It’s just a theory …

Those wacky people in Mississippi are at it again.  Below is a Bill before the House to warn students of scientific theories.  That all theories are subject to revision or outright rejection should the evidence come to hand.  That the entire scientific community can turn on a dime at the merest whim.  Therefore science is not to be trusted.  You can’t peg it down.  Anything this shifty must have dubious morals.

Of course they are not really suggesting this, well not for all scientific theories – just evolution.  Why one theory in particular should be singled out is unclear, that is until you realise which book it conflicts with if interpreted literally – the Bible.  Let’s break it down.

MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE
2009 Regular Session

To: Education; Judiciary A

By: Representatives Chism, Espy
House Bill 25

AN ACT TO REQUIRE THE STATE BOARD OF EDUCATION TO INCLUDE CERTAIN LANGUAGE EXPLAINING THAT EVOLUTION IS A THEORY IN THE INSIDE FRONT COVER OF CERTAIN PUBLIC SCHOOL TEXTBOOKS; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI:

SECTION 1. The State Board of Education shall require every textbook that includes the teaching of evolution in its contents to include the following language on the inside front cover of the textbook:

“The word ‘theory’ has many meanings, including: systematically organized knowledge; abstract reasoning; a speculative idea or plan; or a systematic statement of principles. Scientific theories are based on both observations of the natural world and assumptions about the natural world. They are always subject to change in view of new and confirmed observations.

The word “theory” does have differing definitions in everyday life, but in the scientific sense it only has one: “a coherent group of general propositions used as principles of explanation for a class of phenomena”.  Note is says nothing about wild ass guesses of hunches.

This textbook discusses evolution, a controversial theory some scientists present as a scientific explanation for the origin of living things.

Here we go again.  There is NO controversy over the theory of evolution within the scientific world.  There may be disputes over certain aspects of the theory – such as how the eye, or the blood clotting cascade might have evolved, but these are arguments of how it specifically happened.  Not IF it happened.

No one was present when life first appeared on earth. Therefore, any statement about life’s origins should be considered a theory.

They’re right – no one was there when life first appeared, so it’s impossible for anyone to have written an eye witness account of the event, let alone write down in a book which appeared 2,000 years ago.

What we can and should do is start with a blank slate, look at the evidence, conduct experiments, confirm our observations, and make logical deductions about how things might work.  Repeat this process as often as required.  Throw away those ideas which are proved wrong and move ever closer to a true understanding of reality.  This is science.

Furthermore, the theory of evolution makes NO comment about the origins of life – it explains how life changes over time, not how it began in the first place.  Just as atomic theory make no mention of where electrons came from.

Evolution refers to the unproven belief that random, undirected forces produced living things.

This is a common misunderstanding of evolutionary theory.  Mutations may be random, but their selection for survival is anything but.  Those organisms which exhibit mutations which increase its chances of survival given the environment in which it finds itself will pass on their genes to the next generation.  Those who do not will have a slightly lower chance of survival.  Over the millennia these slight pressures in the odds of survival make huge differences.

There are many topics with unanswered questions about the origin of life which are not mentioned in your textbook,

Theories of abiogenesis will probably not appear in general science books, and may not appear in books on evolution.

including: the sudden appearance of the major groups of animals in the fossil record (known as the Cambrian Explosion); the lack of new major groups of other living things appearing in the fossil record; the lack of transitional forms of major groups of plants and animals in the fossil record; and the complete and complex set of instructions for building a living body possessed by all living things.

All these are adequately explained by evolutionary theory, IF the students are given the chance to explore the subject before being shutdown by religious dogma.

Study hard and keep an open mind.”

But not so open that your brains fall out.

SECTION 2. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after July 1, 2009.

I urge all those in America who care about the education of our next generation of leaders, business owners, doctors, lawyers, and teachers – do something about this.  Real science belongs in the science class room and should not be silenced by fundamentalist religious madness.