O O Ø O O O O
Devolution
Shall we start a pd.o sticker campaign?
By now, you must have heard of the sticker:
This textbook contains material on evolution. Evolution is a theory, not a fact, regarding the origin of living things. This material should be approached with an open mind, studied carefully, and critically considered.
This sticker is now being applied to science textbooks in Cobb County, Georgia. This sticker bugs the hell out of me, though not because of anything it says. It bugs the hell out of me because of what it implies.
This textbook contains material on gravity. Gravity is a theory, not a fact, regarding the way we stick to the ground. This material should be approached with an open mind, studied carefully, and critically considered.
Of course evolution is a theory. Science is all about theories. Theories explain the observable. Theories are our ever-changing models of the world around us. Evolution is a theory just like global warming is a theory. Gravitation is a theory just as electricity is a theory. Why don’t we cover every page of our textbooks with stickers disclaiming these theories? Why do we pick on evolution?
This textbook contains science. Science is the development of theories, not facts, regarding the way things work. This material should be approached with an open mind, studied carefully, and critically considered.
We all know the answer to that question. The attack on evolution is an attempt to salvage creationism. It is a clever attack, mind you, because at first glance, it appears to use the very tenets of science to defend its position. Of course we should think critically about the theory of evolution. That’s what science teaches us: to question. We question. We offer evidence. We experiment. We accept or reject theories based on their ability to explain experimental and observable results.
So what is wrong with this sticker? The very next sentence. The part that is not actually plastered to the book, but the one we hear whenever the sticker is mentioned: ... so we should teach our students alternative theories, like intelligent design.
Folks, there are no alternative theories, at least, none supported by any science I know of. Intelligent design is not a theory, it is a statement. Life is too complex to have been created by accident. The so-called-alternative theories that are presented tend to fall strictly into the supernatural camp. If you are going to use a scientific argument to defend your position, you are going to have to present an alternate—that is to say, scientific—theory. That, or you are going to need another sticker.
This book contains references to gods. The existence of gods and other supernatural beings is not supported by any reproducible scientific theory. This material should be approached with an open mind, studied carefully, and critically considered.
This sticker bugs me. It bugs me because, under the guise of scientific argument, it is actually rejection of science itself. You know what? Macroevolution is a good example of a theory that could use more critical thought, evidence, and experimentation (so is global warming, for that matter). The alternatives presented, however, are infinitely worse, lacking even the most basic of scientific underpinnings. We have a name for these types of theories: fiction.
This book is a work of fiction. Any resemblance to actual events or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
So maybe it is time we started putting warning stickers on books. I’ve already chosen my sticker. I’m just not too sure my friends in Cobb County would like the book I’ve chosen to start with.
Kjell Wooding
Tuesday, December 28, 2004
PD DCLXXXIV