If a child asked about basic addition and subtraction, you wouldn't present them with a 400 page proof. You wouldn't make them sit through an arguement between two mathematicians about calc vs trig and the implications of sine.
the mathematical proof that "1+1=2" is some 280 pages long. it's easier to accept it on faith, sure. but the proof is there, and if we don't point it out, the fundies will just stand up and shout "BUT HOW YOU DO YOU ACTUALLY KNOW THAT 1+1=2? ISN'T MATH JUST A RELIGION?!?!?!!~~~~ONE"
The question here:
Should we treat fundamentalists as though they've completely missed out on their education or should we treat them as though they were part way through their masters degree in bio-engineering?
there is no right answer.
case in point. once faith asked for a place she could look up things in the fossil record. she wanted every piece of information about every fossil ever found, regarding what kind of sediments and depth from the surface and geographic location.
i gave her a database of about 6% of that, and then had to walk her through basic biology and geology, along the lines of "what's a taxon?" and some examples of various taxa in the linnean heirarchy. then she became overwhelmed, and gave up. i think i even got a potm nomination for chewing her out over her double standard:
fundies want scores of technical scholarly articles and information one does not see until after grad school, and they want it ALL. but they want it all simplified so a 5 year old could understand it, and compressed so that they can read it one sitting.
i don't mean to be insulting to our fundamentalists here, but it is an issue. and we will never provide them with what they want, because what they want is not realistic, or possible.
™ Version 4.2