Monday, January 19, 2009

I don't know how many times I've seen something like this. If you can make it past the poorly written surface, you might notice that it highlights a very disturbing trend. This particular wingnut makes the bold claim that a new ream of anti-evolution material is going to appear on the internet and somehow destroy the evolutionary position. When this happens, he is sure, science will reject evolution and once more return to creationism, lest they lose public support.

There are so many things wrong with that idea, but I just want to mention two.

  1. Why is it that creation "science" has to rely on the internet, already not the most reliable source of information, as the vehicle for its dissemination? If they really had a real position, they would be able to get publications in real journals and reputable print media. As it is, all they can do is clog up the fringe of the internet and make otherwise respectable sites look foolish by association.
  2. What does it matter if public support for evolution drops? That would indicate one thing: public ignorance. Scientific fact is not determined by the opinions of an uneducated public; and let's be thankful for that! I know this sounds awfully elitist, but the science should really be left to the scientists. Not necessarily the people with Ph.D.'s, mind you, but at least the people who have taken the time to actually educate themselves. If the scientific establishment were to start rejecting an idea, then we could start paying attention.

If creationists want to actually go to the effort and produce real science in favor of what they say - if they're willing to sit down and go through the peer review process and subject their ideas to scientific scrutiny - then I might be willing to give it at least some attention. But if you want to be treated like science, then you have to play by science's rules.

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