Dissecting the Evolutionist Approach to Explanation and Persuation

An interesting thread Percy.

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Does everyone really believe we're doing the best that can be done? Or is there something we can learn?

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Maybe the best that can be done is not being done. But there is a different problem and I don't think Faith is a good example in this case. Faith belongs to the creationist group like Fred Williams, Salty Davidson, Peter Borger etc. who are just not possible to reach using a rational approach or any kind of evidence. As rgb indicated, short of a major event in her life that changes her perspective, she will be comfortable believing whatever she wants. Being ignorant of the natural world is no impediment to survival or most animals including humans would not exist.The more troubling case would be someone who may not be particularly well versed in science but is interested and is not dogmatic in their beliefs. An effort should be made to accomodate them. For the most part I think this site does that well. Those who ask questions usually get quick responses. This thread suggests that you think such people are not being accomodated.

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If our only solution is a science education then evolution will probably always be viewed skeptically by the general public.

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The general public in the US is pathetically ignorant about all sciences, not just evolution. At least compared to Europeans. It is not surprising that most US science is dominated by foreigners. One does not need a PhD to understand science in detail but the almost complete lack of interest, television and radio programming, and pre-college classes is a major impediment that scientists cannot overcome alone. Most scientists are demonized in popular culture..watch any science themed film and they are usually the dorks who are responsible for killing everyone in the film.The general public has to have enough of an interest to investigate a subject themselves. 99.99% of the creationists that are posting or have posted here have not read any of Darwin's works, have no basic understanding of biology whether molecular or not, and no background in scientific methodology, philosophy, or history. Complete unfamiliarity with a subject coupled with the arrogance to claim that science is wrong (or worse) leaves almost no common ground to work from for scientists or those well versed in scientific subjects. Someone ignorant can increase their knowledge..someone well versed cannot decrease their knowledge (short of major head trauma) down to the creationist level. It is clear which side needs to move towards the other.Winning over the general public is perhaps unachievable. Perhaps the best one can do is to help inform the curious, and fight the atrocious lies of the creationists. The general public may remain skeptical (or more likely oblivious) but perhaps scientists can increase the size of the minority who actually understand and appreciate science. I think that is a worthy goal.

I actually mean something different in terms of educational programming. You are right that there are some science "themed" shows on tv that at the very least make an effort to explain the science a bit. And at least do not portray scientists in such a negative fashion.However, in Germany, there are several shows on competing channels that have interviews with scientists on actual subjects of current interest. There are dozens of shows on natural history which go into a great deal of detail. There is a childrens television program that explains how things work (from building an airplane to how sausage is made in a large scale production plant). The shows are not dumbed down at all. There is a popular show called Clever where celebrities are quizzed on science subjects and they do live experiments (usually having to do with physics). The popular press always has huge amounts of science news. The science of bird flu is constantly in the news here. People are simply interested. You would have a better chance of having a good scientific conversation in Germany with an auto mechanic than you would with an American college student... this is a travesty. It is also preventable.Perhaps what is needed is an entire discipline of scientists who choose to disseminate science to the general public. I don't mean journals like Scientific American or what not. But blogs, journals, television shows all dedicated to each field of research. People who distill the research down to an accessible level and then open it up to the public. Almost all businesses have such media machines. A research scientist cannot do this because it is more than a full time job to do research and to convince a much more important audience that their data supports their hypothesis...other scientists.