy or physics. That speed of light thing is right out, for that measures the distance and age of the stars. No volcanoes, no dinosaurs, no astronauts. And when you stop teaching science will you stop teaching math? And when you stop teaching math, will you only teach words that appear in the bible? Will you stop teaching English?
We will all end up being a bunch of illiterates, the equivalent of cave men, and then we'll have to start evolution all over again.
If you believe in the bible as God's word even though men wrote, edited, translated and interpreted it, then why don't you believe the actual word of God, which is written in every tree, every cloud, every star, every rock, every atom, every quark, every wondrous thing in evidence in front of you?
How to Help Science after the jump:
Message to Kansas, background and some thoughts on how to help science:
A message to Kansas
If you take evolution out of the schools, then you can no longer teach biology, botany or zoology. If you succeed in getting evolution out of the schools, then next is the crazy notion that the universe is only thousands rather than billions of years old. You then can't teach geology, or chemistry, or astronomy or physics. That speed of light thing is right out, for that measures the distance and age of the stars. No volcanoes, no dinosaurs, no astronauts. And when you stop teaching science will you stop teaching math? And when you stop teaching math, will you only teach words that appear in the bible? Will you stop teaching English?
We will all end up being a bunch of illiterates, the equivalent of cave men, and then we'll have to start evolution all over again.
If you believe in the bible as God's word even though men wrote, edited, translated and interpreted it, then why don't you believe the actual word of God, which is written in every tree, every cloud, every star, every rock, every atom, every quark, every wondrous thing in evidence in front of you?
Background on Kansas evolution bullshit:
"They are trying to make science stand for atheism."
http://tinyurl.com/7elbr Kansas Begins Hearings on Diluting Teaching of Evolution
This is an article about how kids are being armed with
arguments to challenge their teachers on evolution.
http://www.csmonitor.com/2005/0503/p01s04-legn.html
Here's the simple framing from an intelligent design advocate: "It appoints a teacher to be a referee among ideas. Nobody would tolerate a football game where the referee was obviously biased." http://www.livescience.com/othernews/ap_050505_kansas_evolution.html
"The hearings in Topeka, scheduled to last several days, are focusing on two proposals. The first recommends that students continue to be taught the theory of evolution because it is key to understanding biology. The other proposes that Kansas alter the definition of science, not limiting it to theories based on natural explanations." http://tinyurl.com/dqtue
I think science needs our help. We need some bright shiny branding and some kick ass framing.
I think there must be a fight for the sanctity of science especially in the classroom. But more important, we must stop the drift of complacency about science. People either reject it out of fear or take it for granted and don't know it is under attack.
I want to breathe new life into it. I want to brand it as sexy/cool - I want to show that it's amazing, astonishing, awe-inspiring, exciting, hair-raising, heart-stirring, impressive, magnificent, moving, overwhelming, spine-tingling, stunning, thrilling and awesome.
Similar to the policy wonk language in politics that is killing our message, we need to convince science advocates to start talking less wonky too. I think that science has to have some savvy champions that aren't all geeked out.
Can we do for the science community what Lakoff did to wake up the political community? Perhaps a plea to the scientific community to start thinking about branding and framing before it's too late. All we need now, is someone to start a think tank, write a best seller that sets the scientific community on fire and starts a grassroots revolution. How hard can that be?