Latest creationist idiots

Spyder · Post by **Spyder** » 2002-09-03 11:18pm

Any chance of getting a script set up ot forward email directly to these forums for public response and mocking?

Darth Yoshi · Post by **Darth Yoshi** » 2002-09-04 12:23am

Creationists like those are simply cowards. They won't accept evolution, but they're too afraid to accept "proper" creationism.

Post by **Lagmonster** » 2002-09-04 09:24am

Darth Yoshi wrote:Creationists like those are simply cowards. They won't accept evolution, but they're too afraid to accept "proper" creationism.

Eh. A lot of people are happier with fence-sitting opinions. It may make them seem like cowards, but a lot of them honestly *don't have* an opinion one way or the other, and so fence-sit as an alternative to seemingly side with one camp or the other.

I know one fellow, very smart, very well off, who wouldn't even look at you in a religious argument. He didn't share his opinions on things that he didn't know anything about, and he didn't care enough to learn about them so he could make an informed opinion, because he had observed that at his age (he's 72 now), whoever's right, it wouldn't change his life in the least.

Zoink · Post by **Zoink** » 2002-09-04 10:04am

This is from Scientific American's skeptics column, September issue. I was dissappointed that they didn't mention religion and creationism. I'd be interested in seeing the numbers for that:

National Science Foundation's biennial report (April 2002) on the state of science understanding: 30 percent of adult Americans believe that UFOs are space vehicles from other civilizations; 60 percent believe in ESP; 40 percent think that astrology is scientific; 32 percent believe in lucky numbers; 70 percent accept magnetic therapy as scientific; and 88 percent accept alternative medicine.

Education by itself is no paranormal prophylactic. Although belief in ESP decreased from 65 percent among high school graduates to 60 percent among college graduates, and belief in magnetic therapy dropped from 71 percent among high school graduates to 55 percent among college graduates, that still leaves more than half fully endorsing such claims! And for embracing alternative medicine, the percentages actually increase, from 89 percent for high school grads to 92 percent for college grads.

.....

"Students that scored well on these [science knowledge] tests were no more or less skeptical of pseudoscientific claims than students that scored very poorly. Apparently, the students were not able to apply their scientific knowledge to evaluate these pseudoscientific claims. We suggest that this inability stems in part from the way that science is traditionally presented to students: Students are taught what to think but not how to think."

To attenuate these paranormal belief statistics, we need to teach that science is not a database of unconnected factoids but a set of methods designed to describe and interpret phenomena, past or present, aimed at building a testable body of knowledge open to rejection or confirmation.

For those lacking a fundamental comprehension of how science works, the siren song of pseudoscience becomes too alluring to resist, no matter how smart you are.

CorSec · Post by **CorSec** » 2002-09-04 12:07pm

Students are taught what to think but not how to think.

That about sums it all up. I can attest to the fact that I was just given information to memorize. It was up to me to figure out how to apply it. I've only recently begun to do just that. (Graduated HS '90)

Tsyroc · Post by **Tsyroc** » 2002-09-04 02:30pm

Lagmonster wrote:
Darth Yoshi wrote:Creationists like those are simply cowards. They won't accept evolution, but they're too afraid to accept "proper" creationism.
Eh. A lot of people are happier with fence-sitting opinions. It may make them seem like cowards, but a lot of them honestly *don't have* an opinion one way or the other, and so fence-sit as an alternative to seemingly side with one camp or the other.

I know one fellow, very smart, very well off, who wouldn't even look at you in a religious argument. He didn't share his opinions on things that he didn't know anything about, and he didn't care enough to learn about them so he could make an informed opinion, because he had observed that at his age (he's 72 now), whoever's right, it wouldn't change his life in the least.

It can be very exhausting and agravating to argue with people about religion. You always have to provide more evidence and more sources than they do and then they still don't pull their heads out of their asses. Most times it is just easier to ignore them when they try to bring it up. Hopefully they'll leave you alone then.

Most of the people that I know who try to bring up religion are people I work with. This is worse in a way because it is usually brought up when they have little to do and I have a lot I should be doing.