George wrote: "One of the main problems with this & similar "warnings" is
that they pick
out evolution as something uniquely controversial. There are (AFAIK) no
warning labels about the germ theory of disease, relativity theory, the
theory of plate tectonics, &c. So what these labels do is to tell
students
that they should be _more_ critical of evolution than of other theories.
&
for many students they will convey the message that evolution doesn't
have
to be taken seriously because it's "just a theory."
That kind of reasoning seems contrived. Using it, I could argue that a
certain curve in the mountain road up to Rico ought NOT have a warning
sign because some others do not.
Having a similar warning about -- say -- plate tectonics, or even
relativity -- might or might not make sense. Actually, the warning ought
to properly be applied to much of science. Questioning "what everyone
else takes for fact" is usually unproductive. But sometimes it leads to
radical new inventions or discoveries.
Burgy
www.burgy.50megs.com
Received on Sat Jan 15 15:43:19 2005
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