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Royal Society statement on evolution, creationism and intelligent design
The Royal Society ^ | 11 Apr 2006 | Staff (press release)

Posted on 04/13/2006 6:51:19 PM PDT by PatrickHenry

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If you're not familiar with the Royal Socity, check this out: Brief history of the Society.
1 posted on 04/13/2006 6:51:25 PM PDT by PatrickHenry
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To: VadeRetro; Junior; longshadow; RadioAstronomer; Doctor Stochastic; js1138; Shryke; RightWhale; ...
Evolution Ping

The List-O-Links
A conservative, pro-evolution science list, now with over 360 names.
See the list's explanation, then FReepmail to be added or dropped.
To assist beginners: But it's "just a theory", Evo-Troll's Toolkit,
and How to argue against a scientific theory.

2 posted on 04/13/2006 6:52:38 PM PDT by PatrickHenry (Yo momma's so fat she's got a Schwarzschild radius.)
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To: PatrickHenry
However, young people are poorly served by deliberate attempts to withhold, distort or misrepresent scientific knowledge and understanding in order to promote particular religious beliefs.

Says it for me.

3 posted on 04/13/2006 6:56:25 PM PDT by VadeRetro (Mineral Man was no troll.)
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To: PatrickHenry

4 posted on 04/13/2006 6:57:51 PM PDT by Echo Talon
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To: VadeRetro
However, young people are poorly served by deliberate attempts to withhold, distort or misrepresent scientific knowledge and understanding in order to promote particular religious beliefs.

Young people are poorly served by the public school system.

5 posted on 04/13/2006 6:59:23 PM PDT by Echo Talon
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To: VadeRetro
The Royal Society's statement is very good, but there are numerous others:

Statements from Scientific and Scholarly Organizations. Sixty statements, all supporting evolution.
Statement on the Teaching of Evolution. By the American Astronomical Society.
Letter from Bruce Alberts on March 4, 2005. President of the National Academy of Sciences.
Botanical Society of America's Statement on Evolution. Excellent statement.
Project Steve. Nat'l Center for Science Education: the overwhelming number of genuine scientists supporting evolution.

6 posted on 04/13/2006 6:59:24 PM PDT by PatrickHenry (Yo momma's so fat she's got a Schwarzschild radius.)
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===> Placemarker <===
7 posted on 04/13/2006 7:01:39 PM PDT by Coyoteman (Interim tagline: The UN 1967 Outer Space Treaty is bad for America and bad for humanity - DUMP IT!)
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To: Echo Talon
I see two issues. Can we improve education? [Yes.] Should we be trying to confuse the kids about where science is in understanding nature? [No.]
8 posted on 04/13/2006 7:01:42 PM PDT by VadeRetro (Mineral Man was no troll.)
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placemarker
9 posted on 04/13/2006 7:04:19 PM PDT by CarolinaGuitarman ("There is grandeur in this view of life....")
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To: All
As Project Steve indicates, over 700 scientists named Steve (or Stephanie, Esteban, or Stefano, etc.), about two-thirds of whom are biologists, have signed on to a statement that says:
Evolution is a vital, well-supported, unifying principle of the biological sciences, and the scientific evidence is overwhelmingly in favor of the idea that all living things share a common ancestry. Although there are legitimate debates about the patterns and processes of evolution, there is no serious scientific doubt that evolution occurred or that natural selection is a major mechanism in its occurrence. It is scientifically inappropriate and pedagogically irresponsible for creationist pseudoscience, including but not limited to 'intelligent design,' to be introduced into the science curricula of our nation's public schools.
These Steves are only the tip of the scientific iceberg, because the name "Steve" is given to only about 1% of the population. Therefore, the 700 Steves probably represent about 70,000 scientists. See also Project Steve update.

The Steves alone are greater in number than all the scientists (of every name) who have signed statements questioning evolution, and most of the evolution skeptics aren't biologists. For example, the much-publicized list of 500 names collected by the Discovery Institute includes only about 154 biologists, less than one-third of the total. Those 500 signed a rather ambiguous statement, which says:

We are skeptical of claims for the ability of random mutation and natural selection to account for the complexity of life. Careful examination of the evidence for Darwinian theory should be encouraged.
In contrast, two-thirds of the 700 Steves are biologists, so the biologist-Steves are about 466 in number. Steves are 1% of the population, so they represent approximately 46,600 biologists. Compare that number to the 154 biologists' names collected by the Discovery Institute. They're the totality of biologists who are evolution skeptics.

These competing lists clearly tell us that evolution skeptics are a tiny fringe group -- about one-third of one percent of biologists. Therefore, notwithstanding the unending demands to "teach the controversy," there literally is no scientific controversy about the basic principles of evolution. Scientists, especially those in the biological fields, are all but unanimous in their acceptance of evolution.

10 posted on 04/13/2006 7:08:20 PM PDT by PatrickHenry (Yo momma's so fat she's got a Schwarzschild radius.)
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To: PatrickHenry
Evolution is so morally corrupting that one of the early evolutionists fathered Baden Powell, and we all know where that led.

This guy was in such a hurry to corrupt the youth of the world that he published a tome on evolution before Darwin.

And oh yes, like that terrible atheist, Isaac Newton, he was a fellow of The Royal Society.

11 posted on 04/13/2006 7:18:01 PM PDT by js1138 (~()):~)>)
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To: js1138
And oh yes, like that terrible atheist, Isaac Newton, he was a fellow of The Royal Society.

It gets worse. Read about The Royal Society's Darwin Medal.


12 posted on 04/13/2006 7:23:13 PM PDT by PatrickHenry (Yo momma's so fat she's got a Schwarzschild radius.)
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To: js1138
It must be horrible to go through daily life when every new tidbit of knowledge serves to cast doubt on one's fundamental belief system.

Fear of knowledge would be more at home among the cargo cults of New Guinea than here.

13 posted on 04/13/2006 7:38:03 PM PDT by elkfersupper
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To: VadeRetro
However, young people are poorly served by deliberate attempts to withhold, distort or misrepresent scientific knowledge and understanding in order to promote particular religious beliefs

Likewise, young people are poorly served by deliberate attempts to withhold, distort or misrepresent intelligent design implications in order to promote particular scientific beliefs.
14 posted on 04/13/2006 7:40:42 PM PDT by silverleaf (Fasten your seat belts- it's going to be a BUMPY ride.)
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To: Echo Talon
Young people are poorly served by the public school system.

Yup. And it only gets worse, in between the PC bullshit and the injection of dark ages philosophy as a replacement for science. Between the lefties and the ignoratii (not mutually exclusive groups, mind you), the public system is going down the toilet. Turn it private (with vouchers) and we can watch the groups learning reality get ahead (while not being dragged down) and the other groups drown.

As an added bonus, the nanny-staters and those looking for cultural welfare handouts will put on an entertaining show.

15 posted on 04/13/2006 7:49:14 PM PDT by M203M4
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To: elkfersupper; js1138
The time must come inevitably when mankind shall surmount the imbecility of religion, as it has surmounted the imbecility of religion's ally, magic. It is impossible to imagine this world being really civilized so long as so much nonsense survives. In even its highest forms religion embraces concepts that run counter to all common sense. It can be defended only by making assumptions and adopting rules of logic that are never heard of in any other field of human thinking. -- HL Mencken
16 posted on 04/13/2006 7:52:26 PM PDT by BagelFace (BOOGABOOGABOOGA!!!)
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To: silverleaf
Likewise, young people are poorly served by deliberate attempts to withhold, distort or misrepresent intelligent design implications in order to promote particular scientific beliefs.

Absolutely. Intelligent design should get the same representation in a science classroom as any other theory that has received an equivalent amount of positive peer review from trained, professional scientists.

17 posted on 04/13/2006 7:53:42 PM PDT by Quark2005 (Confidence follows from consilience.)
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To: M203M4

Our Math scores are so low I personally would like to see them
spend more time and resources in that area and less with evolution or ID.


18 posted on 04/13/2006 7:54:10 PM PDT by Echo Talon
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To: All
While we're looking at the UK view of things, it's worth noting that the Archbishop of Canterbury has recently addressed the issue:
Anglican leader opposes creationism in schools.
19 posted on 04/13/2006 7:58:31 PM PDT by PatrickHenry (Yo momma's so fat she's got a Schwarzschild radius.)
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To: Echo Talon
Our Math scores are so low I personally would like to see them spend more time and resources in that area and less with evolution or ID.

Sorry, but it is all related.

Expansion of the teaching of creationism and/or ID will eventually drop math / physics scores to the sub-basement.

This movement has to be stopped.

20 posted on 04/13/2006 8:00:35 PM PDT by elkfersupper
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