ON TRIAL: Evolution



What went wrong?


Among the general population, the level of scientific awareness is deplorably low. People claim to be aware of science, but the vast majority of laypeople have little or no understanding of the scientific method. To the average "man on the street," science is only useful and reliable if it has contributed to the development of a particular technology that they use in their daily lives, or if it is referenced in science fiction shows. "Common knowledge" or "intuitive understanding" of scientific principles has perceived validity equal to actual training or practical experience.

Worse yet, most average people assign more credibility to television reporters than they do to scientists! When television reporters report on "groundbreaking" news and dismiss objections from the scientific community (as they did when cold fusion became the cause du jour), laypeople are entirely too quick to nod their heads, in sage agreement that the scientists' narrow mindset keeps them from seeing "the big picture." Sigh ... science is entirely based on criticizing and questioning existing theory, in the search to improve it! The ease with which people accept such nonsensical misrepresentations of the scientific method is eloquent evidence of the pitifully low level of scientific awareness in the world today. I believe that there are three factors driving people to accept creationist bad science:


  1. They don't understand the theory of evolution.

  2. They don't understand the scientific method.

  3. They don't understand many specific scientific principles such as the laws of entropy, the nature of chemical reactions, etc.

Science is a very complicated subject as a whole, but the basic scientific method is elegant and simple. Moreover, certain fundamental concepts such as the laws of thermodynamics or Newton's laws of motion can be understood by any intelligent person if he or she takes the time to learn them. I don't think it's too much to ask that people understand the methods and the fundamentals before they graduate from high school.

In any case, since many people don't understand this stuff, the door is open for creationists. Creationist strawman attacks on evolution take advantage of popular misconceptions regarding the theory itself (some of which the creationists helped create). Creationist anti-scientific arguments such as "it's just a theory" or "the theory is imperfect so it should be discarded" take advantage of widespread ignorance of the scientific method. Creationist pseudoscientific arguments such as "the second law of thermodynamics makes evolution impossible" take advantage of the fact that most people don't know enough of the basics.

Worse yet, incessant creationist strawman attacks are often repeated by the scientifically-challenged television industry. For example:


  1. Star Trek Voyager, episode name "Threshold": during a warp-drive experiment, Lieutenant Tom Paris and Captain Janeway "evolved" into strange salamander-like creatures.

  2. Star Trek TNG, episode name "Transfigurations": a wounded member of an alien race called Zalkonians is taken aboard the Enterprise, whereupon he heals and undergoes a dramatic transformation into a godlike being. He describes it as the "next stage of Zalkonian evolution".

  3. The annoying "Pokemon" kiddie series is based on creatures which can "evolve" from soft, cuddly plush toys into fire-breathing monsters at will.

  4. The popular comic book (and movie adaptation) called "X-Men" is based on "the next stage of human evolution"; people who suddenly develop super-powers such as laser-eyes, unbelievable control over all electromagnetic phenomena, or the ability to control the weather, all without the slightest hint of such abilities in preceding generations.

If you don't understand why the above examples are grievous misrepresentations of the concept of evolution, then you may have already been infected by creationist strawman attacks. Take a double-dose of antibiotics and continue reading.




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