Home | Writings | Resume | Links | RSS Feed
A Proud Member of the Reality-Based Community
About Me :
I'm a grownup nerd living in the Boston burbs. I write computer programs for a living and plays for fun.
I'm married to a wonderful woman, and we share a nice little house with our daughter and our cats.
I'm a humanist, a technologist, an artist, and an idealist. I believe in reason, freedom, love, equality,
and democracy. (Did I mention that I'm
an idealist? I did, OK.)
I'm also a pragmatist and an empiricist. I reject ideology and dogma, especially when they conflict with
practical facts (i.e., pretty much always). I particularly hate willful ignorance, which tends to go hand-in-hand
with ideology and dogma.
Like the alignment of the planets, this blog gets updated as I have the time, inspiration, and inclination to do so.
Like the alignment of the planets, this blog gets updated as I have the time, inspiration, and inclination to do so.
Monday, January 10, 2005
Just Theories
You may have heard of the recent flap in Georgia over biology textbooks and the insistence of the school board on placing stickers on the books, declaring that Evolution is "a theory, not a fact."
It's an indication of how deeply dishonest this line of argument is that it explicitly relies on the reader NOT to understand the difference between colloquial use of the word "theory" ("n:An assumption based on limited information or knowledge; a conjecture") and its use in science ("n:A set of statements or principles devised to explain a group of facts or phenomena, especially one that has been repeatedly tested or is widely accepted and can be used to make predictions about natural phenomena."). The only people who advance a dishonest argument are people who can't win with an honest argument. So I guess it's just petulant of me to point out that Evolution is a theory AND a fact.
Instead, in the spirit of helping out school boards everywhere, I would like to propose that we should add warning stickers to a whole bunch of things we teach schoolkids. Herewith, some suggested sticker language:
(Late update, 13-Jan-2005: It appears that the stickers will have to be removed. Score one for the Constitution, reason, and common sense. Savor the moment -- it won't last long.)
0 comments
You may have heard of the recent flap in Georgia over biology textbooks and the insistence of the school board on placing stickers on the books, declaring that Evolution is "a theory, not a fact."
It's an indication of how deeply dishonest this line of argument is that it explicitly relies on the reader NOT to understand the difference between colloquial use of the word "theory" ("n:An assumption based on limited information or knowledge; a conjecture") and its use in science ("n:A set of statements or principles devised to explain a group of facts or phenomena, especially one that has been repeatedly tested or is widely accepted and can be used to make predictions about natural phenomena."). The only people who advance a dishonest argument are people who can't win with an honest argument. So I guess it's just petulant of me to point out that Evolution is a theory AND a fact.
Instead, in the spirit of helping out school boards everywhere, I would like to propose that we should add warning stickers to a whole bunch of things we teach schoolkids. Herewith, some suggested sticker language:
- Newton's Theory of Universal Gravitation. ("It has never been proven that all material objects in the Universe attract each other with a force inversely proportional to the square of the distance between them. Students should approach this material with an open mind and consider alternative explanations.")
- The Germ Theory of Disease. ("Germs are just a theory, not a fact. Students are encouraged to consider alternative explanations for diseases, like evil spirits and God's wrath. Stay away from unclean sinners. Remember that AIDS only afflicts evil people.")
- Dalton's Atomic Theory. ("Nobody has ever seen an atom. Remember, it's just a theory. If it was a fact, we'd have it on good authority from the Bible. But the Bible doesn't talk about atoms, does it? NO! So never mind what some pointy-headed professor tells you.")
- Number Theory ("LIES! LIBERAL LIES! DON'T LISTEN TO THEM! YOU'RE GOING TO BURN IN HELL FOR ALL ETERNITY FOR BELIEVING IN NUMBERS!")
(Late update, 13-Jan-2005: It appears that the stickers will have to be removed. Score one for the Constitution, reason, and common sense. Savor the moment -- it won't last long.)