The Thinker Musings

The Concerned Parent Award

William Kristol. For: “I managed to have my children go through the Fairfax, Virginia schools without ever looking at one of their science textbooks.”

The Best Reframing the Question Award

Grover Norquist. On whether Evolution should be taught in the public schools: “The real problem here is that you shouldn’t have government-run schools.”

The Political Correctness Award

David Frum. For: “I don’t believe that anything that offends nine-tenths of the American public should be taught in public schools. … I don’t believe that public schools should embark on teaching anything that offends Christian principle.”

Runner-up: Jonah Goldberg. For: “I see nothing [wrong] with having teachers pay some attention to the sensitivities of other people in the room. I think if that means you’re more careful about some issues than others that’s fine. People are careful about race and gender; I don’t see why all of a sudden we can’t be diplomatic on these issues when it comes to religion.”

The “At Least You Didn’t Ask About Quantum Chromodynamics” Award

William Kristol. For: “It’s like me asking you whether you believe in the Big Bang.”

The “Depends What the Meaning of ‘Believe’ Is” Award

Norman Podhoretz. On whether he personally believes in evolution: “It’s impossible to answer that question with a simple yes or no.”

The Unclear on the Concept Award

Patrick Buchanan. For: “I don’t believe evolution can explain the creation of matter.”

The “I’m Shocked to Find Gambling Taking Place Here” Award

Opinion journalist, William Kristol. For: “I don’t discuss personal opinions.”

The “You say Potahto and I Say Potayto” Award

Stephen Moore. For: “I think people should be taught … that there are various theories about how man was created.”

I’d like to thank all our fine competitors. Alas, not everyone could get an award, and I know that some of you will be disappointed to be leaving without one. However, we, here at Musings, still believe in something called … Standards.

Now, and I apologize for crashing your blog here but I linked over from Sam Ruby and was really kind of annoyed by your post (with a beginning like that, you just know the rest is going to be bad)

That said, if you’re saying what you seem to be saying, you kind of came across as ignorant as those you were posting about.

For the record, evolution is not a proven fact, far from it as a matter of fact. Any scientist worth anything will back me up on this, most consider it the most likely theory, but it isn’t fact. The problem is that, in the past it was taught as such and that was just as wrong as the suggestion that it should not be taught at all (those who choose to worship science should understand it first)

Now, just so it doesn’t seem like I’m attacking you and you alone, the ideas presented by the “panel” don’t really pan out either. For the life of me I’ve never managed to figure out how someone would teach creationism in a science class (“God said let there be life, and there was life, and the scientific principle behind that is…”)

Then again, assuming Genesis is largely allegorical (Which many, many Christian philosophers feel it is), I also don’t see how the bible necessarily contradicts evolution.

My point with all this is simple; the answers they gave aren’t really that bad but in the author’s desperate need to demonize the right he chose to make them into a farce. That’s the kind of attitude that forces people to take sides and what creates an atmosphere where accurate theories can’t be presented in a science class (e.g. if it has to be right or wrong it isn’t being presented accurately).

Re: Intellectual Bankruptcy Watch, II

Jacques,

Don’t gloat too much, ‘cause this is a trick question! Do you really expect a bunch of politicos to answer it honestly? They are dancing the dance of “covering all the bases”. It’s pathetic I agree, but you’d get a pretty similar thing if you asked a bunch of prominent Liberals what their view is on illegal immigration.

Return of the Troll

Jacques, You mentioned David Horowitz and ‘Republican Overlords’ somewhere in this thread. Let me make a connection to the present topic of evolution. Of course Genesis is a myth, and evolution is very likely correct in its basics, even if it is not as solidly proven as most of physics. Based on reading some of your blog, I think you are getting the entire Right mixed up in one big pot, so let me say something about Horowitz. He and his colleagues are not concerned with evolution but with the appeasement of terrorists and militant Islam that he perceives on campuses, either by wooly-headed but well-intentioned liberals or by outright radical Marxists who want to undermine American democracy. Also, there are many clear cases of academic suppression of conservative views in the classroom. So please don’t start treating conservatives as one big monolithic entity. A theoretical physicist should especially know better than to indulge in such oversimplification. I hope you do. As for ‘Republican overlords’, take the Iraq war. There is too much simplistic ‘Bush lied, people died’ kind of thinking on campus. There were good arguments for AND against going to war, and there was much debate among conservatives about this. So let’s not have any silly ‘we vs. them’ attitude. This is unacceptable among people who consider themselves intellectuals. Please admit that some of your colleagues need to grow up a bit. There’s something about campuses - too many young people around perhaps.

Horowitz

Throw em a bone

Re: Intellectual Bankruptcy Watch, II

“anti-scientific *-scepticism has, in recent years, become the norm on the American Right”

Are we forgetting pyramid worship, psychic powers and wild conspiracy theories are a norm of the American left?

Re: Intellectual Bankruptcy Watch, II