mock_the_stupid. There was a post about creationism. A creationist had written to the local newspaper saying that the theory of evolution only has "observations and experimental data" as evidence. But duh - that's what 'evidence' means. The creationism thing is a red herring: it was the internal logic of the sentence that was being mocked.What amazed me was the flurry of debate this short post has provoked. The post currently has received 194 comments (Increased to 195 as I type this sentence). Many of these post attack those who believe in evolution.
I don't care about the fundamentalists who have commented. I know that a large minority of the population of the US, and a few people in other countries, think Genesis is a factual account. It grieves me, but I'm not surprised.
No. The people who are driving me up the wall are the folks who think they are all reasonable and even-handed, and say things like 'Neither can be proven or disproven' and 'Both sides of this coin are flawed' and 'Having ideas or beliefs about evolution isn't necessarily bad. It's great for people who prefer science.' and so on.
No, no, no. This is not a lifestyle choice. There is not right on both sides. We do have evidence. It's not true to say both are 'just theories' and we have to 'decide what is right for us'. There isn't 'something to be said for both points of view'. Get a grip.
Are we going to see evolution banned from US schools again? A lot of these commentators think it should be downgraded, or offered just as one of a range of 'alternatives'.