Battling Ignorance of Evolution
It is clear that the Science Education system needs help.
The number of people who radically misunderstand Evolution is large, growing, and dangerous.
We can't just blame it on dumb people.
We don't do a good enough job with education.
When I was in 10th grade, the first day, I sat down in science class and was told by the teacher "The state requires that I teach Evolution, and I will. But I don't believe in it. The odds against life beginning would be a 1 and a number of zeros that would fill and a whole shelf of books this size." And he referred to a set of encyclopedias behind his desk.
I left that school shortly thereafter and started at community college. There were a lot of reasons, this was one. The lack of integrity of that school, the Pledge of Allegiance, the fact that there were 6 advisors for 2500 students, frequent illness (I'm pretty sure it was chemical sensitivity) and just a general sense that I could learn more in an hour in the library than I could learn in a week of classes.
One or two years later "Another Brick in the Wall" came out.
Anyway, I digress... My point is:
We who care about science and progress need to develop great educational tools that show tangibly:
a) How evolution works
b) How scientists reached that conclusion historically and observationally... what was the experience that created the theory, followed by the certainty.
c) How the fossil record has developed
d) How epidemiology works... This shows students in observable time-frames how evolution works: put bugs in a dish and let them grow, apply antibiotics until most die, let them bloom again, apply antibiotics again... until the pattern of resistance emerges.
e) Have professional scientists (particularly medical scientists) to guest presentations to show how evolutionary theory allows much of medical science to function.
f) One of the great stories (that also directly contradicts Intelligent Design) is the development of the Eye. Real examples of multiple evolutions of the eye would be a great tangible example.
g) Again, specifically contradicting ID advocates, show the fossil record of whale development, and compare the stages to currently active comparable species (otters, walruses, sea cows, etc.)
h) Use photos, videos, where possible casts of real fossils, real animals, interactive computer models.
i) Demonstrate cellular automata on the computer. Show how evolution applies even to data.
This needs to start soon. It should be funded by the NSF, and if they won't do it, by donations.
The number of people who radically misunderstand Evolution is large, growing, and dangerous.
We can't just blame it on dumb people.
We don't do a good enough job with education.
When I was in 10th grade, the first day, I sat down in science class and was told by the teacher "The state requires that I teach Evolution, and I will. But I don't believe in it. The odds against life beginning would be a 1 and a number of zeros that would fill and a whole shelf of books this size." And he referred to a set of encyclopedias behind his desk.
I left that school shortly thereafter and started at community college. There were a lot of reasons, this was one. The lack of integrity of that school, the Pledge of Allegiance, the fact that there were 6 advisors for 2500 students, frequent illness (I'm pretty sure it was chemical sensitivity) and just a general sense that I could learn more in an hour in the library than I could learn in a week of classes.
One or two years later "Another Brick in the Wall" came out.
Anyway, I digress... My point is:
We who care about science and progress need to develop great educational tools that show tangibly:
a) How evolution works
b) How scientists reached that conclusion historically and observationally... what was the experience that created the theory, followed by the certainty.
c) How the fossil record has developed
d) How epidemiology works... This shows students in observable time-frames how evolution works: put bugs in a dish and let them grow, apply antibiotics until most die, let them bloom again, apply antibiotics again... until the pattern of resistance emerges.
e) Have professional scientists (particularly medical scientists) to guest presentations to show how evolutionary theory allows much of medical science to function.
f) One of the great stories (that also directly contradicts Intelligent Design) is the development of the Eye. Real examples of multiple evolutions of the eye would be a great tangible example.
g) Again, specifically contradicting ID advocates, show the fossil record of whale development, and compare the stages to currently active comparable species (otters, walruses, sea cows, etc.)
h) Use photos, videos, where possible casts of real fossils, real animals, interactive computer models.
i) Demonstrate cellular automata on the computer. Show how evolution applies even to data.
This needs to start soon. It should be funded by the NSF, and if they won't do it, by donations.
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