Re: National Academy Scientist Encourages Kansas to AdoptScience Standards Allowing for Critical Analys

Surely nobody could object to students at all levels being taught the
arguments for and against evolution in all its forms? Arguments for or
against should be taught critically and not as dogma.

However students should also be taught the arguments against YEC and ID -
and that should be fun.

A question for Pattle.How can I as geologist apply ID to the practice and
teaching of geology. Just one instance , in the course of my research on
Buckland (of Megatherium which I spoke on at Cambridge in 1998) and Darwin I
did much work on their studies of glaciation, and looked at much of the
Alpine stuff (along with a bit in WS and Yosemite - but sadly none around
Hisega in SD). Now in what ways a glaciers and glacial deposits like
moraines, kames, kettleholes and eskers designed. (except for producing
excellent golf courses and ensure that the soil in Illinois is good for
farming)

If ID is of any use whatsoever it must have more explanatory power not only
for complex biochemical pathways but inorganic chemical reactions and all
geology. Otherwise us geologists are forced to adopt the outmoded paradigm
of methodological naturalism or as Sedgwick called it in the early 19th
century Secondary Causes. (Try Jeff and Steve on this)

It is very significant that ID only deals with these particular biochemical
things and leave the rest of science to naturalism, resulting in Van Til's
epithet of ID as Punctuated Naturalism. See my humorous dealing of
blood-clotting and oxygen transfer by haemoglobin (correct spelling
Siemens!) in my 1999 PSCF article.

Michael
----- Original Message -----
From: "Stephen Matheson" <smatheso@calvin.edu>
To: <asa@calvin.edu>; "Pattle Pun" <Pattle.P.Pun@wheaton.edu>
Sent: Thursday, May 12, 2005 9:31 PM
Subject: Re: National Academy Scientist Encourages Kansas to AdoptScience
Standards Allowing for Critical Analys

> Sneaky, sneaky. The Discovery Institute identifies Skell as a "professor
> emeritus of biochemistry." Nope; he identifies his research interests as
> "organic chemistry mechanisms, organometallic chemistry, and heterogeneous
> catalysis," and his title at Penn State is "Holder Emeritus of the Evan
> Pugh
> Professor of Chemistry." He may well know what an Alu repeat is, but he's
> not
> a biochemist.
>
> Naturally this won't matter to the Discovery Institute, which would surely
> never be caught dead making a bogus appeal to authority.
>
> Steve Matheson
> Calvin College
> Biology Dept.
> matheson@calvin.edu
>
>>>> Pattle Pak Toe Pun <Pattle.P.Pun@wheaton.edu> 05/12/05 3:45 PM >>>
>
> ---------- Forwarded message ----------
> Date: Wed, 11 May 2005 17:22:24 -0700
> From: Discovery Institute <press@discovery.org>
> To: cscinfo@discovery.org
> Subject: National Academy Scientist Encourages Kansas to Adopt Science
> Standards Allowing for Critical Analysis of Evolution
>
> National Academy Scientist Encourages Kansas to Adopt Science Standards
> Allowing for Critical Analysis of Evolution
>
>
>
> TOPKEA, KS. --- Dr. Phil Skell, a member of the National Academy of
> Sciences** and a professor emeritus of biochemistry at Pennsylvania State
> University, has just sent an open letter to the Kansas State Board of
> Education encouraging them to revise the state's science standards to
> allow
> students to learn the scientific evidence both for and against biological
> and chemical evolution.
>
>
>
> "I am writing-as a member of the National Academy of Sciences-to voice my
> strong support for the idea that students should be able to study
> scientific
> criticisms of the evidence for modern evolutionary theory along with the
> evidence favoring the theory. . Evolution is an important theory and
> students need to know about it. But scientific journals now document many
> scientific problems and criticisms of evolutionary theory and students
> need
> to know about these as well," Skell writes. "Encouraging students to
> carefully examine the evidence for and against neo-Darwinism, therefore,
> will help prepare students not only to understand current scientific
> arguments, but also to do good scientific research."
>
>
>
> The Kansas State Board of Education is revising the state's science
> standards and last week a board sub-committee heard testimony from
> scientists and scholars about how biological and chemical evolution should
> be presented in the classroom. As a matter of public policy, the
> Discovery
> Institute's Center for Science and Culture, the nation's leading think
> tank
> dealing with scientific challenges to Darwinian evolution, opposes any
> effort to mandate or require the teaching of intelligent design by school
> districts or state boards of education.
>
>
>
> "Like Dr. Skell, we believe evolution should be taught as a scientific
> theory that is open to critical scrutiny, not as a sacred dogma that can't
> be questioned," said Seth Cooper, Senior Program Analyst, Public Policy &
> Legal Affairs at the Discovery Institute.
>
>
>
> Last year Ohio adopted a model curriculum that includes a lesson plan on
> the
> "Critical Analysis of Evolution." Two other states, New Mexico, and
> Minnesota, have adopted science standards that require learning about some
> of the scientific controversies relating to evolution.
>
>
>
> **Members
> <http://www4.nationalacademies.org/nas/nashome.nsf/b57ef1bf2404952b852566dd0
> 0671bfd/d1e1ffa204f859cf852566dd006c1560?OpenDocument> and foreign
> associates of the Academy are elected in recognition of their
> distinguished
> and continuing achievements in original research; election to the Academy
> is
> considered one of the highest honors that can be accorded a scientist or
> engineer.
>
>
>
> Copies of Dr. Skell's letter are available at the CSC website:
>
> http://www.discovery.org/scripts/viewDB/index.php?command=view
> <http://www.discovery.org/scripts/viewDB/index.php?command=view&id=2568&prog
> ram=CSC> &id=2568&program=CSC - Views and News&callingPage=discoMainPage
>
>
>
> ###
>
>
>
> To schedule an interview with Discovery Institute spokesperson contact
> Kristina Grabosky at (703)-683-5004, ext. 132, or Rob Crowther at (206)
> 292-0401 x107.
>
>
>
Received on Thu May 12 17:41:03 2005