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Author Topic:   Creationists to give away free copies of The Origin of Species
Izanagi
Member (Idle past 5217 days)
Posts: 263
Joined: 09-15-2009


Message 25 of 27 (528181)
10-05-2009 4:19 AM
Reply to: Message 24 by Parasomnium
10-05-2009 2:49 AM


The ironies of Life
I don't know, I have a little more faith in people. I like to think that people will surprise in very interesting ways.
For instance, many people who play MMOs, or even video games in general, often utilize the scientific method in order to achieve a desired result in a game. After all, many games these days are more than just shooting your way through a level. Many times, they require thought and precision. This is especially true of MMOs where a player cannot cheat and must abide by the rules set out in the game world the developers have created. Players will make observations, collect data, test hypothesis until they find a workable solution to overcome a problem, and they will enjoy doing it too because it is a problem to be overcome. Now imagine if educators could harness this potential - think about how many potential scientists are there right now on WOW.
I think humanity is on the verge of a scientific revolution. Just like most scientists don't accept "God did it" as an explanation, hardcore gamers don't subscribe to the idea of luck - they work to understand the rules of the game and use those rules to create statistics, make predictions and improve their strategies. As more and more people get into gaming, the number of people with an intuitive understanding of how science works will only increase. All it needs is a catalyst.
Perhaps that's why Creationists are handing out copies of Darwin's "The Origin of Species," they sense the growing threat and so are attempting to discredit it. But life is ironic, and in attempting to avoid their fate, they may serve only to hasten it.
Edited by Izanagi, : No reason given.

This message is a reply to:
 Message 24 by Parasomnium, posted 10-05-2009 2:49 AM Parasomnium has not replied

Replies to this message:
 Message 26 by anglagard, posted 10-05-2009 5:13 AM Izanagi has replied

  
Izanagi
Member (Idle past 5217 days)
Posts: 263
Joined: 09-15-2009


Message 27 of 27 (528194)
10-05-2009 6:06 AM
Reply to: Message 26 by anglagard
10-05-2009 5:13 AM


Re: The ironies of Life
At the risk of going off-topic, I would like to say that the current atmosphere does seem bleak. Creationists do seem to be gaining ground, at least politically, and they are working hard to spread their message.
I'll sometimes say it, but I don't really believe Americans are stupid. I think Americans are complacent right now. America has stood unchallenged and so the people have lost focus.
And perhaps creationists will be victorious and science education will be gutted with pseudo-science. But something will happen to hopefully change that.
That something will be the rise and dominance of India and China in the technology fields. Already China has begun to turn its eye towards Energy Technology(ET) in an effort to not only combat global warming and achieve greater energy independence, but to establish itself as the leader in ET in the hopes of exporting those technologies. This at a time when people in the US still debate as to whether or not global warming is a real problem. India has recently launched a probe to the moon which is a symbolic flexing of its technological muscle. After all, how many countries can say they've done that?
This will be the next challenge for the American people. India and China will most likely achieve technological dominance, and in fact the edge may go to China since China does not have to contend with religious dogma. But Americans will wake up and realize that their complacency and reliance on pseudo-science has come at a great cost. The scientists have left the country, the children are ignorant of even basic scientific theory, and America, once the leader in technological advance, is slowly lagging behind.
Cameron and his like can pass out Darwin's book. They can convince as many people as they want to believe what they're saying. They can argue for Biblical literalism and pseudo-science and succeed in introducing it into the Science classrooms. Their actions will have consequences. The day will come when the American star will wane and the people will have to make a choice - either to continue to follow a course that has led to the erosion of American technological prowess and accept the fact that from now on all new advances will be made in Indian and Chinese laboratories and new military technology will be in the hands of the Chinese and Indian governments, or throw off the shackles of ignorance and embrace science in a new enlightenment that will allow America to compete with the coming Indian and Chinese juggernauts. I believe Americans will make the right choice.

This message is a reply to:
 Message 26 by anglagard, posted 10-05-2009 5:13 AM anglagard has not replied

  
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