Quick! To the polls!

[mithriltabby]

The American Family Association have a new poll: Should Intelligent Design be taught in public schools alongside evolution? Since “alongside” would imply that it’s presented as a scientific theory, I’m voting no. It’d be a fine topic for teaching kids how to distinguish the characteristics of a scientific theory, though (e.g. falsifiability).

Comments

[mithriltabby]

And on the home page (where you can see the results), it’s phrased “Should students be exposed to different ideas, or should they be shielded from information about intelligent design?” A fine example of “framing”. These people have no idea who’s going to support them in their old age, do they?

[racerxmachina.livejournal.com]

The Chinese or East Indians, conceivably, if our students continue to suck at science. Fortunately, both cultures believe in supporting the aged, even if they're not too bright.

[mithriltabby]

Well, they believe in supporting one’s own ancestors. Not sure they’d feel terribly filial to Americans whose Social Security ran out because they wouldn’t let their kids learn enough to hold jobs requiring the use of reasoning skills.

[roseembolism.livejournal.com]

My suspicion is that the poll is going to show "Massive support for Intelligent Design", no matter how many of us vote. I'm also a bit leary of giving this group my name and e-mail address.

And frankly, the basic concept of the poll grates with me- science is not a popularity, and facts should not be subject to teh whims of the ignorant masses. Should the heliocentric system be put to a vote? How about relativity?

Ultimately this is a self-correcting problem. If the U.S. decides to go the way of the medieval Muslims- substituting religious dogma for scientific inquiry- then there will be other countries to pick up the slack and the U.S. will merely be left behind. If, three hundred years from now, the U.S. is a third world nation lost in religious dogma and dreaming of the glorious past, this will be one of the root causes.