Meanwhile Over in Texas...

The Dallas Morning reports that there is a peculiar aspect of the School Board race going on in District 11 between Barney Maddox and Pat Hardy:

If Dr. Maddox, a Cleburne urologist, succeeds in unseating Ms. Hardy, a Weatherford educator, the whole political balance of the state board could shift. And that's when God shows up in the science books. Dr. Maddox is on record as referring to the theory of evolution as "a myth" and "a fairy tale."

That will come as news to the vast majority of scientists, who tend to use words like "foundational principle" and "overwhelming evidence" when discussing evolution. Nevertheless, seven members of the 15-member State Board of Education have sought to muddy the water by introducing creationism into science classrooms in Texas. A victory by Dr. Maddox would give them a majority.

It seems that Mr. Maddox' general education may be no better than his education in evolution:

"...The campaign flier says: "Barney Maddox believes social studies textbooks should devote more space to American presidents than Marilyn Monroe and that the vicious attack of 9-11 should be portrayed as an aggressive act by terrorists, not an American conspiracy."

Ms. Hardy said she's floored by something so preposterous. She said she doesn't know of a single textbook giving Marilyn Monroe more play than the presidents or even hinting that the 9-11 attacks were an American conspiracy.

Give the newspaper kudos for pointing out that Ms. Hardy is a "rock-solid Republican and dyed-in-the-wool Southern Baptist who firmly believes God is behind all of creation." We need more people like her and fewer like Mr. Maddox.

The Florida Debate as an Example of the "Wedge Strategy"

Tony Plakas of the SunSentinel argues that the debate over the science standards in Florida is a perfect example of how the Discovery Institute has used the Wedge Strategy to gain access to the public schools. He writes:

Ironically, members of the public who fought to keep the standards as presented, without the wedge, met a disciplined opposition who employed a scientific method. In fact, as noted by one speaker, it was proponents of evolution, so moved to message against the motivations of their detractors, who instigated a deity debate. In a masterful display of political prowess, evolution opposition gained ground promoting only academic freedom, cognitive inquiry, the scientific process, and of all things, choice!

You gotta hand it to 'em. They played the game well.

Toumai is 7 Million Years Old

The Toumai fossil, otherwise known as Sahelanthropus tchadensis, has been verified as being between 6.8 and 7.2 million years old. The other argument that is raging is whether or not Toumai really is a hominid. The story notes:

"The radiochronological data concerning Sahelanthropus tchadensis ... is an important cornerstone both for establishing the earliest stages of hominid evolution and for new calibrations of the molecular clock," [Michel] Brunet wrote in a study which will appear in the March 4 edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

If Toumai really is that old, it pushes the split date for humans and chimpanzees back to at least 8 mya and implies that it happened pretty fast, in evolutionary terms.

AIG asks "Are We Anti-Science?"

The website Answers in Genesis asks the question "Are we anti-science?" Peter Galling, of AIG, writes:

Much of the problem stems from the different starting points of biblical creationists and Darwinists. Everyone, scientist or not, must start their quests for knowledge with some unprovable axiom—some a priori belief on which they sort through experience and deduce other truths. This starting point, whatever it is, can only be accepted by faith; eventually, in each belief system, there must be some unprovable, presupposed foundation for reasoning (since an infinite regression is impossible).

Uh, wait just a minute. I was fine until he said that the starting point can only be accepted by faith. I do not have faith in the universe around me. I observe the universe around me. Scientists observe the universe around them and formulate hypotheses and theories explaining how that universe works. Such a position does not require faith in anything. It simply requires the understanding that the processes that go on around us operated in the past the same way they operate now. If they did not operate that way, evidence would have been left to that effect. Lets go on.

On the other hand, examine the origins science of Charles Darwin (and others like him). Darwin made observations, yes; he then borrowed the already-existing idea of natural selection and mixed it with a view he assumed was true (based on his rejection of the Bible): uniformitarianism. Thus, by combining observations, scientific ideas, and anti-God philosophy, Darwin published a speculation on how all of life could have descended from a common ancestor.

Darwin's use of uniformitarianism was not in response to rejecting the Bible (which he did not do). Furthermore, his understanding of deep time as well as uniformitarianism is what led him to establish his idea of natural selection. Additionally, how did uniformitarianism become anti-God? Mr. Galling does not say. To label a theoretical perspective of science anti-God is deeply troubling.

Thus, Answers in Genesis argues that evolutionary ideas are origins science, not operational science; evolution is, itself, a religious worldview, just as creation is part of a religious worldview, which affects how scientists do origins science. It is impossible to escape the presuppositions that give rise to one’s theory on origins. Those who portray evolutionism as solid science (contrasting it with [construed as blind] “faith” in creationism) ignore the fact that scientific data must be interpreted through a worldview.

How did origins science, which is based on predictions about what will be found in the historical record become a religious worldview??? By this definition, much of geology, astrophysics, astronomy, archaeology and palaeontology operates in a religious worldview. In fact, by this definition, crime scene investigation is a religious worldview, because it assumes that the gun used to kill the victim operated the same in the past as it does now.

This article betrays a serious misunderstanding of science. To the question "Are we anti-science," the answer must be "No." You can't be anti-science when you don't understand science in the first place.

"Expelled" Being Agressively Marketed

Variety has an article on the marketing of the film Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed detailing the efforts of all involved:

Producers of the $3.5 million film, which has been enthusiastically backed by anti-evolution think tank the Discovery Institute, have harnessed some big guns to get the film's message out. They've hired Motive Entertainment, the marketing brains behind "The Passion of the Christ" and "The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch & the Wardrobe," to spread the intelligent design gospel and tapped powerhouse PR firm Rogers & Cowan to handle the film's media campaign.

I will try to see the film, if nothing else, to see if the criticisms of the implied Darwinism=Nazism link are warranted.

Serious Global Warming

A report on Foxnews states that the end of the earth has been predicted:

The sun will slowly expand into a red giant, pushing the Earth farther out into space, but not far enough. Our home planet will be snagged by the sun's outer atmosphere, gradually plunging to its doom inside the fiery stellar furnace.

"The drag caused by this low-density gas is enough to cause the Earth to drift inwards, and finally to be captured and vaporized by the sun," explains astronomer Robert Smith of the University of Sussex in southern England.

It turns out that we only have around a billion years of life left, which is sobering when you think that life on the earth has been around for 3.6 billion years. That fact alone seems to have built in a bit of immediacy to the whole picture. In fact, the process might be slowed down:

[Smith] cites a recent study emanating from the University of California, Santa Cruz. It proposes taming an asteroid to swing by the Earth every few thousand years, slowly nudging the Earth into higher solar orbit, enough to outpace the sun's own outward growth.

Or we could just get on the stick and figure out a way of getting out there. Colonizing Mars clearly won't work in the long run.

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Redesigning "Design"

Kenneth Miller, speaking in front of the AAAS, argues that there is design in nature, just not the way ID folks would have you believe. The story notes:

He points out that structural and molecular biologists routinely speak of the design of proteins, signaling pathways, and cellular structures. He also notes that the human body bears the hallmarks of design, from the ball sockets that allows hips and shoulders to rotate to the “s” curve of the spine that allows for upright walking. “There is, indeed, a design to life – an evolutionary design,” Miller said. “The structures in our bodies have changed over time, as have its functions. Scientists should embrace this concept of ‘design,’ and in so doing, claim for science the sense of orderly rationality in nature to which the anti-evolution movement has long appealed.”

My guess is that he is going to get slings and arrows for this position but he argues this in Finding Darwin's God and is somewhat convincing. One cannot shake the lingering thought, however, that he is letting ID in the back door.

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I have just signed up for AdSense. If this becomes bothersome, I will remove it but I am more than a bit curious to see what they link with my blog.

Michael Behe Ruminates on Charles Darwin's Birthday

The Morning Call has a piece profiling Lehigh biochemist Michael Behe's reaction to Charles Darwin's birthday and Darwin Day at Lehigh. Behe is famously known for his book Darwin's Black Box and for his testimony at the Dover trial in 2005. He is critical of evolutionary theory. As the story notes:

That puts him at odds with the rest of Lehigh's biochemistry department, which states on its Web site that Behe's views have ''no basis in science,'' while Darwin's theory of evolution is backed up by ''findings accumulated over 140 years.''

With regard to the theory's longevity, Behe had, perhaps, the best comeback of the day:

''This party is like a group of scientists [around 1905] having a birthday party for Newton because they want people to think that they're not associated with this new guy Einstein."

I don't think he is correct, but is still a nifty one-liner.

Exalting Stupidity

Susan Jacoby, writing for the International Herald Tribune, addresses why Americans have an almost inherent dislike for intellectualism. Although there has always been a distrust of academics, the article notes:

But now, Jacoby said, something different is happening: anti-intellectualism (the attitude that "too much learning can be a dangerous thing") and anti-rationalism ("the idea that there is no such things as evidence or fact, just opinion") have fused in a particularly insidious way.

Not only are citizens ignorant about essential scientific, civic and cultural knowledge, she said, but they also don't think it matters.

She pointed to a 2006 National Geographic poll that found nearly half of 18- to 24-year-olds don't think it is necessary or important to know where countries in the news are located. So more than three years into the Iraq war, only 23 percent of those with some college could locate Iraq, Iran, Saudi Arabia and Israel on a map.

As she notes, this cuts across ideological, political and religious lines and is certainly a factor in the whole creation/evolution mess. Not good.

The Florida Fight Rages On.

Tampa Bay Online is reporting that both sides of the evolution debate are gearing up for war. Supporters of the evolution standards are annoyed that "scientific theory of" was added to the standards and opponents are annoyed that the "Academic Freedom" revision was not included. It used this language:

"Evolution is a fundamental concept underlying all of biology and is supported by multiple forms of scientific evidence and teachers should be permitted to engage students in a critical analysis of that evidence."

This does not strike me as being a problem, since if students really did engage in such analysis, they would find out how rock-solid the theory is. But among all of the sabre-rattling comes this ray of sunshine:

Although many opponents insisted otherwise, the Rev. Brant Copeland, a Presbyterian pastor from Tallahassee, suggested that the debate remains one between science and religious interpretation.

Copeland urged the board to adopt the standard as written by the experts.

"Children should learn science in science class, not religion in science class," Copeland said. "As a Christian, I am not threatened by what science can tell us about God's marvelous and ever-changing creation."

Stay tuned.

Journalists and Science

Scholars & Rogues takes on the journalism world and finds it wanting. They relate the following from Reuters:

The Reuters headline writer says “Florida will teach evolution, but only as a theory” (emphasis mine). Clearly, the headline writer also has no idea what a theory is. Michael Peltier, the writer, has this to say:

The panel includes the word “evolution” in state science standards for the first time, but it is relegated to a place among a host of ideas, including Albert Einstein’s theory of relativity. By contrast Isaac Newton’s law of gravity is taught as undisputed fact.

“Relegated” to a place including the Theory of Relativity???!!! That’s like a musician’s being relegated to Carnegie Hall, or an actor’s relegation to the Royal Shakespeare Company! I can only hope I’m so relegated one day. As for “Newton’s law of gravity” being taught as “undisputed fact,” I would say that is true only in bad classrooms. Science has no undisputed facts. There are simply things that are so probable that they are treated as facts, and if they are undisputed at this time, then it is because no one has produced credible evidence to reduce their probabilities.

When are publishers and/or editors going to insist that their writers have at least rudimentary knowledge of science? Math? Anything at all?

It is not surprising to find that journalists have the same understanding of science as the the general public. I teach this in my Anthropology 110 course and, despite (presumably) reading the textbook, students still miss the question on what a theory is.

"An Evolutionary Dead End"

Florida Today columnist John Glisch writes a somewhat dour editorial on the potential impact of the Board of Education vote. The column came out pre-vote but still should be read. He writes:

You don't need a Ph.D. to see excellence in science education is a must and phony attempts to get religion in the science class door would be crippling. That's especially true in Florida, which in 2005 earned an "F" for its inadequate teaching of evolution from the Thomas A. Fordham Foundation that studies education reform.

He is absolutely correct.

Someone at the St. Petersburg Times Seems to Know

This opinion piece from the St. Petersburg Times has this little nugget.

The board's compromise adds the term "scientific theory" not just to evolution but to other areas of science, including the theories of atoms, cells and electromagnetism. This was done for one purpose: to allow the confusion over the term "theory" to cloud the legitimacy of evolution as the only accepted scientific explanation for life's origins. The scientific theory of plate tectonics doesn't inspire the same religiously grounded backlash.

Scientific theory is not a guess or a mere hypothesis. It is a framework that explains observable facts. In biology, evolution is the unifying theory that continues to be reinforced and verified by ever more sophisticated research. There is no credible alternative scientific theory. Other options, such as intelligent design or creationism, are a matter of personal beliefs or religious teachings. They could be discussed in an appropriate educational setting, but they do not belong in a science curriculum.

Yay!

Florida Approves Science Standards

The Florida Board of Education approved the standards teaching evolution in schools. Mark Caputo of the Miami Herald writes:

For the first time ever, evolution is to be taught clearly and explicitly in Florida classrooms now that the state Board of Education approved a batch of new science standards Tuesday that mention the ''E'' word. But there's a catch: The subject will be taught as ``the scientific theory of evolution.''

Doesn't ANYONE down there know what the word "theory" means? From Wordnet.com, here we go:

theory (a well-substantiated explanation of some aspect of the natural world; an organized system of accepted knowledge that applies in a variety of circumstances to explain a specific set of phenomena) "theories can incorporate facts and laws and tested hypotheses"; "true in fact and theory"

At this point, Florida needs to figure out how to move forward.

The Frog From Hell!

A fossilized frog has been found in Madagascar. The story, from the BBC, states:

The creature would have been the size of a "squashed beach ball" and weighed about 4kg (9lb), the researchers said. They added that the fossil, nicknamed Beelzebufo or "frog from hell", was "strikingly different" from present-day frogs found on the island nation.

The researchers are puzzled as to how it got where it did but it is suggested that a land bridge at Antarctica (which was warmer than now) would have provided the conduit. Here is the image of what the frog probably looked like from National Geographic and how it compares to a modern frog.


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Florida Votes Today

In advance of the Florida School Board vote on textbooks, the News Press has a rundown of opinions of average Floridians. They are all over the map, although eventually, people are going to have to figure out what the word "theory" means.

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The Ancestor to the T-Rex is Found

Two dinosaur fossils have been unearthed in the Sahara which may have given rise to the carnivores that included Tyrannosaurus Rex:

The fossilised bones of the two dinosaurs were excavated during an expedition in 2000 but it is only now that scientists have been able to identify and name them as a newly discovered pair of carnivorous species that lived 110 million years ago.

The story also notes:

Until now little has been known about the early evolution of these two major groups of predatory dinosaur that dominated the southern continents. The latest discoveries reveal that Kryptops, Eocarcharia and another dinosaur – Suchomimus, a large, fish-eating dinosaur that walked on two legs – all lived together and would have made a fearsome troika for any plant-eater to face, Mr [Steve] Brusatte said.

Another piece of the puzzle uncovered.

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Cooking = Love?

Twincities.com is reporting a talk by anthropologist Greg Laden in which he will argue that cooking kept early humans together, rather than affection, companionship or hunting. This is the thrust of the argument:

"The earliest human ancestors, some kind of chimp-like apes, were living off raw plant foods and probably doing a bit of hunting like chimpanzees do now.

And then, somebody discovers the ability to control fire. Everybody argues about when this happened. We're saying it happened about 2 million years ago. Suddenly, all this food that was previously poisonous or indigestible becomes edible. We're talking about grass seeds, like wheat. And tubers. The amount of energy available to these early human ancestors goes up a huge amount. So, they get bigger. At the same time, their jaws get smaller, which is supported by the fossil record."

So where does the love come in?

Chimpanzee males are way bigger than female chimpanzees. But among early humans, males and females are roughly the same size. And we know that when males and females are roughly the same size, it's a sign of pair bonds, lifelong pair bonds. Male elephant seals are triple the size of females. Male gorillas are also much larger than females, and these animals are all polygamous. But male and female gibbons, for example, are the same size and have pair bondings. So, monogamy and same-sized males and females are linked throughout mammal species.

The same size? Not from what everybody else's research shows. Homo habilis and australopithecines were remarkably dimorphic. The dimorphism starts to even out with late Homo erectus, but not before. Time to run down some of the articles.

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We Demand to be Ignorant!

Carl Hiaasen of the Miami Herald has written a witty, tongue-in-cheek editorial about the Board of Education crisis in science education. He writes:

But forget the fossil record, OK? Forget DNA tracing. Forget the exhaustively documented diversification of species.

This battle is about pride and independence; about boldly going against the flow, in defiance of reason and all known facts.

In recent weeks, the Board of Education has been swamped by e-mails and letters from religious conservatives who advocate teaching creationism or intelligent design, and who believe evolution should be discussed strictly as a ``theory.''

For those who wish to see Florida standing still, if not sinking, this is a fantastic strategy. In fact, it could be expanded to revise other educational doctrines.

Let's start teaching gravity as a ''theory,'' too. And don't forget the solar system -- what proof do we really have, besides a bunch of fuzzy, fake-looking photos, that Mars really exists?

And a bit further:

If snubbing is to be done, Florida should be the snubber, not the snubee. Keep your elite biotech payrolls up North and out West -- we've got hundreds of thousands of low-paying, go-nowhere jobs that require little training and minimal education.

As Glenn Reynolds would say, "ouch."