What's the best strategy for defending evolution?

quote:

---

We need a high school course whose description runs, "As you prepare to enter the real world, this course will teach you how to navigate the flim-flam that attempts to separate you from both your money and your reason."

---

I had a college course called "The Nature of Scientific Inquiry" which covered pseudoscience and logical fallacies.Zhimbo taught a winter term class in undergrad called "Science and Unreason".Since both of us have a long and abiding interest in such things, once we get settled somewhere, we plan on joining/starting a skeptic's group and hopefully getting such a topic going in the local schools.

quote:

---

I like these people no less for falling for these schemes, but despite how well I know them their experience provides me no insights as to why anyone could fall for them. It's a mystery.

---

I can't tell you how many times I've had the discussion about homeopathic remedies with people.I also remember working with an otherwise bright woman who believed that the phone psychic experiences she had were authentic. Soon after our conversation, the Psychic Friends Network went out of business. I asked my coworker why it was that PFN didn't forsee their financial troubles, and she became genuinely angry with me.Another coworker at the same place, another otherwise intelligent woman, adamantly insisted that one of the actors paying a "Munchkin" on The Wizard of Oz movie hanged himself on the set and that they were visible in the background in one of the shots.I was very skeptical, so I investigated on the internet and found out it was an urban myth. I went so far as to find, and show her, a frame-by-frame of the scene in question. She was also quite annoyed and angry to be shown to be mistaken. One would have thought that she would have been relieved that this poor actor hadn't killed himself.People are much more interested in feeling special than doubting that they are.People are much more attracted to drama and excitement than the mundane and explained.People would much rather feel right than actually go to the trouble of finding out if they are right.People like certainty much more than doubt, they like comfortable lies much more than uncomfortable truths.This message has been edited by schrafinator, 03-02-2006 09:39 AM

We need another Sagan.

You take what your doctor or lawyer says on faith?What about if they said that they needed to cut off your nose because you had a cold?

I know what you mean, but I am not sure that people like Sagan do such a great service to science either.
He popularized a lot of speculation on the existence of extraterrestrial life etc. that I think is a lot of mythology created by physicists speculating well outside their area of expertise.
Funny how physicists are always the ones to claim there is some other 'life out there' and it is left to the biologists (who actually study life) to be tally the vanishingly small probabilities.Perhaps what we need is a concerted media effort to publicize the contributions of outstanding scientists and portray them as heroes of intellect in society. Any scientists we selected at random would make better role models for youth than the goofy, over-paid, basketball stars that seem to get so much press. It is so ridiculous to hold these guys up as models to youth - only 1/10,000 has a chance for a career in pro sports. I bet a lot more than that have the brains to become a decent scientist of some sort - but of course we don't pay scientists as well as we play basketball players, do we? Our efforts should be targetted at elevating the enterprise of science once more in the arena of public opinion to the level it justly deserves. We have been reduced to a society where everyone benefits from science, but the average person takes scientists and their work for granted. It is seemingly becoming easier and easier for the less well educated to thumb their nose at any implications of science they don't feel comfortable with - like evolution. And it sure doesn't help when our pathetic president becomes part of the problem instead of part of the solution.To defend evolution effectively in our *society* (not just in a one-on-one debate) we must begin by rebuilding respect for science and scientists in general. We don't need to turn everyone into a scientist, but we need everone to appreciate the value and power of the scientific method. Because I agree with your comment in the other post: These were both points made in the New Scientist article I cited earlier in the thread and I think these both get to the crux of the EvC debate.
Creation tells people they are 'special' with categorical certainty - evolution tells us there is nothing really special about us except our intelligence. Uncertainty and chance are principle components of evolutionary theory - and are the aspects viewed with most contempt by religiously motivated objectors.
And relatedness to apes definitely qualifies as an 'uncomfortable truth' for biblical literalists....hope all is well at the deli...EZThis message has been edited by EZscience, 03-02-2006 09:39 AM

quote:

---

...hope all is well at the deli...

---

Me too.I live in New England as of 2 weeks ago.I had to say goodbye to the Deli.

quote:

---

And relatedness to apes definitely qualifies as an 'uncomfortable truth' for biblical literalists.

---

I wonder at that.I mean, apes are so cool.

Yeah, I guess we should be thankful our closest relatives aren't starfish or worthogs.

Hey, welcome neighbor! A university town, I expect?--Percy

Hanover.Omniverous and I were chatting the other night and we both expressed interest in a EvC New England picnic this summer.Interested?

My son used to attend a tennis camp in Hanover - they used Dartmouth university facilities. More like terrified!Perhaps this could be the first of an annual event. We could have some contests and hand out awards.--Percy

I'm in!! It'll be a bit of drive, but... (Notice how I just invited myself...I'm good at that..sorry).

It was Schraf's suggestion, but I'm going to assume the "New England" portion of "EvC New England Picnic refers" to the location and not to any residence requirement. If enough non-New Englanders attend we could perhaps arrange Boston tours, maybe even a duck tour!--Percy

Oh my, EVERY EvC-er who cares to come is invited, for heaven's sake.It's just that, I think, quite a few of us live in New England.Well, Percy, if you're too scared, then me Zhimbo and Omni and Flies will just have a picnic without you and we can speculate on if you are the wierd guy who keeps driving by, really slowly, holding up his copies of Origin of Species and the KJV of the Bible.

Schraf, Some of us still live in the old one... Bah humbug! Mark

---

There are 10 kinds of people in this world; those that understand binary, & those that don't